Sam Phillips

Fan Dance reinvented Sam Philips as a seductive, sophisticated pop writer and the follow-up uses many of the same subtle textures, if a bit less successfully. The pair of opening tracks, "How To Quit" and "All Night," both shuffle with the same after-hours cabaret feel that made Fan Dace so thrilling, but others, like "If I Could Write" and "I Wanted To Be Alone," seem a bit unfinished. The delicate production by Philip's ex T-Bone Burnett is all velvet and crystal, endowing the shadowy melody of "Red Silk 5" and "Reflecting Light" the proper degree of mysterious intimacy.