1. One Day At a Time - 3:402. Never Is a Long Time - 3:26
3. Just Always - 5:02
4. Special Friends - 2:43
5. Coming Home - 3:32
6. Song of Hope - 4:23
7. Child of the Universe - 3:01
8. Mountains - 4:01
9. The Answer - 2:40
10. Dawn of a New Day - 2:56
Fans of mind-blowing guitar playing need to give this album a listen. Phil Keaggy's lightning-fast licks, liquid tone, and creative fusion of rock, jazz, classical, and folk elevate an otherwise pedestrian set of songs. The songs fall into the general category of Beatles-and-Woodstock-influenced 70's rock without necessarily going all the way to psychedelic. Ambition and eclecticism are the name of the game, and the enthusiasm of the band makes up for some stylistic missteps.
There are five objectively good songs here. "One Day At a Time" opens with a classical guitar intro and Keaggy's distinctive vocal, then transitions to an electrifying instrumental where all three players (Dan Pecchio, bass, and Jon Sferra, drums) shine. "Special Friends" isn't particularly complex, but it's just a happy song with great harmonies and fun guitar breaks. "Song of Hope" boasts great texture, mysterious volume-pedal guitar swells, muscular bass lines, melodic vocals, and creative chord changes. More classical overtones and creative chording come to the fore in "The Answer", an unabashedly evangelistic song in the style of Keaggy's solo work. Finally, "Dawn of a New Day" provides another upbeat rocker to close the proceedings.
The songs I've left out aren't necessarily bad, they just err in different ways. The guitar solo that closes "Never Is a Long Time" is outstanding, but the verse/chorus structure before it is a fairly bland hard rock blues. "Just Always" and "Child of the Universe" are the two ballads on the album, and both lack a great melody to carry them. "Coming Home" is marred by a megaphonic rhyme scheme ("Sitting at the station/I've got no reservations"), and "Mountains" has a bizarre bass drum roll as part of its regular rhythm that distracts from the otherwise enjoyable country-rock and harmonizing.
On the whole, I think this album is a stellar example of raw talent on display. All three musicians have considerable chops, and each is eager to demonstrate his ability. This pays off on some songs but proves distracting in others. The energy of youth is still unrestrained by the wisdom of discretion.
Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 lightning-fast licks
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