Album – Page 4 – Phillip Phillips Online

May 15, 2015

Celebrating Behind The Light: Song of The Week 9 – My Boy

There are at least two commercially available versions of Phillip Phillips‘ second album Behind the Light: a regular version with 12 songs, including singles “Raging Fire” and “Unpack Your Heart,” and a deluxe version containing three additional songs, two of which are written solely by Phillip (a third, limited release by Target includes another additional track, “Grace”).

The first of these additional tracks on the deluxe album is “My Boy,” a song of such profound beauty–musically, lyrically, artistically–that it alone makes it worth owning this version of Behind the Light. And much like “Thicket,” “Fly,” or “Face,” “My Boy” reveals yet again another completely different colour and flavour to Phillip’ song writing.

On “My Boy,” he teams with Fin Greenall, singer-songwriter and frontman of British trio Fink, who lends the song a quiet, atmospheric moodiness that’s characteristic of a lot of Fink’s music. Phillip, who has already shown his ability to create intense melancholic landscapes ( “A Fool’s Dance” on his first album, or even “Creatures,” a gorgeous, still unreleased song), absolutely thrives in this mood, making “My Boy” one of the most fully realized songs on the album, and one of Phillip’s most conceptually sophisticated songs to date.

Phillip has said many times that he is a guitar player first and a singer second, but in “My Boy” it is Phillip’s vocals that really shine, managing to be stirring and raw, but also subtle and fully in control, a true display of skill meeting emotion. The same can be said of Dave Eggar’s cello, which matches Phillip’s singing with what I consider to be his most elegant, most masterful contribution on the whole album. The string arrangement, by Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, brings to mind the intimacy and richness of chamber music, a small but deeply expressive piece full of emotion.

Lyrically, “My Boy” seems to portray a conversation made up of very few, very cautiously chosen words; a moment of such intimacy and sadness we almost feel witness to something we shouldn’t hear. “It’s hard to say what’s in your heart, the truth can break it all apart,” Phillip sings on one of the verses, and though we never hear what these truths are, we certainly feel the fear that the possibility of this pain may cause. Silence then, is the answer, unuttered words to delay making real what until then have been abstract ideas and feelings, and we hear this in the sparseness of words, in the spaces left in between the words, in the boomy percussion and the echoing voice. The guitar, played brightly and warmly by Phillip, is constant, repetitive, a reminder of the time going by amidst all the silence.

“Everything will be okay my boy” Phillip repeats quietly throughout the song, like a lullaby, gentle words of comfort from a father or mother to a son. Yet we know there is perhaps no comfort, that innocence is gone, that the world has been revealed in all its harsh truths. The song, as a warm embrace, rises and surround us, the chorus swelling, soothing and reassuring, yet still incapable of curing an irreversibly broken heart.

Check out some beautiful performances of “My Boy” below. And click here to buy Behind the Light!

Every week until May 19 we are writing about one song on Behind the Light. Check out our previous Songs of the Week.

May 5, 2015

Celebrating Behind The Light: Song of the Week 8 – Lead On

If there is something that Phillip Phillips has demonstrated he can do extremely well–both on his albums and his live shows–is that he can play a mean, funky guitar riff. Another one is his ability to craft incredibly unique and distinctly sounding songs both as a solo writer and as a co-writer. “Lead On” is an example of both, an infectious, delicious funky song by Phillip and regular collaborators Todd Clark and Derek Fuhrmann. Full of lyrics you can’t help but sing along to, “Lead On” has become a set list regular during Phillip’s live performances, where it continues to evolve into one of the best and funkiest jams of the show.

Musically, “Lead On” has a great organic feel, with a driving rock beat that creates a sense of urgency from the start. Beautiful strings cruise above, contrasting with the beat but also accentuating it and counterpointing it later on. It’s vibrant, rich and very inviting.

Lyrically, “Lead On” is equally rich, with lyrics that fall effortlessly into the beat and string along seamlessly between verses and chorus. The lyrics are very visual too, creating evocative images with only a few words (“You are the blur in my eye as I wake up through the night” being one of my favourites lines). Phillip’s vocals, urgent and yearning, give an additional edge to the song, because despite the funky and rocking feel of the music, “Lead On” is not really a light song.

The lyrics describe a relationship, a slightly dependent one, even a little toxic, but one he’s not ready or willing to quit just yet. The feeling is of wanting to let go and lose himself in it, despite what this may cost him (“I can’t quit you, and I’m fine with being used”), even if it means his sanity and control (“You are the rarest drug, with every word I breathe, I feel the way you’ve changed me”). Although he yearns for release, he continues to plead to be taken along, maybe because this is actually the only way he can be free. The lyrics are probably about love, but songs, of course, can have multiple meanings, and Phillip, as we know, is never quite transparent with his words, finding ways to convey probably very personal feelings through images and stories that resonate with many while not necessarily revealing his most intimate world.

A fun but intriguing song, the sense of urgency on “Lead On” actually grows as the song moves along, culminating with that intense crescendo that literally leaves us “hanging on to every word.” In the end too, we realize that nothing has changed, as passion–like an addiction–beckons again into the night, surely stronger and more delicious, in this case, that any possible pain or doubt.

Take a look at some great fan artwork inspired by “Lead On” submitted as part of Phillip’s lyrics contest last year. And check out a couple of amazing live performances of “Lead on” below!

Every week until May 19 we are writing about one song on Behind the Light. Check out our previous “Songs of the Week“. And if you haven’t yet done so, click here to buy Behind the Light!

April 25, 2015

Celebrating Behind the Light: Song of the Week 7 – Alive Again

“I see myself again, behind the light I flicker” sings Phillip Phillips on the opening lines of “Alive Again,” a song than encompasses in itself the many shades of light and darkness we find on Behind the Light. Like most of the songs on the album, “Alive Again” introduces a whole distinct sound, musical approach and production, with no other song on Behind the Light sounding quite the same. It’s a song of incredible intrinsic power and emotion, delivered and felt in an almost physical way.

The song was written by Phillip and singer-songwriter David Ryan Harris, who previously collaborated with Phillip on “Tell Me a Story,” one of the most beloved songs from The World from the Side of The Moon. “Alive Again” shares something with that song, which is a certain romantic, vulnerable quality in its vision of the world. This is thanks not only to the lyrics, but also to what is perhaps the most beautiful and haunting chord progression on the album, a bittersweet melody that continually moves between a major and a minor key, and which remains unresolved until almost the very end.

The lyrics on the verses are very delicate, very poetic. Like a dream, hope shimmers, flickers, not yet within reach, immaterial. Echoing the music, which juxtaposes warm and rich acoustic guitars with gorgeous electric effects, the images of the lyrics also shift between doubt and certainty, burning desire mingled with a lingering, weakening past. It evokes the idea of the sublime, of being caught between two seemingly contradictory emotions, of seeing the beauty that is contained within the suffering, the sweet moment when someone who has been very ill is about to begin walking again.

And then the chorus, when it comes, is big, the heavy synths piercing through the song like sunlight shining through heavy clouds. The feeling is that of having survived through deep darkness and pain, for you can’t feel alive again without something inside you having died. And what we feel–at least what I feel–through those forever shifting chords, is the dent, the indelible marks forever left by pain in the heart. It will heal, it has healed, but the scar remains, together with the memories.

It’s a fact that without darkness there would be no light, without death, no life. “Alive Again” acknowledges these truths. It also reminds us of another one: that when we have been in complete darkness and we finally manage to come out, the sun can blinding with its light. And so is life, sweeter and more precious when we are able to feel again what it truly means to be alive.

Check out a beautiful live version of “Alive Again” below! And click here to Buy Behind the Light!

Each week until May 19 we are writing about one song on Phillip Phillips’ second album Behind the Light. Check out our previous songs of the week!
Photo credit: David Ryan Harris.

April 16, 2015

Celebrating Behind The Light: Song of the Week 6 – Fly

In the many interviews that appeared in the weeks leading to the release of Behind the Light, Phillip Phillips consistently used two words to describe the sound that the album would have: dark and heavy. The words were music to the ears of many, but not a surprise to anybody who had attended a Phillip Phillips show in the previous two years. Released almost exactly a year ago in April 2014, “Fly” definitely exemplified that new dark and heavy sound, but it also succeeded in capturing something more: the joy and exhilaration of Phillip Phillips’ live shows.

The song’s cover art, reminiscent of 1970’s classic rock album covers, was designed by artist Rob Carmichael, and hinted at the unique and special status that this song would have in the new album. It was abstract and mysterious, a complete departure from any other Behind the Light or Phillip Phillips image released up to that point.

“Fly,” similar to “Thicket” and even the earlier “Man on the Moon,” is built around another one of Phillip’s great guitar riffs, one that highlights again a very strong rhythm under the melody and showcases Phillip’s incredibly dexterous playing. Co-written by Phillip and Todd Clark, a second key element of “Fly” is the contribution of pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph, of the Robert Randolph and the Family Band. An electrifying and highly spiritual player, Randolph infuses the song with an organic, unpredictable feel that more than pays off by the end of the song.

The final major element of the song are the drums, played by Jason “JT” Thomas, Phillip’s current drummer and contributor to most of the drums on Behind the Light. Mr. Thomas, a drummer whose background is in gospel and jazz, lends a deep, deliciously solid groove to the song and transforms “Fly” into much more than a straight forward rock song. His pace, slow and controlled throughout the song, only reveals what is to come through his brilliant use of the snare and the bass drum, on which he increasingly riffs and builds on as “Fly” moves along.

In typical Phillip form, the lyrics are obscure, but also sparse and introspective. Still, hidden within those words is a world of meaning:

“When the day is done, the weight is on my mind
How should I give up, how should I survive
Leaning to the side of the busy street
Looking down
These people never notice me
Am I the only one who thinks it’s hard to breathe”

Very quickly we are confronted with somebody who is struggling, perhaps with his own identity, and also yearning for release. The choice of words is important, as they all seem to represent the opposite of “flying” as he speaks of “weight on my mind” and of it being “hard to breathe.” And as we continue looking through the lyrics, they all seem to circle around this feeling of being lost or trapped (Searching through a maze only to find, another wall to break, another wall to climb), and of finding it hard to express the truth, “what’s on my mind,” and more importantly, “what’s not inside.”

Controlled feelings and controlled music and drums. Barely, and not for long.This is because after a short break after the final chorus, the song dissolves into an spectacular pedal steel guitar solo by Robert Randolph, the absolute, most obvious and glorious highlight of the song. The solo, supported magnificently by the rest of the band (in particular the drums), simply takes over the last third of the song and represents the literal release to the oppressive feeling alluded to in the lyrics, the moment when Phillip–and us as listeners–literally and completely take flight.

We realize then, during that solo, that Phillip doesn’t really need to say “what’s on his mind,” that the music actually has taken over to say what the words can’t or aren’t allowed to say. And what the music says in “Fly” is as powerful as any words can be, expressing an extreme joy, and almost spiritual release–even perhaps the delirious feeling that extraordinary music-making must bring to those making the music and that it certainly brings to us as listeners. And Robert Randolph and his pedal steel guitar, an instrument referred to as “the sacred steel” in the gospel musical tradition, more than anybody personifies this concept of making music that seeks unto itself to elevate the soul.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is at least part of what Phillip’s music and live shows are also about, which is sharing the music but also celebrating it for all its possibilities and power, and what it can do to all of us. And “Fly,” most of any song on Behind the Light, does this; it speaks when words can’t, it shows rather than tells. It’s joy, freedom, exhilaration–integrity–made music. If you want proof, just listen to the song, reach your hands to the sky and fly.

Take a look at some rocking videos of “Fly” below! And if you haven’t yet done so, click here to buy Behind the Light!

Concert photos by Erika H and Elvan M.

April 7, 2015

Celebrating Behind The Light – Song of the Week 5: FACE

Quietly hidden between the hopeful “Unpack Your Heart” and the uplifting “Midnight Sun,” is “Face,” our Song of the Week 5. Sneaked in between those two powerful songs, “Face” perfectly exemplifies the diversity of sound and emotion that we find in Behind the Light. As unique as “Thicket” in terms of concept and execution, “Face” is in many ways its opposite, showing a musical and emotional restraint that really contrasts with the rest of the album.

Based on a deep groove and melody reminiscent of gypsy jazz, the song has a cool, sexy feel that serves to hide–perhaps intentionally–the heartbreak we find within the lyrics. Another one of Phillip’s solo writing credits on Behind the Light, “Face” also captures the deep musical connection between the members of Phillip’s acoustic trio, made up of Phillip, guitarist Errol Cooney and cellist Dave Eggar. Although not exactly a trio on “Face” (thanks to the excellent addition of Chuck Palmer on percussion), the song captures the trio sound by highlighting the masterful contribution of each player without adornments or major production. It’s probably no coincidence that both Dave Eggar and Errol Cooney have called “Face” one of the favourite songs they got to do on Behind the Light, Errol pointing to the song’s “minimal live arrangement” and Dave to the chance it gave him to explore “a jazz or gypsy type of use of the cello.”

Both of these elements are indeed key elements of the song, and ones that help bring to the studio the pure sound, joyful creativity and musical camaraderie displayed by the trio during their live performances. Much like these performances, the song’s minimal arragement allows us to clearly hear the inner workings of the musical exchange–the conversation–between the trio without any other instrumentation or production coming between them, with Phillip and Errol laying down the rhythmic and melodic core of the song, the percussion further grounding the groove of the guitars and Dave gliding in and out freely, colouring inside and outside the lines with the cello.

Though the meaning of the song’s lyrics appears to be right on the surface, I don’t think it’s that simple, especially given the mysterious title of the song. They speak of a relationship that has not been equal, where one seems to have been more invested than the other. The lyrics could be directed at the other person but they could also be an internal conversation, a struggle between the mind and heart of somebody who is fighting to forget and move on. We can go back to the music again to give us hints and to illuminate us as we hear the percussion and the guitars maintain that in-the pocket groove but also Errol and Dave expanding over the melody and the theme more freely, romantically, almost seductively.

And later, when Phillip sings the same lyrics repeatedly over the bridge (“When you find your way back in darling, I won’t give my heart again”) it’s almost more like a self-promise than a warning to the other, as if he’s gathering the strength to say those words out loud, to actually “walk out the door.” In the end, maybe “Face” speaks of a heartbreak that has become tinted with coolness and pride, the kind that needs to show a stoic face to hide a broken, trampled-on heart.

Check out Phillip and band playing a cool, full band rendition of “Face” below. And, if you haven’t yet done so, click here to buy Behind the Light!
All photos by Phillip Phillips.

March 25, 2015

Celebrating Behind the Light: Song of the Week 4 – Unpack Your Heart

Among all the light and darkness that we find in Behind the Light, “Unpack Your Heart,” the second single from the album, is one of the rare ones that’s almost all light.

Where confusion, heartbreak and betrayal seem to be the dominant emotions in “Thicket,” “Unpack You Heart” speaks of a love that’s unconditional, accepting and profound. Thematically, it could work as an extension of “Raging Fire,” and musically, it’s closer to that sound as well.

Co-written by Phillip, Derek Fuhrmann, Todd Clark & Greg Wattenberg, “Unpack Your Heart” shines because of its lyrics, but also because of its production, one of the most beautiful on the whole album. Much gentler than “Raging Fire,” it starts sweetly with Phillip’s rich acoustic guitar and intimate vocals. When they come in, the drums are very crisp, but incredibly warm, as are the cello, bass, and rest of the accompaniment. It’s the equivalent to a clear morning light, and if we listen to the lyrics, they find their equivalent in the music too:

“Meet me where the sunlight ends
Meet me where the truth never bends,”
Phillip pleads warmly,

“Bring all that you’re scared to defend
Lay it down when you walk through my door
Throw all of it out on the floor
Your sorrow, your beauty, your war,
I want it all, I want it all”

The lyrics speak clearly of acceptance, of letting go of the fear of being yourself, and the magic that happens when you do. The official video, full of playful, quirky animation, really captures this idea, the lightness of a free, “unpacked” heart. Further, the song speaks of authenticity, of acknowledging our mistakes, “madness” and ideals, not only in front of ourselves but in front of those who love us–it’s certainly a gift that goes both ways.

A third notion is that in love sometimes is easier to give than to take. But unconditional love means that we must believe—gracefully accept—that somebody may love us the same way we do: in spite of all our flaws, secrets and “wars.” It’s an all-encompassing love, between lovers perhaps (as in love and in passion one can be “all-consuming”) but one that goes beyond that; maybe that’s why these lyrics have been given a multitude of meanings, from the romantic to the psychological, to the spiritual. It’s a sweet song, an invitation, an extended hand leading into the light.

Watch some cool performances of “Unpack Your Heart” below!
And if you haven’t yet, click here to buy Behind the Light!