Phillip Hartley – WORDS AND MUSIC/THE GAME (Own Label)
Phillip’s a well-regarded singer-songwriter (and multi-instrumentalist) from Sheffield.
He’s accumulated more than a decade of solid experience on the local folk-acoustic
scene since becoming hooked at a pub session in Bradway, initially with a stint in
the band Hair Of The Dog playing mostly Scottish and Irish covers; upon leaving the
band in 2006, he underwent a rapid rethink and got down to some serious songwriting,
in the process of which he found his own voice (and quickly too, by the sound of
it!).
Words And Music is – and especially so for a debut collection – an imaginative and
accomplished product, on which Phillip’s unassuming craft is displayed on 13 songs
and one instrumental that together encompass a healthy range of moods and experiences.
It’s a welcomely self-produced album, on which Phillip (naturally) plays all the
various instruments himself – that means guitars, sundry other strings, keyboards,
percussion… and all enviably capably too (lucky blighter!).
Occasionally, I admit, I do feel he over-eggs the texture slightly, and even ambitiously
over-exoticises the instrumentation and/or effects quotient in order to dramatise
the content (as on Just Another Song, which is a mite clumsily synched; Moments;
and Here’s A Toast), but generally he keeps things fairly simple and his guitar counterpoints
are particularly attractive and well-coordinated.
Phil sings with an undisguised passion, a bit in the manner (and with a trace of
the mannerism, I feel) of the typical 60s-70s American songwriter; and yet his expression
is quite unassuming in its own way.
The songs themselves are a mixed bag, with no surprises as regards the type of subject-matter
(life and love, travel and work, and of course songwriting itself!). Phillip also
displays a wistful – if mildly reticent – sense of humour (check out Shy!).
My favourites tend to be those which are thought-provoking and/or reflective: (in
no particular order) Words And Music, Digging, A Question Of Time, Forever On My
Mind, I Call Her Name. There’s a sense of unfinished business at times, on some of
the songs, and perhaps some of the sentiments are a touch simplistic – but then,
this is a first-stab and jolly good for that, and there’s not a track I’d have felt
needed taking out.
Album number two, The Game, employs a similar mix, format and presentation, and would
appear to have been recorded in a close time-frame, for it has much of the feel of
“Words And Music continued”.
Nothing wrong with that, for it demonstrates a certain consistency in Phillip’s songwriting.
And if anything, there’s even more of that lightly-orchestrated 70s s/s styling –
on The Circle especially, I thought. There are two noticeable developments on The
Game, however: the first is the incorporation of Phillip’s own personal takes on
a couple of traditional folksongs (Rocking The Cradle and Lord Franklin); these are
very pleasing, sure, and better than efficiently managed, but in the end they probably
don’t have anything radical or new to add to the countless versions already on the
market, although they would no doubt satisfy well enough in a live set or singaround
situation, especially the former (although the latter’s marred by an over-intrusive
use of voice reverb).
The second is the encroachment of a separate strand of writing, that of intentionally
satirical commentary; this I’m afraid is rather of the blunt and “quite funny once
but palls with repetition and ultimately empty” variety, tracks that I’m disinclined
to play again.
Alongside its 11 songs, The Game contains two instrumentals: Mountain Spring, a rollicking
country-bluegrass-style bit of fun which just runs out of steam, and Spaces, a stately
pavane with a slightly prog ambience.
Overall, The Game doesn’t hang together quite as well as Words And Music, and has
the slight air of “leftovers” or “unproven tryouts” to some of the material. Having
said that, it’s worth having for its best tracks: Virginia, Love Song, The Circle
and Spaces 2 (although the compass of the latter song seems initially to prove a
touch awkward for Phillip’s vocal capabilities).
Phillip is a very personable live performer, and yet (curiously) several of his songs
seem to make more impact on CD, possibly because they need more clothing than the
bare presentation of a live stage voice-and-guitar setup can provide. It could also
be due to the way Phillip’s recorded, for his voice – and words – definitely seem
more prominent in the scheme of things within the environment of CD. I sense that
Phillip himself realises this, for he obviously tries to make capital out of stretching
the standard singer-songwriter voice-and-guitar template and giving his songs sufficiently
interesting arrangements; the problem is that this doesn’t always entirely come off,
and sometimes his inventiveness gets the better of him. But, not wishing to finish
the review on a negative point, there’s always plenty to enjoy and keep the ears
and mind occupied, and you’re bound to find more of true worth in Phil’s songs than
might at first meet the ear.
www.myspace.com/phillipwrhartley
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