"...Blood-Soaked
Charlie On A Silk-Stained Bedsheet..."
By
the time the long-haired, bearded, enigmatic, nomadic Texan Songstrel that is/was
Shawn Phillips had reached the release of his much talked-about LP "Collaboration" on A&M Records in the early months of 1971 - he was already on his fifth album
since 1965. Part of his recorded history had seen him co-write "Little
Thin Soldier", "Mellow Yellow" and "Sunshine Superman"
with Donovan and reputedly sang backing vocals on The Beatles "Lovely
Rita" for their epoch-making 1967 LP "Sgt. Peppers..."
So
why – in all likelihood – have you never heard of the man? Phillips, his nasal
whine and canvas of swirling densely worded songs that border the paths of
genius and pretentiousness (gig main-man and musical catalyst Bill Graham once
called Phillips "the best kept secret in the music business...") has
always been an acquired taste. Like Folk-Rock and Country-Rock contemporaries
of his - Tim Hardin, Harry Chapin, Mickey Newbury and England's Roy Harper and
even Duncan Browne jump to mind - Phillips threaded his own song-path
regardless. Shawn Phillips made unusual and even difficult albums – not really singles – and you took as you found.
Which
brings us to the two BGO offerings on beautifully transferred digital display here
- "Collaboration" was done in London with a long session-list of luminaries
(see list below) and Bowie's strings-arranger Paul Buckmaster on two tracks. Many cuts segue into each other, Collaboration" being his third of an eventual nine albums for A&M Records. The second choice (again on A&M) is his sixth platter called
"Faces" which is in fact an anthology of unreleased SP music recorded
between March 1969 and April 1972. Four were recorded in London and four in the USA, but the LP was dominated by an oddity of sorts. At nearly
fourteen minutes of semi-Prog soundscapes, over on Side 2 of that LP
"Parisian Plight II" featured no less than Steve Winwood of Blind Faith and Traffic fame, Caleb Quaye of
Hookfoot and Elton John's Band with Trumpeter Henry Lowther and Saxophonist Chris
Mercer on Horns abutted by Country superstar Glen Campbell doing Pedal Steel! Here
are the convoluted details...
UK released October 2021 - "Collaboration/Faces" by SHAWN PHILLIPS on Beat Goes On BGOCD1469 (Barcode 5017261214690) offers 2LPs from 1971 and 1972 Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:
CD1
"Collaboration" (54:09 minutes):
1.
Us We Are [Side 1]
2.
Burning Fingers
3.
Moonshine
4.
For Her
5.
What's Happenin' Jim?
6.
Armed
7.
Spaceman [Side 2]
8.
Times Of A Madman Trials Of A Thief
9.
8500 Years
10.
The Only Logical Conclusion
11.
Coming Down Soft & Easy
12.
Springwind
Tracks
1 to 12 are his fifth studio album "Collaboration" - released February
1971 in the USA on A&M Records SP 4324 and in the UK on A&M Records
AMLS 64324. Produced by JONATHAN WESTON at Trident Studios - it didn't chart on
either country.
MUSICIANS:
SHAWN
PHILLIPS - Guitars, Keyboards, Lead Vocals
ANN
ODELL [of Blue Mink, Chopyn and Roger Glover] - Electric Piano and
Piano
TONY
WALMSLY [of Napoli Centrale] - Guitar
PETER
ROBINSON - Piano and Organ, Bass on "Moonshine", Orchestral Arrangements
on "The Only Logical Conclusion"
MARTYN
FORD – French Horn
BRIAN
OGDERS [of Sweet Thursday and Apollo 100] - Bass
JOHN
GUSTAFSON - Bass on "Springwind" and "Spaceman"
BARRY
de SOUZA [of Trees] - Drums
DAVID
KATZ and Orchestra
PAUL
BUCKMASTER – Cello and String Arrangements on "Us We Are" and
"Armed"
CD2
"Faces" (47:13 minutes):
1. Landscape [Side 1]
2. 'L' Ballade
3. Hey Miss Lonely
4. Chorale
5. Parisian Plight II [Side 2]
6. We
7. Anello (Where Are You)
8. I Took A Walk
Tracks
1 to 8 are his sixth studio album "Faces" - released December 1972 in
the USA on A&M Records SP 4363 and early 1973 in the UK on A&M Records AMLS 64363.
Produced by JONATHAN WESTON at Trident Studios - it peaked at No. 52 on the US Billboard
Album charts (didn't chart UK).
MUSICIANS:
SHAWN PHILLIPS - Guitars, Lead Vocals
JOHN PIGNEGUY and MARTYN FORD - French Horns on Track 1
PAUL BUCKMASTER - Piano and Cello on Track 1, Orchestral Arrangements on Track 2
DAVID KATZ and Orchestra - on Track 2
SNEEKY PETE KLEINOW - Pedal Steel on Track 3
LEE SKLAR - Bass on Track 3
STEVE WINWOOD - Organ and Organ Bass on Track 5
CALEB QUAYE - Lead Guitar on Track 5
GLEN CAMPBELL - Pedal Steel Guitar on Track 5
HENRY LOWTHER and CHRIS MERCER - Trumpet and Saxophone on Track 5
REME KABAKA - Percussion on Track 5
JOE SAMPLE, JACK CONRAD and ED GREENE - Piano, Bass and Drums (respectively) on Tracks 6, 7 and 8
BRIAN OGDERS - Bass on Track 1
The now celebrated look of card slipcase given to these BGO compilations looks classy and even better is the 20-page booklet with lyrics ("Collaboration"), photos and new liner notes from JOHN O'REGAN. The facts and details come on strong for a musician as eclectic as the undefinable Phillips - a Texan brat who picked up the guitar aged 7 and hasn't stopped into his 80s. But the great news is gorgeous Remasters for albums notoriously brought down by the restraints of microgrooves.
Always
a compromise at 54+ minutes on a Vinyl LP – "Collaboration" on CD1 here blasts that out into
space. The Remaster is gorgeous especially on those passages where some of the
songs literally descend into a whisper or a breath or just a few acoustic notes
being picked – it’s all clear and warm and you can crank it at last without
being met with a wall of hiss. Long-time Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON did the
Remasters and both albums are beautifully transferred. To the tunes...
"Us We Are" bursts out of your speakers in a full-on Jose Feliciano Spanish Acoustic Guitar flourish, only to settle down into a calmer strum and his "People say we are sane, lock your doors and play the games..." voice and words. Deep lyrics and impressive arrangements abound in "Burning Fingers" and especially the even better "Moonshine" where his acoustic strums and voice are given a flange effect (very Roy Harper circa "Stormcock"). Gorgeous audio as it segues into "For Her" too.
After
the awful vocal goof-offs of "What's Happenin' Jim?" where he wails
insufferable, there are few better examples of how intricate and multi-layered his music could be than "Armed". Ending Side 1 with a long statement of style and lyrics, it's a mad and brilliant 6:50 minute mix of Cat Stevens
Acoustic meets Greenslade Prog keyboards via the Funk Guitar of Mother's Finest
with Strings arranged by Paul Buckmaster! It's all over the place and yet
utterly compelling in the strangest way. A track like "Armed" is probably impossible to catagorize, but its 1971 adventurous, out there and as I said earlier, a perfect example of the response Phillips' Marmite Music evokes in listeners - love or - or loath it.
Over
on Side 2, his lyrics (reproduced in the booklet) to "Times Of A Madman
Trials Of A Thief" are deep and brilliant - stuff like "...imminent
idols absurdly chant...justification to rave and rant...peace is the endlessly
crest of the hill...quietly shattering and soft as a quill..." We
then go for the big finish – all 9:35 minutes of it. The face of man is turned
into a scour for "Springwind" – but there is a chance of regrowth
with that second chance blowing through the bamboo leaves. Delicate piano and
subtle bass notes accompany the largely acoustic structure – a quiet-to-loud
Side 2 Aqualung-type ender Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull might have wanted to
pen. On vinyl this song was always a compromise, but here the Remastered Audio
is clean and glorious and fans will love it (lyrics from it title this review).
The second platter is dominated by that Side 2 opener "Parisian Plight II" - a near fourteen minute slice of improvisation that veers in and out of genres but remains Funky and Cool at its core. These tracks of 1969 music remained in the A&M vaults for years, but with the serious names involved, didn't stay there long. I like the calmer heads music of "We", "Anello (Where Are You)" and "I Took A Walk" - all three recorded April 1972 in Clover Studios, New York with Joe Sample of The Crusaders helped by Jack Conrad on Bass and Ed Greene on Drums. You can so hear why they were un-issued in some cases, but again, like the "Collaborations" set - there are goodies worth owning.
In his typically superb liner notes, John O'Regan is right to call Shawn Phillips' music of the Seventies as being imbibed with 'echoes of Tim Buckley' - but maybe not as good or accessible. But make no mistake, here is a voice, talent, vision and tune-smith worth the investigation. And with such stellar presentation and top quality audio, a top job done...
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