Sam Phillips - Fan Dance

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Music reviews of Fan Dance

Music Review: Stark, Intimate, and Self-Assured.
Rating: 4 Stars

After three consecutive albums that showed consistent artistic growth, Phillips performed a failed experiment with "Omnipop" (1996). "Omnipop" found her tinkling with a variety of electronics. Though she created some interesting sounds, her experiments were surprisingly sterile, unfocused and difficult. It didn't help that most of her lyrics were tired cliches related to the hollowness of television and material culture. Though understandable, her indictment of commericialism wasn't fresh or even interesting. "Omnipop" was tepidly received by both fans and critics, and in retrospect Phillips isn't very happy with the album herself. After the artistic and commercial failure of Omnipop, she felt creatively spent, leading to her extended sabbatical 1997-2000 (apart from an inconsequential "best of" compillation in 1999).

"Fan Dance" is an ironically radical departure from "Omnipop"; I say ironic because it's her most quiet, understated album. The spare, mostly acoustic production means that the focus is on Phillips's greatest strengths: her literate songwriting and unusual, tuneful vocals. It's the kind of album every great singer-songwriter makes at least once in their career, and "Fance Dance" is akin to Mitchel's "Blue", and Springsteen's "Nebraska".

With song titles like "Edge of the World", "Wasting My Time", "Soul Eclipse", and the closer "Say What You Mean", "Fan Dance" can be interpreted as Phillips searching for and rediscovering a sense of direction. [It's interesting to note that all songs are credited to her married name, Burnett.] She's as austere as ever, but the songwriting is starkly personal. The vaguely eerie, but deceptively clever musical environment (with subtle embellishments like cello and strings) compliments the album's lyrical intimacy. For all of her trademark deliberate seriousness, Phillips is sometimes oddly comical (probably unintentionally so). She's trenchant when singing lines like, "You're so afraid of what you want, You don't want it anymore", and vaguely funny with non-sequiturs like, "You think I'm interesting like the apocalypse". With "Fan Dance", Phillips has created music that is stark, but calmly inviting and intimate.

Some of Phillips long-time fans might be somewhat disappointed because "Fan Dance" isn't nearly as vigorous, lush, or ambitious as her earlier work. After Omnipop, Phillips needed to rediscover her talent as a songwriting, and the somberly assured "Fan Dance" acheives this perfectly. Omnipop had a mirky sense of denouement, while "Fan Dance" leaves the listener feeling optimistic about the future of this sadly under-appreciated artist.

Description of Fan Dance

Christian & Gospel CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock