what Frank is listening to #78 – SHAWN PHILLIPS – Collaboration – (A&M) – 1971
![[shawn+phillips+collaboration.jpg]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_No7eXNdyfIY/SQdWrW61WlI/AAAAAAAAAFg/DI1k7gFlFQQ/s1600/shawn+phillips+collaboration.jpg)
I hadn't heard of Shawn Phillips though I have three or so of his albums sitting in the pile. The sleeves to those LPs, including this one, indicated some bad–hippie-solo singing-droning. On reading about him, though, it seems there may be some bad hippie elements but otherwise he is an "out there" singer songwriter. Bear in mind I am typing this whilst listening.
Born in Texas in 1943, it seems that as a kid Phillips travelled the globe with his family and was exposed to all sorts of music. He then made his mark in the US folk boom of the early 60s. He followed that up with a stint in London – working with Donovan (who subsequently may have musically ripped him off) – before putting out a series of singer songwriter albums. Today, he still tours, has an avid (though small) fan base, lives in South Africa and otherwise works as a paramedic, fire-fighter and navigator for air sea rescue. See the bio link below – it makes for interesting reading.
Singer songwriters generally live or die on the catchiness and humability of their tunes. Phillips, though, isn't concerned with catchy tunes. There are hooks in his songs but he is more concerned with an aural "landscape" over the course of the album. And this is especially difficult given that he manages to create this atmosphere while playing songs in a variety of idioms – there is folk, singer songwriter, r&b, rock, baroque, classical, ye olde worlde, and some jazz. Even all that would be palatable to the mainstream if he remained within conventional lines but he eschews the verse chorus verse format and switches tempos and tones half way through a song (a song may start off as straight folk before going electric and orchestral) … so the sing-along-ability of the songs is near on impossible. On top of that his songs never end where you think they will.
Is this good or a wank. Both possibly but it's irresistible.
Lyrically, the music could lend itself to piccolos, dancing gnomes and singing pigs and other assorted absurdities of English prog rock and art rock but maybe because he's an American he avoids such metaphors … the lyrics are reasonably direct and "realistic" despite being somewhat obscure. Some of the tracks are very "ye olde worlde English" but he seems to be into music of times past. Also, there is obviously a touch of Dylan in Phillips lyrics but without Dylan's narrative. Phillips seems to favour a stream of consciousness.
Lyrics to "Coming Down Soft & Easy":
Tell a tale of married men
Of simple shells and curried zen
Falling through the world of when
Today
Serpent coils and hydrofoils
You don't believe what he does with oils
Speaking words that he said once
Yesterday
Peaches are predominant
Peace has got no counterpoint
Peter said he had to go nowhere
Away
But could it be a grand joke
A puff of smoke
Yes it's but a great day
To know the way
Don't you see the huge clouds go flying by
Don't you know
Deep down we all are butterflies
Just you take another look round
What you been seeing
What's been running through your mind
Is all we have at all
Have you been to the tinkers' ball
Waiting for the light to come again
Yes, we was sitting on a rooftop
Looking at the planets
Have you looked out there?
Today is like tomorrow then
A little scared of the affairs of men
Everybody also knows that they're been afraid
'Cause they are frightened by a love life with everybody
Terrified by the thought of
Unity is probable
Vanity is escapable
Violence, the workings of a tortured mind
Waterbeds are really fun
Sleeping in the baking sun
Debbie's disappointed
But I think she knows it's right
Jellyfish are dangerous
Politics are perilous
And I'm really glad that I'm not Richard's friend
'Cause I say sexual repression can make a lot of trouble
It can only lead to
Craziness
Is in the head
The heart is short of being dead
Have you got a reason for survival in the fall
Oh look at blood-soaked Charlie on a silk-stained bedsheet
Can you tell me do you really want to
Die in all your false belief?
I tell you now that there is no relief
Oh, you really gotta grow again
Psychosomatic delusions of euphoria
Better dig it now
Before the coming in memoriam
A puff of smoke
Yes it's but a great day
To know the way
Don't you see the huge clouds go flying by
Don't you know
Deep down we all are butterflies
Just you take another look round
What you been seeing
What's been running through your mind
Is all we have at all
Have you been to the tinkers' ball
Waiting for the light to come again
Yes, we was sitting on a rooftop
Looking at the planets
Have you looked out there?
Today is like tomorrow then
A little scared of the affairs of men
Everybody also knows that they're been afraid
'Cause they are frightened by a love life with everybody
Terrified by the thought of
Unity is probable
Vanity is escapable
Violence, the workings of a tortured mind
Waterbeds are really fun
Sleeping in the baking sun
Debbie's disappointed
But I think she knows it's right
Jellyfish are dangerous
Politics are perilous
And I'm really glad that I'm not Richard's friend
'Cause I say sexual repression can make a lot of trouble
It can only lead to
Craziness
Is in the head
The heart is short of being dead
Have you got a reason for survival in the fall
Oh look at blood-soaked Charlie on a silk-stained bedsheet
Can you tell me do you really want to
Die in all your false belief?
I tell you now that there is no relief
Oh, you really gotta grow again
Psychosomatic delusions of euphoria
Better dig it now
Before the coming in memoriam
Could it be a grand joke
A puff of smoke
Yes it's but a great day
To know the way
Don't you see the huge clouds go flying by
Don't you know
Deep down we all are butterflies
A puff of smoke
Yes it's but a great day
To know the way
Don't you see the huge clouds go flying by
Don't you know
Deep down we all are butterflies
Yes indeed, we are all butterflies. Some of the themes and lyrics are dated and if this was done straight, on conventional electric instruments it would be be prog rock or art rock. It should be pretentious but it isn't … its just twisted singer songwriter.
Best Tracks:
- Moonshine – a nice folk rap.
- What's Happening Jim – what starts out as a Dylanish folk song ends with Phillips singing in falsetto as if in some celestial choir – what the fuck?
- Armed – I'm not sure what is going on here.
- Spaceman- perhaps the straightest song on the album … and maybe the best.
- Times of a Madman Trials of a Thief – either Donovan ripped him off or he ripped off Donovan but this could be a Donovan outtake.
- Coming Down Soft and Easy – hypnotic.
This record is a collaboration (hence the title) by Shawn Phillips (guitars and vocals) with Paul Buckmaster (cello and orchestral arrangements of "Us We Are" and "Armed") and Peter Robinson (piano and organ).
Not surprisingly, there was no chart action on this.
I suspect this guy is influential as I can hear all sorts of things in here in acts that post date this album – Jethro Tull, Jeff Wayne, David Essex, Ralph McTell, Pentangle, mid-70s Donovan.
I am sure his fans will be knob ends though.
I don't know what Phillips' other LPs are like but this has worked its way under my skin. I'm keeping it. His fan base has grown by one.
One knob end?
Sound:
Moonshine (live recently)
Coming Down Soft and Easy
attached
Other Shawn:
Bio:
Website:
(originally posted: 22/08/2009)
