In January 1993, Phil’s old friend and promoter of many Dutch tours for his various bands, Henk Weltevreden, took Phil and Fred Baker to Russia for a duo tour that actually began with a two-day stop in Vilnius, Lithuania. This is where this performance was captured in which Phil and Fred performed material from their duo album “Double Up” plus a couple of pieces not previously heard in duo arrangements, both from Phil’s “Digging In” album: “Speaking To Lydia” (actually dating as far back as 1984) and the feature for Fred’s bass, the aptly-titled “Bass Motives”. This two-guitar or bass/guitar set-up is an alternative to the more familiar full-band arrangements that underlines the melodic qualities in Phil’s writing (plus a couple of tunes by Fred, the gorgeous “For Christine” and the hypnotic “Loggerheads”) but can also be as intense at times.
Phil Miller – guitar, guitar synth
Fred Baker – guitar, bass
Is this a mix from both dates?
So great to hear this, thanks for sharing
Great stuff thanks. Double up was already a favourite recording and wish they had done a follow up but this fills that void. Only time I got to see Phil perform was with Nat Health in Toronto Canada and shared a beer with Pip. Their musical collaborations changed my muscal landscape and appreciation of it.
thanks for your comment Ian. You will be surprised to know that we do have a follow up CD in the pipeline. It is an absolute stunner with some unheard, beautiful new titles written for the duo, recorded before Phil died, called Double Up 2. Covid stopped us from releasing it last year on Fred’s birthday. He had booked a series of concerts to launch the CD which he had to cancel. We will probably release it to coincide with the inaugural Phil Miller Guitar Prize event to be held at Birmingham University Conservatoire next year.
I will certainly look forward to that from your website