2/5
Music to Paint By is a four disc set of albums. Each album has its own subtitle: Splash, Brushstrokes, Electric Blue and Still Life. Distributed by an imprint of Christian label Word, the albums are recorded, engineered and produced by Keaggy and he really needed someone else to be more involved. There is perhaps an album’s worth of good material that deserves salvaging. Word records would later reduce the set down into 2 CDs of material (with bonus tracks) as 2001’s Cinemascapes and In the Quiet Hours.
Splash is a collection of songs with little to do with each other. Most of the songs float around without connecting. “Abstract,” is a strangely titled counterexample; a hard hitting acoustic number. “A Mother’s Son” has a nice Celtic melody. “Shades of Green” is the standout track of the entire four disc set. It’s has a jaunty tune with a strong hook. “Hungarian Sweet,” is a decent, mellow, acoustic number. The rest of the album isn’t worth the investment.
For some reason I can’t fathom, “Shades of Green,” didn’t make it onto the two collection albums Word assembled from the four disc Music to Paint By series. It would become a live stable for Keaggy, at least.
Keaggy rereleased Splash on his Bandcamp with a bonus track in 2019.