I knew of Phil Gammage from a sort of CD EP that I got many years ago called The Electric Radio Sampler Music Test, I believe in a grab-bag package from Bomp! Records. Two of the songs from Cry of the City, “The Stranger” and “High Roller” were on that record that I immediately took to – slice-of-life stories that were well written and backed by a strong rock band. His vocals are a little idiosyncratic – he doesn’t have a trained voice and has some trouble with high notes, but he packs a lot of emotion into his music. It never occurred to me that Phil Gammage might be someone who had fallen so completely through the cracks.
The closing song, “The Stranger” is maybe the best song of all on Cry of the City; this is the first time Phil Gammage openly sings from the standpoint of a traveling musician, and he seems out of step with everyone and everything around him (which is not exactly the stance of the earlier songs on the album). The subtext of the song might be his own experience of being an American who finds himself more popular in Europe:
Is there anybody here who speaks the language?
Is there anybody here who knows what I mean?
I am but a stranger here
And I have traveled long and far
With just the shirt on my back and my guitar
I’ve come to sing you songs of love
I’ve come to sing you songs of hate
But someone pass me the wine before it gets too late
Alright!
O.K.!
You don’t speak my tongue but I’ll sing anyway
“The Stranger” is preceded by a fine cover of a Robert Johnson song (always a good sign) called “Me and the Devil Blues”. It is played and sung pretty much like the rest of the songs – no need for Phil Gammage’s band to disturb their groove even for a classic blues cover. But each song has its own personality.
(March 2015)
