Winter Pays for Summer

Glen Phillips | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 29, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lost Highway
• ASIN: B0007OY3RU
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,819 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Disciples of Toad the Wet Sprocket held their collective breaths when front man Glen Phillips tucked himself into semi-retirement following the band’s 1998 break-up. But after a few years as a home body and father, new songs again dripped from Phillips creative psyche, and his third solo record in three years may be his boldest, most rewarding work to date. Front and center, as usual, are guitar-hooks galore and mature and personal narratives, with producer John "Strawberry" Fields (Switchfoot, Andrew W.K.) straining the larger-than-life instrumentation and "woo-woo" choruses through a pop filter. The versatile Phillips can strike up a nursery rhyme ("Duck and Cover") or prosaic ballad ("True") as effortlessly as he can the hummably persuasive tunes that are his m.o.: the inspirational "Clear-Eyed, the Randy Newman-inspired "Don’t Need Anything" and "Thankful," which recalls the riff-heaviness of Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend and leaves many Toad fan to breathe a little easier. --Scott Holter

No Depression - March/April Issue

He claims "everything comes out the way it should". Judging by Winter Pays For Summer, he just might be right.

Phillips continues doing what he does best on Winter Pays for Summer: penning elegant folk-pop songs about life's constant concerns.

Former Toad The Wet Sprocket singer encourages you to stop and smell the roses.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant & Bold, April 4, 2005

By 

Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Winter Pays for Summer (Audio CD)

"Abulum" was a stunning solo set. "Back on My Feet" & "Darkest Hour" both spent weeks on top of my personal top ten rotation; so I had high hopes for this new Lost Highway release. I am delighted that Glen's newest CD exceeds my fondest expectations. There are no weak tracks. The songwriting, musicianship and vocal expressiveness of Phillips as a singer are all in peak form. My instant favorite is "True" co-written with Semisonic's Dan Wilson. Its soft pop melody, Phillips' high plaintive vocals and brilliantly stunning lyrics are amazing song craft, "You're in & out of my hands, slipping like sand, passing the time; Your love is brutally bold, careless & cold, but it's mine, mine." "Easier" boasts a bright pop melody and some delightfully lively acoustic guitar. "Oh God, I pray to thee; don't want to die before we're free, dive down inside this sea & maybe at the bottom I'll find some key" is the addictive chorus to "Gather" whose message is excellently borne by the stunning melody & arrangement. "Courage" is another stunner whose arrangement builds masterfully with Ben Folds' and Kristin Mooney's background vocals adding emotional strength, "I'm tired of being afraid of what I can't change; I want to be living free." Like "True," "Cleareyed" was written with Dan Wilson and has an expansive melody that U2 would envy with Phillips' full-throated vocals delivering the payload. The other tracks on the set like the single "Thankful" and the opener "Duck & Cover" are all strong. With Josh Rouse's "Nashville," Maia Sharp's "Fine Upstanding Citizen" and now Glen Phillips' "Winter Pays for Summer," spring of 2005 is turning out to be a most excellent musical season! This CD is best of the year quality. Bravo!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is Glen's best record, May 15, 2005

By 

It's Me, "Really" (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter Pays for Summer (Audio CD)

Yep, better than any of the Toad the Wet Sprocket albums, this is the one to get. "Finally Fading" is one of the best buoyant pop songs of the year, and the whole album is a fantastic listen start-to-finish. I'm impressed with the performances, the musicianship, the lyrics . . . everything. And I was only a casual fan before. I dock the album one star for the somewhat brittle and top-heavy mix on the songs Bob Clearmountain worked on.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We've all got a lot to be thankful for..., September 24, 2005

By 

C. Willms (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter Pays for Summer (Audio CD)

I was a huge Toad the Wet Sprocket fan and was depressed when I realized there would be no more Toad albums to look forward to. I kept up with the various members as they moved on and downloaded everything I could find from Glen Phillips and the band Lapdog which consisted Todd, Randy and even Dean for a while. Both entities put out some great music but I eventually lost track of them.

I happened upon "Winter Pays for Summer" and snapped it up. After spending a month or so listening to this album I have to agree with many reviewers here at Amazon.com - it's GREAT! "Duck and Cover"Finally Fading Out" and "Thankful" are very strong. His lyrics are very good and the richness of the instrumental accompaniment proves that this is no lightweight effort.

I am less infatuated with the slow, moody songs - but then I never liked TTWS slow, moody songs either. The pop song "Falling" is a decent tune but here the lyrics seem lacking. The only song I dislike is "Gather".

Do I think this album is better than TTWS as some here have suggested? No, but then is Phil Collins better than Genesis? Nope, not even close. Is Paul McCartney better than the Beatles? I laugh in your face. Is Ozzy Osbourne better than Sabbath? Come on... All kidding aside, there was a rawness about TTWS that I loved; an intangible that is only achieved by the group effort. You can sort of hear it in Lapdog's early releases where most of the old group was still together. All that was missing was the heart - Glen Phillips.