John Phillips
(Varese Sarabande)
There are certain lost albums that have, over time, become the stuff of
legend. The Beach Boys' Smile album was one. Prince's notorious bootleg The Black Album was another. The Buffalo Springfield's never-completed Stampede ought to be added to that list
as well.
Also include Papa John Phillips' Pussycat album, the ill-fated, late ‘70s attempt to kick-start his contract with Rolling Stones Records. Despite an impressive cast of players - producers Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, along with guitarists Mick Taylor, Ron Wood and Chris Spedding- the record never saw the light of day, eventually disintegrating in a malaise of drugs, distraction and disarray.
Varese Sarabande has reassembled Pussycat's original recordings (an earlier attempt at reconstructing the album called Pay, Pack and Follow came out in 2001 featuring overdubbed, re-engineered and remixed versions of some of its songs), and its belated release provides renewed archival interest. As with his other Phillips' other solo endeavors post-Mamas and Papas, it boasts nothing in common with the harmony-laden folk-rock of his earlier endeavors. Nevertheless it holds up fairly well, and though some songs are clearly of that era - the bouncy pop of "Wilderness of Love," a rollicking "Mr. Blue" and the gentle love-struck sway of "Susan, Susan" - others recall the ragged country crossover route the Stones learned from Gram Parsons. "She's Just 14," penned for Phillips' daughter Mackenzie, and "Zulu Warrior," a rambling diatribe against apartheid in South Africa, reflect the wasted state of the participants and the frayed circumstance that impacted the proceedings overall.
In addition to the ten tracks intended for the original effort, this reissue adds various outtakes, including a pair of disposable offerings extracted from the sessions for the soundtrack to The Man Who Fell To Earth, David Bowie's cinematic debut. Unfortunately none of the material make this the masterpiece the album might have promised on paper, one reason parent company Atlantic dismissed it originally. But the real irony resides in the track "2001," which finds Phillips predicting he'll be partying into the new millennium. Sadly, it wasn't to be. He passed away that very year.
Standout Tracks: "She's Just 14,"
"Zulu Warrior," "Susan, Susan" LEE ZIMMERMAN
