Don't Do Anything

Every line of influence passes straight through Sam Phillips. In her own music there's shades of Patti Smith and Cyndi Lauper and Billie Holliday, Bobbie Gentry and Emmylou Harris and Martha Reeves. In turn you can hear Sam in Neko Case and Leslie Feist and Nicole Atkins; even Sarah McLachlan and yes, Scarlett Johannson owe something of their sounds to Ms. Phillips.

With so much influence before and after, it's easy to find something to love about 'Don't Do Anything', Sam Phillips' eighth solo album under that name - she has another five under her given name Leslie Phillips (these figures include a best-of compilation under each name). It's also her first without her longtime producer and now ex-husband, T-Bone Burnett - the two divorced during the making of 2004's 'A Boot And A Shoe'. It's raw, emotional and resigned. 'Don't Do Anything' is what recently divorced probably sounds like (Sam produced this one herself.)

The sad part about it is that Sam's extensive influence may be her own downfall. There's so much out there now that's so similar to 'Don't Do Anything' that it's hard to seperate it out. It's a grown up pop sound that frankly everyone is attempting to some degree or another, and with varying degrees of success. Admittedly there are some nice, distinct touches - I don't think anyone does lo-fi as well as it's done on this album; it feels like it was recorded in a packed out attic where just about everything Sam could lay her hands on. The result is a smart, decade spanning pop sound; it's 'adult' and 'contemporary' writ large.

The album is a packed out attic of the heart, too, managing to be bitter and hopeful and resigned and joyful all at once. The emotional displays are guarded, tempered by a kind of sardonic wit that says Sam's seen it before, been let down by it before and isn't going to let it get her down again.

This album was nothing like I expected. When I write these reviews I tend to, after a quick listen, try to get some background before I listen again and to be honest I jumped to the sort of conclusions that I'd argue any male would - an album by a recent divorcee with longstanding ties to the TV show 'The Gilmore Girls'? Yeah, I'll be over here with my copy of 'Stay Positive'. But it's not like that. It's sad in parts, to be sure, but there's nothing whiny, nothing down-in-the-dumps, nothing 'Pint-of-Ben-and-Jerry's-Half-Baked-and-Harry-Nillson's-'Without-You'-on-repeat' about it at all.

Sam goes to great pains to remind the listener that T-Bone isn't around anymore. The album's filled with jabs (lines like "I'd rather be alone than with someone who doesn't know) and parries ("I thought if he understood he wouldn't treat me this way"); admittedly not necessarily fightin' words, but I can't imagine her wanting to remain friends either. You have to wonder if the inclusion of "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us", which appeared on the Burnett produced 'Raising Sand' album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, is an act of defiance.

I said it before, I'll say it again - there's so many Sam Phillips soundalikes from either before or after her time that it's hard to differentiate this at first listen. But it would be a real shame if this one got lost. It may, through no fault of it's own, be indistinct from its peers and admirers - but I'll be damned if it's not one of the better ones.

As always, here's the track listing:

1. "No Explanations"
2. "Can't Come Down"
3. "Another Song"
4. "Don't Do Anything"
5. "Little Plastic Life"
6. "My Career in Chemistry"
7. "Flowers Up"
8. "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us"
9. "Shake It Down"
10. "Under the Night"
11. "Signal"
12. "Watching Out of This World"