Sam Phillips

Item: Omnipop (It's Only A Flesh Wound Lambchop)
Author: Rob Szarka

Omnipop (It's Only A Flesh Wound Lambchop)

(1996)

Reviewed by Rob Szarka

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Label Virgin RecordsThe LighthouseDecember 1996

alternative rock art rock pop rock

This disc is simply incredible. Sam Phillips and husband/producer T Bone Burnett have been involved with some great music, but Omnipop ranks high even by their exalted standards. From the moment you unwrap the disc, it's clear that someone took care in crafting this release. Not only does the six-page insert have the artsy pictures and design, it's also full of the lyrics and credits that too many artists leave out.

Then the nearly-flawless music begins.

The word "Beatles-esque" which seemed permanently attached to 1994's Martinis & Bikinis, no doubt will be employed profusely again in reviews of Omnipop. Indeed, fans of Sgt. Pepper or Revolver will find much to please them; though in places (especially "Faster Pussycat To The Library!"), Omnipop echoes, say, This Year's Model-era Elvis Costello more directly. Burnett's approach is controlled and subdued, though-even (and I mean this in a nice way) slick. Add to this Pat McCarthy's crystal-clear recording and mixing, and Omnipop demands our undivided attention.

So when we listen, what do we hear? Many of the usual suspects, including drummer Jim Keltner and guitarist Marc Ribot, show up in the credits, but mostly they're a finely-honed orchestra serving the vision of composer Phillips and conductor Burnett. The results range from the repetitive, didactic pop that was sometimes the downfall of Martinis & Bikinis in "Power World" to the brooding "Your Hands" and the utterly surprising and delightful romp for demented cruise ship band in "Zero Zero Zero!" Phillips' vocals are a bit disappointing-she's capable of more than the heavy, too-serious tone she employs exclusively here-but they are, at least, distinctive.

And, What Does It All Mean? No doubt some of Phillips' former associates in the contemporary Christian music industry are wondering exactly that, huddled around the CD player to see if Omnipop passes the purity test. Phillips has long since stopped worrying about such things, but there are undeniably scriptural truths scattered about: consider "our ideas of perfect are so imperfect" or this lyric from "Animals on Wheels":

Some want to leave us And go to another planet And blow up the earth They'd still be murderous, lying And they'd want it all

While several of the songs carry a message or tell a personal story, many simply evoke vague images, like a movie soundtrack taken out of context. (One can almost imagine that the silent terrorist Phillips portrayed in Die Hard III has been suddenly given voice.)

Omnipop isn't extremely weird by any standard, but Phillips' vision is unsettling and original enough that it isn't going to make her This Year's Big Thing, either. In "Animals On Wheels" she sings:

Famous is fast You don't have to be talented Or do good work or be smart It's perfect for me But everytime I go after it My ideals run off with my heart

If Omnipop is the result, she shouldn't sound so disappointed.