Phil Keaggy The Song Within Autumn Records Adult Contemporary 11-06-2007

SCORE 83%

Thirty years of performances and over fifty albums haven’t slowed guitar virtuoso down at all; the prolific craftsman is back with The Song Within, a 16 song collection of instrumentals played exclusively on McPherson acoustic guitar. The tone of the album is comfortable and friendly throughout, as if you were sitting across the room from Phil while he casually doodled the afternoon away on his favorite axe. Which is not to say that these songs don’t contain his usual sense of mastery and wonder.

Keaggy kicks things off with the upbeat, sunny “Water Day” and slides easily into the slapping rhythms and organic percussion of “Wow’s the Weather.” The first six tracks include the tender, emotive “Secure” and the tranquil title track, notable for the gentle strings echoing its Beatlesque melody line. My only complaint is that there is little tempo variety between them. Keaggy strongly favors a mid-tempo flow right up to the album standout track, the bouncy “Early One Day,” the first track written for the project. Its jazz keys only add to the track’s delightfully earthy groove.

Things move back into a mellow mood with the lovely layered tracks of “Seems Like Yesterday” and a few more sunny cuts that follow, often enhanced by strings, whistles and gentle percussion. Next must-mention track is the classically-oriented “Duet,” featuring Keaggy playing along with himself on the brilliant McPherson, augmented sensitively by a deftly handled cello. The closing waltz, “A Sense of Time,” is a sweet benediction, its warm chords rich with longing.

It’s impossible to overlook Keaggy’s unchallenged mastery. However, while guitar lovers will embrace The Song Within, others might find it a whole lot of mellow.