Down to Earth from the CD Digging In – entirely Phil’s music.

Yesterday, because I didn’t go for a walk as I usually do, listening to Phil’s music on my walkman, I played his CD DIGGING IN on my CD player at home. Sitting on my sofa listening to the music, looking at the cover and reading the blurb,it brought back to me the time at the end of the 1990s when this CD was being  “Conceived computed recorded at Crescent Studios.”  (Crescent Studios = the flat that Phil and I shared in Colvestone Crescent.) I was there.
This was Phil’s third CD under his own name. This one was brought out by Cuneiform. The first two: Cutting Both Ways and Split Seconds had been part In Cahoots playing as a band and part Phil’s solo work in collaboration with Dave Stewart with the orientation towards multi-tracking, utilizing the latest developments in music technology. Both albums were carefully titled acknowledging this dual approach.
Digging In was a solo effort, using drum programming and substituting midi guitar for the horns.
The title Digging In was also a kind of affirmation of Phil’s determination to go his own way, resisting Elton and Pip who were always pushing him to bring out concert recordings as CDs rather than Phil’s decision of recording when there was new material to record. (Incidentally, the title is Digging In, not Diggin’ In as it’s sometimes quoted.)
Listening to the CD is a rare chance to hear the real Phil Miller.
I am particularly impressed by track four: Down to Earth where every single note you hear, even the drum programming, is played by Phil. He really was an extraordinary musician.