Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!

JFH Music Review


Phil Keaggy, Live from Kegworth Studio
CLICK COVER TO ENLARGE

Phil Keaggy
Live from Kegworth Studio



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 13 tracks: 70 minutes, 6 seconds
Street Date: October 18, 2011


Given its most curiously-worded title, one might rightly wonder just what sort of undertaking Live from Kegworth Studio actually is. It isn't a live album in the sense of that which is usually performed in front of thousands of screaming fans in a huge arena or a select group of die-hard devotees sitting shoulder to shoulder in an intimate, out-of-the-way night club. Then, again, it isn't exactly like your average studio-based offering, either, where each member of a given band files dutifully into a soundproofed room and goes through a seemingly endless number of takes of their respective contributions to the project at hand - the sum total of which are then pared down, cleaned up and combined together to form a product suitable for mastering.

For the Kegworth effort, Keaggy ensconced himself in his home recording space and laid down non-overdubbed versions of some of his most beloved compositions in a manner that closely mirrors his now-familiar in-concert arrangements. The gloriously swaggering opening cut, "A Sign Came Through a Window," is translated from its spacey, more atmospheric version on the eponymous 1998 album into something altogether more shuffling and funk-filled, sounding, for all the world, like it could have been committed to tape in an abandoned shed in some out of the way swamp. The heavy orchestration of the original 1976 version of "Your Love Broke Through," pushed Keaggy's guitar work to the back of the mix. Here, the song is far more shimmering and intimate, allowing for a much closer look at its beautifully subtle chord structure. Just as notably, the likewise sparkling "What a Day" gains a heightened crispness here some forty years after first appearing on Keaggy's 1973 solo debut.

The real treats here, though, are the pair of reworked tracks from the 1995 True Believer release. It's long considered one of the lesser cousins in the PK discography, thanks to its tepid, overly busy production that all but drowned out Keaggy's usually piquant fret work and virtually relegated him to guest star status on his own album. Here, though, the jazzier, far more improvisational approach employed on that record's title cut offers the listener a far better appreciation of its winsome melodic content and allows Keaggy to extend the original four-and-a-half minute piece to nearly seven minutes without ever seeming gratuitous or long-winded. Just as importantly, the previously lumbering "Salvation Army Band" is retrofitted with a bluesy, slow-simmering groove that pulls out the song's inherent potency and grace and brings them to the forefront where they belong.

Keaggy's covers of "Make You Feel My Love" and "Here Comes the Sun" don't differ all that much from the more familiar versions by Garth Brooks and The Beatles. And the inclusion of no fewer than three tracks from 2007's Acoustic Café is slightly puzzling, given that album's relatively young age and the fact that the renditions presented here are noticeably similar to their Café counterparts. Those minor nits notwithstanding, Kegworth, to its credit, spans just about every phase of Keaggy's four-decade long career. And, despite the occasional bout of overfamiliarity, finally having this diverse array of songs together in one place is, in and of itself, arguably worth the price of admission. Those who have sat in the audience as Keaggy wowed them with his seemingly impossible feats of fret work are already well acquainted with his uncanny ability to refashion his studio material into something altogether new and different in the live setting. For everyone else, the better part of the superbly-performed Kegworth project will be nothing short of a true revelation.

- Review date: 8/22/13, written by Bert Gangl of Jesusfreakhideout.com



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Check out JFH's Lloyd in his first-ever childrens book!

 

. Record Label: Strobie
. Album length: 13 tracks: 70 minutes, 6 seconds
. Street Date: October 18, 2011
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: Amazon Music (MP3)
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. A Sign Came Through A Window (5:34)
  2. Salvation Army Band (7:26)
  3. Your Love Broke Through (3:53)
  4. Here Comes the Sun (3:02)
  5. Shades of Green (9:13)
  6. Chalice (6:08)
  7. Let Everything Else Go (4:38)
  8. What a Day (5:56)
  9. Make You Feel My Love (3:35)
  10. Legacy (6:40)
  11. You Have My Heart (2:34)
  12. The True Believers (6:51)
  13. Give You a Song (4:06)

 

Leave a Comment

 

 

go to main Album review page
go to Album review archive

 


(JFH Sponsor Spot)

 

 

                 
Check out JFH's Lloyd in his first-ever childrens book!

Search JFH




This Wednesday, December 4, 2024
VINYL
Russ Taff A Christmas Song Vinyl [Girder]

This Friday, December 6, 2024
ALBUMS
Blessing Offor Covers - EP [Capitol CMG]
Colony House Every Christmas - EP [Roon]
Jonava Heaven Empyreal EP [The Charon Collective]
Brandon Lake Hard Fought Hallelujah: Heavyweight Edition - EP [Provident]
Ronnie Martin Holiday Fable - Instrumentals [Velvet Blue]
Poor Bishop Hooper As Foretold: Part 1 EP (independent)
Various Artists DREAM Christmas Vol. 8 [DREAM]
Within Silence The Eclipse of Worlds [Ulterium]

SINGLES
Cory Asbury Iris - Single [BEC]
Adriel Cruz Falling For You - Single [Syntax]
Bethel Music He Has Done Great Things (feat. Brian Johnson) [Live] - Single [Bethel]
Calvary MSC Hail the King (ft. Stefan Green) - Single (independent)
Chainstay Re;gret, Re;gress, Re;cover - Single [Small Step Records]
Jon Foreman Stay Wild Wildflower (feat. Kyndal Inskeep) - Single [Capitol CMG]
Forfeit Thee Untrue It’s Colder Now - Single [Rottweiler]
gio., LOGE, H3nry Thr!ll Jumpin' (H3nry Thr!ll Remix) - Single [Capitol CMG]
Mat Kearney Christmas Chevrolet (Jingle Bells) - Single (independent)
Steven Malcolm Stick And Move (feat. Mike Teezy) - Single [Curb]
Michael Monroe Hiding - Single [Provident]
Sheets Nelson I Need You - Single [Church Boy]
No Vain Glory Praise (ft. Mapalo the Girl) - Single [Syntax]
Christian Paul The First Noel - Single [Capitol CMG]
Pulpit Vomit Jingle, Jingle, Jingle (Redux) - Single [Rottweiler / Broken Curfew]
Sidewalk Prophets I Apologize - Single [Curb]
Kristian Stanfill Come to Jesus - Single [Capitol CMG]
TobyMac a lil church - Single [Capitol CMG]
Bay Turner Praise the Lord (Sunday Prelud) - Single [Centricity]
Weeping Hour Misael - Single (independent)
Wind and Sail I’ll Be Home For Christmas - a live postcard - Single (independent)

VINYL
Flyleaf Flyleaf Vinyl [Smartpunk]

Next Monday, December 9, 2024
ALBUMS
Relentless Pursuit Ascension (independent)

Next Wednesday, December 11, 2024
ALBUMS
Alex Henry Foster A Whispering Moment - EP [Hopeless Tragedy]

Next Friday, December 13, 2024
ALBUMS
Shaun P Live at the Jesus Dome [DREAM]

SINGLES
Leslie Jordan Golden Thread (for Jess) - Single (independent)
Leigh Nash Cry (feat. Villiers) [Fear of Tigers Remix] - Single [Visionary]
Stars Go Dim Mama Don't Lie (Alright) - Single [Curb]



For all release dates, click here!
 



Check out the new album from Taylor Holland Armstrong!



Listen to the new album from Within Silence!

Check out depositphotos for royalty free images