Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

JFH Music Review




Phil Keaggy
Roundabout



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 18 tracks: 50 minutes, 5 seconds
Street Date: November 7, 2006


With an established reputation among Christian circles as an accomplished - even legendary - guitarist Phil Keaggy releases Roundabout, a purely instrumental album designed to highlight Keaggy's versatile skills as a player and arranger. Predominantly acoustic in nature, the album's 18 tracks were constructed by looping multiple guitar parts together, achieving an intricately layered sound that feels almost orchestral in parts.

Overall, Roundabout is well played, showcasing Keaggy as an exemplary musician. It also manages to wear its influences well, as ample strains of blues, funk and jazz are woven throughout each track, giving Roundabout a much needed sense of character that instrumental albums must possess in order to remain listenable. Keaggy's arrangement skills are also greatly displayed here; each guitar track is layered thoughtfully and beautifully within the mix without it sounding too cluttered.

Although it is sonically intriguing, Roundabout is, in the end, a novel concept that appears more interesting than it actually is. The album's 18 tracks feel less like separate compositions than they do different variations on essentially the same theme, giving Roundabout a scattershot and unfinished vibe at times. Most of the songs are too short, fading out before accomplishing anything interesting, and the ones that do take their time lack a strong sense of direction or melody, sounding more like structureless acoustic noodling than they do actual songs. Some of the compositions sound promising (like the multi-part opener "Skipping Stones" and a cover of the jazz standard "Blue Moon") but the rest are mostly a pretty-sounding jumble of seemingly half-baked ideas and incomplete songs.

Ultimately, Roundabout is an idea that sounds brilliant on paper but less so in execution. Fans of Phil Keaggy's instrumental work will still no doubt want to check out this release (and perhaps even those whose interests were piqued by his guest appearance on the instrumental "Eternal" on P.O.D.'s 2003 release Payable on Death). Though not great, Roundabout is still a fairly listenable album from one of Christian music's truly gifted musicians.

- Review date: 10/7/06 by Sherwin Frias



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

 

CD

Buy This CD Online


. Record Label: Strobie Records
. Album length: 18 tracks, 50 minutes and 5 seconds
. Street Date: November 7, 2006
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. Skippin Stones
  2. Blue Moon
  3. Is It Going
  4. Cayenne Loop
  5. 2nd Avenue
  6. South of the Boredom
  7. Happy Feet
  8. J-Loop
  9. Loop Frog
  10. Cousin Nit
  11. Loop a Loola
  12. Steel Engine
  13. Troops
  14. Helix the Cat
  15. Hoopy
  16. Zooloop
  17. Last Mile
  18. Merry Go Round
spacer Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics
Click For Audio Sample   Click For Song Lyrics

 

 

go to main Album review page
go to Album review archive

 

 

                 
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

Search JFH



This Tuesday, September 9, 2025
DC3 Bake Off - A COLORS SHOW - Single (independent)
Former Ruins In Your Field - Single (independent)
John Van Deusen Hallelujah Story - Single [Anotherland]

This Friday, September 12, 2025
ALBUMS
Jervis Campbell Good Grief! (independent)
Demon Hunter There Was A Light Here [Weapons MFG]
Roxanne Grace Try Again [DREAM]
Ellie Holcomb Far Country [Capitol CMG]
Sower Contemporary Christian Machine - EP (independent)
twenty one pilots Breach [Fueled By Ramen]
Phil Wickham Song of the Saints [Fair Trade]

SINGLES
BASECAMP Under the Blood (feat. Knaladeus) - Single [Polished Arrow Music]
Dan Bremnes Find Yourself - Single [Curb]
Matt Hammitt Days God Gave - Single (independent)
Amy Jay Margins - Single (independent)
The Undertaking! Forever Remember - Single (independent)

Next Friday, September 19, 2025
ALBUMS
Sho Baraka Midnight of a Good Culture (independent)
Influence Music One True God (independent)
LO Worship Songs For the Anxious Heart [Integrity]
Mainstream Worship Dwelling Place [DREAM Worship]
Lauren Mann Heaven - EP (independent)
Mat & Savanna Just How Strong You Are (independent)
Joel Vaughn TBA [DREAM]
Zane Walls Dry Bones - EP [DREAM]
Zach Williams Jesus Loves [Provident]
Paul Wright GOD SONGS (independent)

SINGLES
Frankie Orella Like This - Single (independent)
John Waller & WallerCo & Eric Lee Brumley Surprise Me - Single [DREAM]


For all release dates, click here!
 

Join honey and save on online purchases!
Need proofreading and editing help? We've got you covered! Click here to learn more
Check out depositphotos for royalty free images