Phil Comes Alive

Album Review

Phil Pritchett is hardly the first to crib Peter Frampton's breakthrough album title, but Phil Comes Alive holds a similar place in the Texas-based singer/songwriter's career. After several years spent in obscurity, this storming live set from Pritchett and his two-person backing crew (pointedly called the Full Band, and the trio do in fact make more noise than many groups twice their size) introduces the Austin native's tongue-in-cheek swagger to a wider audience. Besides goofy jokes like the Texas über alles anthem "Antarctica U.S.A." (complete with snarky spoken word interludes) and "Playing in a Band," Pritchett has a knack for heart-on-sleeve emotion as well. Both sides are on full display on the excellent opening track, "Rolling," an evocation of endless high school cruising in and around Pritchett's hometown that's heartfelt and slyly funny at the same time. A raucous good time recorded in front of a fairly rowdy audience who were clearly having a blast, Phil Comes Alive is an excellent introduction.