The Fall & Further Decline of The Mighty King of Love

SONG BY SONG

This was to be the album I was going to make with Ralph and Billy of Crazy Horse. We had a couple of great rehearsals and could’ve done it had we a mobile unit in Ralph’s garage. Logistics didn’t help as they live in Ca. I live in Nashville and we all have to work for a living, me on the road solo, them with that Canadian folk-rock singer who works em steady and pays em good. ‘Phil Lee and The Horse He Rode In On’ at some point, will be made

Phil and album producer Richard Bennett

I HATED TO SEE YOU GO

A rare co-write with the legendary Barry Goldberg, famous as the piano player w/ the Detroit Wheels, The Electric Flag w/ Michael Bloomfield and Buddy Miles, the writer of ‘I’m Going To Use My Imagination’ for Gladys Knight, but mostly famous for taking the hatchet away from Pete Seeger before he could chop Bob Dylan’s head off with it. Yes, he was the piano player in the band when Dylan went electric at Newport. These are the kind of people I hang with. Did I tell you I gave Slash his start? Never mind, it’s not important. The song is straight out of the Stax Volt play book. A one take live cut that turned out just like we meant for it to. Dave Roe on bass, Ken Coomer on drums, me on electric and Richard Bennett on my Southern jumbo playing fills. On the organ is the love interest for this record, Jen Gunderman, the prettiest ‘go to guy’ for keyboards in Nashville. Last, but certainly not least, the fantastic Taryn Engle Singers.

Jen in the Key of EEEEK Flat

Blues In Reverse

I wrote this for Slim Harpo, or maybe he wrote it for me. It’s a blues tune any white man should feel comfortable singing. A song about apprehension, the dread of the other foot getting ready to drop. Love the way this turned out. The rhythm section should get an award for self-restraint, and we all took a solo each. Well, I got two, the harp solo and the last guitar solo, George the first solo, Richard the second one.

Chloe

My favorite this week. I owed my grand daughter a song, having written a nice lullaby for my grandson when he was a baby. In the end, this is not a lullaby and it’s not about Chloe, it’s a scary New Orlean’s influenced rocker. Chloe, here after known as the client, was thrilled. She’s a 4 year old over-the-top cute maniac who was born to rock. The other grandparents don’t seem to be as impressed with this one as are Chloe and I. 

Every Time

By way of staying on top of all the latest musical crazes we present our first skiffle tune of the record, cut live with Dave Roe on upright bass, Richard Bennett on washboard and yours truly on the Republic resonator, HWY 61 model. We did dub in Tom Mason on dobro and George Bradfute on the banjo or banjer Grandma Flossie would say. Written for a friend who would’ve written it himself had he been mean and sorry enough. The more pointed verses didn’t make it to the record. Come to a show and I’ll sing those maybe, in any case these are the ones I remembered and they are fine.

Phil resonating

Cold Ground

‘Is there something I can do?’ I found I was either saying this or hearing it at least once a month there for a while, as I walked by one casket after another. When the one you truly love dies, your wife, friend, husband. mama or dog, there is nothing anybody can do. But you have to ask. For the recording we had different friends come in and read the line “Is there something I can do?”, then sing it and in the end our chorus of angels chimes in and drives the point home. No wait, I drive the point home, “Go have a chat with God, tell him I’m taking it kinda hard; don’t put my baby in the cold cold ground.” Rocks pretty good for a dirge.

All You Need

Written with the late great Duane Jarvis. He gave me a leg up in my early days in Nashville, on a European tour hiring me to be the driver, the drummer and opening act. Duane soon came to regret giving one man that much power. It’s different from his version but I don’t think he’d mind so much how it turned out. I really miss old Duane.

The Hobo’s Girl

When I was an OTR truck driver parked in a dock waiting to be unloaded I was writing a song about my lunch. It quickly degenerated/evolved into one of my personal favourite love songs as there really wasn’t much to say about beanie weenies and saltines that hadn’t already been said before. My wife loves this one, not because it’s about her, but because of the great George Bradfute and his magical slide guitar stylings. This is a one take, live vocal with George dubbing in the slide, basically aping the fiddle parts he did on the original version. Ken Coomer and Dave Roe on drums and bass, the rock-solid foundation, Richard Bennett and I on electrics. Richard is playing the theme to Perry Mason, I’m playing Tumbling Tumbleweeds. Equal parts the Perry Mason theme and Tumbling Tumbleweeds, hey you play what you know.

Dave Roe and Ken Coomer

I Like Everything

A simple little tune that harkens back to my early early days in the biz. That would be the mid-to-late ’60s. It’s a straight ahead ditty with me going on about a person I like. A lot. It’s a good ending song (we don’t want to go, but we GOTTA go.) I keep thinking Tom Jones would absolutely kill this song. If you see him, please tell him so and give him my number.

She Don’t Let Love Get In The Way

Seems all the girls I know work hard. Real hard. This is a song about that. As the laziest man in show business this is something that has always fascinated me, the idea that art is something you do when all the chores are done. Anyway this song is about a woman who refuses to let love gum up the works, she gives what she can, when she can, but mostly it’s ‘Yes, I love you, but this has got to be done and I’m the girl who does it, so next time you’re through, please call.’  It’s a rumba or a tango or something. As a husband who rarely delivers the goods on any level, when the wife suggested dancing lessons I said ‘oh yeah baby, I’d love to.’ I found it to be great exercise and with the choreography I’ve worked into the act, I’ve been able to raise my fee by $50.00 dollars. A highlight on this one would be Richard Bennett’s brilliant raquinto work on the second and last verses. On the other end of the quality spectrum is my hot solo which I begged someone, anyone to replace. The production team’s answer to that was to double it, crank it up and shoot it back out both speakers. I choose to think when people hear it and laugh, that they’re really laughing WITH me.

What Your Baby Wants

‘A little less idiot, a little more savant, THAT’S what your baby wants’. I’ve had that line floating around for a while ever since my wife gave it to me after I set the house on fire with a Dremel tool. That’s me on the Republic resonator and Richard playing slide on my old Gibson SJ on another live cut, we got in (on time) Ken called to say he had to change somebody’s diaper or something and he’d be late so we did this one. You perfectionist types will notice the form isn’t always the same every verse. We were figuring it out as we went along. We added a bass – Richard- (thought it was jug didn’t you?) and snare drum – me- later. There were a couple of takes and though this wasn’t the best one, it really was, so this is it. Turned out nice I think. Memo to self-straighten up, fly right, do what you’re supposed to do

Richard Bennett

Let Your Mind Roll On

Written at the 2011 folk music convention in Memphis where there were a million people, really going places, on their way up, me being possibly the only person there who wasn’t. In an elevator listening to this young woman go on about her lawyers and her big break, and how this was happening and how that was happening, and how it was good because if it didn’t all happen by Thursday, she was totally fucked. I was ready to scream or pitch her out a window. Funny thing is I was giving that same speech not more than 30 minutes later. Oh yes, I know this guy and I’m doing such and such and I’m playing with that guy and so and so is cutting this song, blah blah, blipty bloop. Anyway, this is my anti folk singer protest song.

It Can’t Hurt

I always pluck an innocent soul out of the audience to say I wrote this song about. In this particular instance, Kristin Diable was the victim of the evening. She opened up the show, she was easily 9 feet tall and the most georgeous human being that ever lived and was GOOD. Irritatingly so. The whole thing worked out well, everybody was in a good mood, all suffering from my favorite affliction, ‘the curse of the easily amused.’ When the people are having fun, by golly I’m having fun too. Recorded live at Chris Maxwells Red Dragon Listening Room, in Baton Rouge, LA. Correction: I never this sang this song at the Grand Old Opry, I never spoke to Little Jimmy Dickens. what can I tell you, I’m old, I say things.

Phil & Richard