Dec 14

Kneel to the Rising Sun

Under Appreciated

KNEEL TO THE RISING SUN
 
 

Phil Gammage left Certain General in 1985 and evidently returned to the Corvairs for a time; he then began pursuing a solo career.  Prior to Cry of the City, he released two albums on a French label, New Rose Records, Night Train and Kneel to the Rising Sun.  Last Call Records, yet another French label that issued his fourth solo album Lowlife Street (1999), says of this early trio of albums:  “These records showcased Phil’s songwriting, guitar playing and vocals talents and found him exploring in depth blues and acoustic musical styles.”  Of the new album, the promo material states:  “This record takes up musically where his previous three solo records left off . . . original songs written by Gammage and performed in his unique and dynamic style.”  A retrospective album, Motel Songs came out in 2003 featuring songs from Phil Gammage’s first four CD’s. 

 

Here follows a reprint of the Trouser Press Record Guide (4th Edition) listing for the SourMash family of bands.  Though slightly garbled, it presents a fairly accurate overview of our thing in the 1980’s.

Steve G.  

 

PHIL GAMMAGE  

Night Train (Fr. New Rose) 1990

Kneel to the Rising Sun (Fr. New Rose) 1991 

     20th Anniv. Reissue (2011)

Cry of the City (Marilyn) 1993 

Lowlife Street (Fr. Last Call) 1999 

Motel Songs (SourMash USA) 2002 

 

(March 2015)

 

* * *
Most of past UARA Phil Gammage’s music was only released in Europe, mainly France; he might be the most prolific of all of the UARB’s and UARA’s, with dozens of albums to his credit, either as a solo artist or in a band. I had already located a fair amount of music by Phil Gammage on the Bandcamp website, where my nephew John Lucas’s music can also be found. (John Lucas, a/k/a Lucas Kovasckitz is also on Amazon and Spotify and is now supporting his family strictly by sales and licenses of his music – Google used one of his guitar figures for a national ad not long ago; that’s what got the ball rolling). I immediately went for Motel Songs, a sampling of songs from Phil Gammage’s first five solo albums, and that only made me want to buy them all. I also picked up a recent album called Used Man for Sale, having a more mature sound and clearly showing that Phil Gammage is not just going through the motions but is just as committed to his music now as he was in his younger days. I have on my list to order Phil Gammage’s latest album, It’s All Real Good, which was released in September 2019.
 
I also supposedly have a copy of the most recent of Phil Gammage’s albums at the time that I put up the post about him, Adventures in Bluesland. I cannot find a physical copy of the CD, so I guess I just got a digital copy, which I am playing now over the computer. Just not the same, having to play it that way; sorry, you digital fans out there! But it is a great record, and I am happy to be hearing it again.
 
I ordered a copy of Phil Gammage’s Kneel to the Rising Sun from Amazon.com; although there was a fairly recent CD reissue, this album is available on Bandcamp only digitally. I also managed to find two LP’s on Amazon.com by Phil Gammage’s early band the Corvairs. Thus far, I have resisted ordering any more albums from Amazon.com by Certain General, which also features Gammage; even though November’s Heat is one of the best albums I have acquired in recent years.
 
(Year 10 Review)
Last edited: March 22, 2021