Looks like Value Village is turning into my go-to place to find great CDs. (I'm not sure if that's a good thing or just very, very sad. I'm leaning toward the latter.)
Sam (Leslie) Phillips was a Contemporary Christian singer (think Amy Grant -- man, I really need to post about her music some day) who eventually turned her back on that genre -- maybe it was "the Cyndi Lauper of Christian music" tag that did it? -- and now releases albums with more of a pure pop '60s-informed style. "The Indescribable Wow' was the first foray into the new world, and it's an incredible 'debut'.
Sam's voice is thin and reedy (imagine Stevie Nicks sped up) -- but that's not a bad thing here. So much 'pop' music is basically vocalists with limited range performing exceptional material, and that's the case here with Sam (though she does push her voice to the edge on "What You Don't Want to Hear"). Check out the musical talent on display here: producer/performer T Bone Burnett (and Mr. Sam Phillips, at least at the time), drummer Steve Jordan (Keith Richards), percussionist Alex Acuna (Weather Report, Joni Mitchell), bassist Buell Niedlinger (don't even ask..), and arranger Van Dyke Parks (The Beach Boys' "Smile"), and of course, the exceptional songs by Sam. Lyrically insightful, incredibly tuneful.
Naturally, this album pretty much went nowhere. Those of us who were aware of it at the time continue to carry a torch, and retrospectively, it has attained 'lost classic' status. I still hear new things I missed after all these years. Subtle, rich, poppy yet deep.
It's pretty much out of print now, and I got it for less than 2 bucks. Is this a great country or what?
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