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A Boot and a Shoe

News & Reviews

  • Sam Phillips Tours West Coast with "Don't Do Anything," NPR's Song of the Day, and More

    Sam Phillips will be back on the road next week for a short series of dates on the West Coast with songs from her latest Nonesuch release, Don't Do Anything, and from throughout her career. Earlier this week, Acoustic Cafe broadcast a recent live performance, which you can hear online now. Last week, NPR named the title track off the new album its Song of the Day and suggests that when "Phillips sings about the moments that move her heart, [i]t's to her credit that you don't quite know whether it's full to bursting or long since broken."

  • Sam Phillips to Appear on "Acoustic Cafe"

    Sam Phillips and her band perform on the Acoustic Cafe radio show during the week of October 20, 2008. The show was recorded in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during Sam’s recent tour stop in September. 

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.

Credits

MUSICIANS
Sam Phillips, vocals (1-13), guitar (1, 2, 6, 8-13), rhythm guitar (3-5, 7)
Carla Azar, drums (1-5, 7-10, 12, 13)
The Section Quartet:
Eric Gorfain, violin (1, 3, 6-8)
Daphne Chen, violin (1, 3, 6-8)
Richard Dodd, cello (1, 3, 6-8)
Leah Katz, viola (1, 3, 6-8)
Jay Belarose, drums (2, 9, 13)
David Piltch, bass (2)
T Bone Burnett, bass (3, 5-8, 10)
Jim Keltner, drums (3, 5, 7, 8)
Marc Ribot, guitar (3), electric guitar (5)
Patrick Warren, piano (3, 6), pump organ (6)
Chris Bruce, guitar (12), electric guitar (4)
Mike Elizondo, bass (9, 13)

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by T Bone Burnett
Recorded by Mike Piersante at Sunset Sound Records, Hollywood, CA; The Village, West Hollywood, CA; Stagg Street Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Assistant Engineers: Brian Hearity, Jason Wormer, Emile Kelman, Ben Mumphrey
Mixed by T Bone Burnett and Mike Piersante
Mastered by Gavin Lurssen
Production Coordination: Ivy Scoff
Technical Support: Paul Ackling
Executive Producer: David Bither
String arrangements on track 3, 6-8 and 11 by Patrick Warren

All songs composed by Sam Phillips

Design by Doyle Partners
Cover photographs by Eg Project/Photonica (left) and Glen Erler/Photonica (right)

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