Mr. Lemons
After opting for a lush and refined sound on his last record,Winter Pays For Summer, Glen Phillips spins the production knobs to zero on his third solo record since leaving Toad the Wet Sprocket in 1998. Songs like "Blind Sight," "Last Sunset," "Marigolds," and "Didn't Think You Cared" are chiefly built around Phillips honey-dipped voice and a lonely guitar, throwing a bone to the legion of fans that prefer his lone-man live performances. But that's not to say Phillips fails to shine in a bigger band setting. "Next Day" and "Everything But You" are unadulterated pop songs, while "Waiting" (featuring backing vocals by Kim Richey) plays like a folk song straight out of 1970s Topanga Canyon. Only a bluesy revamping of Huey Lewis's MTV hit "I Want a New Drug" misses its mark. As hard as Phillips tries to make the song his own, its trite lyrics sound out of place among the many stalwart originals.--Scott Holter