Underground: Private Collection is the first in a series of "demo albums" by Christian singer/songwriter/guitarist Phil Keaggy. It was released around November 1983 by the independent label Nissi Records and was first distributed by Sparrow Records until 1984 and then by Lexicon Distribution. Keaggy produced, wrote and arranged the album himself.
Keaggy wrote in the album liner notes about this release:
"Contained in this jacket is a collection of songs that were written between autumn and spring 1982-83. The original list contained more than enough selections for what was intended to be a double album and with a little help from my friends, we whittled the tunes down to accommodate this single LP.
I recorded the entire collection in the basement of my home in Leawood, Kansas using a Teac 144 Porta-Studio, various guitars, synthesizers and a Roland rhythm machine. We then took the 4-track cassette tapes and transferred to a multi-track machine at Weddington Studio in North Hollywood, California, adding only the reinforcement of a Roger Linn drum machine to fatten the tracks.
The uniqueness of this album lies in the fact that all the tunes were recorded at my leisure, in a comfortable setting, without realizing they would be used for an
official record release. Because of this factor, I feel there is a freedom and
confidence expressed in these songs which sets them apart from some of my
other recordings. I sincerely hope you enjoy them as much as I did writing and
recording them.
My initial listeners were those of family and friends — and now we gladly extend
them to you."
Underground is the start of a series of "private collection" music libraries called "Backroom Trax" and this is the first volume. Other "Backroom Trax" volumes were released sporadically into the next decade by way of Keaggy's fan-mail club PKC (Phil Keaggy Club). This release contains two bonus tracks that were, at first, only on cassette tape and then later on CD by Canis Major in 2000 but with a different track order. The album was reissued in 2022 by Strobie Records with the original track order plus bonus track totaling 13 tracks. Underground charted on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart in 1984 and peaked at number 11.
Track listing of the 1983 release with bonus tracks
All songs were written by Phil Keaggy.
1. What a Love -3:52
2. The Ransom (instrumental) -3:49
3. Deadline -3:36
4. Think About It -3:45
5. One in a Million -4:31
6. I Know Someone -3:46
7. The Two of You -4:59
8. Paid in Full (instrumental) -4:20
9. What You Are Inside -3:33
10. Follow Me On (instrumental) -3:20
11 The Survivor -5:24
BONUS TRACKS
12. A Glorious Sunset -4:08
13. When I Say I Love You -3:17
Previous release: Play Thru Me (1982)
Next release: Getting Closer! (1985)
Comentários