Going "unplugged" has its advantages.
It's fast, easy, presumably less expensive and, if done with care, can bring new life to a worthy artist. Sam Phillips (not to be confused with the Sun Records founder) says it best in the notes to her latest record, "No hi-gloss, no big splash intended. We're all wet from big splashes these days." This thing is more refreshing breeze than big splash. Exotic, rootsy and intimate, Fan Dance is a series of philosophical homilies that sound like they were recorded in the kitchen of an old farm house. Bring extra chairs for the special guest pickers
Swampy guitars back Phillips' sultry voice on the gorgeous title track. A slightly out-of-tune upright piano that wouldn't be out of place in a German coffee house drives Edge of the World. And the lilting Wasting My Time is backed by nothing but a string quartet, arrangement by Van Dyke Parks. The lyrics are as elegant as the sound, with lines like "You think I'm interesting like the apocalypse," in Soul Eclipse - interesting coming from this former Christian singer-songwriter.
Husband-producer T-Bone Burnett shovels plenty of organic, earthy goodness onto these quaint little pop tunes, evoking Tom Waits in places, though many are no more than a minute and a half long. No more needs to be said, I guess. My main beef with this is that it left me wanting more.