Description
What a Day is the solo album debut by the American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Phil Keaggy of Glass Harp fame, independently released on NewSong Records in June 1973 (initially turned down – though later distributed – by Myrrh Records, Word’s fledgling contemporary record label), recorded short time after Keaggy’s power rock trio Glass Harp released their third and final studio album on Decca Records, It Makes Me Glad. What a Day was recorded January 1973 by Gary Hedden over just six days at Motion Picture Sound in Cleveland, Ohio. All performed by one guy with a single engineer in the room. Written, arranged, performed, and produced by Phil Keaggy with Gary Hedden co-producing.
It is simply impossible to imagine the early Jesus music scene without the presence of this one man. Keaggy had of course already been writing and performing Christian-themed music with his old rock trio Glass Harp, but it’s his first solo recording What A Day that made him a household name among Christian audiences, giving us not only an uplifting, gifted and respected singer/songwriter but a humble guitar hero as well. In contrast to the harder edge of his Glass Harp material, Keaggy chose to work here with a gentler more lyrical blend of acoustic and electric soft rock where beautiful flowing melodies are often woven with complex chords. My eyes are drawn heavenward as I’m taken in by worshipful titles like «Walking With Our Lord», «Rejoice», «Now I Can See», «I Will Sing» and «Hallelujah». And the musicianship is always impeccable. If I had to boil it all down to one album for that proverbial desert island, this would be the one. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th Edition]
As Phil Keaggy recalls, he recorded What A Day in January 1973, “in about a week’s time, with Gary Hedden, up in Cleveland. We’d do two songs a day; record ’em and mix ’em! That’s how we did it.” He adds: “the album came out of my life. «Now I Can See» is the song that really speaks what my heart is saying.”
Sometimes things are meant to be. Such was the case with What A Day. As Keaggy recalls, things started falling into Place: I’d met a man by the name of Al Stevenson who had worked at Channel 25 in Cleveland. Out of the goodness of his heart, he said he would back me on this album project. So he put forth $2,800 and said, “Whatever the cost is, go right ahead. You can pay me back when the album comes out.”
It was really incredible…the desire of my heart for two years before this had been to record an album of songs the Lord had given me. So on January 2, 1973, What A Day began to be recorded. I spent six days in the studio with Gary. Sessions were from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Everything flowed..Gary and I became good friends.
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/what-a-day-40th-anniversary/1162820004)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “This Is What The Lord Will Do For You” – 2:54
A2. “King Of The Jews” – 2:04
A3. “Walking With Our Lord” – 4:17
A4. “A Time And A Place” – 2:44
A5. “Rejoice” – 4:45
Side Two
B1. “What A Day” – 4:50
B2. “Now I Can See” – 5:08
B3. “Behold All Things Become New” – 1:18
B4. “Hallelujah” – 4:41
B5. “I Will Sing” – 3:23
Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl LP by NewSong Records. (According to the March/April 1976 issue of Harmony, Word had signed agreement with New Song Productions to distribute the label under Word’s Jubilation Group. New Song granted distribution rights to Keaggy’s What A Day as well as future releases by Keaggy and Ted Sandquist.) What a Day was digitally remastered by Word in 1990 and re-issued together with the follow-up effort Love Broke Thru on both cassette and CD. A remastered version was re-issued on CD in 2014 entitled What A Day – 40th Anniversary. A 50th Anniversary 3-Disc Deluxe Re-issue was released on November 2023 (Disc1 – the remastered album; Disc 2 – alternate mixes and bonus tracks; Disc 3 – twenty demos and outtakes; 40-page booklet with never-before-seen photos and liner notes).
Available at Bandcamp:
https://pk-deluxestudiovocalalbums.bandcamp.com/album/what-a-day-50th-anniversary-remaster
https://pk-deluxestudiovocalalbums.bandcamp.com/album/what-a-day-disc-2-in-the-studio
https://pk-deluxestudiovocalalbums.bandcamp.com/album/what-a-day-disc-3-demos-outtakes
A full-page advertisement for the CD-reissue of the classic Phil Keaggy albums What a Day and Love Broke Thru was featured in the December 1990 issue of CCM Magazine.
“What A Day”, Live 12-08-1980
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