I will admit that I’d never heard of this chap until his CD dropped through the letter box. PHILIP GIBBS is a resident of Austin, Texas, and this is his fourth release. His music falls between the categories of folk, blues and country and has eleven tracks that are well written and display both wry humour and genuine concern about the world in which we live.
The opening track ‘The Petroleum Age’ comes on like a Green Party manifesto. A hillbilly strum which captures Philip’s worries about the oil based resources drying up and leaving us in the cold: “Hey Louisiana, they’re trying to wash you away,
While Iraq is crumbling down on the very same day/ Gasoline’s a fashion, it’s all the rage/ Well, one day we’ll all remember the petroleum age.”
With comments about the ice caps being razed (raised?), sea levels rising and all of us having to find new sources of energy and new ways to get from A to B, this is a delightful start to an album that is full of surprises.
‘Stephen F. Austin’s Blues’ is just that, a laid back, bluesy guitar track that references the man who is known as the father of Texas, the Texas revolution and the confrontation with the Santa Anna government. The song appears to be from the viewpoint of one of the settlers opposed to the Santa Anna government: -
“Tarred and feathered, feathered and tarred, run from the midst of my own backyard/ The army’s coming up with Santa Anna; we gotta run we gotta fly to Louisiana.”
This is a poignant history lesson, and one that Philip, who can trace his roots as a Texas native back to the 1870s, clearly empathises with.
‘Sam Houston’s Blues’ is another song steeped in history, as Sam Houston was twice elected as the President of Texas. This song seems to be sung from Sam’s wife’s point of view. This was possibly Sam’s first wife, Eliza Allen, whom he married whilst Governor of Tennessee in 1829.
|
“How could you leave me alone on top of this mountain?
Governor of Tennessee, you saw fit to marry me.” The melody here is similar to that of The Rolling Stones’ ‘As Tears Go By’, and as such is another great track.
Other tracks on the album, equally deserving of a mention are: -
‘Gallows Orphan’ a gothic lament from a man facing the rope after murdering his girlfriend, saying sorry to his young son: “They say the gallows pole is waiting for me, they say I got just one more night to live/ A lifetime for a single bad decision, but I guess the only fair price I can give.”
Also, 'Sitting In An Alley’ is an absolutely lovely track, a slow guitar based country blues that builds. The lyrics are straight from the heart, and no less effective for that: - “I been double crossed and I been let down. Been disillusioned in every part of town/ But I keep steady rolling, long as I can hold on in/ Occupy my mind, occasionally busy my hands/ If the sun ever rises in this little Spanish town/ I’ll be waiting here for you when your plane wheels hit the ground.” A final mention must go to‘Silver Dust’: a banjo based country style song, which really suits the mood of the album as a whole.
Overall, I really liked this album. Philip Gibbs is clearly someone who either knows and/or researches his material, and is clever with his choice of words. Hopefully we shall hear a lot more from him.
Philip Gibbs on MySpace
|
