[ MAUKA-MAKAI ]
IT'S A SHAME John Phillips' heart literally didn't hold up for the remainder of this year. The man who was The Mamas and The Papas' arranger and main writer -- and the co-coordinator of the historic 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival that introduced an American audience to Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin and The Who -- is no longer with us. Papa Phillips would’ve
Pay Pack and Follow
been proud
John Phillips (Eagle Records)
Review by Gary C.W. Chun
Star-BulletinPhillips, 66, died of heart failure in Los Angeles on March 18. Nine years ago, his earlier addiction to drugs and alcohol prompted a liver transplant.
Three years ago, as a member of the vocal group that epitomized the hippie romance with the Golden State, The Mamas and The Papas were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Between 1966 and 1967, the quartet charted with such unforgettable songs as "California Dreamin'," "Monday, Monday" and "I Saw Her Again."
But by the end of the following year, that gloriously voiced combination of Phillips and his wife Michelle, Mama Cass Elliott and Denny Doherty was split asunder due to the price of sudden fame and wealth and all its inherent problems.
In 1970, Phillips released a solo disc, "The Wolf King of L.A." that he described as a "gentle kind of folk album."
And just before he passed away, the clean-and-sober Phillips was recording and assembling a new album that should be out by the end of the year.
Now there's the recent release of what was thought of as the lost second solo album that he recorded in the '70s.
With the additional interest that's sure to be spurred by this release because of the helping hand given by the Glimmer Twins, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it's too bad Phillips isn't around to enjoy this. (Because of Phillips's death, the release date of this rediscovered album was moved up a month.)
The songs collected on "Pay Pack and Follow" were recorded between 1973 and 1979, an interesting document of a particularly decadent time for rock music. Considering Phillips' experience with the trashy and distaff side of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, it's not surprising to hear what a soft spot he had for the pretty young girls and fallen angels that populate "She's Just 14" and "Pussycat."
Richards and then-Stones co-guitarist Mick Taylor take several solos, and Jagger does background vocals on "14," "Mr. Blue" (which sounds like a variation on the loose feel the Stones themselves had then) and "Oh Virginia."
Even though Phillips describes the album as "very raw, very rock 'n' roll," there's still a bit of folksy romance floating about in "Wilderness of Love" and "Sunset Boulevard." "Zulu Warrior" is his attempt at social commentary on the racial situation, but today it sounds more charming than incendiary in its datedness.
(The album's sound quality, on the other hand, is up to par, thanks to additional production and mixing work by Harvey Goldberg.)
"The Year 2000" ends the album on a rather eerie note, as Phillips sings of optimistically seeing his way into the new millennium.
The story behind the release of "Pay Pack and Follow" is an amazing one. The album's seven master tapes were lost for 21 years. Originally part of some mislaid luggage meant for an overseas trip on the QEII, they apparently "traversed the world tucked away in cargo," Phillips has said. They were mislaid a couple more times (once uncovered beneath a pile of rubbish, tires and old farm tools in the barn at Keith Richards' English country home).
Finally, he received a call from a storage company asking if he would be interested in some tapes that came to them by messenger with his return address attached.
"I had them Fed Ex the tapes," he said, "and from that moment on, I slept with them under my bed."
And now, with the missing second link available in Phillips' trio of solo recordings, I'm sure no time will be wasted getting his third, and final, one out any time soon.
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