Posts Tagged ‘Phil Seymour Band’

PHIL SEYMOUR – ” If You Don’t Want My Love ” Classic Albums

Posted: June 7, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Phil-Seymour-If-You-Dont-Want-My-Love

It’s somewhat difficult to believe that Phil Seymour has been gone for nearly 27 years now, but thanks to the continuing Archive Series (now in its sixth volume), new material from the vault continues to see release. The latest collection is a 15-song feast that includes eight previously unreleased tracks, all recorded prior to Seymour signing with Boardwalk Records and releasing his first solo effort in 1980. (By the by, the overall fidelity is stronger here than on some other posthumous Seymour releases.) There are a clutch of well-traveled covers—including the Equals’ “Baby Come Back,” the Dave Clark Five’s “Come Home,” and a 1985 live version of Dwight Twilley’s “Looking for the Magic,” recorded for a radio broadcast during Seymour’s tenure with the Textones—but the real gold here is to be found in the lesser-known tunes. To wit: the title track is a slammin’, hyper take of a cool John Prine number; the Tom Petty-penned rarity “I Can’t Fight It” is a Chuck Berry-styled punk-ish rocker; and the pounding “Wish it Was a Saturday” (love the bluesy harp) lyrically recalls the Bangles-via-Prince hit “Manic Monday.” All feature the voice—that beautifully unique voice—that Phil Seymour fans cherish and still miss. The closing track is Seymour’s home demo (with just vocal and guitar) of the touching “I Really Love You,” a song from his first solo album. I’m not crying, You’re crying.

In his short career Phil Seymour was hailed by Shelter Records founders Leon Russell and Denny Cordell, received production offers from Phil Spector, played with Tom Petty, Chris Spedding, the Textones, Roy Orbison and Del Shannon, and counted among his friends and fans people from the worlds of power pop, roots rock, New Wave and indie Rock. With kindred spirit Dwight Twilley, Phil forged a determination to bring back melodic pop songs. They spent several years mastering harmony, piano, guitar, drums and the art of crafting a high-quality song, building a home studio where they spent endless hours recording under the name Oister. In 1974 they set off for Los Angeles and renamed themselves the Dwight Twilley Band.

Soon they were in the US Top 20 with ‘I’m On Fire’, but frustrations followed as Shelter dealt with financial difficulties, and Phil decided to go solo. Initially he struggled to find a foothold but once the new wave hit America, the Phil Seymour Band stormed Hollywood and became one of the hottest acts on the circuit. Signed to Neil Bogart’s Boardwalk label, by 1981 Phil was at #22 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with the self-penned classic ‘Precious To Me’. More terrific releases followed until his untimely death from cancer. IF YOU DON’T WANT MY LOVE / Archive Series 6, contains 8 previously unreleased tracks recorded prior to his record deal with Boardwalk, including productions by Denny Cordell and Phil Spector. These spirited masters and demos with songs by John Prine, Dwight Twilley, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, provide insight into the creative process of the early days of the Phil Seymour band and the development of his first two albums. A portion of the proceeds from this CD will be donated to TEEN CANCER AMERICA.

PHIL SEYMOUR – ” Prince Of Power Pop “

Posted: November 14, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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His star burnt only briefly but to lovers of 1980s power pop Phil Seymour was a shining light. This collection of his finest work is enhanced by 11 previously unreleased recordings. Collection released this month on Ace Records.

For many of us who grew up in the 60s, one thing we missed most in the following decades was the short, quick jab of a powerful 45 from groups such as the Who, the Searchers, the Kinks, the Hollies and the Beatles. Where had all those punchy pop songs gone? Phil Seymour grew up listening to all those British Invasion bands in his home city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and with kindred spirit Dwight Twilley forged a determination to bring back melodic pop songs. They spent several years mastering harmony, piano, guitar, drums and the art of crafting a high-quality song, building a home studio where they spent endless hours recording under the name Oister.

In 1974 they set off for Los Angeles and were soon picked up Denny Cordell and Leon Russell’s Shelter Records. Cordell was rather taken with Twilley’s name and renamed them the Dwight Twilley Band. Soon they were in the US Top 20 with ‘I’m On Fire’, but frustrations followed as Shelter struggled with financial difficulties, and Phil decided to go solo. Initially he struggled to find a foothold but once the new wave hit America, the Phil Seymour Band stormed Hollywood and became one of the hottest acts on the circuit.

Signed to Neil Bogart’s Boardwalk label, by 1981 Phil was at #22 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with the self-penned classic ‘Precious To Me’. More terrific releases followed and for a while he was the brightest star on the horizon, but Bogart’s death in 1983 meant the end of Phil’s Boardwalk contract. He doggedly continued to make good music but contracted lymphoma and died in 1993 at age 41.

Handsomely packaged with a 20-page booklet sporting rare photos and extensive notes incorporating interviews with bandmate Michael Anderson and recording engineer Bill Cooper, our collection comprises 13 of Phil’s finest recordings and 11 never-before-heard gems. Pride of place among the previously unissued tracks goes to nine demos cut at producer Richie Podolor’s American Recording Company studio in Los Angeles’ Studio City in 1980. As wonderful as the later released versions are, nothing can match the primitive excitement that pervades the demos, which bristle with life, energy and the sheer joy of knowing that something very special is being created in the studio. Altogether a fitting tribute to this much-missed prince of power pop.