Celeb News: 61/100 @ Metacritic ~ "The World From The Side Of The Moon" - Page 2

KarlosVzla

Just heard the album, it's flawless tbh.

Gossip_Boy

Boston Globe review:

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Perhaps no “American Idol” winner has been more transparent about his or her musical intentions than Phillip Phillips. Week after week, the grumpy-voiced reigning champion stayed so unwaveringly true to his vision that anyone who watched already knows exactly what “The World From the Side of the Moon” sounds like. It’s essentially a magnet with two poles — Dave Matthews (his true north) and Mumford & Sons — and it’s just a matter of how far each song swings the needle from side to side. With its drum clop, Phillips’s adenoidal syllable-gnawing, and wide-ranging, across-the-neck acoustic funk, “Where We Came From” is indistinguishable from Matthews, while the Mumfordish “Home” glides on warm, oaky strums, a cut-time stomp, and a liberated, wordless chant. The latter also showcases a theme he uses song after song, the comfort of home as beacon. Phillips may be an artist of just a few ideas, but he believes in them. And he’s not afraid to use them over and over. (Out now) 70/100

GoneHome

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Originally posted by Gossip_Boy

Boston Globe review:

Thank you for that

GoneHome

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Summary: Each song is crafted with musical precision and when you listen to this album, the cohesion is evident and natural.

6 of 6 thought this review was well written

The performer so nice, they named him twice. Phillip Phillips from Leesburg, Georgia is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter and musician. Most notable for his season 11 victory of American Idol, Phillip’s performances have left critics and fans in admiration. Phillips is often compared to his hero Dave Matthews. With a comparable voice and acoustic bravado, his November 20th debut album The World from the Side of the Moon, will surely satisfy the music community.

Phillips knew that winning American Idol came with the glory of debuting an album under Interscope Records. However, like some of his predecessors, Phillips refused to be another disposable musician in the pop-music machine. Instead, Interscope producer Jimmy Iovine gave Phillips free rein during the creation of The World from the Side of the Moon. “He had a lot of trust in me,” Phillips said. “I felt really good about that. He wanted me to make the album I wanted to which I thought was really awesome of him”.

In between Phillip’s inspiring lyrics and catchy melodies, he intentionally left space for future improvisations. Phillips said, “I didn’t want to overproduce anything. I wanted to keep it the way I could do it live and have fun and have some solos in there and everything. I mean, every artist has a little bit of something they make a little spicy, but I wanted to keep it as raw as possible”; yet another reinforcement to the Dave Matthews comparison. When Dave himself was asked about Phillips, he stated, “Oh I don’t feel threatened. I am what I am. Maybe I paved the way for him. I wish him the best of luck! He should kick my ass. Maybe I can retire and he can take over my band”.

Not to be mistaken with DMB’s Away From the World, Phillip’s The World from the Side of the Moon is an unbelievable milestone. For a 22-year-old, his lyrics and perspective on life surely convey maturity. On the memorable “Tell Me a Story”; Phillips sings, “Hope is just a ray of what everyone should see. Alone is the street, where you found me, scared of what’s behind, you are scared of what’s in front, live in what you are now and make the best of what’s to come.” On “Where We Came From”, Phillip's bluesy guitar sounds akin to Gary Clark Jr. He managed to compose grooves that were almost disobedient. By writing these defiant grooves, perfectly represented on “Drive Me”, the listener will be left entertained and the songs will play out effortlessly.

On The World from the Side of the Moon, listeners also receive a glimpse of Phillip’s intimate side. “Gone, Gone, Gone" is that song that breathes revival. For 3 minutes and 30 seconds, you will feel as if you’re on a road to happiness with the person that matters most. Conversely, a song like “A Fool’s Dance” is scripted like the denouement of a novel. During this song you’ve left your climatic road to happiness and have made a wrong turn down a road to perdition. Yet the album (not including the deluxe edition) ends eloquent and hopeful with “So Easy”. Each song is crafted with musical precision and when you listen to this album, the cohesion is evident and natural.

It is true that Dave Matthews will one day have to pass his torch down to someone else. However, we must ask ourselves, does Phillips distinguish himself enough to be categorized separately from the legendary Dave Matthews? Will The World from the Side of the Moon circulate throughout the United States with unparalleled momentum? And finally, will Phillips be able to fight his way to stardom or will he vanish alongside American Idol’s countless departed?

http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/5...e-of-the-Moon/

Sputnik, which is counted on Metacritic and should be updated soon, gave him 5 outta 5 stars

Gossip_Boy

Sputnik stanning.

The album deserves at least a 73.

Gossip_Boy

Not counted towards Metacritic

HitFix review:

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Phillip Phillips, the most recent of the crowned "American Idols," has a bar to raise. Previous guys-with-guitars-styled singers like Kris Allen and Lee Dewyze are struggling for their album sales and criticisms to match their FOX show success. What this 22-year-old has going for him on his debut album "The World from the Side of the Moon," besides a title charmingly impossible to remember, is his natural, warm growl and the mixed blessing of always sounding like somebody else.

Namely, Phillips splits time on "The World" between Dave Matthews Band rockers and Mumford & Sons roots numbers. This comes as no surprise to the listener, who would easily mistake his chart-breaking single "Home" for the latter's earnest heartbreaking. As for the inveterate DMB, Phillips picks up where 2001's "Everyday" left off: these are not band-written songs, this collection is shot after shot at the Next Big Single, with a frontman never stepping away from the center. Some melodies will achieve exactly the radio single sound Universal undoubtedly hoped Phillips could achieve. "Gone, Gone, Gone" has enough BPMs to differentiate it from "Home" while still dipping into the same pool. Closer "So Easy" could easily head to Adult Top 40 as "Get Up Get Down" will leave both Matthews and Maroon 5 shaking that they didn't have first dibs.

Phillips is game for all these, but it's not unfair to say he has some serious limitations, too. Dynamically, his vocals remain pleasant, lightly challenged, but rarely changing. Those performances cause tracks like "Drive Me" and country stomper "Cant' Go Wrong" to fall flat. He most emotionally expressive on "Home," still, and abstract "Fool's Dance."

The next challenge is to take Phillips' likeable brand further, without entirely disassociating him from the television show. Some songs are strong enough, and his fans can follow this set pretty easily. Now it's up to the marketing team. Happy holidays, guys. B

Idolator review:

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From dealing with health issues while competing on American Idol to tallying legit celebrity moments since winning the title, Phillip Phillips‘ 2012 was one of those cliched, patently American rollercoaster rides to success. And the 22-year-old American Idol winner takes these experiences and throws them all into his patently American debut album, The World From the Side of the Moon, out today (November 19). Despite its wordy title, the album showcases Phillips’ potential as a musician, singer and songwriter who can rise above the generic pop that these reality competitions sometimes spawn. Like other Idol alums David Cook and Daughtry, he steers away from straightforward pop, instead turning out Top 40-friendly Americana rock.

The singer-songwriter shows off his writing chops with mature lyrics that parallel the musical direction heard on the Drew Person and Greg Holden-penned single “Home.” Working with Gregg Wattenberg, who previously produced Train and O.A.R., Phillips explores love, ambition and just plain growing up with songs like “Tell Me a Story” and album opener “Man on the Moon.”

Phillips pays homage to his Leesburg, Georgia base with “Can’t Go Wrong,” which features derivative but still completely earnest lyrics like “I can’t go wrong as long as I remember where I’m from” and “I want a chance just to face my fear,” delving into the past year and reflecting on how he has managed to stick to who he is throughout the journey. Whereas this could all come off as cheesy if it were surrounded by gloss and a dance beat, Phil’s country guitar riffs and harmonic background vocals serve to ground everything.

Working with a slew of backup musicians to form a full and big sound, including brother-in-law and guitar teacher Ben Neil, some parts of the album unsurprisingly remind the listener of bands like Dave Matthews Band and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. This should make for a fun and high energy live show when he takes the album on the road. Probably taking a tip from Mumford & Sons, “Gone, Gone, Gone” has that “jam band you can take with you to the pub for a couple beers” vibe, or perhaps it would fit as a bonfire singalong.

The World From the Side of the Moon showcases solid musicianship from Phillip Phillips, and a sometimes surprising vocal range underlies the familiarity — his falsetto in “Hold On” particularly puts him into crooner status, if he wasn’t already. Sure, he wears his influences on his sleeve, but it’s no secret that Phillip can also take a song and turn it on its head (remember “Thriller” and “U Got It Bad”?). So while we wish his debut had a few of those unexpected moments, the quality here suggests he’ll be around to take some risks his next time out.

Pops Like: Dave Matthews meets Marcus Mumford, with some honest Georgia roots thrown in.

Best Listened To: In the car, whether after a long day at work or to calm down after a spat with your partner. Either way, this is music for the road.

Full Disclosure: Phillip Phillips was one of my favorites on season 11 of American Idol. This album successfully does what past winners like Kris Allen and Lee DeWyze couldn’t quite pull off with their own post-Idol debuts. 4/5

Parks

Rolling Stone's reviews have really dropped off in quality tbh. I don't think anyone really relies on them to spill the tea. This is a great debut, especially for an Idol. Hopefully it'll stay in the high 60s or even get up to low 70s.

Razzle

That's nice

GoneHome

Slant Magazine giving him a mixed review (50/100)

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What American Idol winner Phillip Phillips may lack in artistic mettle, he makes up for in impeccable timing, as his debut, The World from the Side of the Moon, arrives in the throes of the roots-rock revival that's seen acts like Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers scoring big commercially. To that end, Phillips, an unapologetic Dave Matthews Band acolyte, has the good fortune to sound relevant in a way that few American Idol winners ever have, as The World from the Side of the Moon often plays like Mumford & Sons' Babel with training wheels. As a more polished, radio-friendly reiteration of what a host of other artists are already doing, the album positions Phillips for broad commercial success, but it also raises significant questions about whether or not the singer-songwriter has the chops to maintain relevance once this folksy bubble inevitably bursts.
Aesthetically, there's nothing distinctive about the competent acoustic-guitar strumming or the occasional banjo flourish or string section on tracks like "Hold On" or "Tell Me a Story," and there's nothing else in the production that would make those tracks definitively, recognizably Phillips's work either. Songs like "Drive Me," on which Phillips plays up the most graveled tones of his voice, and the country-adjacent "Can't Go Wrong" are so derivative that whatever unique POV Phillips might have offered is completely overshadowed by the work he's imitating.
Even on the set's obvious standouts, the lead single "Home" and the propulsive "Gone Gone Gone," it's only Drew Pearson and Gregg Wattenberg's studio sheen that distinguishes them from more rough-hewn cuts from the Lumineers' self-titled album or from DMB's Away from the World. The slick production is mindful of the material's potential for crossover airplay, allowing songs like "Home" and "Where We Came From" to build to rousing, spirited choruses while keeping Phillips from creating too much of a ruckus. Although his voice has a weathered timbre, his performances are generally laidback and avoid Marcus Mumford's style of overwrought, adenoidal bluster.
The World from the Side of the Moon is ultimately a polite, conservative album that balances Phillips's genuine affection for roots music with the commercial bent that comes with being part of the American Idol franchise. But for the egregious, conceived-in-a-nightmare incorporation of Maroon 5-style pop-funk on "Get Up Get Down," the album is never more or less than a pleasant listen. But as doggedly likable as Phillips and his aw-shucks grin might be, he spends far too much time sounding like he's doing impressions of artists he likes rather than figuring out the artist he wants to be for himself.