Sam Phillips - Omnipop Its Only A Flesh Wound Lambchop (12 tracks) +Album Reviews +Used CD available for Swap

A Major Disappointment

Chuck Limmer | Glendale, AZ USA | 12/20/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Some background: I've bought and loved all of Sam's prior secular releases, beginning with THE INDESCRIBABLE WOW (which I recently listed among my Top 20 Albums of the '80s in an on-line poll). I even enjoyed some of her prior Christian recordings as Leslie Phillips. I've paid good money to see her perform live. Over the years, I've raved about her smart, melodic, beautifully-sung pop rock to anyone who would listen. I have been, in other words, a fan.I couldn't stand this album.I really tried. Listened to it straight through; put it in the changer on random with her other discs; shelved it and came back to it weeks later: nothing worked. After about six months, I gave up and traded it away.Quirky arrangements, oddball instrumentation, not an unaffected lead vocal line to be heard anywhere. Worst of all, the classic pop melodies 'n hooks that informed all her previous work had pretty much disappeared.If you only want an overview of Sam's career, last year's compilation ZERO ZERO ZERO is probably the way to go; it includes a couple of cuts from OMNIPOP, which will give you an idea of what you're (not) missing. A better investment would be any/all of her three prior secular albums, INDESCRIBABLE WOW, CRUEL INVENTIONS, and MARTINIS & BIKINIS. Avoid this one, though--and join me in hoping for Sam's return to form in the not-too-distant future."

Very Interesting Music...

Batmanbrb | Seymour, IN United States | 06/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sam Phillips remains a highly praised artist by critics, but woefully under-supported by the masses. She intentionally flips back and forth between 'commercial' releases and then 'experimental and artistic' releases. Her debut "Indescribable Wow" was a commercial release, which contained some of the best pop songs every written. Then, she took an experimental and artistic turn with the gem "Cruel Inventions". Then, she came back with the commercial "Martinis and Bikinis", so now we are back to the 'experimental and artistic' with Omnipop. This CD is way out in left field and themes mostly on sexuality and it really works. My favorite cuts are the first song, which to me, is one of her best. She took the word 'entertainment' and left off the 't' on the end and look what you got: "Entertain-men", which is the focus of this song - how life can sometimes revolve around what entertains men, especially where women are concerned. Is it just me or does Sam's voice sound so incredibly sexy when she sings "Watch me... Watch me... Ahhhhh.... Oh let me by your TV, AAHHHHH"!?!? I love the freshness and artsy-ness of "Plastic is Forever". I absolutely loved the sexy and jazzy "Help Yourself". Die-hard fans will find "Power World" a familiar Sam Phillip's trademark. You can always count on Sam to never sound the same, and this one is her most intriguing release to date."

Sam expands into new musical horizons

Batmanbrb | 07/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I disagree with Jeff Bateman's and Stephen Thomas Erlewine's (allmusic.com) criticisms of this album. The styles, ranging from guitar feedback experimentalism to pastiches of easy listening, only serve to broaden the palette for the super-fastidious, ultra-thoughtful, lyrical songwriting of Sam Phillips. These are not merely complex, biting comments on society and relationships (remarkable enough for today's "pop" music) but brilliantly constructed songs, in every aspect matching the quality tradition of Weill, or Brecht. This album is best seen as the maturation of her model of mimesis; for it demonstrates a freedom to explore a new, unfamiliar sounds, yet one that is grounded in her own mastery of the pop idiom. Anyone who puts down this work in comparison to Martinis and Bikinis isn't giving Sam her fair shake as an artist. Don't expect those who are truly creative to stay in the same niche of sound, or of color, or of whatever medium, to which you have grown accustomed. Let's hope Sam will come out with a few more albums that are again in a new direction."

Not for the Pure in Heart.

Batmanbrb | 04/29/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you liked "Cruel Inventions" then you will probably like this offering also. Ms. Phillips does touch on some of the interesting themes of Modernity. Her criticism of the "tube" is very timely as we watch the horror in Littleton, CO and see two mentally ill teenagers become infamous over night. Probably, just what they wanted. In the song Plastic is Forever we find the following lyric: "pain is pleasure when its televised"; in Power World: "look at how they've washed your brain down the info tv drain". The reality is that "nothing is so beautiful, nothing is so continually fresh and surprising, so full of sweet and perpetual ecstasy, as the good; no desert is so dreary, monotonous and boring as evil. But with fantasy it's the other way round. Fictional good is boring and flat, while fictional evil is varied, intriguing, attractive and full of charm". (Simone Weil)"

Great music for active listening

TT | Secaucus, NJ | 02/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of my favorite CDs. Not your regular pop album. Zero is nice and melodious. Other songs are more grinding and complex. Great for multiple listning or challenging your high end Hifi system. Sorry to see she went "unplugged" inlast album. ...!"

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