Search - Leslie Phillips, Sam Phillips :: Recollection

You Wrap Me Up With Your Expectations

Dwight Blubaugh | The only Eaton Rapids on Earth, MI, USA | 08/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Leslie Phillips put out four great Contemporary Christian albums, but she couldn't resolve herself with the expectations of the CCM industry - it was becoming much more about slick packaging, sex appeal, and an image than about ministry and thoughtful, truthful lyrics - unfortunately, this is usually what the public has responded to. Being only 21 (and probably quite optimistic, naive, and vulnerable) when her first album was released, Phillips quickly discovered this duality of the Contemporary "Christian" Music market. Leslie's last album, The Turning, was a scathing diatribe against the double standards of this industry (like "You wrap me up with your expectations...") - otherwise artists like Bob Bennett and Mark Heard would have been held in much higher esteem in the CCM market.



Leslie then changed her name to Sam Phillips (no relation to the Sun Records mogul) and started putting out secular albums. As of this writing, she's had a new album released every 2-3 years, and is currently at work on a new one.



Recollections, her greatest hits package, showcases Leslie's four albums, and is excellent quality music throughout - some upbeat, some gentle ballads, vocally in the vein of Leigh Nash (Sixpence None the Richer) or Cyndi Lauper. The "booklet" / liner notes are disappointing - a single double-fold piece of paper with track listing (with source by album) and brief production credits.



Since there is not a track listing here on Amazon, I will include one:



Recollections (1987)

1. #Your Kindness (alternate version on ***)

2. #No One But You

3. *Heart of Hearts (cover of Mark Heard)

4. #Walls of Silence (Home Demo)

5. ****Libera Me

6. ****Love is Not Lost (earlier version on *** CD as bonus)

7. ****Answers Don't Come Easy

8. #You're the Same (alternate version on ***)

9. *I'm Finding

10.*** When the World is New

11. **By My Spirit

12. **Strength of My Life (duet with Russ Taff)

13. #Your Kindness (Reprise - alternate version on ***)



*From Beyond Saturday Night (1983)

**From Dancing With Danger (1984)

***From Black and White in a Grey World (1985)

****From The Turning (1987)

#previously unreleased"

Wonderful Introduction to a Great Artist

Mark Baker | Santa Clarita, CA United States | 02/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Even though I grew up in the 1980's, I didn't seriously start listening to Christian music until the early 90's, so I completely missed this wonderful artist. It was in college that a friend introduced me to "Strength of My Life" as a praise chorus. I immediately fell in love with the heartfelt cry of dependence on God. Almost immediately, I discovered a cover of her song "By My Spirit." This song's promise from God of help and encouragement in life's trials also struck a chord with me. Even so, it was years later before I tracked down any more of Leslie's music.When I finally decided to get this CD, I immediately fell in love with it. It covers a range from the upbeat fun of "No One But You" and "Love is Not Lost" to the more contemplative "Answers Don't Come Easy" and the encouraging "Your Kindness." It also includes the originals of the two songs I mentioned above, including the "real" verses to "Strength of My Life." (Turns out what I thought were verses are part of the chorus.)What I love most about all the lyrics on this CD is their honesty. They range from knowing God and His promises to the doubt that comes when we face trials. But everything is explored in an unflinching manner that makes sense even if it doesn't fall back on the pat answers that Christians sometimes rely on too much.Unfortunately, the albums this CD came from are long out of print. But the songs collected here are certainly worth tracking down to encourage and uplift you no matter what you're going through."

Most of the Best of the Early "Sam"

Robert Szarka | Norwich, CT USA | 06/17/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This compilation samples material from Phillips' first four albums (Dancing with Danger, Black and White in a Grey World, Beyond Saturday Night, and The Turning), including previously unavailable versions and one "home demo". Most fans probably think of The Turning as her first "Sam Phillips" album, even though it was originally credited to "Leslie Phillips". Three tracks from that album ("Love is Not Lost", "Answers Don't Come Easy", and "Libera Me") are included here, and indeed these compare well with her later work; but the other tracks (all originals, except the cover of Mark Heard's "Heart of Hearts") show that The Turning and her later work are cut from the same cloth as her early songwriting.



The acoustic versions of "Your Kindness" and "No One But You" would have fit in perfectly on Cruel Inventions, and their inclusion here makes this collection worth buying even for those of us who own the early Leslie Phillips albums. The demo of "Walls of Silence" is interesting, though unexceptional. The version of "You're the Same" also appears to differ from the original album version.



The remainder of the tracks ("I'm Finding", "When the World Is New", "By My Spirit", and the Russ Taff duet "Strength of My Life") are mostly-forgettable CCM pop ballads. I would happily trade these for the Lauperesque cheese of "Dancing with Danger" or the trite-but-endearing message of "Powder Room Politics", which were sadly not included. Overall, though, this collection presents most of the material that might interest a "Sam Phillips" fan and very little of the material we'd probably rather forget."