Muriel Anderson — References

2/4

Precious Gems is a record assembled from bonus material from 2003’s uncut gems sessions. The first nine tracks are by all three guitarists, Muriel Anderson, Phil Keaggy and Stanley Jordan. Anderson is a fingerstyle and harp guitarists and Jordan is a jazz guitarist. They’re all three nationally recognized as top talent. Two of the first nine tracks were initially released on uncut gems; the two tracks that featured Jordan as a guest. The rest of the tracks on Precious Gems are the uncut gems tracks but listed here as “bonus.” Only one track from uncut gems is not included in Previous Gems, “The Fawn.” Clear enough?

The new tracks on Previous Gems are about 25 minutes in length. The opener, “Sunrise,” is a warm, quiet piece that’s a bit sleepy until the bridge and everyone wakes up. It feels like a warmup or practice jam. The second track “Chippewah,” goes nowhere, slowly. “Window To The Truth,” is an interesting interpretation of “Do You Know What I know?” “The Gathering,” actually has presence and purpose; a faster track that mostly succeeds. “Snowfall” meanders around in space for a while then ends without notice. “Southern Journey,” has some nice parts. It’s a very loose track with some mistakes and odd directions. Not a song so much as an exploration.

Unfortunately, Precious Gems adds little to the world that didn’t already exist on uncut gems and manages to short shrift uncut gems’ superior material by placing it towards the rear of the album. Anderson and Keaggy made the right call on these sessions originally. Uncut gems should have been rereleased as a deluxe edition with the additional tracks as bonus material. I suspect that Keaggy couldn’t pass up being able to list Jordan as a co-creator of the album so we end up with a disappointing representation of what were pretty good sessions.

4/5

Uncut gems is a collaborative album by Muriel Anderson and Phil Keaggy performing in Keaggy’s studio. Anderson is a fingerstyle and harp guitarist mentored by Chet Atkins. Many of the tracks here are improvised. It’s not always clear who plays lead. I’m going to use the writing credits as a guide.

The album starts off with Anderson’s “Where The Heart Is,” a peaceful song with a strong melody which is followed by Keaggy’s “Tennessee Morning.” An incredible version that feels a lot more at home here than on Keaggy’s rock album 220. “Corazon De Fuego,” is the album’s highlight. It first appeared on Keaggy’s Lights of Madrid album. The classical guitar piece starts off lively then settles down into a quiet plod that swells into a fast bridge and a complicated coda. At over nine minutes, the duo make their craft appear easy. Deceptively so.

Uncut gems slows back down for Anderson’s jazzy “Owl Psalm.” It would be rerecorded for her 2005 album, Wildcat. “Osaka” comes next featuring percussion credited to both Anderson and Keaggy. The song ups the tempo and has more sonic depth than most of the tracks on the album. “Groove Thing” feels a bit out of place. Its a spacey jam with what I believe to be looped in percussion that doesn’t fit well. It builds decently but ends up more showy than good. Probably the weakest track on the album. The album ends with “Spontaneity,” a quiet piece that meanders peacefully before ending in a surprise swell and laughter.

Uncut gems is an amazing little album worth tracking down. Muriel Anderson released uncut gems as a limited release in 2003. Keaggy would put 7 of the 8 tracks onto Precious Gems in 2020.