Sam Phillips and I have been in love for nearly 18 years now. In 1988 she released her debut The Indescribable Wow, which couldn't have been a more apt title. The album was produced by her husband T. Bone Burnett and was just a lush, hopelessly poppy affair that was equal parts Beatles, Bangles and Cocteau Twins. If you ever have a chance to get your hands on it don't hesitate for a moment. The reason that Sam loves me is because, for my part, I stood by her, when certain critics (the dregs of the earth) pointed to the album's derivative nature, and her rather unfortunate vocal similarity to Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles. Which, tragically for everyone involved, is as accurate a comparison ever made.

To follow was an album entitled Cruel Inventions that found her brilliance purposely obscured, as to escape the dreaded Bangles curse. An album that was strange and alien for the sake of being strange and alien and contained none of the luscious melodic gems that one might have hoped for. So like a fickle lover I skipped her '94 release Martinis and Bikinis but I plan to make it up to her and order it soon - it got good reviews. After that album, she pretty much fell off the radar for nigh on a decade. I honestly don't feel the need to consult google as to whether or not she's still married to T Bone Brunett, my instincts, however, tell me no.

Her re-emergence in 2001 with Fan Dance, I too have to confess I'm not familiar with. But don't stop reading because this is where it gets juicy. Her new album A Boot and a Shoe is a serious kick. I noticed it on Kyle's top 50 list for the year and quite frankly it will be a good bit higher on my list. This new one is something of a hybrid that hearkens back to her early more melodic Beatlesque ways, and her more gruff and husky Beth Gibbons meets Jolie Holland approach. An alchemy of styles that suits this Sam lover just fine. The music is completely organic and spare and feature her indescribable vocals in a way that we can all be comfortable with. There are songs when she stays with her NPR chanteuse personae, but when the tune hits those higher registers out comes that gloriously gorgeous voice that she only metes out in measured portions, but are capable of stealing your breathe. She has one of the most distinctively lovely voices on the planet and every song on this new release takes a different tack to show it for what it is. Indescribable.