Review: Philip Parfitt "I'm Not The Man I Used To be"

Phlip Parfitt: I'm Not The Man I Used To Be

Sunday morning. That’s how this record smells. Like a placid winter Sunday morning after a quiet Saturday evening watching the stars and drinking your best wine near the fireplace.

When an artist makes a comeback after a long time of retirement several questions come up. Is it just for the money? Is he trying to blend into the new trends so he can sound as another new band? Is it going to be a “revival” record built upon the sound he created years ago, but sounding flat and outdated? Well, in this case, all the answers to those questions sum up in one single monosyllabic word: No. Philip Parfitt is back in business with a fresh sounding recording worth all the time you can spend listening to it. 

Don’t be fooled by the cover picture, showing a foggy, rainy country day. This record is full of freshness and has its own light. From the moment the first song (“Big Sister”, a big, big song) comes out of your speakers you can feel the vibe of an artist who has grown musically, becoming a more mature incarnation of himself, without giving up on his younger days. All the usual elements you can expect from Mr. Parfitt are exposed: the cinematic vibe, his unique voice narrating beautiful stories, the dreamy landscapes… except this time he makes a smart, a very smart move. Instead of the fully electric feedback fuelled background he used to employ on his previous works, he now uses the acoustic guitar to create a bunch of really good songs, adding some beautiful arrangements provided by violins, sparse percussion, several dissonant sounds and some beautiful vocals courtesy of his daughter Candy. Sometimes it sounds as if Nico’s “Marble Index” was recorded by Lou Reed on vocals, John Cale on the instruments and the beautiful Nico on production, other times sounds like Nick Drake playing with Syd Barret, and, all of the time, sounds like it’s meant to sound. Like a Philip Parfitt who’s not the man he used to be, but still has his unique voice and the talent to write remarkable songs. And this record has a large amount of them. The lengthy “Strange Week” is just amazing, “Winter is Going To Come” is beautifully crafted and the background vocals are perfect, the fully violin arranged “I Was A Ghost” is haunting and “Lines Written” is so full of dissonance you can’t get enough of it. I bet you, if someone played you an “invisible playlist” including any song on this record you would immediately recognize who’s behind: Philip Parfitt, a man who has aged so well he hasn’t lost any of his talent.

Did I say this record smells like Sunday morning? Then I’ll have to add it smells like wisdom, the kind of wisdom who only a few can achieve. Make sure you preorder this album if you want to be a wiser person. It’s worth your money and your time.

Photo by Franck Aulnette

The record is coming out on the 1st of April 2014 and will be published by Milltone Head Recordings (MHR001)

Now go over to Philip's Bandcamp page and preorder the album.

Then click here to read an interview with the man himself.

1001 Records You Must Hear While You're Alive: Todd Rundgren "Hermit Of Mink Hollow"

The breakup album. Actually, the partial breakup album. This is one of those LP’s recorded under the influence of the circumstances. Two events impacted straight into the process of creating this album. First, the explosion of Punk, with its shock wave hitting the music industry, redefining many of the concepts that sustained it. While some old school artists were favored by Disco music in order to keep "cool" their careers, others (comes to mind "Some Girls" by The Stones) decided to adopt the manners of Punk, going back to basics, to recordings stripped of all artifice, straight to the point. Mainly, Punk was a philosophy, "do it yourself" and who better than Todd Rundgren himself to prove it, not in vain he pioneered this attitude towards music. The following circumstance orbiting this disc is the breakup of the genius from Philadelphia with Bebe Buell. A Partial breakup, because even though the former Playboy model had become the official groupie of the stars of Punk and New Wave, she was still living under the same roof with him, sheltering pregnant with the future film diva and daughter of Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) Liv Tyler.

Recorded in his home studio, located in Mink Hollow Road (hence the title), this album is a return to his early records, especially close to the pop spirit of "Runt. The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren "and ends up being the first one in which he handles all instrumentation (sometimes rudimentary, e.g. percussion) since Something / Anything? only (only?) contains three sides recorded alone in his living room. From the cover Rundgren stares at us with a heartbroken, tired and more mature look. Gone are the nights at Max's Kansas City, the multicolored hair, the peyote,  the excessive Prog Rock of Utopia and the Surreal Psychedelia of AWATS, now is time to rest and rethink things. Todd feels depressed and needs to purge a few wounds recording an album as a therapy. And the result is worth it.

Divided into two sides (The Easy Side / The Difficult Side) at the request of the company, fearful of scaring the public (?), the grooves on this piece of vinyl contain some of the best moments of Rundgren's career. In my absolutely not humble opinion, this album is an almost wintry Christmas album, because it begins really jovial with "All The Children Sing", but quickly it gets  tempered with sadness, longing for the loved ones, impotence against all injustice in the world ... "Can We Still Be friends?" asks Todd in the second cut. Obviously dedicated to Bebe Buell, this ballad is the Hit Single from the album; similar in cadence and subject to "Hello It's Me", reflects on the possibility of maintaining an already broken relationship based solely on friendship. "Hurting For You" is the reproach of the heartbroken lover to the other person; a song of quiet court, topped with a Todd R. trademark guitar solo, demure but not without virtuosity plus intensity, and the arrangements of the synthesizer make an approach to the nascent New Wave. "Too Far Gone" is a total return to S/A period Rundgren, with its playful rhythm and lyrics that express the feeling of being lost, too lost to return. Todd has always distinguished himself by a, sometimes absurd, peculiar sense of humor and he didn’t fail to prove it on this album. This gives us "Onomatopoeia", a song as silly as fun that shows us what Todd can do with his new toys for the studio. "Determination" closes "the easy side" of the album, making it clear that, above all, Rundgren is a pop artist able to compete with the new trends reprising his skill as a composer of perfect pop singles.

The difficult side opens with "Bread" a tremendous song that shows his distress at the unfairness of a life of hunger and indifference, the simple arrangements and precise percussion transport us to a sometimes hidden reality. That reality is portrayed as a sad eyed ballad in the next cut, "Bag Lady" with Todd on sax and providing himself languid background vocals, almost bursting into tears of impotence. "You Cried Wolf", sister to "Wolfman Jack" is a Soul tinted song, ideal for exchanging instruments when performed live, so the "hermit" could play (with very few resources) drums;  the saxophone again and cartoon like background vocals  arrange a song which is just right, nothing more. If Rundgren had substituted the next cut, "Lucky Guy" for its demo version, it would have benefited the album; being a ballad that reaches a remarkably high score, a reheated synthesizer solo should have been removed. That does not matter, because when the next cut "Out Of Control" comes in, he reminds us that, when he wants to, Todd can rock hard and he lets his hair hang loose in this really good proto-punk tune. The last song from an album is as important as the opening one. How does this awesome album end? Easy to answer. With an outstanding song entitled "Fade Away" built upon lyrics so full of hope and some echo reversed arrangements so successful that really make you fade before such talent.

If you are one of those people who like to listen to records when the sun sets and the temperature drops, or has gone through a breakup, or just have good taste in music and wants to expand, buy this album and enjoy it. I recommend it to all my friends. And this year is the 35th anniversary of its publication. Hope you like it.