Unless you have been working as a producer, recording engineer, songwriter or session player in Los Angeles for the past 20 years, you may be wondering, "Who is Phil Brown and why does he rate the cover of ToneQuest?" On the other hand, if you have heard Phil Brown play the guitar, you understand. Completely. A reader recently asked when we were going to venture beyond the "blues/roots/rock" genre in TQR. Today, you got your wish, brother, but be careful what you ask for.
Phil Brown's Cruel Inventions incites intense scrutiny from guitarists and countless questions about his rig and playing style that will be answered soon enough. But as Brown's haunting melodic hooks subtly bind to your synapses, surrender any desire to conveniently categorize this artist. In his own words, "No one goes home humming a guitar solo." Indeed, a well-crafted song is still the rare stuff that inspires guitar playing that eclipses the ordinary, and Phil Brown has devoted most of his life to learning this lesson well.
