Phil Keaggy: Play Thru Me (1982)

Tracks:

1. Happy
2. Carefree
3. Nobody's Playgirl Now
4. Cherish the Moment
5. She Came to Stay
6. Papa Song
7. The Wall
8. Make a Change
9. Train to Glory
10. Play Thru Me
11. His Master's Voice
12. Morning Light

It's possible to argue that Play Thru Me was Phil's most contradictory album to date.  Or maybe contrasting is a better word.  Case in point:  Look at that brooding cover photograph.  Looks like Phil's getting serious, maybe even melancholy, right?  But then you put on the record and you hear the boppy rock tones of "Happy," with jumpy, jazzy riffs, sprightly rhythms, and a new addition to his bag of tricks--a slide guitar part.  Okay, so maybe it was an "accidental" slide--he actually used a jack plug cover, but I suppose Blind Willie Johnson might have used the same thing had they such things back in the '30s.  The point is, Play is Phil's most optimistic, bright-eyed, and yes, playful album since What a Day.  

But don't mistake "playful" for "lightweight."  Sure, he follows up the opening instrumental with a even more fun song, aptly named "Carefree."  But the playing seems to have taken a bluesier turn...for Phil's style anyway.  He pulls out a cranky, bright tone on his axe that cuts through the fun beats and stands on its own.  Still, the melody is classic Keaggy, and his singing continues the exuberance of Town to Town as he belts out, "Like a child, I'm carefree."  And the soloing on the coda is free-flowing and inspired.  

The happiness parade carries through songs like the the title track, which features Phil mining more of the light blues rock vein with lines like, "Where did I find these chords?  I never had 'em before."  Again, there's some nice vamping at the end, as if God were indeed playing through the man.  "Train to Glory" has a tougher melody, with a faster tempo than usual, but still optimistic and funky.  "The Wall," which is no relation to either Pink Floyd or Kansas, is even faster and features a rapidly rising riff that manages to conjure the image of someone surmounting the titular barrier.    

Then there's the ballads, which center around friendship ("Cherish the Moment") and domestic bliss ("She Came to Stay"), and the family snapshot of "Papa Song," a filler-ish singalong featuring the coos of his wife and infant son.  "His Master's Voice" is a continuance of the musical poetry in the tradition of "As the Ruin Falls," featuring deep acoustic soundscapes.  Overall, these are nice, sometimes teetering on the edge of cutesy, but providing a nice counterpoint to the funkier stuff.  See, it's about the contrast!

As with Town, the big "hit" is an acoustic-driven uptempo closer: "Morning Light" is based on old poetry, but the watery acoustic rhythms are driven by solid rock beats and a big chorus, making it the perfect bright, happy finish to the whole experience.  Phil throws some more of that "light wailing" tone in there for some edge, and it's probably his strongest cut of the period next to "Sunday School."

Speaking of "the middle years," I would have to vote this one with Sunday's Child as the best of his '80s albums.  The happy vibe, which could have gotten too sweet if overplayed, is instead tempered with some of his best playing of the decade, adding a layer of depth and energy that seemed a little lacking on Town to Town.  Plus, I do kinda dig that James Taylor-esque cover photo, although, like Sweet Baby J, you can already tell the hairline is rising.  But it would be a few years before that floppy cap would make its debut.     

Phil Keaggy: Underground (1983)

Tracks:

1. "What A Love"
2. "The Ransom"
3. "Deadline"
4. "Think About It"
5. "One In A Million"
6. "I Know Someone"
7. "A Glorious Sunset"
8. "The Two Of You"
9. "Paid In Full"
10. "What You Are Inside"
11. "Follow Me On"
12. "The Survivor"
13. "When I Say I Love You"

His early 80s Sparrow trilogy complete, Phil camped out in his home studio for a few months with a his guitars, synths, and a drum machine.  With only Bernadette to help on a few vocals, he rekindles the one-man band spirit of What a Day, 80s style.  Originally released as Private Collection Vol. 1, these home recordings would represent Phil Keaggy as the Mad Musical Scientist, concocting weird formulas and dangerous elixirs too volatile for any record executive.   Okay, maybe not that mad, but still, he was sitting simultaneously in the artist's, producer's, and engineer's seats, and that's always a setup for self-indulgent disaster.   

Luckily, Phil is not arrogant enough to let such freedom overwhelm his sense of taste.  The resulting stack of tapes were assembled by the tiny Nissi label and released as Underground in '83, and present the man in a boxy, pixelated environment that screams it time period like never before.  If you ever wondered what Phil Keaggy would sound if he were hanging out with, say, Jan Hammer, this is your album.  That's not to say it's a bad record, but it is what it was:  High quality demo material with all the trappings of any self-respecting songwriter of the day.  The ideas and sounds are probably as good as they would be had they been done in Hollywood or Nashville, just with fewer personnel. 

 
If there were a pick for a single, it would probably be the lead-off track "What a Love," a mid-tempo rocker that bops along on an electronic beat and a typically bright Keaggy chorus melody.  Of course, it's not the best song on the album.  There's "The Ransom," a brooding instrumental with a quasi-metal theme and icy keyboards, and probably the darkest thing Phil had written up to that point.  Another rocking instrumental is "Follow Me On," which indeed sounds like the successor of "Follow Me Up" from Master.  There's the retro 50s feel of "One in a Million," The moody minor key folk of "When I Say I Love You" (written for new daughter Alicia Marguerite), and the slightly-cheesy romance of "The Two Of You," where Phil plays wedding singer for some friends' nuptials.  All surrounded by the requisite keyboard beds, fills, and metallic drum beats.

But the best track is "The Survivor," a stirring song written from the perspective of a Holocaust prisoner.  With some of his best acoustic rhythm playing and a haunting melody, it's an unexpectedly heavy spot at the end of a relatively easygoing record.  The song proved to have some staying power, as Phil would remake it on his True Believer album.

It would be easy, and perhaps even a bit justified, to dismiss Underground as a dated, under-produced curio of 80s period pieces, made for the benefit of the artist and a few diehards.  And while there are some painful moments of oscillator overload, they're not enough to render the songs unlistenable.  Mostly, it finds its value as a fun experiment, which for Middle Period Phil is still worth a listen.