Description
The Song Within is an instrumental album by the American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Phil Keaggy, independently released on Autumn Records in October 2007. This instrumental acoustic CD was done specifically for McPherson guitars. “New Year’s Eve” features Muriel Anderson.
Phil Keaggy has been delighting audiences around the world since he left Glass Harp to go solo in 1972. Having released over 30 albums, Keaggy still manages to delight with this, his latest offering. There are shades of his previously acclaimed work on ‘The Wind And The Wheat‘ and ‘Beyond Nature‘, but these 16 tracks take us well beyond the quality of those albums with a great mixture of ambient, jazz and folk styles. There are strong melodies in all of these songs, so it’s not just virtuoso twiddling, and the background mix of cello, piano, flutes and strings (with a dash of tastefully understated percussion) produces a wonderful melange of unmissable tunes, all showcasing the extraordinary sound of Keaggy’s McPherson guitars. The closing «A Sense Of Time» is sublime, and the variety of tracks such as «Noah’s Shuffle», «Willow Tree» and «New Year’s Eve» (with the wonderful Muriel Anderson – catch her and Keaggy together with Laurence Juber on YouTube) make this a subtly textured treat. [Ian Hayter, Cross Rhythms, February 2009]
Phil Keaggy notes on “The Song Within (the Kegworth mixes)”, digitally released September 2, 2020
This special collection is very dear to my heart, “instrumentally speaking”! I’ve recorded a lot of acoustic music in my lifetime as a guitarist. Some of my favorite instrumental albums feature a special guitar.
On The Master and The Musician (1978), I played a Mark Evan Whitebook for my acoustic. It was a dreadnought shape with a cedar top. Mark owns that special guitar today. He’s a fine luthier.
Then I was introduced to James Olson and his guitars around 1982. It’s my primary acoustic guitar for concerts and most of my studio recordings. James is a fine luthier as well. Two of my best albums IMHO are The Wind and The Wheat and Beyond Nature which feature the Olson guitars.
Del Langejans is also a world class guitar builder. I played Del’s guitars on Acoustic Sketches and Lights of Madrid and also toured internationally with his fine guitar. I’m grateful to have known these great men of artistic talent and guitar building. I might add to this list 2 other fine acoustic guitar builders – Tom Bedell and Sam Skinner.
I’ve written and recorded a number of songs with these guitars as well… but for the purpose of this musical collection, The Song Within, I wanted friends who haven’t heard this music to hear how good this guitar sounds!
I was invited in 2005 to record a collection of my own songs for Autumn Records and the McPherson Guitar company. I recorded that year, not only one album, but two. The 1st was Phantasmagorical and the album chosen for release by them was The Song Within. In this collection, I wanted folks to hear my music, of course, but also the clarity and precision of Matt McPherson’s guitar, which I exclusively used for all acoustic parts.
My former albums were, in a sense, a calling card, an advert as well for the various guitars I had used. There is no charge for The Song Within on this bandcamp site, only for the Kegworth mixes, which were the original tracks presented to the record label for further production… and, it was beautifully produced by Dennis Patton, who did all the gorgeous overdubs and sweetening. He added depth to my original recordings and did a stellar job on the final mixes! You could say, this collection gives the listener the full spectrum of the quality of the guitar.
If you are interested in a McPherson guitar, here is their website: mcphersonguitars.com
Thank you for listening, and may you all be blessed with the gifts you were given!
– Phil Keaggy, 2020
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-song-within/267613588)
CD tracklist:
01. Water Day – 4:00
02. Wow’s the Weather – 4:14
03. Secure – 3:34
04. Trailwalker – 0:58
05. The Song Within – 3:12
06. Early One Day – 3:37
07. Seems Like Yesterday – 3:45
08. McPhernought – 1:23
09. The Blue Trail – 3:38
10. Noah’s Shuffle – 4:24
11. Addison’s Talk – 4:20
12. Willow Tree – 1:18
13. Duet – 1:53
14. New Year’s Eve – 3:17
15. The North Folk – 1:49
16. A Sense of Time – 4:06
Note: Available at Bandcamp: https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/the-song-within
The Song Within (the Kegworth mixes) was digitally released in September 2020, available at Bandcamp: https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/the-song-within-the-kegworth-mixes
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