Phil
Lanzon is not exactly any
one. Since 1986 he has been
official keyboard player for
the Uriah Heep, and over the
years he has played with
Sweet, Grand Prix, Mick
Ronson and John Lawton, just
to name a few random names.
One who has taken away his
satisfactions, in short.
And, like Cesare Ragazzi of
the good old days, he put in
his head a wonderful idea,
that of the solo record -
however, exquisitely
self-produced.
He is surrounded by highly
experienced rock musicians,
who have gone by names that
shake their wrists (Alan
Parson Project, Pendragon,
Arena, It Bites, Van
Morrison), and with the
support of Richard Cottle
who has been involved with
him of the arrangements, he
created this 'If You Think
I'm Crazy'. A record that
already from the surreal -
and well-kept - cover,
suggests the golden times of
the British prog. But not
only because the sources of
inspiration that appear in
the course of the album are
different, even if the rock
/ progressive matrix remains
constant, with some obvious
hard splashes.
Listening to “Mind Over
Matter” opener it is
impossible not to think
about the Magnums, or the
more melodic Ten, for the
elegance and effectiveness
of the melodic lines.
Elegance in particular that
reveals the true theme of
the record, that we are
talking about the airy rock
of “Kelly Gang” the pop /
rock melodies of “I Knew I
Was Dreaming” or the
acoustic feeling of “I Saw
Two Englands “- that is
closer to Billy Joel than
most of the things you
usually find on these pages.
There is so much substance
on this record, which is all
but a parade of stars - Phil
Lanzon himself always puts
his keys to the service of
the songs, as do their
fellow adventurers, each at
its highest level. Or, the
prog evolution of “Lover's
Highway” the 'AOL'
commercial of “Carolin” the
majestic chorus of “Forest”
and the hard energy of “The
Bells” perhaps the only
piece to have a distant
array Uriah Heep . If you
notice, in the end we have
quoted almost all the songs,
and it is basically
unavoidable, since everyone
shows a different aspect of
a disk that has much in
common with a mosaic of
cards, different but stuck
to perfection. Speaking of
surprise is perhaps
exaggerated, given the
musicians involved, but 'If
You Think I'm Crazy' is a
small masterpiece out of
time, a real gem that
deserves to be discovered
and admired.
Loud and proud
magazine
Phil Lanzon, keyboard player
with Uriah Heep, steps out
from the band’s wing and
delivers a consummate set of
keyboard driven progressive
rock here. Produced by Simon
Hanhart and orchestrated by
Richard Cottle gives this a
rich, multi-layered sound in
a way you don’t hear so
often in these days of
Pro-Tools.
This is what a solo album
should be, it goes places
his other band doesn’t and
you sense him having a go at
whatever tickles his fancy,
no more so than the almost
nine-minute prog track “ The
Forest” that closes the
album.
PowerPlay
magazine.
This
is a collection of mixed
genre tunes with a few
surprises thrown in. I just
needed an opportunity to get
them recorded, and the
opportunity came about in
the first half of this year,
2017.
I’ll say a huge thanks again
to Simon and Rich for
smashing it all into shape,
and all the musicians and
singers who helped me on
this journey. In the early
stages I never imagined the
project to grow to such a
stature - but it did, and
you were all brilliant!
Phil
Available from all streaming
outlets
Amazon, iTunes, Spotify etc.
For physical product go to
Musicglue.com ,
phillanzon.com ,
and
Cargorecords.co.uk for
distribution. |
Like
its predecessor, 48 Seconds
mixes up musical styles
within it’s 10-song
framework. “Azura’s Theme”
offers an enchanting
orchestral intro to the
midtempo rocker “In the
Rain.” “Forty Line” serves
up a swaggering big-band
feel, and “You Can Make a
Living” is a timeless
anthem. With its rhythmic
propulsion and luxurious
vocal harmonies, “Look at
the Time” is the closest to
Lanzon's work with Uriah
Heep, while the epic title
track, about the San
Francisco earthquake of
1906, is a cinematic tale
that transforms from a
ballad into an energetic
rocker, topped by a
choir-driven climax over the
span of nine-and-a-half
minutes.
Billboard magazine.
48 Seconds is really a great
job in every way. You can
find everything on it. The
art rock label is too loose.
It is an example of an
exceptional genre of fusion
where Phil's classical music
skills are perfectly
matched, the
theater-inspired arrangement
of music for the film (which
is why he integrated with
Richard Cottle), and of
course rock, classical hard
rock, AOR and, of course,
progressive rock.
Rockline Magazine
The most courageous tracks -
the kaleidoscopic "Forty
Line" or the epic title
track - embellish an album
capable of demonstrating the
full artistic depth of the
Phil Lanzon "author" and not
"supporting actor".
Metal magazine
Long
known as the keyboardist for
Uriah Heep (since 1986),
Phil Lanzon possesses a
range of artistic endeavors
that includes music,
painting and novel writing,
and he enjoys a solo career
as well as his work with the
band. Lanzon released his
second solo album, 48
seconds on July 15th 2019.
The title track is based on
the famously destructive
earthquake that shook San
Francisco in 1906. While
natural disasters are not
the typical subject matter
found in rock songs, “48
Seconds” is an orchestral
opus that displays Lanzon’s
deftness as a composer.
Lanzon explains how the song
came about:
“I started to get into books
at the age of about 10.
While sifting through my
local library I came across
a book called The San
Francisco Earthquake. The
title caught my attention as
I had no idea about natural
disasters at the time. The
book left a huge impression
on me and later I realized
it was empathy for the
people who suffered and the
wonder of the power of
nature that somehow gripped
my sub-conscious.”
It wasn’t until many years
later that the memory of the
story rose in his mind,
creating the motivation to
write a song. After several
attempts at demoing the
song, Lanzon said he wasn’t
happy with the results and
shelved it. For years, the
song, which had originally
began to take form in the
late 70s, remained
incomplete.
In 2017, he decided to take
his creation out of draft
mode and finish it.
“It was a bit of a mountain
to climb. I knew it was
going to work at some point
because it had the right
feel and the right
intention. I found it
fascinating. I never
intended to go down this
road originally but it sort
of grew into this thing. I
think also it enlightens
people to realize that
nature is going to have the
last word in the end.
Regardless of what we think
and what we try to do, it’ll
have us in the end. I think
we ought to just be aware of
it in our daily life, and if
we are it would help us see
things clearer and not be so
blind to what’s going on
underneath our feet.”
After doing extensive
research on the earthquake,
Lanzon had the lyrical
makeup of “48 Seconds” to
put to music. The story, he
says, has a lot of ups and
downs. “It starts
optimistically. Then it
becomes very sad. But it
ends optimistically, with a
message.” The elaborate
composition, which is just
under 10 minutes in length,
was recorded with a 23-piece
orchestra along with guitar,
bass, keyboards, and drums,
as well as a choir of more
than 60 people.
Currently, Uriah Heep is on
tour with Judas Priest until
the end of June before
heading off to festivals in
Europe. In addition to
playing keyboards with the
band at night, he’s also
handling the duties that
come along with the release
of his solo album.
“I’m pretty busy, he says.
“I can’t really stop. I
don’t know how to stop.
(Laughs) That’s the truth.”
Available from all streaming
outlets
Amazon, iTunes, Spotify etc.
For physical product go to
Musicglue.com ,
phillanzon.com ,
and
Cargorecords.co.uk for
distribution. |
