Description
Find Me in These Fields is the twelfth solo album by the American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Phil Keaggy, released on Myrrh Records in June 1990, a division of Word. Also manufactured and distributed by A&M Records. The album was recorded by JB Baird at The Bennett House in Franklin, Tennessee; with Lynn Arthur Nichols and Phil Keaggy producing. Mixed by JB at Digital Recorders in Nashville, Tennessee. All songs by Phil Keaggy except “Be In My Heart” written by John Perry, a long-time member of Cliff Richard‘s vocal backing group.
Find Me In These Fields is the second album of Phil Keaggy’s ’60s Britpop inspired album trilogy released between 1988 and 1993. (Sunday’s Child and Crimson and Blue being the first and the last installments, respectively.) It is essentially the work of a power rock trio featuring Keaggy on lead vocals and guitars backed by a rock solid rhythm section consisting of former Outlaws bassist Rick Cua and drummer Mike Mead (later of Chagall Guevara fame), with keyboardist Phil Madeira sitting in on acoustic piano and Hammond B-3 organ on various tracks. (Both Madeira and producer Nichols actually were members of Keaggy’s late 1970s rock outfit Phil Keaggy Band.) Backing vocals provided by Madeira, David Mullen, Radney Foster, Bill Lloyd, Steve Taylor, and Lynn Arthur Nichols.
Keaggy is pretty much on a roll from here on out, producing album after album of great work comprised of good, solid, catchy songs that are accessible on every level, yet with enough sophistication to be appreciated by all manner of audiences. With a great band and great production, Phil Keaggy really shines here…and littering the album in various places are little studio outtakes noted only on the sleeve with a picture of a guitar. The first of these opens with an acoustic melody showcasing his incredible guitar technique, but closes one note short of a phrase – a nod to the Beatles’ «Her majesty is a pretty nice girl…» from Abbey Road. All the vocal songs are well-constructed, starting with the killer «Strong Tower», with Keaggy belting out notes that make him seem another foot-and-a-half taller. «Get Over It» is injected with a groovy vocal/guitar interplay that is simply infectious. Big celebratory sound on «Final Day». For fans of Sunday’s Child, this is a continuation with more development – a fantastic record. [Mark Allender, AMG]
Phil Keaggy is considered by many to be the preeminent guitarist in the Christian community, a theory that would be hard to prove if one had to rely entirely on Keaggy’s recorded work. While his concert performances and two fine instrumental efforts, ‘The Wind and the Wheat‘ and the recently re-released ‘The Master and the Musician‘, go a long way toward establishing the basis for his reputation. Keaggy has not given us an album of pop songs that allowed his near legendary guitar prowess to be showcased. Until now.
‘Phil Keaggy & Sunday’s Child‘, his return to the pop form, was clearly a co-operative effort. Keaggy had not been with a major label after 1982’s ‘Play Thru Me‘, and later efforts (’85’s ‘Getting Closer‘) either moved toward a jazz expression, or were little more than his home demos mastered for release (‘Underground‘). For ‘Sunday’s Child’ to connect as it did, producer Lynn Nichols drew on material written by Randy Stonehill, Mark Heard, Steve Taylor, himself, and others to give Keaggy an opportunity to re-invent himself as a singer/player. Getting Keaggy out playing with a great band (The Keaggy/Stonehill Band with Tim Chandler and David Raven), provided an opportunity to rediscover the connections between his guitar playing and personal ministry to the pop/rock audience.
‘Find Me in These Fields’, co-produced this time by Nichols and Keaggy, and nearly entirely composed by Keaggy, is the obvious fruit of the artist having gained his sea legs, out for a stroll on his own. And this is the kind of record Phil Keaggy’s guitar fans can get excited about. Not only does Keaggy play strong solos in many of the albums ten songs, but there are five instrumental interludes interspread which give a fine overall expression of the depth and breadth of Keaggy’s guitar vocabulary as no other studio project has done. Backed ably by Phil Madeira, Rick Cua and Mike Mead, Keaggy sounds like he’s found the perfect setting for his music to dwell.
While Keaggy’s songwriting is not as immediately accessible and hook-oriented as that of his collaborators last time out, nor do his lyrical phrases flow as naturally, there is a warmth and integrity that feels true to the writer. «Strong Tower» and «Carry On» (the two openers) are hot rockers, with Keaggy incorporating some of his hottest agressive playing into the context of the latter, something that one would like to see happen more often. The title track showcases the stylings of cellist John Catchings. «Final Day» will spark fans of the Phil Keaggy Band-ear with Nichols and Madeira providing the background vocals, and David Mullen, Charlie Peacock, Radney Foster, and Bill Lloyd all drop in to add vocal support as well. But this is truly a solo project.
Here Keaggy builds dramatically on last year’s effort and his previous successes, while giving fans of his guitar heroics something to sink their teeth into. Successive listens bring home the depth and meaning of the songs; if not giving them values equal to his guitar playing, and ‘Find Me in These Fields’ delivers a more personal and aurally satisfying look at Sunday’s Child. [Brian Q. Newcomb, CCM, July 1990]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/find-me-in-these-fields/1167802687)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. Instrumental
A2. “Strong Tower”
A3. “Carry On”
A4. Instrumental
A5. “When The Wild Winds Blow”
A6. “This Side Of Heaven”
A7. “Find Me In These Fields”
A8. “Get Over It”
Side Two
B1. “Calling You”
B2. Instrumental
B3. “Gentle And Strong”
B4. “Final Day”
B5. Instrumental
B6. “Be In My Heart”
B7. Instrumental
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by Myrrh Records. A remastered version is available at Bandcamp along with two Bonus Discs (“Honestly, I was always a bit disappointed by the final sound of this record. The recording was a joy and is fantastic. (Thanks Lynn!) But there just wasn’t enough oomph in the low end. When I heard Bruce Neher’s re-mastering job I was thrilled. This is so much better to my ears. I was so happy in fact that I felt a re-imagining of the song order was appropriate. These are ten really strong sounding songs now and I like hearing them flowing one to another without the distraction of the instrumental bits. If you disagree then feel free to re-order them back into the original order. I’ll be listening to it this way from now on. Blessings!“):
https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/find-me-in-these-fields-remastered-re-imagined
https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/find-me-in-these-fields-bonus-disc-a
https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/find-me-in-these-fields-bonus-disc-b
The Find Me In These Fields session band. Front Row (L-R): Lynn Nichols, Phil Keaggy, Mike Mead. Back Row (L-R): Phil Madeira, Mark Maxwell, Rick Cua, JB Baird. (Photo taken by Paul Wharton during the Find Me In These Fields sessions.)
An advertisement for Phil Keaggy’s Find Me In These Fields was featured in the June 1990 issue of CCM Magazine.
CREDITS. Produced by L. Arthur Nichols and Phil Keaggy. Recorded and Mixed by JB. Recorded at Bennett House, Franklin, TN. Assistant Engineers: Shawn McLean and Roy Gamble. Mixed at Digital Recorders, Nashville, TN. Assistant Engineers: John David Parker and Graham Lewis. Additional Studios: Midtown Tone & Volume and Sixteenh Avenue Sound, Nashville, TN. Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk, New York, NY. Digital Editing by Ken Love at Mastermix, Nashville, TN. A&R Direction by Mark Maxwell. Art Direction/Design by Bradley Grose for O.S.S. Illustration by Grose. Photography by Ben Pearson. Associate Art Director: Roz. Hair and Make-Up: Michael Tyler. The little studio outtakes are live studio recordings, direct to digital. All songs by Phil Keaggy except “Be In My Heart” written by John Perry.
Musicians: The Players – Phil Keaggy (Guitars and Vocals), Phil Madeira (Hammond B-3 Organ and Acoustic Piano), Rick Cua (Bass), Mike Mead (Drums and Percussion). Backing Vocals: David Mullen (A2,A5), Radney Foster (A5), Bill Lloyd (A5), Lynn Nichols (A5,B3,B4), Steve Taylor (B3), Phil Madeira (B4). Backing vocals on “Be In My Heart”: Charlie Peacock, Phil and Elinor Madeira, Lynn, Kathy, Bianca, and Damann Nichols, Phil, Bernadette, Alicia, Olivia, and Ian Keaggy. Additional musicians: John Catchings (Cello on track A7), Sam Bush (Fiddle on track B3).
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