Mind Over Matter was the last CD Phil made towards the end of his life. He died within a few years of its release. It contains the last great compositions he worked on. He had come a long way in terms of his writing from his early days and the compositions on this CD are a showcase of his progress. Pent Up 1 and Pent Up 2 are the highlight of the CD and take In Cahoots into new territory. Contrary Motion breaks new ground. Some of the players are new too. Mark Armstrong and Paul Booth have not recorded with Phil before but handle this new material with gusto. Fred Baker, Pete Lemer and Mark Fletcher are stalwarts. I think it is the best CD Phil brought out. I still have copies of it unsold, which is sad. I came across this old review on a prog rock site recently whilst trawling through the web. I had not read it before and was pleased to read a review from someone who really “got it” Here it is:
Mind Over Matter by Phil MillerI’m feeling quite guilty of some sort of crime here for awarding 5 stars to a CD that is obviously, after just a few moments of listening, NOT progressive rock; but essentially the perfect example of what modern jazz should sound like. What we have here, is the most astounding collection of world class musicians that one could hope to gather, working together to interpret the thrilling compositions of an old friend and brilliant taskmaster, Phil Miller. I received my copy of this album of songs from Phil himself, via international mail, shortly after it’s release. There is absolutely no changing my mind after nearly three years; that this is the most uplifting, exciting, and meticulously delivered package of ear candy that Phil has produced to date, with six of the seven compositions written by Phil. Mind you, it does bear much more resemblance to Jazz, than what many would label prog-rock; but if your pleasures take ease in drifting from one genre to another, this is a treasure worth the travel.
There are significantly exhilarating high points demonstrated by each of the band members throughout this catalogue; with the usual standouts on occasion being Fred Baker’s propulsion of the bottom end searing through the atmosphere, and Mark Armstrong’s blazing trumpet, which surely raises Miles from his resting place with each hair-raising note. Be advised: This is JAZZ in it’s spellbinding and most emotionally jam-packed form. As for our old friend Phil Miller, he could get 5 stars playing Lawrence Welk covers; but here he shines the light so brilliantly, it’s difficult to observe any musical boundaries. Seek this out, and expand your threshold. Gypsydoc3
I have never found pigeon-holing a very useful way to describe Phil’s music. Where does it come from? His first band was Delivery. Was he called a blues player for the rest of his life? When he was in Matching Mole with Robert Wyatt did that make him a progressive rocker? Were Hatfield & The North a Canterbury group? Why was his music never described as jazz?
The best description of his music I ever heard was from the drummer Mark Fletcher who said “Phil was his own genre”. He was right. Phil’s music was unique. He was always original. He copied nobody. Not one of his compositions bore any resemblance to previous compositions. When Robert Wyatt said “Phil would rather play a wrong note than one that somebody else had played” he was not wrong.
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