Glenn Phillips (guitarist)

Last updated
Glenn Phillips
Birth nameGlenn Phillips
Genres Rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) Guitar
Website glennphillips.com
Audio sample
"Dogs" from Lost at Sea (1975)

Glenn Phillips is a guitarist and composer with 18 albums released under his own name. He has also played on many other recordings, including those by his first group, the Hampton Grease Band.

Contents

Career

Phillips was a founding member, guitarist and songwriter for the obscure Hampton Grease Band, which formed in 1967. Their double album Music to Eat was released on Columbia Records in 1971 and went on to become a much sought-after collector's item. It was also cited as an influence by later groups like Widespread Panic, Phish, and Pere Ubu. In 1996, it was rereleased by Sony to a great deal of acclaim (In June 1996, Spin magazine gave it a 9 out 10 "Near Perfect" rating). Over the course of the band's six-year career, they played with a wide variety of groups, including the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers Band and Frank Zappa. Zappa was a big fan of the band, and they played with him at the Fillmore East; Phillips jammed with Zappa that evening, as did John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Phillips' solo career began in 1973. He frequently sat in with Little Feat back then, and in an interview, Lowell George called him "the most amazing guitarist I've ever seen." Phillips recorded his first solo album Lost at Sea in his home and put it out himself in 1975. The record anticipated the do-it-yourself movement that later overtook rock music. The highly influential British BBC Radio 1 disk-jockey John Peel regularly played the album, at the time available in the Uk only as an import; it subsequently came second in a reader's poll held by Britain's leading music paper Melody Maker . Phillips was then contacted by the head of Virgin Records, Richard Branson (later to start up further companies under the Virgin brand) who signed Phillips and released Lost at Sea on Virgin's subsidiary Caroline Records label. To support this release, Phillips toured Europe extensively - including a show at London's famous Rainbow Theatre.

Since then, Phillips has toured frequently, and the fact that his music fits into no particular niche has led to a wide spectrum of double-bills over the years with groups as varied as Captain Beefheart, Eric Johnson, Bo Diddley, Patti Smith, Roy Buchanan, Talking Heads, Albert King, Joe Satriani and The Ventures. During that time, his albums have garnered a great deal of critical acclaim, and those reviews focus on the unique, unclassifiable nature of his music; its intensely emotional impact; and his seemingly limitless virtuosity. Guitar World (Nov. 1983) compared him to Hendrix and Jeff Beck, and his double-CD retrospective Echoes 1975-1985 received a 4-star review in Rolling Stone (Jan. 21, 1993), as did his Supreme Court album with Jeff Calder (of The Swimming Pool Q's).

Phillips has also collaborated with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and Pete Buck of R.E.M., who said this about him in Musician magazine: "One of the reasons I don't play solos is because I grew up listening to Glenn Phillips. He never ceases to amaze me." He's also recorded several albums with Henry Kaiser (one of which received San Francisco's coveted Bammy award). His music has regularly been played on NPR since 1990.

In 2015 Mike Holbrook interviewed Phillips on his radio show and followed it with a live performance of "Dogs" from the Lost at Sea album. Phillips was able to explain that the tune had been inspired by the first dog Phillips had owned as an adult, given to him by Holbrook. [1]

Selected discography

Albums

Singles/EPs

Compilation albums

Various Artists compilation albums

Appearances on others' albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phish</span> American rock band

Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the lead vocalist.

<i>Zen Arcade</i> 1984 studio album by Hüsker Dü

Zen Arcade is the second studio album by American punk rock band Hüsker Dü, released in July 1984 on SST Records. Originally released as a double album on two vinyl LPs, Zen Arcade tells the story of a young boy who runs away from an unfulfilling home life, only to find the world outside is even worse. Zen Arcade and subsequent Hüsker Dü albums were instrumental in the creation of the alternative rock genre, and it is considered by some to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Taylor</span> British guitarist, former member of the Rolling Stones (born 1949)

Michael Kevin Taylor is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, he appeared on: Let It Bleed (1969), Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert (1970), Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972), Goats Head Soup (1973) and It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974).

<i>Let It Bleed</i> 1969 studio album by the Rolling Stones

Let It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released 28 November 1969 on London Records in the United States and shortly thereafter by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. Released shortly after the band's 1969 American Tour, it is the follow-up to 1968's Beggars Banquet, and like that album is a return to the group's more blues-sound approach that was prominent in the pre-Aftermath period of their career. Additional sounds on the album draw influence from gospel, country blues and country rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Morning Jacket</span> American rock band

My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster. The band's sound, rooted in rock and country, is often experimental and psychedelic. The group amassed a following beginning in the 2000s in part due to their live performances.

<i>Goats Head Soup</i> 1973 studio album by the Rolling Stones

Goats Head Soup is the 11th British and 13th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released on 31 August 1973 by Rolling Stones Records. Like its predecessor Exile on Main St., the band composed and recorded much of it outside of the United Kingdom due to their status as tax exiles. Goats Head Soup was recorded in Jamaica, the United States and the United Kingdom. The album contains 10 tracks, including the lead single "Angie" which went to number one as a single in the US and the top five in the UK.

<i>Some Girls</i> 1978 studio album by the Rolling Stones

Some Girls is the 14th British and 16th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris and produced by the band's chief songwriters – lead vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards – with Chris Kimsey engineering the recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Kaiser (musician)</span> American guitarist, film director, and scientific diver

Henry Kaiser is an American guitarist and composer, known as an idiosyncratic soloist, a sideman, an ethnomusicologist, and a film score composer. Recording and performing prolifically in many styles of music, Kaiser is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He is considered a member of the "second generation" of American free improvisers. He is married to Canadian artist Brandy Gale. He is the son of Henry J. Kaiser Jr. and the grandson of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser.

<i>Double Nickels on the Dime</i> 1984 album by the Minutemen

Double Nickels on the Dime is the third album by American punk trio Minutemen, released on the California independent record label SST Records in 1984. A double album containing 45 songs, Double Nickels on the Dime combines elements of punk rock, funk, country, spoken word and jazz, and references a variety of themes, from the Vietnam War and racism in America, to working-class experience and linguistics.

<i>Relix</i> American music magazine

Relix, originally and occasionally later Dead Relix, is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concerts. It rapidly expanded into a music magazine covering a wide number of artists. It is the second-longest continuously published music magazine in the United States after Rolling Stone. The magazine is published eight times a year and as of 2009, had a circulation of 102,000. Peter Shapiro currently serves as the magazine's publisher and Dean Budnick and Mike Greenhaus currently serve as Editor-in-Chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Hampton</span> American musician (1947–2017)

Bruce Hampton was an American musician. He was a key figure in the Atlanta, Georgia music scene, mentoring numerous other musicians who became national stars. His own musical style was avant-garde, combining elements of jazz, fusion, southern rock and jam band styles.

The Hampton Grease Band was an American rock band, beginning as a blues rock group in the late 1960s in Atlanta, Georgia. They performed with several major bands in this period, including Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers. The band gained a reputation for wacky stage antics, and eventually garnered enough attention to sign to Columbia Records. They recorded the double album Music to Eat, which is apocryphally said to have been the second-lowest selling album in Columbia's history, second only to a yoga instructional record. This record compared with Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention, and Pere Ubu.

<i>Cheap Trick</i> (1997 album) 1997 studio album by Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick, commonly referred to as Cheap Trick '97, is the second eponymous album, and thirteenth studio album, by the American rock band Cheap Trick, produced by the band and Ian Taylor and released on Red Ant Records and Alliance Entertainment. The album is referred to as "Cheap Trick II" when it is referenced on the promotional DVD that was released with the band's Special One album in 2003. Ian Taylor had previously engineered the One On One LP in 1982 and produced a handful of other tracks from 1983's Next Position Please LP, as well as the title track for the 1983 Sean S. Cunningham comedy film Spring Break.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Horses (Rolling Stones song)</span> 1971 song by The Rolling Stones

"Wild Horses" is a song written by the British rock band the Rolling Stones. It was first released in 1970 by The Flying Burrito Brothers as the Stones didn't think the demo was worth recording fully. It was subsequently recorded by the Stones for their 1971 album Sticky Fingers when they felt it was worth reconsideration. It was also released on 12 June 1971 as a single, with "Sway" as its B-side.

<i>Music to Eat</i> 1971 album by Hampton Grease Band

Music to Eat is the only album ever produced by avant garde rock band Hampton Grease Band. It was released in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Cornick</span> British bass player (1947–2014)

Glenn Douglas Barnard Cornick was an English bass guitarist, best known as the original bassist for the British rock band Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1970. Rolling Stone has called his playing with Tull as "stout, nimble underpinning, the vital half of a blues-ribbed, jazz-fluent rhythm section".

<i>Only Life</i> 1988 studio album by The Feelies

Only Life is the third album by the American rock band the Feelies, released in 1988. It was made with the same line-up that appeared on the band's previous album, The Good Earth. The album contains a cover of the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On".

<i>Hampton Coliseum</i> (album) 2012 live album by the Rolling Stones

Hampton Coliseum is a live album by the Rolling Stones, released in 2012. It was recorded at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia on 18 December 1981, for what was the penultimate show of the band's U.S. tour that year. The show was the first-ever live pay-per-view broadcast of a music concert. The album was released exclusively as a digital download through Google Music on 30 January 2012.

<i>Live at Leeds</i> (Rolling Stones album) 2012 live album by the Rolling Stones

Live at Leeds is a live album by the Rolling Stones, released in 2012. It was recorded at Roundhay Park, Leeds on 25 July 1982. The album was released exclusively as a digital download through Google Music on 16 October 2012. The concert was the band's final show of their European Tour 1982 and was also the band's last live performance with band co-founder and pianist Ian Stewart.

<i>Wake Up to Find Out</i> 2014 album of live performances by Grateful Dead in 1990

Wake Up to Find Out is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on March 29, 1990, at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. It was released by Rhino Records on September 9, 2014.

References

  1. Mills, Barry (19 February 2016). "Mike's Radio Show part 3; Glenn Phillips'"Dogs"" . Retrieved 30 June 2018 via Vimeo.

Sources

Rolling Stone

Guitar Player

Musician Magazine

Relix

Guitar World

Guitar

Others