GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS
''THE NARROWS''
MARCH 18 2016
54:20
**********
01 - Tennessee Rain 04:45
02 - Smoke And Sparks 03:39
03 - Moccasin Creek 02:38
04 - Cry Cry 04:18
05 - Holy Irons 04:34
06 - Yellow Weeds 05:12
07 - Loaded Gun 02:41
08 - Rolling Pin 03:27
09 - Taking On Weight In Hot Springs 03:40
10 - Just Another River Town 04:03
11 - No Mercy In July 04:41
12 - San Andreas Fault 05:42
13 - Find My Way 04:53
All Tracks By Grant-Lee Phillips
**********
Jamie Edwards/Organ
Eric Gorfain/Fiddle
Russ Pahl/Pedal Steel Guitar
Grant-Lee Phillips/Baritone, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Piano, Pump Organ, Resonator, Slides, Vocals
Lex Price/Banjo, Bass (Electric), Bass (Upright), Bouzouki, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Jerry Roe/Drums, Marimba, Vibraphone, Vocals (Background)
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Mark Deming
Grant-Lee Phillips has a voice glorious and strong enough that he could sing nearly anything and his loyal fan base would be happy to hear it. But after moving from California to Tennessee in 2013, Phillips sounds like a happier and invigorated man on 2016's The Narrows, which boasts a lively and engaging spark. On the surface, The Narrows doesn't feel all that much peppier than most of Phillips' solo catalog, but the pace of this music is less lazy than contemplative. Backed by Jerry Roe on drums and Lex Price on bass, most of these tunes settle into an easy but determined groove, but when Phillips turns up the gas on "Loaded Gun" and "Tennessee Rain," the effect is powerful and liberating. There's a subtle passion in Phillips' performances here that makes all the difference, a pale fire that brings these tunes to life. Though he's moved south, Phillips writes a lot about his memories of life in the West on The Narrows. He calls up evocative images of family, childhood, and the extended landscapes of California, and the mood is more artful than nostalgic, finding beauty in both good and harrowing experiences. Perhaps Phillips had to leave California behind to see it clearly, but The Narrows is a striking chronicle of life in the Golden State. As a piece of record making, The Narrows is simple but deeply satisfying, as good as anything Phillips has made since going solo. Hearing him sing is always a richly enjoyable experience, but The Narrows delivers as both form and content. It's recommended to anyone who has ever found pleasure in his work.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Andy Kellman
After spending his formative years in Stockton, California, Grant-Lee Phillips headed to Los Angeles to study film. Finding himself beneath the spell cast by local bands like the Rain Parade and the Dream Syndicate, Phillips soon partnered with Stockton acquaintance Jeff Clark to form Shiva Burlesque. The band dissolved after two critically acclaimed records, and Phillips began writing and demoing under the Grant Lee Buffalo alias. Following several solo performances, he invited former bandmates Joey Peters and Paul Kimble to join him, and the trio signed to the Warner Bros subsidiary Slash Records in 1992.
Phillips' golden, honey-soaked voice had largely gone to waste in Shiva Burlesque, but the new band enabled him to step out as a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Grant Lee Buffalo went on to release four very different LPs, although a cult following, several successful tours, and across-the-board critical acclaim (Phillips was voted Rolling Stone's Male Vocalist of the Year following the second LP) didn't translate into strong sales. Frustrated with his label's dead-on-arrival promotion, Phillips asked for his band to be released from their contract, and he was obliged. (It was erroneously reported that he had been dropped.) Phillips dissolved his band, anxious to forge a new path.
Ladies' Love Oracle
In October of 1999, he headed to Jon Brion's studio and recorded a handful of new songs, played exclusively by himself. Dubbed Ladies' Love Oracle, the album was self-released the following year online; Phillips also sold it during his numerous appearances at Largo in Hollywood. After landing a new contract with Zoe/Rounder -- and making the first of many appearances on the popular comedy-drama Gilmore Girls, as a roaming town troubadour -- he issued the excellent Mobilize in 2001. The next year, Rounder reissued Ladies' Love Oracle in time for Phillips' joint tour with Kristin Hersh and Joe Doe. Virginia Creeper followed in 2004, marking the first time that Phillips had consciously eschewed all electric guitars in favor of a stripped-down, folksy sound. A covers album, Nineteeneighties, appeared in 2006, and Strangelet arrived one year later. For his next effort, Phillips assembled a band that featured Jay Bellerose, Paul Bryan, and Jamie Edwards, all of whom spent five days recording 2009's Little Moon.
Walking in the Green Corn
In October 2012, Phillips, who is descended from the Creek and Cherokee Native American tribes, released the album Walking in the Green Corn, featuring several songs informed by his indigenous heritage. In 2013, Phillips and his family left California to settle in Tennessee. Teaming with a handful of Nashville musicians, he recorded The Narrows, released on March 18, 2016 by Yep Roc Records.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
********************
''THE NARROWS''
MARCH 18 2016
54:20
**********
01 - Tennessee Rain 04:45
02 - Smoke And Sparks 03:39
03 - Moccasin Creek 02:38
04 - Cry Cry 04:18
05 - Holy Irons 04:34
06 - Yellow Weeds 05:12
07 - Loaded Gun 02:41
08 - Rolling Pin 03:27
09 - Taking On Weight In Hot Springs 03:40
10 - Just Another River Town 04:03
11 - No Mercy In July 04:41
12 - San Andreas Fault 05:42
13 - Find My Way 04:53
All Tracks By Grant-Lee Phillips
**********
Jamie Edwards/Organ
Eric Gorfain/Fiddle
Russ Pahl/Pedal Steel Guitar
Grant-Lee Phillips/Baritone, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Piano, Pump Organ, Resonator, Slides, Vocals
Lex Price/Banjo, Bass (Electric), Bass (Upright), Bouzouki, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Jerry Roe/Drums, Marimba, Vibraphone, Vocals (Background)
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Mark Deming
Grant-Lee Phillips has a voice glorious and strong enough that he could sing nearly anything and his loyal fan base would be happy to hear it. But after moving from California to Tennessee in 2013, Phillips sounds like a happier and invigorated man on 2016's The Narrows, which boasts a lively and engaging spark. On the surface, The Narrows doesn't feel all that much peppier than most of Phillips' solo catalog, but the pace of this music is less lazy than contemplative. Backed by Jerry Roe on drums and Lex Price on bass, most of these tunes settle into an easy but determined groove, but when Phillips turns up the gas on "Loaded Gun" and "Tennessee Rain," the effect is powerful and liberating. There's a subtle passion in Phillips' performances here that makes all the difference, a pale fire that brings these tunes to life. Though he's moved south, Phillips writes a lot about his memories of life in the West on The Narrows. He calls up evocative images of family, childhood, and the extended landscapes of California, and the mood is more artful than nostalgic, finding beauty in both good and harrowing experiences. Perhaps Phillips had to leave California behind to see it clearly, but The Narrows is a striking chronicle of life in the Golden State. As a piece of record making, The Narrows is simple but deeply satisfying, as good as anything Phillips has made since going solo. Hearing him sing is always a richly enjoyable experience, but The Narrows delivers as both form and content. It's recommended to anyone who has ever found pleasure in his work.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Andy Kellman
After spending his formative years in Stockton, California, Grant-Lee Phillips headed to Los Angeles to study film. Finding himself beneath the spell cast by local bands like the Rain Parade and the Dream Syndicate, Phillips soon partnered with Stockton acquaintance Jeff Clark to form Shiva Burlesque. The band dissolved after two critically acclaimed records, and Phillips began writing and demoing under the Grant Lee Buffalo alias. Following several solo performances, he invited former bandmates Joey Peters and Paul Kimble to join him, and the trio signed to the Warner Bros subsidiary Slash Records in 1992.
Phillips' golden, honey-soaked voice had largely gone to waste in Shiva Burlesque, but the new band enabled him to step out as a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Grant Lee Buffalo went on to release four very different LPs, although a cult following, several successful tours, and across-the-board critical acclaim (Phillips was voted Rolling Stone's Male Vocalist of the Year following the second LP) didn't translate into strong sales. Frustrated with his label's dead-on-arrival promotion, Phillips asked for his band to be released from their contract, and he was obliged. (It was erroneously reported that he had been dropped.) Phillips dissolved his band, anxious to forge a new path.
Ladies' Love Oracle
In October of 1999, he headed to Jon Brion's studio and recorded a handful of new songs, played exclusively by himself. Dubbed Ladies' Love Oracle, the album was self-released the following year online; Phillips also sold it during his numerous appearances at Largo in Hollywood. After landing a new contract with Zoe/Rounder -- and making the first of many appearances on the popular comedy-drama Gilmore Girls, as a roaming town troubadour -- he issued the excellent Mobilize in 2001. The next year, Rounder reissued Ladies' Love Oracle in time for Phillips' joint tour with Kristin Hersh and Joe Doe. Virginia Creeper followed in 2004, marking the first time that Phillips had consciously eschewed all electric guitars in favor of a stripped-down, folksy sound. A covers album, Nineteeneighties, appeared in 2006, and Strangelet arrived one year later. For his next effort, Phillips assembled a band that featured Jay Bellerose, Paul Bryan, and Jamie Edwards, all of whom spent five days recording 2009's Little Moon.
Walking in the Green Corn
In October 2012, Phillips, who is descended from the Creek and Cherokee Native American tribes, released the album Walking in the Green Corn, featuring several songs informed by his indigenous heritage. In 2013, Phillips and his family left California to settle in Tennessee. Teaming with a handful of Nashville musicians, he recorded The Narrows, released on March 18, 2016 by Yep Roc Records.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
********************
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