Picture Sinead O'Connor with hair, a life and talent, and you have Sam Phillips. Sam Phillips is one of the best singer- songwriters in popular music today, and her latest album, Cruel Inventions, showcases all her many talents. From the eastern Beatlesque sound of Go Down to the almost classical sounding Where the Colors Don't Go, it is obvious that Phillips' childhood was saturated by the Beatles and the Byrds.
The lyrical content of this album deals with the greed of the world (Go Down, Standing Still, Cruel Inventions) and the darker side of love (Now I Can't Find the Door, Hole in Time). Tripping Over Gravity is an eerie song about "missing logic," as Phillips puts it. The lyrics contain some clever symbolism that proves Phillips' talent for songwriting, in that you can still have fun with the music even though you are thinking about it.
Cruel Inventions would have been incomplete without the masterpiece Private Storm. The song talks about the gloomier side of love in a beautiful way. The harmonies blend smoothly and Phillips' voice is in its prime. Lyrics such as "Time doesn't heal, scars turn into wounds" are hard-hitting, yet easy to take, proving once again the remarkable songwriting talent of this artist.
While most artists in 1992 are content to roll on the floor of Club MTV or Dance Party USA, it is good to see someone like Sam Phillips really singing and writing real music.