Phil Keaggy - Blue (11 tracks) +Album Reviews

Great Rock and Blues Jams

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com | Glen Ellyn, IL USA | 06/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Phil Keaggy remains one of those underrated Christian musicians. Fans of Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix and even Nils Lofgren and Andre Segovia (classical guitarist) might love this outpouring of talent. Beatle fans might smile -- Keaggy has a Paul McCartney-like voice, except with an American accent.Clearly influenced by 60s and 70s rock and blues, Keaggy shows he is force in modern guitar stylings.His cover of Van Morrison's tune (from Avalon Sunset), "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God?" is profound and provocative. His cover of Bad Finger's "Baby Blue" has a sheer Paul McCartney tone to it.With "Doin' Nothin'", he is 'doin' somethin', ripping from note to note like it is nobody's business.His blues-rock rendition of the traditional black gospel song, "John the Reveletor" came off twice as solid in a concert, but definitely deserves top-volume in your car as you take on freeway traffic.Explore other Keaggy CDs here as well. His ability to go from hard rock to quiet worship to flamenco-influenced acoustic stuff is astounding.I fully recommend "Blue" by Phil Keaggy.Anthony Trendl"

Nothing Blue About Keaggy's Guitar Playing

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com | 02/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A collection of surprisingly catchy pop tunes and a couple of extended guitar extravaganzas make for a fine album from the world's greatest guitarist which no one outside the Christian community knows about. The best song on the album is "John the Revelator" which would probably be an FM staple were it not for Christian lyrics. "Everywhere I Look" has a catchy melody that won't leave your head. "Shouts of Joy" features dazzling leads that sound like Steve Hillage. The cover of "Baby Blue", the old Badfinger hit, actually improves upon the original because of the blistering guitar solo which is missing in the Badfinger version. "Don't Pass Me By" brings to mind Eric Clapton's playing from his days with Cream. "When Will I Learn to Live in God" (penned by Van Morrison) is inspirational Gospel-rock at its best, both lyrically and musically. This album is a clinic in how to play pop rock and hard rock electric guitar, and any fan of great guitar playing, whether Christian or not, should have this in his or her collection."

OH WHAT A TALENT

HANS D HARMS | runaway bay, QLD Australia | 04/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not a christian, so anyone tagged as a christian artist would get a cold shoulder. Lucky for me PHIL KEAGGY produces musik that does not deserve to be labelled and is so beautiful, full of his wicked sense of humour and inspirational, that labelling him CHRISTIAN ARTIST does nothing more than exclude a lot of unfortunate people from the pleasure of his musik. This CD contains songs, which made me a bit sceptical as I didn't want anything preachy. Fear not!!! He has a great voice and his lyrics are not overtly religious. His guitar playing is some of the best recorded ( get the CD '220' for instrumental superlatives ), but his songs are great, bordering on classic. If you like musik, forget the CHRISTIAN tag if it doesn't fit YOU and buy this man's musik for it's quality. You won't regret it."

A Great Remix With Added Tunes

HANS D HARMS | 08/23/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Blue" is for the most part some remixing of tunes off the "Crimson & Blue" release of 1993. As a guitarist and long time fan of Phil, I'm glad I bought this CD.The remix work brought out some vocals that deserved a stronger presence. I'm delighted to hear tunes that were "axed" off the original release, I guess due to time constraints. Great guitar playing that comes close to Phil's live work abounds.Keaggy's rendition of "Baby Blue" is classic rock with modern day finnese and production. This album of course has the goal of recreating the tones and sounds of the late 60's and early 70's, but Phil did it in a fashion that makes it more than nostalgia. My kids love this album, and of course it's a headphone kind of mix that travels from side to side and front to back.The album reminds us that Phil is one great master of the Les Paul, songwriting and visionary playing. Keaggy is one guy who has not copied other players - they have learned from him. Buy "Blue" and discover why."

Easily my favorite Christian rock CD...

Eustace Lufgren | Raytown, MO United States | 03/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow! Phil Keaggy proved his acoustic mastery with albums like Beyond Nature, and this album shows he can write catchy rock tunes and jam like nobody's business. I totally dig this album. Being a Christian AND a musician, I get very frustrated finding groups that are musically talented unique and interesting and that have good lyrics, but with this CD, I would buy it and really enjoy it even if it were a secular CD. It has incredibly well written tunes, with a HEAVY influence of Beatles and also late 60s early 70s hard rock like the Cream and other bands. The guitar playing is mindblowing. Not that its overly flashy, its just so tasteful, and so perfect. It still has a lot of flash dont get me wrong. Doin Nothin is a cool jam song. Nice groove to it. Great solos too. Dont Pass Me By sounds very VERY Cream influenced. But still very original sounding too...if thats possible. Baby Blue is an excellent cover of the Badfinger hit. All There Is To Know is a great catchy rock song, well written. John the Revelator is another great song for Phil to rip it up on his Les Paul. Everywhere I Look is a nice Beatlesian pop song. Very good songs, really. Shouts of Joy was my favorite a long time ago, and its still cool, albeit not a favorite. My problem with this album is that its a remake of the Crimson and Blue album (which I once owned) and they axed one of my favorites! "Love Divine" was such a cool little song, and they kicked it in favor of some more forgettable tracks. A shame. Anyway, its still in my opinion one of the best (if not THE best) Christian rock albums out. Very vintage, yet contemporary sounding. Classy..."

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