Customer Reviews

Fan Dance

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Sly, sensuous, sophisticated, stylish, sexy, slinky, smart...Sam Phillips is all of those things, and arguably the most intelligent and adventurous songwriter working today. Quietly and without much attention from the masses, she's been crafting cool, uncompromising music from her first album "The Indescribable Wow," and every record since that pop gem has found her breaking new ground and refusing to be artistically straitjacketed. On "Fan Dance," her first album of all-new work since 1996's "Omnipop," she's exploring yet another new level of her muse, and has created a dark and intimate mood piece.

Instead of the playful studio experimentation that marked "Omnipop," "Fan Dance" features a sparse and elegant feel, sounding as if it was recorded after hours in an empty, smoky, noirish nightclub on a rainy October night. It's almost an acoustic album, most tracks consisting of little more than Sam on guitar or piano, backed with a little percussion or Marc Ribot's spooky psycho guitar stylings. But even so, there's still the eclectic instrumentation that marks her past albums: on "Wasting My Time" Sam is accompanied solely by Martin Tillman's cello, on "Taking Pictures" by harpsichord, and on "Soul Eclipse" by something called an "Optigan."

The spare production makes Sam's voice the star of the show, and she's never sounded better -- by turns, sad, playful, intimate, sardonic, and deeply personal, as if she's whispering in your ear. She's never overwrought or histrionic, but always subtle and understated, and more powerful because of it. Gillian Welch joins Sam on "Five Colors" and "Love is Everywhere I Go," and the meshing of their voices is gorgeous and chill-producing. It's perfect for the deft melodies and enigmatic lyrics, which are something of a dash of Leonard Cohen and John Lennon by way of e.e. cummings, yet with Sam's unique sensibility.

I had the privilege of seeing Sam in a special performance at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago a couple of years ago, in which she performed some of the songs on "Fan Dance" along with her husband/producer T-Bone Burnett, Gillian Welch, and Marc Ribot. It was perhaps the most fascinating concert I've ever seen in a lifetime of concert-going, and "Fan Dance" reminds me a lot of that performance: mesmerizing, unconventional and beautiful. Sam hasn't done a real tour since 1994, and we can only hope she'll tour for this album.

"Fan Dance" will probably not outsell N'Sync, Britney, or Mariah, but then, it doesn't need to. Sam Phillips is an artist who's not interested in moving units, but in moving hearts. With "Fan Dance," Sam will softly and silkily insinuate herself into your soul. There's only one problem: at just under 34 minutes, the album's over much too soon. After five years, Sam, we need more!

I'm a recent fan of Sam Phillips. I was reminded of her after reading an article on her in the music magazine Paste (the greatest music magazine out there for "mature" music) last year. Although I'd heard of her over the years, I hadn't actually heard her music until this year when I found Cruel Inventions ... . That led me to the library where I got Martini's and Bikini's (which I promptly became a fan of). Then Fan Dance.

Sam is an incredible writer and performer. Fan dance showcases that. Although there are about 3 tracks that can be skipped over (the last three), the rest easily make up for it, and make the album well worth the purchase price.

It is dissapointing that the album is only shortly over 30 minutes, but when you're dealing with a true artist, it is rediculous to expect her to force a longer album out when it just isn't inside of her.

I'm not good at revewing songs on their own, but the "stunners" on the album are Edge of the World, Five Colors, Wasting My Time, How To Dream, Soul Eclipse and Love Is everywhere I Go.

Wasting My Time just melts you with a beautiful string accompaniment showcasing the cello. How To Dream is a fun song that makes you want to sing along, but not in a corny way--rather a "grown-up" kind of feeling. It's catchy and mature. Soul Eclipse includes an Asian stringed instrument and a backdrop of heavy guitar giving a mysterious feeling to the song. Sort of like you're looking over your shoulders. Edge of the World gives sort of that same feeling, too. Almost in a strange "x-files-ish" way. Five colors also grabs you in a "catchy" acoustic melody and intuitive lyrics.

This is the kind of music that makes you realize there really is true beauty and redemption in the modern music scene. This is the music of a beautiful mind. There's more behind the music and lyrics than you quite understand (at least that's how it is for me).

I really can't recommend this album enough. If you miss out on it, it truly is your loss.

A mixture of raw demo and cabaret blues, Sam Phillips' Fan Dance sets its tone in the first few seconds - the creak of a chair while the guitarist gets cozy - and sustains this intimacy through its brief 34-minute playing time. Her pop ambitions are scaled back here -- no multi-tracked song suites! - though her songs are deeper if no less obtuse than on past releases. As a lyricist she favors the enigmatic verse over narrative - after six releases, the most bracing statement she ever made was "Baby I Can't Please You" (from the song of the same name). Her nearly haiku-like verse here isn't off-putting, though; more like impenetrable riddles that entertain the mind with their pointlessness! And when she wants to, which is more often these days, she tells you exactly what's on her mind: "I'm wasting my time", she says. "Love is everywhere I go," she informs us. And, oh yeah, an admonishment - ironic or not I couldn't say - to "say what you mean".

A beautiful piece of work, Fan Dance is a culmination and a new beginning for Sam Phillips. Gone are the hi gloss productions of the past, replaced by an intimate atmosphere that recalls film noir films and small, smoky cabaret halls. What remains is the arresting melodies and the sharp, beguiling lyrics that are a Phillips trademark. Sam's singing is front and center, and what an instrument it is. Not unlike Billie Holiday, Sam makes the most of her range, favoring expressiveness over vocal gymnastics. It is her finest vocal performance to date.

The production on this album is simple, but the quiet arrangements are amazing. Check out Van Dyke Parks' cello arrangement on ' Wasting my Time'; listen to how Phillips' voice becomes the 4th instrument. Marc Ribot gets a chance to experiment, giving songs like 'Soul Eclipse' or 'incinerator' a Waitsian feel.

Time will tell if this record is as good as 'Martini's & Bikini's, but it's apples and oranges really. They're completely different in sound and feel. This is a rather short disc, but that's because there is no wasted lyrics, no music that goes on too long ( the economy of Phillips' writing has always amazed me).

I'm going out on a limb here, but Sam Phillips is the greatest pop singer that nobody knows. I think she likes this arrangement; she has been quoted as saying that this record was built like a salon, not a stadium.

I've run out of superlatives. I hope that this record will move you as much as it has moved me.

The transformation of Leslie Phillips into Sam Burnett has been a process spanning a couple of decades; no step has been more dramatic than the leap from "Omnipop" to "Fan Dance". More skilled as a songwriter than a vocalist, this collection spins several enigmatic tales, from the title track, which has a catchy beat and hooky chorus, to 'Incinerator', a song with a dark cast that defies the listener to peg her references exactly.

The most successful tune, for me, is 'How to Dream', with its spare arrangement and deft lyric. It is easy still, despite Phillips' abandonment of her strictly Christian music, to see the spirituality in these songs. In the world of Spirit, dreams come from God, who provides a vision of life that enlightens: "When we open our eyes, we dream/We open our eyes..."

With T. Bone at the controls, the continuity of this disc is tight and focused. Some of Phillips-Burnett's fans may be saddened by the drift away from "Martinis", but this is a very satisfying outing, filled with clever irony, melodies that swell and soar, and tied together with crystaline musicianship.

I don't give it full marks, but 4.5 stars.

Some things definitely are well worth waiting for! "Fan Dance" is the first album of new songs Sam has given us in five years, ever since the underrated, brilliant "Omnipop" landed with an undeserved thud in record stores! She cut herself loose from Virgin Records, signed with Nonesuch, ands put this new gem together with her husband, producer, and band member T-Bone Burnett. Her photos are darker but the songs seem, if anything, much lighter and happier, perhaps owing to the birth of their first child, daughter Simone. "The Fan Dance" and "Five Colors" cleverly play on our fascination with the Orient; "Is That Your Zebra?" (an instrumental, minus Sam's clever words and sultry vocals) riffs on Brazilian rhythms; "How to Dream" and "Love is Everywhere I go" continue her fascination with the Beatlesque harmonies, bright themes, and imagery of Sixties pop music at its very finest; and "Incinerator" is dark, haunting, and somewhat comically intense, sounding othing like what we've come to expect from her. Chalk up another triumph for Sam and T-Bone; I just hope this one sells enough to warrant a live tour from them both. Fans of folk singer/songwriter Gillian Welch, a Burnett protege, will be pleased to find her participating in many songs on this album, too.

The transformation of Leslie Phillips into Sam Burnett has been a process spanning a couple of decades; no step has been more dramatic than the leap from "Omnipop" to "Fan Dance". More skilled as a songwriter than a vocalist, this collection spins several enigmatic tales, from the title track, which has a catchy beat and hooky chorus, to 'Incinerator', a song with a dark cast that defies the listener to peg her references exactly.
The most successful tune, for me, is 'How to Dream', with its spare arrangement and deft lyric. It is easy still, despite Phillips' abandonment of her strictly Christian music, to see the spirituality in these songs. In the world of Spirit, dreams come from God, who provides a vision of life that enlightens: "When we open our eyes, we dream/We open our eyes..."

With T. Bone at the controls, the continuity of this disc is tight and focused. Some of Phillips-Burnett's fans may be saddened by the drift away from "Martinis", but this is a very satisfying outing, filled with clever irony, melodies that swell and soar, and tied together with crystaline musicianship.

I don't give it full marks, but 4.5 stars.

For her first new release in several years, Sam Phillips has scaled back the production and let her voice and the strength of her songwriting carry the day. Although "Fan Dance" as a whole doesn't approach the pop genius of "Martinis and Bikinis", it's still a joy, loaded with catchy and beautifully-written songs. This is a good album for driving on a rainy day; the spare instrumentation and Sam's uniquely sultry voice are often chilling here. "Fan Dance" is much less upbeat than "Martinis" or any of her poppier post-gospel work. One can almost hear a tinge of sadness in every song on the album, as if she realizes what the album represents in the greater scope of her career; that is, her transformation from prospect to underappreciated veteran. Nonesuch will undoubtedly put less emphasis on moving big numbers than did Sam's old label, and this sounds like an album that was meant to be intimate, aimed at a smaller and more appreciative group of listeners. That's a shame, since it beats the hell out of whatever trend radio is milking this week. My only hope is that Sam is making good use of the money she's earned from letting Ralph Lauren use "I Need Love" in his perfume ads, and that she finds contentment in this phase of her career. "Fan Dance" is a refreshing comeback even if it's not an Album of the Year candidate.

This long-awaited comeback by Sam Phillips is exquisite. I have nothing but praise for the restraint and subtle nature of this work of expressive, sometimes transcendent passion. Sam Phillips is, as another reviewer here suggests, the best singer-songwriter alive today. Like Townes van Zandt, before his untimely death, she has the gift to amaze and defy fans and critics alike and remain outside any one genre. Her Virgin days behind her, Sam is now out there on the edge of the pop music circus, on the fringe, and admirably positioned to affect the mainstream by osmosis.

Her intelligence and genuine soulfulness shine through in the lyrical adventures undertaken here. The title song, "Fan Dance", is stunning, but the "Edge of the World" is extraordinary, as are "Taking Pictures" and "Five Colors", the latter based on the Tao Teh Ching. T Bone Burnett's arrangements are exemplary and there are perhaps traces of his recent work for the soundtrack of the Coen Brothers film "Brother, Where Art Thou".

There is a confluence of influences present here that bodes well for the future. The band - with Van Dyke Parks, and Jim Keltner - may prove the beginning of an ensemble approach that will playout well, over time, to produce a signature sound, as it often works in the production of film. I'm also intrigued that Donata Wenders supplied the photography for the CD package ... Perhaps LA will be good to Sam Phillips afterall, and her days as a brilliant outsider may in fact be numbered.

It's been five years or so since Sam Phillips' "Omnipop" landed with a thud. To call that album overproduced (and perhaps a tad pretentious) would be an understatement. With "Fan Dance," however, Phillips returns to top form, with a (very short) set of songs that remind her (too small) coterie of avid listeners why they fell in love with her in the first place. Reportedly, much of this album was recorded live, but a few additional flourishes remind the listener that Phillips' husband and collaborator is noted producer T-Bone Burnett. The twelve songs here are each carefully crafted, and a few gems may one day be considered highlights in Phillips' repertoire--especially "How to Dream." At one point it might have been easy to dismiss Phillips as a dilettante, changing personae and production styles every few years (and let's not forget her dip into acting in "Die Hard With a Vengeance"). "Fan Dance" offers solid proof that the reason she's still around after so many years is because, underneath the occasionally self-indulgent experimenting and "I Don't Want To Be A Star" playacting, Sam Phillips is a genuinely gifted and intelligent songwriter. And what a voice!