Sam Phillips

A Boot and a Shoe

About this Album

In a recent concert review, The New York Times says, “If understatement could peak, it would have when Sam Phillips performed.” That’s an apt description for Phillips’ new album, A Boot and a Shoe, which is produced by T Bone Burnett and derives much of its power from restraint and subtlety. The arrangements are remarkably simple, consisting mostly of acoustic guitar, electric bass, drums and Phillips’ vocals. The playing and singing are hushed throughout, although the reverberations of loosened drums and aging guitars are audible at every turn.

The record’s thirteen new songs unfold with the intimacy and organic coherence of a live show. Musically dynamic but never cluttered, the album includes occasional piano vamps and string arrangements by Patrick Warren, electric bass by T Bone Burnett and drums by Jim Keltner, Jay Belarose and Carla Azar (Autolux).

A Boot and a Shoe, is Phillips’ eighth studio album and follows her critically lauded Nonesuch Records debut, Fan Dance (2001), which also was produced by Burnett. Fan Dance initiated a stylistic departure that A Boot and a Shoe, builds upon: the records’ spare, spacious sound diverges from the lush production of Omnipop (1996) and the Grammy-nominated Martinis and Bikinis (1994), which featured Phillips’ hit “I Need Love.” In addition to her acclaimed albums, Phillips has contributed music to a number of major films and television shows, including the popular WB show “Gilmore Girls.”

Although he has collaborated with Phillips on many of her albums, Burnett’s role in her most recent two recordings is particularly vital, as he is well known for helping artists explore new ground. Perhaps best known for producing the six million-selling O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, Burnett has produced albums by The Wallflowers, Gillian Welch, Roy Orbison, Elvis Costello, and others.