Phil Keaggy & Randy Stonehill ~ Mystery Highway (album review) ... Elvis & the Bible!

Style: classic rock, Christian
Label: Odd Body Music
Year: 2009
Home: Ohio & California

Members: Phil Keaggy ~ guitar/lead vocals/bass/mandolin/percussion
Randy Stonehill ~ lead vocals/acoustic guitar
John Sferra, Robert Gibbs ~ drums
Leo Lyons ~ bass
Mike Pachelli ~ b. vocals


Christian guitar guru Phil Keaggy has an uncanny knack to sound more like the Beatles than any of the Beatles have since they split. George Harrison wanted to make this type of music - raw, upbeat, melodic & unquestionably religious but he was only able to do so a few times before the audience turned against him ... Phil Keaggy has been lucky enough to make a long career out of it. With famed Christian singer Randy Stonehill by his side, they groove on basic 60's-esque arrangements in an album that's an informal musical sequel to Keaggy's outstanding Sunday's Child, which deliberately aimed for sounding like the Beatles, even using Ringo's drumkit. The fact that the title track "Sunday's Child" reappears here with a new arrangement & the fact that Stonehill guested on Sunday's Child only proves the sneaking suspicion that this is in many ways a sequel to that successful outing. If you liked Sunday's Child there's no way you won't enjoy Mystery Highway, maybe even a bit more as Stonehill is a much stronger & forthright singer than the soft spoken Keaggy. Every song is catchy, pop-infected & nostalgically Americana. In a hard rock forum as this is this might seem an odd inclusion, but decades ago in another musical world this style was hard rock music & without it we wouldn't have what we do today. Though, in such a forum as this one almost don't want to like this album knowing that it doesn't have anything but happy songs & no headbanging guitar solos ... it even has a song about Elvis & the Bible ("Rockin' In A Hard Place") ... but it's so upbeat 50's/early 60's-ish, but you can't help but enjoy it while being transported to the first time you heard Volunteers by the Jefferson Airplane. Let alone, sometimes it's nice to take a break from the normal, let alone turn back the clock. Keaggy & Stonehill undoubtedly know this. If you at all like either Keaggy or Stonehill this is a must own release. If you collect Christian rock this is also a must addition. This might also act as a good introduction to both artists, albeit, it's probably one of the best albums either of them have done. As for the Christian message for the non-Christian readers? You'll probably find a deeper Christian message on a Soundgarden album, believe it or not.

George Harrison ~ Cloud Nine (album review) ... Krishna's musical incarnation!

Style: rock
Label: Dark Horse
Year: 1987
Home: England

Musicians: George Harrison ~ vocals/guitars/keyboards/sitar
Jim Keltner ~ drums
Jeff Lynne ~ guitars/bass/b. vocals/keyboards

Guests: Eric Clapton ~ guitar
Elton John, Gary Wright ~ piano
Ringo Starr ~ drums

Additional: Ray Cooper ~ percussion/drums
Jim Horn ~ sax
Bobby Kok ~ cello
Vicki Brown ~ b. vocals

 

  When I was a boy I had the 45 single (remember those?) of "Got My Mind Set On You". I used to listen to it over & over while mom would be getting ready to take me to school. Coming home I'd go back to my little plastic record player. It was a couple years later that I really began listening to the Beatles, but by then it was too late as I was bound to be a life-long George Harrison fan. The Beatles? Yeah, they're okay, too. It wasn't until a few years ago that I realized that "Got My Mind..." isn't so much a traditional love song but a love song to God ... or I should say that it comes across that way in George's hands as it's not his composition. I always admired George's spiritual inklings, which I share but not because of his direct influence & his almost simplistic guitar solos & songs ... though I'll confess that his solo career is probably the most up & down of all the Beatles with as many oddities as hits. If you include the instrumental soundtrack Wonderwall oddities is an understatement. Cloud Nine, his comeback after five years not recording, is a polished George reining in many of his musical experiments to create almost folksy simple sounding songs, very much like what he'd do with the Travelling Wilburys later, that go for catchy arrangements over fancy musical foreplay with Indian instruments. Also, this album shows that one can write religious songs & still craft a hit ... ie. "Got My Mind Set On You". This album also features the hits "Cloud 9" & "When We Was Fab". One of the strongest traits of George's musical career & the thing that often sticks in my ear, were his simple guitar solos that were cluttered with notes. This album brings back that dynamic in soft arrangements that allow both his guitar & voice to shine. When you've listened to as much Eric Clapton as I have you recognize his sound immediately & he's also no stranger to playing with George, having been the first non-Beatle to play on a Beatles album ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps") & his guitar comes through ("That's What It Takes"). The other guests on the album, Elton John & Ringo Starr, are not so easily recognizable. Sadly, this would be George's last studio album before the incomplete Brainwashed outside of his work with the Wilburys. It's a highlight of his career no doubt & sad that he didn't follow it up, but it was a reminder of how creative he was. Match this album with All Things Must Pass & you've got George's albums & I'll even risk saying that these two far outweigh much of what his fellow Beatles have done with their ongoing plethora of recordings. George was not about holding hands or sing-alongs with catchy "Hey Jude" outros. His songs are introspective musical meditations with his dedication to his religious beliefs unrivaled by few other musicians outside of Cat Stevens. It's hard to not like him. Put this album on with a loved one when you're curled up on the couch & it's raining out & let me know if you agree.