Those who gravitate toward the blues-tinged guitar stylings of Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson or Joe Satriani–but secretly wish for far more soul underpinning the flash–will find this latest disc by Christian artist Phil Keaggy a delightful, substantial listen. Tracks here run the gamut from sublime blues (the smoldering, Michael Bloomfield-flavored “Zee Blues”) to ridiculous rock (the short “Phlanagan’s Flow,” where Keaggy unspools guitar parts that bound from speaker to speaker like six-string jumping beans). Also moving is “Prehistrobie K-18,” a minor-key, sound-on-sound meditation cut by Keaggy in 1970 when he was fresh out of high school. Consider this album evidence that Keaggy is a bona fide electric guitar virtuoso–and perhaps one of the most unsung talents around, largely by virtue of his full-time gig in Christian music. But without words to intimidate listeners, “Jammed!” speaks volumes. It’s a rare example of fine, forceful art in what’s normally the most self-indulgent of all genres, jam-inspired instrumental rock.
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