Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips
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- The Basics
No, she's not that Sam Phillips. Born Leslie Phillips, the re-christened Sam took her better-known professional name partway through a recording career that had started in Contemporary Christian music, then took a radical pop turn. Liverpool's most famous musical export echoes through "I Need Love," but Phillips, no moptop wannabe, invests the song with an almost desperate plea for the kind of relationship that seems just beyond her grasp. Fab Four influences (circa Help!) emerge again on "Baby I Can't Please You," featuring strings arranged by pop genius/Beach Boy collaborator Van Dyke Parks. And not since the heyday of the British Invasion has a string section melded so seamlessly with an unabashedly rocking tune as it does in "Where the Colors Don't Go" from 1991's Cruel Inventions.
In Next Steps, Sam goes secular, gets artsy, and more.$17.55 The Basics
Name Time Price 1 I Need Love 3:39 $1.29 View In iTunes 2 Where the Colors Don't Go (Alternate Mix) 2:38 $1.29 View In iTunes 3 How to Dream 3:07 $0.99 View In iTunes 4 I Don't Know How To Say Goodbye To You 3:19 $1.29 View In iTunes 5 Reflecting Light 3:17 $0.99 View In iTunes 6 Love Is Everywhere I Go 2:03 $0.99 View In iTunes 7 If I Could Write 2:18 $0.99 View In iTunes 8 Baby I Can't Please You 3:29 $1.29 View In iTunes 9 What Do I Do 4:00 $1.29 View In iTunes 10 Animals On Wheels 3:09 $1.29 View In iTunes 11 Ribot Tripping Over Gravity 1:15 $1.29 View In iTunes 12 Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us 2:43 $0.99 View In iTunes 13 Love Changes Everything 3:11 $0.99 View In iTunes 14 Holding On To The Earth 3:02 $1.29 View In iTunes 15 When I Fall 5:07 $1.29 View In iTunes Total: 15 Songs - Next Steps
It's hard to believe that The Indescribable Wow, Sam Phillips' "debut" album sounded as confident as it did . . . but it wasn't really her first album (see Deep Cuts for more on that). On that disc's "She Can't Tell Me," Phillips proves herself as both a gifted pop historian and a true artist, incorporating sounds and textures from the Everly Brothers to the Bee Gees without seeming retro in the slightest. If you ever wondered what Elvis Costello might sound like if he were a girl being backed up by Billy Preston (and, hey, who doesn't?), check out "Taking Pictures" from Phillips' Fan Dance. And on "All Night," Phillips visits the same dark alleyways Tom Waits frequented in Rain Dogs, looking for love in all the wrong places.
In Deep Cuts, we bid Sam adieu (at least for a moment) and say hello to Leslie.$16.65 Next Steps
Name Artist Time Price 1 I Don't Want To Fall In Love Sam Phillips 2:52 $1.29 View In iTunes 2 Taking Pictures Sam Phillips 1:57 $0.99 View In iTunes 3 Black Sky Sam Phillips 3:03 $0.99 View In iTunes 4 All Night Sam Phillips 4:01 $0.99 View In iTunes 5 Five Colors Sam Phillips 3:42 $0.99 View In iTunes 6 Strawberry Road Sam Phillips 4:05 $1.29 View In iTunes 7 Tell Her What She Wants to Know Sam Phillips 3:27 $0.99 View In iTunes 8 Disappearing Act Sam Phillips 1:51 $1.29 View In iTunes 9 Same Changes Sam Phillips 4:43 $1.29 View In iTunes 10 Lying (Alternate Mix) Sam Phillips 3:49 $1.29 View In iTunes 11 Can't Come Down Sam Phillips 1:58 $0.99 View In iTunes 12 Strength Of My Life (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 5:34 $0.99 View In iTunes 13 Fighting With Fire Sam Phillips 3:00 $1.29 View In iTunes 14 One Day Late Sam Phillips 3:12 $0.99 View In iTunes 15 Edge of the World Sam Phillips 3:01 $0.99 View In iTunes Total: 15 Songs - Deep Cuts
A very Lennon-esque guitar crunches over a swirly vortex of noise in Martinis and Bikinis's "Sign Posts," as Phillips' honey-in-amber voice floats on top like orange juice in a tequila sunrise. And to round it out, we conclude with a couple of tracks from Sam's altar-ego (sic), Leslie Phillips. Back in the '80s, she recorded several very untraditional albums for Christian labels, before her music took her outside those fairly rigid confines. The title track to Dancing With Danger pounds its message with a tom-tom's thump rather than a heavy hand as she rocks out while warning a backsliding wild child that "God is looking at your heart." And the stripped-down "Your Kindness," with only an acoustic guitar for backing, lets the sweetness of her unadorned voice bask in the radiant glow of divine love.
$16.35 Deep Cuts
Name Artist Time Price 1 She Can't Tell Me Sam Phillips 3:59 $1.29 View In iTunes 2 You Fascinate Me So Sam Phillips 5:11 $0.99 View In iTunes 3 By My Spirit (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 4:42 $0.99 View In iTunes 4 Don't Do Anything Sam Phillips 3:28 $0.99 View In iTunes 5 Your Kindness Leslie Phillips 4:02 $0.99 View In iTunes 6 Cold Dark Night Sam Phillips 2:23 $0.99 View In iTunes 7 Sign Posts Sam Phillips 2:19 $1.29 View In iTunes 8 I Can't Stop Crying Sam Phillips 3:22 $1.29 View In iTunes 9 You Lost My Mind Sam Phillips 2:44 $1.29 View In iTunes 10 God Is Watching You (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 3:47 $0.99 View In iTunes 11 Magic for Everybody Sam Phillips 3:21 $0.99 View In iTunes 12 Beyond Saturday Night (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 4:30 $0.99 View In iTunes 13 Flame Sam Phillips 2:38 $1.29 View In iTunes 14 Le Me Give (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 3:47 $0.99 View In iTunes 15 River of Love (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 2:45 $0.99 View In iTunes Total: 15 Songs - Complete Set
Let's see if we can straighten this out: Sam Phillips was born Leslie Phillips. At first she even recorded as Leslie Phillips, cutting several contemporary Christian albums back in the '80s. And even though she had the nickname Sam since she was a child, it wasn't until she turned her back on Contemporary Christian music that she began to use the name Sam professionally, to distinguish her new direction from her old records. Surprise! The name Sam Phillips was already fairly well known to rock 'n' rollers (he did found Sun Records, after all), but she decided to keep the moniker anyway. Sam's musical taste runs to the eclectic (how could it not, having been married to producer T-Bone Burnett?), but the common thread is an uncanny knack for unforgettable melodic hooks and a voice that would be mesmerizing even if she were reading bingo numbers.
$50.55 Complete Set
Name Artist Time Price 1 I Need Love Sam Phillips 3:39 $1.29 View In iTunes 2 Where the Colors Don't Go (Alternate Mix) Sam Phillips 2:38 $1.29 View In iTunes 3 How to Dream Sam Phillips 3:07 $0.99 View In iTunes 4 I Don't Know How To Say Goodbye To You Sam Phillips 3:19 $1.29 View In iTunes 5 Reflecting Light Sam Phillips 3:17 $0.99 View In iTunes 6 Love Is Everywhere I Go Sam Phillips 2:03 $0.99 View In iTunes 7 If I Could Write Sam Phillips 2:18 $0.99 View In iTunes 8 Baby I Can't Please You Sam Phillips 3:29 $1.29 View In iTunes 9 What Do I Do Sam Phillips 4:00 $1.29 View In iTunes 10 Animals On Wheels Sam Phillips 3:09 $1.29 View In iTunes 11 Ribot Tripping Over Gravity Sam Phillips 1:15 $1.29 View In iTunes 12 Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us Sam Phillips 2:43 $0.99 View In iTunes 13 Love Changes Everything Sam Phillips 3:11 $0.99 View In iTunes 14 Holding On To The Earth Sam Phillips 3:02 $1.29 View In iTunes 15 When I Fall Sam Phillips 5:07 $1.29 View In iTunes 16 I Don't Want To Fall In Love Sam Phillips 2:52 $1.29 View In iTunes 17 Taking Pictures Sam Phillips 1:57 $0.99 View In iTunes 18 Black Sky Sam Phillips 3:03 $0.99 View In iTunes 19 All Night Sam Phillips 4:01 $0.99 View In iTunes 20 Five Colors Sam Phillips 3:42 $0.99 View In iTunes 21 Strawberry Road Sam Phillips 4:05 $1.29 View In iTunes 22 Tell Her What She Wants to Know Sam Phillips 3:27 $0.99 View In iTunes 23 Disappearing Act Sam Phillips 1:51 $1.29 View In iTunes 24 Same Changes Sam Phillips 4:43 $1.29 View In iTunes 25 Lying (Alternate Mix) Sam Phillips 3:49 $1.29 View In iTunes 26 Can't Come Down Sam Phillips 1:58 $0.99 View In iTunes 27 Strength Of My Life (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 5:34 $0.99 View In iTunes 28 Fighting With Fire Sam Phillips 3:00 $1.29 View In iTunes 29 One Day Late Sam Phillips 3:12 $0.99 View In iTunes 30 Edge of the World Sam Phillips 3:01 $0.99 View In iTunes 31 She Can't Tell Me Sam Phillips 3:59 $1.29 View In iTunes 32 You Fascinate Me So Sam Phillips 5:11 $0.99 View In iTunes 33 By My Spirit (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 4:42 $0.99 View In iTunes 34 Don't Do Anything Sam Phillips 3:28 $0.99 View In iTunes 35 Your Kindness Leslie Phillips 4:02 $0.99 View In iTunes 36 Cold Dark Night Sam Phillips 2:23 $0.99 View In iTunes 37 Sign Posts Sam Phillips 2:19 $1.29 View In iTunes 38 I Can't Stop Crying Sam Phillips 3:22 $1.29 View In iTunes 39 You Lost My Mind Sam Phillips 2:44 $1.29 View In iTunes 40 God Is Watching You (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 3:47 $0.99 View In iTunes 41 Magic for Everybody Sam Phillips 3:21 $0.99 View In iTunes 42 Beyond Saturday Night (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 4:30 $0.99 View In iTunes 43 Flame Sam Phillips 2:38 $1.29 View In iTunes 44 Le Me Give (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 3:47 $0.99 View In iTunes 45 River of Love (LP Version) Leslie Phillips 2:45 $0.99 View In iTunes Total: 45 Songs
Customer Reviews
Are you kidding me? WTF...this is genius!
Okay, I should be so lucky to see Sam Phillips live. She is beyond what many classify her as pure pop...though that isn't bad. Clever, dark with just enough whimsy. Okay...I'm writing? Don't bother with me...just listen! Check out Strawberry Road, Lying , Same Changes, Black Sky, Reflecting Light (Crazy Heart). She is the American musical version of poet Pablo Neruda. Seen her LIVE, don't miss it...you will dance...do you hear me?...you will dance!
