Customer Reviews

The Song Within

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Everyone who knows about Phil Keaggy's playing recognizes his virtuosity. "The Song Within," an instrumental recording designed to showcase the rich sound of McPherson acoustic guitars, demonstrates not only Keaggy's virtuosity but also his amazing musicianship. His ability to create and recreate his own music with unpretending excellence is what make this CD so enjoyable.

The moods are mostly mellow but also include a funky jam (Early One Day), a few upbeat tunes (Wow's the Weather, The Blue Trail, Addison's Talk), a little ragtime (Water Day), a couple short ditty's (Trailwalker, McPhernought), and my personal favorite, the catchy and haunting Noah's Shuffle.

"The Song Within" is not going to be Keaggy's most critically acclaimed recording, but it is delightful and a very worthy addition to his remarkable catalogue of instrumental acoustic guitar recordings.

Another great Keaggy acoustic album. The McPherson guitars really sound great. Nothing will ever compare to his Olson's, but still wonderful guitars, and some cool tunes on here. Some favorites: Wow's the Weather, Secure (although this one sound a bit weird...maybe it's the drum machine track or the mixing, but still a very cool song), Early One Day (cool groove!), and Noah's Shuffle. The title track is pretty good too.

Overall, great acoustic effort by one of the true acoustic masters of all time, and a wonderful gentleman to boot. For me, it still doesn't hold a candle to his "Beyond Nature", which I would consider the best acoustic album of all time.

Phil Keaggy is the Master and Musician. In my humble opinion, of Phil Keaggy's 40 or so CDs, Beyond Nature is his best work. The Song within echos a close second. The liner notes even mention that the tunes have a Beyond Nature feel to them. This CD is acoustic guitar playing at its very best. The CD will bring a sense of "calm" peace to the soul. In a very mixed up world, this CD is worth having as it provides pure listening pleasure! Calm down, sit back, and enjoy the joyful sound of Phil Keaggy at his best and find the song within. MAD

Track Listing:
Water Day
Wow's the Weather
Secure
Trailwalker
The Song Within
Early One Day
Seems Like Yesterday
McPheronought
The Blue Trail
Noah's Shuffle
Addison's Talk
Willow Tree
Duet
New Year's Eve
The North Folk
A Sense of Time

Keaggy always seems to do something original and sweet. The Song Within is no exception. There is just enough melodic reminder of other albums to make it interesting, but no rehash. You can put this album on and do just about any work. Late at night, relax by the fire. Top two, though, are still Master and Musician and Beyond Nature.

Phil Keaggy is of course a masterful guitarist and each of these songs exhibits perfection in phrasing and presentation. The songs are aesthetically pleasing, but lack variety. Most of Keaggy's other albums demonstrate a wide variety of styles and genres of music. This album seems to me more monotone and less passionate than his others, but still beautiful in many places. I mostly enjoy this album as background music, something to create a mood or ambiance in my home or car. None of these songs are really distinctive enough for me to sit and just meditate on the song and get lost in it as I have done with his other projects.

A wondrous picture of listless beauty and praise of Daddy. Such a glorious song by a fellow follower of Jesus Christ. Truly this is no religion as many things occur which are supernatural with God and his Holy Spirit.

Great Album and Great songs. I'm going to buy a few more albums by Phil.