Martinis & Bikinis
By Sam Phillips
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Track listing
Show track credits
- 1 Love and Kisses 0:56
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songwriter
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- 2 Signposts 2:19
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songwriter
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- 3 Same Rain 4:11
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songwriter
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songwriter
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- 4 Baby I Can't Please You 3:30
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songwriter
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producer
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string arrangements
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strings
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strings
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strings
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strings
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- 5 Circle of Fire 3:12
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songwriter
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- 6 Strawberry Road 4:05
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songwriter
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- 7 When I Fall 5:07
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songwriter
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- 8 Same Changes 4:44
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songwriter
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songwriter
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- 9 Black Sky 4:03
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songwriter
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- 10 Fighting With Fire 3:00
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songwriter
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- 11 I Need Love 3:39
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songwriter
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- 12 Wheel of the Broken Voice 4:00
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songwriter
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- 13 Gimme Some Truth 3:27
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songwriter
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- Total length: 46:13
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
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4 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
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Martinis & Bikinis Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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Martinis & Bikinis 33 rpm, Bonus Tracks, Colored Vinyl, Gatefold, Limited Edition, Remastered
12 Reviews
This is one of my favorite Americana rock albums - a truly underappreciated gem. It is also my favorite from Ms. Phillips. I even love the b&w cover with the bogus clothing label on it. And there is Colin Moulding of XTC on bass (!)
Published
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I stumbled upon this 1994 album on a list of Tom Waits's favorite records and it's easy to hear why he likes it so much. Waits is drawn to unusual sonicscapes and T-Bone Burnette's production imbues Phillips's sultry songs with an experimental vibe reminiscent of 1966-1967-era Beatles. Its psychedelic tone isn't mere imitation, however. This overlooked album brings back sense of adventure and excitement heard in much of the music of the 1960s as well.
Published
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1
Love and Kisses
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2
Signposts
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3
Same Rain
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4
Baby I Can't Please You
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5
Circle of Fire
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6
Strawberry Road
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7
When I Fall
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8
Same Changes
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9
Black Sky
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10
Fighting With Fire
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11
I Need Love
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12
Wheel of the Broken Voice
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13
Gimme Some Truth
Published
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1
Love and Kisses
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2
Signposts
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3
Same Rain
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4
Baby I Can't Please You
-
5
Circle of Fire
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6
Strawberry Road
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7
When I Fall
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8
Same Changes
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9
Black Sky
-
10
Fighting With Fire
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11
I Need Love
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12
Wheel of the Broken Voice
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13
Gimme Some Truth
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14
I Need Love
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15
Fighting With Fire (Remix)
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16
Black Sky (Version 2)
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17
Strawberry Road (2012 Version)
Love songs with a subversive twist
Just a great album to listen to. Great songs, great ensemble playing, great production. Yes it is Beatlesque but in a fresh, glorious loving way. Yes it is fun to play name that riff here. The chippy choppy guitar riff of “Signposts” bears a resemblance to the one that runs through “She’s A Woman’ and “Same Change” does seem to have the guitar ghost of “If I Needed Someone” subliminally haunting its melody. But make no mistake Sam Phillips is not a backwards looking nostalgic 1960’s revivalist. The power lies in the songs and given the creative production of her then husband T-Bone Burnett, Ms. Phillips talents are showcased with in a distinctly unique modern vision. And yes the songs are strong; love songs with a subversive twist. “Baby I Can’t Please You” may be about a controlling lover but more likely seems to be a critique of what she views as religious hypocrites (“I Need Love”) expresses similar sentiments but in a more explicit way), “When I Fall” seems to be about falling in love but maybe it is about falling out of love. “Strawberry Road” is a song that I thought I had figured out but then the meaning keeps changing context like a childhood memory. This album is so great and so unheralded. As Sam Phillip herself asks in the liner notes of the 2012 reissue “Does pop music have to be popular? Can you make your music known without being famous?” Yes these are rhetorical questions. All I know is I love the music that is contained on this album.
Core band on Martinis and Bikinis:
T-Bone Burnett, Mickey Curry, David Mansfield, Colin Moulding, Jerry Scheff
One more thing sorry Mr. Partridge, but this is the best album that Colin Moulding ever played bass on.
Published
OVCD-24 CD (2012)
Full of unexpected turns, nuances and depth. This is the good side of pop, restless and mature.
Published
This was a surprise for me when I first heard it, more than a decade ago. It's very good pop-rock, with great songs and melodies. T-Bone's production fits perfectly.
I love "Signposts", "Baby I Can't Please You", "When I Fall, "I Need Love" and specially the amazingly beautiful "Strawberry Road".
I love "Signposts", "Baby I Can't Please You", "When I Fall, "I Need Love" and specially the amazingly beautiful "Strawberry Road".
Published
Media Play is closing all its stores in the northeast so I picked up a bunch of things for cheap. This one set me back a buck or so, but I'm sad to report that that's about all it's worth. Overproduced by hubby T-Bone Burnett, apparently in order to mask what are essentially some pretty weak songs (an ill-advised cover of "Gimme Some Truth" included, "Baby I Can't Please You" a notable exception). Cliched and/or awkward lyrically, with that ever-present moralism that T-Bone and co. always like to sneak in - lotsa fire, some rain - but it's the "Same Rain" and the "Same Changes" as two song titles say. Perhaps Sam is saying that, despite our differences, we all must answer to God, but it sounds like the same old bullshit to me.
Published
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this has some songs that sounded very familiar to me. "when i fall" and "i need love" struck a chord with me ever since i first heard them and they stuck. they remain the great, thoughtful pop songs that they are. sam phillips has a voice that you might call idiosyncratic. it's rough around the edges but it's rarely ruffled. she sounds strong while seemingly bruised. it gives her beatlesque melodies original depth and weight. indeed, this is her most obvious ode to the british band. the instrumentation is diverse, a definite sixties tinge but modern and always enjoyable.
Published
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Catalog
16 May 2024
9 May 2024
7 May 2024
5 Apr 2024
21 Mar 2024
11 Mar 2024
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1
Love and Kisses
-
2
Signposts
-
3
Same Rain
-
4
Baby I Can't Please You
-
5
Circle of Fire
-
6
Strawberry Road
-
7
When I Fall
-
8
Same Changes
-
9
Black Sky
-
10
Fighting With Fire
-
11
I Need Love
-
12
Wheel of the Broken Voice
-
13
Gimme Some Truth
22 Feb 2024
28 Jan 2024
10 Jan 2024
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1
Love and Kisses
-
2
Signposts
-
3
Same Rain
-
4
Baby I Can't Please You
-
5
Circle of Fire
-
6
Strawberry Road
-
7
When I Fall
-
8
Same Changes
-
9
Black Sky
-
10
Fighting With Fire
-
11
I Need Love
-
12
Wheel of the Broken Voice
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13
Gimme Some Truth
31 Dec 2023
24 Dec 2023
3 Dec 2023
31 Oct 2023
9 Oct 2023
8 Oct 2023