PHILLIPS 66 contains new songs and newly recorded versions of "California Dreamin'" and "Me And My Uncle".

Personnel includes: John Phillips (vocals, guitar); Sid McGinnis (acoustic & electric guitars); David Baxter (acoustic guitar, electric 12-string guitar); Chris Spedding (electric guitar); Herb Peterson (guitar); Gilbert Hansen (harmonica); Steve P. Madaio (trumpet); Leon Pendarvis (piano, electric piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Paul Shaffer (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, harmonium); John Kito (Farfisa organ); Will Lee, John REgan (bass); Anton Fig (drums); Debra Dobkin (percussion); Dillon O'Brian, Davey Faragher, Bill Cleary (background vocals).

Producers: John Phillips, Harvey Jay Goldberg.

Recorded at Sound On Sound, New York, New York.

Personnel: John Phillips (background vocals); Herb Peterson (guitar); David Baxter (acoustic guitar, electric 12-string guitar); Sid McGinnis (acoustic guitar); Chris Spedding (electric guitar); Jonathan Dysart, Vladimir Polimatidi (violin); Joel Lish (viola); Mary Horoshevsky (cello); Gilbert Hansen (harmonica); Steve Madaio (trumpet); Leon Pendarvis (piano, electric piano); Paul Shaffer (piano, harmonium); John Kito (Farfisa); Anton Fig (drums); Debra Dobkin (percussion); Davey Faragher, Dillon O'Brian, Fernando Gonzalez, Bill Cleary, Ariel A. De La Rosa (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Harvey Goldberg.

Recording information: Sound on Sound Studios, New York, NY.

Photographers: Jonathan Appel; Michael Camerini; Jeff Schnorr; Roger Montogomery.

John Phillips' third solo album, and the second to be released within months of his death, Phillips 66 (the title referring to the age the artist would have reached nine days after the album's release, had he lived) shares with its predecessor, Pay Pack & Follow, a long gestation period. The earlier album was actually recorded in the 1970s, while Phillips 66, if its recording sessions occurred closer to its release date, contains songs written over the course of Phillips' career, dating back, in the case of "Me and My Uncle," to his folkie days, before the formation of the Mamas and the Papas. That uncharacteristic Western story-song (which Phillips always said he didn't remember writing) went on to become a staple of the Grateful Dead's set list, but Phillips reclaims it here, after reviving his best-known song, "California Dreamin'," in a version with a muted trumpet and background vocals in Spanish. "Boys From the South" derives from Phillips' score for the Broadway musical Man on the Moon (1975), and other songs on the album also seem to have been around for a while. The diversity of material works to the album's benefit, however. It seems to have a little of everything, from the Caribbean-styled "She Got She" (which Jimmy Buffett should consider adding to his repertoire), to the country-ish "Gram's Song." "Average Man" recounts the lifelong romantic pursuit of a man known to be attracted to much younger women, and its chorus, "I'm sixty-five, I'm still alive, and I'm feeling great," is given only a slight irony by the circumstances under which it has been released. Phillips 66 is not the best of John Phillips, but it is a respectable effort from a talented songwriter whose career was notoriously spotty. ~ William Ruhlmann

Amazingly, pop auteur John Phillips only made three solo albums after the breakup of the Mamas & the Papas. The first was the masterpiece WOLK KING OF L.A., which mixed country-rock with California folk-pop. The second an ill advised knock-off years later backed by the Rolling Stones. PHILLIPS 66 gets it's title from the age Phillips would have been around the time of its release; sadly he never made it. Both a statement of continued artistic validity and a wistful look back, the album contains new versions of a couple of Phillips's old gems and previously unheard compositions stockpiled over the years.

Phillips's wizened voice has a world-weary quality similar to that of Bob Dylan on TIME OUT OF MIND, but while Dylan just sounded near death, Phillips actually was. New depths of sadness are revealing in the deceptively sunny classic "California Dreamin'" and it's a treat to finally hear the writer's own version of Me and My Uncle," which became a staple of the Grateful Dead's repertoire for decades. As befitting a studied popster, Phillips is backed by the rhythm section from the David Letterman band in slick (though not overproduced), studio-perfect fashion, but the grittiness of Phillips's voice is enough to keep things from sounding too smooth.

Q (10/01, p.128) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A surprisingly graceful coda to one of rock's most f***ed-up careers..."

Mojo (Publisher) (11/01, p.120) - "...A breathtakingly personal portrait of Papa John....razor-sharp lyrics matched with swaying melodies..."