02/02/2009 (10:52 pm)
For Meditation
Enjoy with me one of the finest (albeit least known) guitarists in the world, Phil Keaggy, playing a medley of original tunes called Castle’s Call and Pilgrim’s Flight. At a guess, they’re a musical interpretation of a passage from Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, but I don’t know for sure.
This man gets the sweetest sounds from his instrument…
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6 Comments »
Comment by darkhorse
Incredible Stuff, Phil. Thanks for sharing it.
The only guitarist I’ve ever seen live that I think may be more talented than Keaggy is Leo Kottke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ-r8b2-tO8&feature=related
But Keaggy’s devotion comes through so deeply in his music, I like listening to him better.
Comment by walkercolt
And he gets all that wonderful sound with only four fingers on his picking hand…
There’s an apocryphal story of Jimi Hendricks that when asked “what’s it like to be the best guitarist in the world?” he replied “I don’t know, go ask Phil Keaggy”. Even if not an actual quote, Phil is considered by his peers as one of the top guitarists in the world.
Another “unknown” guitarist to check out is Laurence Juber – not a Christian, but his work is also wonderful. This is one of my favorite pieces of his; “In Your Arms”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG987ARk55I
Comment by Phil
Ok, walkercolt, you made me do it.
It was the Hendrix story; I’ve heard the same story. Want to hear why he said it? There’s a clip on YouTube of Keaggy’s band Glass Harp from 1972, playing a tune called “Never is a Long Time.” Go take a listen, and tell me if you heard any guitarists back in 1972 that could play like this guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJgdNCYt_tA
The tune itself is ok, and the bass and drums are good enough, but not great. It has a Jack Bruce/Cream feel to it, but the sound engineering is pitiful so you can’t hear the lyrics at all. Still, it’s raw, meaty rock like folks were playing in ‘72, and Keaggy’s guitar work is as good as I’ve heard in that genre. I love how he mimics the singer on the choruses. That was 35 years ago. He’s done nothing but improve since.
Comment by Phil
And as for you, darkhorse –
I had to laugh. This is like, I produce a tape of the East Podunk Symphony playing unexpectedly world class music, and you respond “Well, there’s always the New York Philharmonic.” You not only produced the best-known finger-picking guitarist in the world, you link to his best-known piece. And yeah, it’s fabulous. Do you have any idea the finger strength required to pick a 12-string guitar with that speed and clarity?
No question, Kottke is about the best there is in the finger-picking guitar world.
Comment by walkercolt
I’ve heard the Glass Harp song before – a friend of mine is a collector of vinyl records, and that was one of his favorite bands. Nice youtube clip for the guitar work, but yeah, they didn’t know much about capturing sound to video back then.
Comment by darkhorse
Phil -
I cannot listen to Leo Kottke without coming away saying, “Holy $#!%, how the heck does he do that?”
Usually, I leave Keaggy feeling closer to God.
But yeah, I’m glad I could make you laugh at the funny juxtaposition.
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