Phil Keaggy - It's Personal
-- by Stephanie Bargenquast

With lyrics written as poems by Keith Moore ("A Little Bit Of Light") and music by Phil Keaggy, It's Personal is not your typical Phil Keaggy release, if there is such a thing. Many of the words on this album would be just as at home in a poetry recital. You might remember that Uncle Duke was also comprised of poems put to music, however the styles are very different. Uncle Duke was a chisseled war vet with a biting wit; but Keith's poems are more reflective and most center around the introspective spiritual nature of our walk with Christ. I often describe this album to others as like sitting across from you away from the crowd, with just your guitar and listen while you play something new. But I can't say it's at all like a live show--there's no sense of performance or a spotlight anywhere, no fun little improv or experimentation, no ear candy.   It's very intimate; it makes the listener feel they're the only one in the room.  

My favorite tune is the most upbeat and pop-oriented composition on the CD, the Beatle-esque "Lost In You".  I also enjoy  "Whisper", "Job" and  "These Hills".  I've always thought  "These Hills" would sound nice done similarly to  "In Every Cathedral", though the version of  "Whisper" John posted on the GH site was really wonderfully done. Most of the songs don't have an immediately obvious  "hook" to them and the melody isn't always straightforward, so it takes a bit more time for them to make an impression.  But the surprising twists and turns in the melodies have you thinking twice about where the song is headed.

As with Inseparable, hearing the songs live makes listeners take a second look.   And having to think outside the normal 3-minute pop hit every so often is a good thing!  The combination of the words and presentation is significant.  A big budget project wouldn't have done the words justice, and the music would be too minimalist for most other subjects.  While I wouldn't mind seeing some of the individual songs done with more instrumentation, it just wouldn't have been appropriate here, and you wouldn't get the same intimate feel that make the words so powerful.  There may not be anything to "write home about" guitar-wise, but in this case, I think that's a good thing.  

All in all, now that I've gotten used to it, I like It's Personal more than I thought I would on first listen.  It will probably never be my favorite--I'm too much of a Strings Attached/Crimson & Blue type.  But it certainly won't collect much dust, either.  

-- Stephanie Bargenquast

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Posted: June 05, 2004