Sunday, April 27, 2014

Philip John - Master The Monster

Those end of year "best of" lists always help me discover Power Pop gems I missed during the previous year and no one has help me discover more Power Pop than David Bash.  Last year while going through David's best of 2013 list I learned about the incredible band Mothboxer. I've enjoyed each Mothboxer album more than the next.  A truly great band.

David Bash's 2008 list contained mention of a spectacular but little known album by Philip John. That album Master the Monster was never widely released though individual tracks were made available on social networking sites Facebook, Myspace and Bebo. I've collected a sampler of the available tracks and together they add up to an incomplete but still spectacular Power Pop album with first class arrangements and production..  Shades of XTC and Pugwash, Supergrass, the Beach Boys and Beatles.   I'm still short of the complete album and have been looking for years for the missing tracks. If anyone has them, please let me know.  
Philip is evidently working on a new album.  Here's hoping it's near the quality of his elusive first effort.

1 A Million Minds
2 Strange World
3 Sunny Afternoon
4 Broken Dreams
5 Too Much is Goin' On
6 Dynamite
7 Don't Let it Die
8 The Game
9 A Million Minds (Vocal Mix)
10 Strange World (Vocal Mix)