Grant Lee Philips has an amazing croon. This means that much of the piano, strings, guitar picking and general arrangement on this record are almost beside the point. And now that I think of it, some of the lyrics are a bit rubbish too (‘Good Morning Happiness’ and ‘The Sunshine on Jupiter’ in particular).
A couple of the later songs suit him better (‘The Strangest Thing’, ‘Little Moon’, ‘Night Birds’). If I had my way, he’d always be singing apocalyptic torch-songs to stripped-down folk arrangements. But I’m not Cathy Bates in Misery so I won’t capture him and make him do it. It’s up to him...