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Alien from an Alternate Earth

by E.G. Phillips

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1.
Till We Have Faces Again 02:30
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Saw you bop’n down the block Winds flirt’n with your skirt Your naked eyes flashed a smile at me In a way that’s bound to hurt Till we have faces again Till we have faces again Kidnapped to a castle High up in the clouds You only visit when you’re invisible That’s all the gods will allow Till we have faces again Till we have faces again Raucous echoes down below Guess my neighbors are do’in fine It’s my bad luck the pandemic struck With no prospects on the line Been homebound most my days Quarantine’s hardly changed my ways Love’s illusory at the best of times Snuck into your bedroom Lit a candle to catch a glimpse Spilt hot wax by accident Now you’ve vanished to the wind ​ Till we have faces again Till we have faces again Till we have faces again…
2.
This Infertile Valley 03:02
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​You can’t satiate this thirsty ground Nothing of sustenance can be found No seeds I plant will germinate Yet I come here when hunger comes ‘round Here the tree roots only grow shallow The blood of the wounded has salted the soil Out on the skyline a thunderhead blooms A coyote is skulking along the arroyo It’s time to leave this infertile valley It’s time to leave this infertile valley The unfinished furrows, the abandoned plows The swords that forged them all nameless now The well has gone dry, the windmill is weary Foundations jut out like a sunken ship’s bow I saw you next to your dingy Volkswagen Slumped on its side with a busted back axle You were crank’n away on a rusty pump handle To coax one last drop forth through your sheer passion It’s time to leave this infertile valley It’s time to leave this infertile valley The ancient Maya and old Babylon Fell long ago and are long since gone It’s a matter on which academics debate Maybe they just felt like moving on It’s time to leave this infertile valley It’s time to leave this infertile valley It’s time to leave this infertile valley
3.
The Octopus Song 04:41
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From your point of view it must be a wonder I somehow manage to survive I don’t have suckers and I can’t change color To instantly don a disguise Perhaps this ancient is notion not so absurd You’re not from the ocean But a much older universe You slipped through the cracks between worlds Now you cannot return You’re an alien from an alternate Earth You’re a curious one, you have your moods, You’ve got real personality You’ll swim up ’n greet us when we open your tank Or you’ll squirt at me Perhaps this ancient is notion not so absurd You’re not from the ocean But a much older universe You slipped through the cracks between worlds Now you cannot return You’re an alien from an alternate Earth Does consciousness arise from a series of parallel But independent processes? Constructed in the moment it’s a useful delusion If not a disease One we are cured of once our minds drift off Into the oblivious sea? As for sleights of hand and multi-tasking You’ve got the humans all beat With one arm you stole the fish bucket And occupied us with another three Perhaps this ancient is notion not so absurd You’re not from the ocean But a much older universe You slipped through the cracks between worlds Now you cannot return You’re an alien from an alternate Earth We’ve built an environment that’s more suited for you Than it is for us This infinite division of our attention is not something To which I’ll adjust If you grind the gems of paradise They become worthless dust I once captained a ship now I’m playing for tips In the lobby of a posh hotel I’m the wallpaper; I’m the jukebox I’m also the wishing well Perhaps this flight of fancy is not so absurd I’ve gone and slipped through the cracks From another universe I’ve slipped through the cracks between worlds And I cannot return I’m an alien from an alternate Earth
4.
That May Not Be Good Enough 03:18
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The shades were a nice touch After you led me down the garden path I guess shame don’t come easy to some I bit my tongue and I said nothing Though I have plenty to say — When it comes to the fruit of the poisoned tree Some folks must like the taste You sure had a lot of gall Chew’n me out and all Well, you may be good looking But that may not be good enough I’ll admit I took the tenderloin But I gave you a prime cut You'd barely tried a mouthful Before you spit it all out I hitched my wagon to your star I made a leap of faith My efforts were lambs to the slaughter Your only value was your face You butchered your own damn name You're a poster child for the vain Well, you may be good looking That may not be good enough I teeter between resentment and pity You’re a saboteur; You’re a flake Next time I’ll choose a partner Not a self-consuming snake It’ll be hard to watch you have success Still I wish you well and all the best Remember though… You may be good looking That may not be good enough
5.
Fallen Out of Love 02:44
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Stand at Fort Mason, take in the collage The bridge, the headlands, the pelican pods 
Container ships, kite surfers, sailboats and yachts 
The creek of the moorings floats up from the docks
 
Forty-odd hills topped with light pastel frost Petite Queen Annes and Edwardian facades
 Fog fingers drift Eastward in a glissade 
 Then the window of sun is curtained and lost

 The wind picks up, the cold whips by
 Sweeping all warmth away
 
Headlights flicker on, dusk settles in
 There is no reason to stay
 Nervous white rabbit looks down at his watch 
Wolf howls at the moon, expects a response
 Alexander cuts through the Gordian knot
 Think about Ahab on the Pequod
 
Forget for a moment all you’ve been taught 
Forget his wife’s vigils on her widow’s walk 
Say what you will, he had resolve 
He wasn't only punching the clock 

No lotus eating or doldrum dreaming
 Amid the superficial and the subsurface Slipped down the ladder, in a holding pattern
 I'm sick of existing just to exist
 
I play close to the vest of an ill fitting suit In this game of hearts I can’t help but lose Turn offs include cigarettes and tattoos 
Though I’ve made an exception or two
 
I think I’ve heard almost every excuse 
Those I make myself are the most obtuse 
I’m no good when it comes to the truth 
I’ve fallen out of love with you

6.
The Mockingbird's Repertoire 03:01
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Somewhere after midnight, before the break of day
 Carol’s pried from her slumber and forced wide awake 
She curses the curtains for failing to mute What she assumes is a car alarm
 Only to discover it’s the latest addition 
To the mockingbird’s repertoire

O n her way to the kitchen to make herself coffee
 She passes a cage she regards as if empty 
The silver home of a golden canary 
Who’s long been left so loved starved 
All because his song was once added 
To the mockingbird’s repertoire

 Not nearly as malicious a mimic 
 As his cruel cousin the cuckoo 
(Who clearly deserves to be imprisoned in a clock) 
This magpie of mating calls
 Must be in it for the mischief 
Why else would the mockingbird mock? 

Weary and walking through fields of sweet clover
 Carol’s perturbed by a well known warble 
She picks up a stone and nearly hurls it 
When out springs a meadow lark 
Whose crime was he couldn’t be distinguished
 From the mockingbird’s repertoire


7.
Ode to the Wildhorse Cafe 03:15
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At a truck stop diner
 Outside King City 
She’s sprinkling sparkles 
On unicorn lattes 
She’s a little bit of magic
 In the middle of nowhere 
I’m so glad she decided to share

 Ahhh… the coconut cream pie
 With whipped cream piled high
 I am contented 
Just to pop by 
This little bit of magic
 In the middle of nowhere
 I’m so glad she decided to share Is she content Just to be that? 
Does it ever get A little old hat?
 A little old hat…

 The background din 
Of the daytime TV 
Courtrooms, Soap operas,
 Jeopardy — and
 This little bit of magic
 In the middle of nowhere
 I’m so glad she decided to share

 First got a taste
 While getting a lift
 From Nina who knows it
 From many a trip 
This little bit of magic 
In the middle of nowhere 
So glad she decided to share

 Is this trip worth it? It has it moments 
Got me out of the city I’d call that a bonus
 I’d call that a bonus… 

I pass her offramp
 On the way to a winery
 I’ve got a gig tonight 
But I’m playing for free
 This little bit of magic
 In the middle of nowhere
 Reminds me why I’m going there

 Strolling through SOMA
 Found this brand new toy
 This tune I’m composing 
Brings me such joy 
It’s a little bit of magic
 That’s come out of nowhere
 I’m so glad to be able to share

 So glad to be able to share… 
So glad to be able to share…
8.
Brave Heart, Luna! 02:38
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​In the luscious brushstrokes of a candied sunset Or the starkest black night at its apex Or the dissipating mauve Of some fresh hazy morn Whatever witchcraft you happen to be brewing and Despite moonshine’s gentle mewing It’s the totality of the eclipse You’re pining for Brave heart, Luna! Brave heart, Luna! Brave, brave heart Brave heart, Luna! Brave heart, Luna! Brave, brave heart For all the phase shifts that you’ve learned to endure And those terrors to which you’re inured The worst of which must surely be the Wolf’s lonely howl At least there’s the watery shimmers The skyline’s pallid glimmers And the enrapturing lethal silence of the Wing flaps of an owl Brave heart, Luna! Brave heart, Luna! Brave, brave heart Brave heart, Luna! Brave heart, Luna! Brave, brave heart It’s okay for you to cry It’s okay to cry sometimes Just know who’s on your side No matter how dark it may seem -- May seem — may see-ee-ee-eem Brave heart, Luna! Brave heart, Luna! Brave, brave heart Brave heart, Luna! Brave heart, Luna! Brave, brave heart

about

"The song is whimsical, endearing, and fun...E.G delivers the song in a spoken word style that has a worldly wise feel...​"
​— Simply Jazz Talk on "The Octopus Song”

After a foray into country for his EP, Nashville Recordings, Vol.1, San Francisco songwriter E.G Phillips returns to the jazz idiom with his new album Alien from an Alternate Earth.

As with At Home at Sea and “The Albatross Song,” this collection’s title is derived from the refrain of one of its tracks — “The Octopus Song,” which was inspired by The Soul of an Octopus by naturalist Sy Montgomery and written to promote a show at Oakland’s Octopus Literary Salon. While the pretext of the song might be cephalopod perceptions and origins, its underlying purpose is much more personal — a meditation on the singer’s current situation and place in the world — a re-emerging theme throughout these songs.

We open with the breezy Bossa Nova “Till We Have Faces Again” (which alludes to the vagaries of the pandemic as well as C.S. Lewis’s retelling of Cupid and Psyche) and then explore a variety of textures and emotions — from the venomous, knife twisting swagger of “That May Not Be Good Enough” (which is nasty as Dylan ever was) to the ethereal, music box like “Ode to the Wildhorse Cafe.” The album is capped off with the frenetic encouragement of the big band number called “Brave Heart, Luna!”

This project was the result of a chance encounter with producer Chris McGrew and keyboardist/vocal arranger Kevin Seal (both of punky prog rock “Griddle”) at a recording session at the famed Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco (where Santana and Herbie Hancock laid down classic tracks). This led to McGrew assembling an all star cast of local luminaries to provide that old school, 1950s feel Phillips was looking to imbue into these recordings. Desmond Shea (Division Hi-Fi, Faith No More) was on hand to act as recording engineer (as well as provide his unique insights). Mastering was done by Gary Hobish, a veteran of Berkeley’s Fantasy Studios and San Francisco’s CD Studios.

Alien from an Alternate Earth is a tight volume of E.G. Phillips songs where his characteristically cinematic and whimsical lyrics are backed by an imaginative ensemble of the Bay Area’s best jazz players who create a sound that is both classic and striking.

credits

released April 22, 2022

E.G. Phillips: vocals


Renee Padgett: backing vocals (#2)


Rich Armstrong: flugelhorn (#1), trumpet (#3, 4, 8), trombone (#8)


Daniel Casares: flute (#1, 6), tenor sax (#3, 4, 8), baritone sax (#4, 8)


Kevin Seal: keys


Jeffrey Burr: guitar (#1-4, 8)


Paul Eastburn: upright bass


Chris McGrew: percussion

Recorded at Wally's HydeOut, Hyde Street Studio C in San Francisco, Sept 5th-8th, 10th and Oct 3rd 2021
​
Recording Engineers: Desmond Shea, Liam Craddock
Mixed by Chris McGrew
Mastered by Gary Hobish, A. Hammer Mastering

Produced by Chris McGrew

​Artwork by Mario M. Noche

All song written by E.G. Phillips (ASCAP)
(c) 2022 Ducks With Pants Music

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E.G. Phillips San Francisco, California

E.G. Phillips is a San Francisco based songwriter who creates lyric driven songs with his own special blend of whimsy and cinematic imagery which he uses to give a wry take on dealing with the longings of the heart and the madness of existence.

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