Glen Phillips – Winter Pays For Summer
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Posted On March 1, 2005
Glen Phillips was only 14 when he joined Toad The Wet Sprocket. Over the next decade or so, he wrote some good songs and Toad had a few hits, but you never looked to that mellow California alt-rock outfit for deep thoughts. Only since Toad ended and Phillips went solo has he been able to take stock of his life and write songs that dont just sound good on the radio, but actually mean as much to his audience as they do to him.
On his 2001 solo debut Abulum, Phillips began writing about adult concerns finding your way in the world, maintaining relationships, raising a family. He continues on Winter Pays For Summer, his second studio effort and third overall, after 2003s Live At Largo.
Hes joined by an impressive cast, including producer/guitarist/keyboardist John Fields (Honeydogs, Andrew W.K.), drummer Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello), bassist Jim Anton, guitarist Jon Brion (Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann), and vocalists Andy Sturmer (Jellyfish), Ben Folds, and Semi-sonics Dan Wilson, who also co-wrote three tunes.
Phillips continues to explore grown-up themes, noting that its hard to make love stay, to face down your fears, and to admit that sometimes you are simply full of shit. But the wisdom he achieves is that its important to hang in there, to be thankful for what you have, and to realize that sometimes things actually do work out for the best.
Such pronouncements might seem more appropriate for posters with kittens on them if Phillips didnt flash his rapier wit on Falling and provide gorgeous arrangements to Cleareyed, Half Life and Dont Need Anything. On Duck and Cover, he claims that everything comes out the way it should. Judging by Winter Pays For Summer, he just might be right.
