Blue

Description

Blue is a studio album by the American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Phil Keaggy, released by Word Records in 1994, manufactured and distributed by Epic Records, a division of Sony Music. It is actually a Limited Edition rock version of Crimson and Blue featuring 3 new songs plus rock remixes, put together for the mainstream music market. The tracks featured on Blue, as well as Crimson and Blue, were recorded by Bill Deaton at the Dugout in Nashville, Tennessee; during the summer of 1992, with Lynn Arthur Nichols producing.

This tour-de-force of electric guitar playing features awesome riffing and extended jams reminiscent of late 60’s and early 70’s power rock trios. There’s actually no more than two or three takes per song, and most of the solos were tracked live. The sound of the recording can be attributed to the amps and guitars used – an old Gretsch, Rickenbackers, the Gibson, and Vox amps. The mix is superb across the entire album and the arrangements spot on. The songwriting is strong as well. A landmark retro-rock album of jam-oriented nature.

Marketed as a “rock version of Crimson and Blue,” this takes many of the best songs from that release, throws in a couple of outtakes, and delivers a collection not noticeably different in style from the original. Several of the gentler, quieter songs from Crimson and Blue are excluded, but this is by no means simply a chance for Keaggy to show off his soloing abilities. He does do this on the harder songs such as «Doin’ Nothin’», «Don’t Pass Me By», and «John the Revelator», but there are also songs like the more introspective «Everywhere I Look», «All Our Wishes», and particularly Van Morrison’s «When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God». In fact, it is difficult to determine how it was decided which songs would be included on the “rock version,” as one of Crimson and Blue’s strongest songs («Stone Eyes») is not found here. Blue does include several new songs, including a cover of the Badfinger tune «Baby Blue», the Keaggy original «All Our Wishes», and a long, formless musical dialogue between Keaggy and drummer John Sferra, «The Further Adventures of…» The last piece, clocking in at almost 13 minutes, becomes quite tedious and would have been better left unreleased. A good release, but should not replace Crimson and Blue in anyone’s collection. [Marc Castellani, AMG]

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CD tracklist:

01. Doin’ Nothin’ – 7:35
02. Don’t Pass Me By – 3:46
03. Baby Blue – 5:37
04. All There Is To Know – 3:48
05. John The Revelator – 8:02
06. World Of Mine – 4:29
07. Everywhere I Look – 3:53
08. The Further Adventures Of… – 12:37
09. All Our Wishes – 3:22
10. When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God? – 6:39
11. Shouts Of Joy – 5:53

Note: Available at Bandcamp: https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/blue-remastered

[youtube_sc url=”ivKFeRVzjiI” title=”Phil Keaggy – Baby Blue” autohide=”1″ rel=”0″]