Description
Town to Town is the fifth solo album the American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Phil Keaggy, released on Sparrow Records in August 1981. The album was recorded by Bob Cotton at Sound Recorders in Kansas City, Kansas; and at Paramount Recording Studios in Hollywood, California; with Phil Keaggy and Cotton producing. All songs written by Phil Keaggy except “Rise up O Men of God” featuring music (as well as adapted words) by Keaggy. “What a Wonder You Are” is a duet with Michele Pillar.
Town to Town was included in the Editors’ Choice 1981 list of CCM Magazine, a list featuring 15 albums released during 1981, before the end of November. Guitar Player Magazine stated that Phil Keaggy is “an electric showman, he fires off a white-hot blend of flash and chops… scat singing …Hendrix licks and rock riffs.” And the album track “Wished You Were There” was featured as a Billboard Magazine Pick.
Sparrow Records has just started a pop radio push for Phil Keaggy’s single, «Wished You Were There», from his ‘Town To Town’ LP. The song, a Billboard “recommend” last week, contains no religious references. It is packaged and displayed in a two-color universal sleeve on which the Sparrow logo is roughly equal in size and prominence to the MCA Distribution Corp. trademark. (MCA and Sparrow have a mutual distribution agreement.) Nothing on the sleeve indicates a gospel content. [Excerpt from the article ‘Gospel Labels Downplaying Religious Role’ featured in the April 10, 1982 issue of Billboard Magazine]
When it comes to playing guitar, Phil Keaggy is the best – but then most people have guessed that by now. After his last three albums, you get the feeling that the man can do no wrong, yet to date, Town To Town (Sparrow, SPR 1053), is probably his best work. This is also the type of album that every guitar player should have because while Eric Clapton is melodic and Jeff Beck is fluid and Jimi Hendricks was aggressive and raw, Phil Keaggy does it all.
Town To Town is a little more poppy than Keaggy’s previous LPs (except, perhaps, portions of Ph’Lip Side.) In fact, some have said that although Keaggy obviously looks to Christ for his inspiration, he must be listening to Billy Joel and Rush on the side. (Much credit for the musical excellence of this album, by the way, also, lies with keyboardist Tom Keene, Alex Acuna’s percussion, and the exacting production of Phil and Bob Cotton.)
There’s a consistent depth to Town To Town that much of Ph’lip Side failed to maintain. And there’s a breadth of vision here that vinyl barely contains. The lyrics are so thoughtful and gentle, the music so tasteful and technically excellent that it is difficult to say one cut surpasses another.
The highlight of this album is «What A Wonder You Are», a duet with Michele Pillar. Another welcome surprise is «Full Circle», a song Phil wrote several years ago for former Ronnete Nedra Ross. Phil’s version is a little different from Nedra’s of course, but it has the same energy. Three other excellent cuts are «Our Lives», «In Between», and «Rise Up 0 Men Of God» (the traditional song with words and music adapted with a decidedly Scots-Irish rock flair by Keaggy.) «Rise Up…», by the way, could easily cross into several radio formats.
Phil also gets vocal assistance from wife Bernadette, Bruce Hibbard and Peter York, as well as from Pillar. Players include: Dean Hagan and Jim DeLong on drums, Leon Gaer on bass, Alex Acuna on percussion, synthesizer by Richard Souther, Fender Rhodes by Tom Keene, Curt Barlett on guitar and Dan Murdock on Rhodes piano.
An interesting note about the album’s inventive and well-executed cover is that the man driving the taxi is Sparrow Record president Billy Ray Hearn. [Brian Healy, CCM, November 1981]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/town-to-town-remastered/1654673416)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Wished You Were There” – 3:01
A2. “Full Circle” – 4:15
A3. “Life Love and You” – 4:20
A4. “Town to Town” – 6:45
Side Two
B1. “What a Wonder You Are” – 4:00
B2. “In Between” – 3:01
B3. “Our Lives” – 5:23
B4. “Rise up O Men of God” – 4:10
B5. “Let Everything Else Go” – 4:50
Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl LP by Sparrow Records. “Three Great LPs on two Cassettes/CDs“: Town to Town was digitally remastered by Word in 1990 and re-issued together with Ph’lip Side and Play Thru Me on two CDs/cassettes.
The original album, as well as a Deluxe-Bonus Disc, are available at Bandcamp:
https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/town-to-town
https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/town-to-town-deluxe-bonus-disc
CREDITS. Produced by Phil Keaggy and Bob Cotton. Engineered by Bob Cotton with second engineers Denny Siegrist and John Pooley. Recorded at Sound Recorders, Kansas City, KS and Paramout Studios, Hollywood, CA. Arranged and written by Phil Keaggy. Art Direction and Design by Stan Evenson Design, Inc. Cover Coordination by B. Charlyne Hinesley. Logo Design by Barbara Adams and Ron Brant. Photography by Alan Dolgins.
Musicians: Phil Keaggy (Vocals, Guitar on all tracks, Bass on tracks A3 and B2), Tom Keene (Piano on tracks B1 and B2, Fender Rhodes on track A4, Synthesizer on tracks B2 and B5), Dan Murdock (Fender Rhodes on track B5), Richard Souther (Synthesizer – Tracks: A4, B3, B4), Curt Bartlett (Guitar on tracks B2 and B5), Leon Gaer (Bass – Tracks: A1, A2, A4, B1, B3, Acoustic Bass on tracks A4 and B3), Lee Jones (Fretless Bass on track B5), Dean Hagen (Drums – Tracks: A1, A2, A4, B1, B3), Jim Delong (Drums on tracks B2, B4, B5; Percussion on track B4), Alex Acuña (Percussion – Tracks: A2, A3, A4, B1, B2). Vocals: Bruce Hibbard (Backing Vocals on tracks A2 and B4), Michele Pillar (Lead Vocals on track B1, Backing Vocals, Track A2), Bernadette Keaggy (Vocals on track B3), Peter York (Vocals on track B4).
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