The World From The Side Of The Moon

Phillip Phillips knows what he has to do

Phillip Phillips is a new honored graduate of the American Idol contest. Basically, an achievement of this kind automatically gives you a green light to the world of big music business and great prospects. All you have to do is get going right now and run to a studio to prepare your debut long player with a cover featuring a name that is being spoken and argued about at every corner. And he did what he had to. Despite the tradition to give a first record your beautiful name, Phillip blessed it with a fascinating and memorable line The World from the Side Of The Moon. Long before this product was out in November 2012, critics and attentive listeners knew that the CD would present a modern interpretation of folk rock in the vein of Dave Matthews Band, and Mumford & Sons. Actually, this release is mainly a must have for followers of these two ensembles.

The beginning of The World From The Side Of The Moon dictates the music of the entire album

A good beginning is known to get half work done, and in this respect the beginning of The World From The Side Of The Moon works a hundred per cent. Combinations of acoustic guitar chords with occasional and accurate insertions of banjo and strings form a light and festive atmosphere you would not want to leave. Man On The Moon, Gone, Gone, Gone, and particularly the catchy single Home that many have already tasted set a bar to the album very high. Probably, too high. The thing is the remaining tracks at their best only repeat after the first three. A couple of listens allows to make a confident conclusion that the advantage of this album is not the content, but form and delivery. Should Hold On, or Tell Me A Story have been in a different shape, they would have been forgotten a half an hour later, but on this record the flawless production and Phillip’s almost incredibly charming vocals turn them into irresistible songs to be enjoyed over and over. That is how Phillips plays on the safe side as he resorts to the same tricks on each track, always delivering a good result. The same result, though.

Phillips remains a mystery

The World From The Side Of The Moon bears the burden of a debut album and therefore it can not have what could be featured on subsequent records. There can hardly be any doubts that as time goes by we will get to know Phillip Phillips as a good song-writer, not only as a good performer, but his debut album produces a sensation that he does what he is expected to do rather than his creative impulse tells him to do. And this is the reason why the highlights here are dynamic and melodious pieces like the aforementioned Home, or Up Get Down, songs where you can never recognize the young artist’s original style. Each of the presented tracks strived to follow the standards of an existing style and sound in the way that could get them to airplay. When it comes to this there can be nothing wrong about this album; it will be a commercial success, a public favorite as will its promo gigs be sold out. In the meantime, the audience have received the music that is a hit today, folk rock in a new, more energetic and melodious, shape, but Phillips is still on the way to us.