Sam Phillips
Los Angeles, California9 reviews across 4 releases
Sam Phillips is an American singer-songwriter from Glendale, California, born Leslie Phillips in 1962. She began in contemporary Christian pop during the early 1980s, then changed her professional name after working with producer T Bone Burnett on The Turning in 1987. Her later music retained a concern with faith, doubt, and religious authority while moving away from the directness of Christian radio. The 1996 album Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop) used dense production, abrasive textures, Beatles-influenced writing, and social criticism. By Fan Dance in 2001, the sound had become sparse and acoustic, with Phillips' guitar and voice at the center. A Boot and a Shoe extended that quieter approach into a song cycle about a deteriorating relationship.
After leaving contemporary Christian music, Phillips signed with Virgin Records and built a career outside the industry that had first made her known. Zero Zero Zero marked the end of her Virgin contract in 1998, while its release followed a period in which she had largely stepped away from recording and was raising a daughter with Burnett. She returned with Fan Dance on Nonesuch Records in 2001, then released A Boot and a Shoe in 2004. Phillips continued making albums after the period covered by these records, including Don't Do Anything in 2008 and World on Sticks in 2018. She remains a solo singer-songwriter; the later work did not restore her to mainstream pop visibility.
4 releases reviewed
Omnipop (It's Only A Flesh Wound Lambchop)
Zero Zero Zero
A Boot and a Shoe