Blogcritics Comments on Music Review: Glen Phillips - Secrets of the New Explorers

Comment by Tom Johnson on Music Review: Glen Phillips - Secrets of the New Explorers

Tue, 13 May 2008 14:52:01 EDT

I still have yet to hear this, but I got it for my wife a couple months back. I'm going to need to grab this from her and give it a listen. He's been on a roll lately so I can't imagine it'll be anything but another great piece. Another great "space" album is Aimee Mann's Lost In Space. Not really about space but uses the metaphors of space and astronauts occasionally to illustrate the disillusionment and pain people go through. In other words, typically Mann subject matter. :-)

Comment by Josh Hathaway on Music Review: Glen Phillips - Secrets of the New Explorers

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:40:38 EDT

Thanks, Brian. I am in complete agreement with you about Glen's voice. I was thinking about that when listening to "The Spirit of Shackleton" on this EP and a few of the older songs I've listened to lately. He was very good in the Toad days, but he seems to me to have grown a great deal as a singer. I think some of that might be attributed to the fact he now tours almost exclusively solo acoustic. When all you have is a single guitar and your voice to communicate with, you have to really bring it. That has, in turn, shown up on the records. He's very, very good. You're right, too, that "space" records and "space" rock do seem to go hand in hand. I didn't put that together, but it's a fun point. I doubt he'll make this kind of record often, but I hope this isn't the last time he dabbles around with it. It's a good EP and is highly recommended.

Comment by Brian aka Guppusmaximus on Music Review: Glen Phillips - Secrets of the New Explorers

Tue, 13 May 2008 11:04:45 EDT

Great Review... The problem here(U.S.)is that too many people think that the celebrities that run the Top 40 machine including Hip-Hop are "Musicians". For me, those "Musicians" have never produced anything that has been worthy. It's unfortunate that Toad doesn't record together anymore but I think for Mr. Phillips it is proving positive that you don't have to be in the limelight to be a great musician. Personally, I think that's what killed Toad in the first place,i.e.,Contractual Agreements,etc.. So far, I've been diggin the songs I have heard on his Myspace page(probably because Mr. Phillip's voice has always been awesome) but I do find it funny that when people write tunes about space they tend to show their Pink Floyd & David Bowie influences...Which is not a bad thing at all. Great Stuff, I would love to see him produce some heavier material. Maybe some "Prog".