The Song Within by Phil Keaggy

Reviewed by Ian Hayter

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 "Back To 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.