Customer Reviews

Winter Pays for Summer

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"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!

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.

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.

This is one of those rare CD's where every song is as good as the next. Glen Phillips is a true songsmith. He writes beautiful music with thought provoking lyrics. If you are a fan of Glen's former band "Toad the Wet Sprocket" then you will enjoy this CD (I think it's even better in many ways). There is so much mediocrity out there that it's a pleasure and a gift to find a CD as beautifully written and produced as this. Buy this CD and enjoy!!

Great album all together! Beautiful lyrics and melodies throughout the entire CD! Glen shows his great musical ear, holding back when needed and going for it when it's called for! I am also very happy that he has found the long lost Andy Sturmer to help out with some backup vocals! It's nice to know there are still songwriters like Glen still out there doing it for the love of music!

Many talented singer/songwriters tend to lose some of their "umph" when they go solo (see Neil Finn). Glen seems to do the opposite. Sure, the CD doesn't rock like some of Toad's stuff did, but the song writing and pop melodies are wonderful. Best cuts include "Duck and Cover" and the fun love song "Easier." It's the first album I've picked up this year that I'm able to listen all the way through multiple times without skipping songs. I caught Glen live at SXSW, also ... looking forward to a national tour.

This album has a wide spectrum of upbeat and slower meaningful songs that can relate to so many different life situations and phases. I find myself getting advice on aspects of my life through Glen's lyrics and inspirational melodies. He is more than the former Toad the Wet Sprocket lead singer...he has developed his writing and musical skills into something even more special than what he contributed back then.

Buy this album and you won't be sorry that you did.

Have you heard these songs live? If you have, you might understand where I'm going with this. The live versions are so good that when this album came out I almost figured it wasn't worth buying. But of course, to support Glen as one of my favorite artists I did it anyway -without any expectations. For the sake of getting to the punchline as quickly as possible, let me tell you it would have been a mistake to pass on the album under the assumption that the live versions were better. The album versions have much more depth to the songs (without losing Glen's personal acoustic magic) and also have a little bit more of a rock vibe. My point is, even if you are as much in love with the live renditions you need to hear this album. You will be surprised at how much more Glen can add to the songs even in the studio.

This cd is certainly going to turn a lot of heads.

There are quite a few powerful grabbers on here including Cleareyed (my lord, this song is gorgeous and lifting), Released (haunting & chilling), Gather (very easy on the ears and gives you a punch towards the end) and Easier (very clever & unique love song) among others.

"Winter Pays for Summer" is pretty poppy - very different from Glen's last release, but the songs are all brilliant as Glen Phillips is a brilliant songwriter. Definitely a cd worth checking out.

ETA: I went back to try and give this review 5 stars, but couldn't figure out how. Winter Pays for Summer has NOT left my cd player since I got it. It doesn't get much better than this.

Granted, I've been a big fan of Glen since the early days of Toad the Wet Sprocket, so maybe I'm biased. However, I feel that Glen has really broadened his horizons with this release. Whereas "Abulum" was an intimate portrait of the singer/songwriter, "Winter Pays For Summer" reveals him as a wonderful collaborator. Glen is an excellent performer live, but this album sacrifices in intimacy it more than makes up for with a greater depth and musical richness than his previous releases. For instance, the track "Gather" is nothing short of amazing. The emotional vocal harmonies with Ben Folds on "Courage" never fails to move me. And whenever I need a pick-me-up, "Cleareyed" always gets me energized. Every song on this disc is a gem. If you like Glen's earlier work, I highly recommend this one.