Phil Perry’s New Album “Ready For Love”

PHIL PERRY DELIVERS CLASSIC SOUL SINGING
MASTERPIECE WITH “READY FOR LOVE”

NEW SET OF LOVE & INSPIRATION DUE OUT SEPTEMBER 23

In the sometimes ‘here-today-gone-tomorrow’ world of music, there are careers that endure beyond the ‘flash in the pan’ momentary impact of a massive hit. Over the past seventeen years, Phil Perry has worked consistently and steadily, building a solid and loyal audience who appreciate his innate soulfulness, his ability to deliver music with feeling and emotion and his lyrical inclination towards romance and passion and his stand for authenticity and realness, both professionally and personally.

Those years of creative growth and maturity are fully evident on Phil’s latest album, READY FOR LOVE, a warm and inviting collection of mostly original music, following two successful sets for Shanachie Entertainment that focused on his distinctive interpretation of R&B/soul music classics, 2006’s Classic Love Songs and the 2007 release, A Mighty Love. The set puts the seal on Perry’s stance as one of contemporary R&B’s most compelling, distinctive vocalists: READY FOR LOVE indeed indicates that after close to twenty years as a staple artist in the world of black music, Phil Perry is truly coming into his own as a multi-dimensional artist, singer, songwriter and dynamic live performer.

READ our review of “Ready For Love” by George Strand by Clicking HERE!

When I make a record, my goal is always to make something I can be proud of,” says Phil, affirming that he has met that objective with READY FOR LOVE. “I co-wrote most of the songs and I think the album is a good representation of what classic soul music is in the digital age. As I travel across the country, I can definitely say there’s a market for traditional R&B: this record is aimed at the people who I’ve been blessed to have as a very loyal audience.”

In much the same way that legendary artists such as Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder developed their own creativity over time, Phil’s latest work demonstrates his maturity as a first rate songwriter. The primary theme on the eight compositions Phil wrote with album producer Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis is, quite naturally, love – from the warm sensuality of songs like “Desire” and the title cut, “Ready For Love” – to the pure tenderness of “Another Time, Another Place” and “Melody Of Love.” It’s a subject on which Phil willingly waxes lyrical: “We seem to be getting away from the romantic side of life and with “Desire,” I’d like to think I’m saying something that needs to be said more and more in this digital age we live in. “Ready For Love” is about creating that special time alone for you and your mate when we got everyone away from the house and we can say, ‘let’s concentrate on one another.’ Love isn’t talked about as much these days in songs the way it was back in the day,” Phil notes. “The song “Melody of Love” is much like another cut on the album, “The Strings of Love”: in “Melody,” I’m saying ‘all I have is for you, just for you.’ “The Strings Of Love” is a declaration of one to another.”

he powerful message of love of a more universal kind is the focus of Phil’s emotive rendition of James Taylor’s classic “Shower The People” – one of the two cover tunes on the album along with a jazzy rendition of the timeless Dionne Warwick perennial, “Walk On By.” Of the former, Phil says, “I would say it’s the embodiment of what this record is about. Love is the common thread for all the subject matter on this album. Love is the perfect way to bring about change…”

A past master at expressing all many facets and complexities of love through his music, Phil tackles temptation, fidelity and the inevitable questions that come up during the course of any enduring relationship: “Chris Davis’ sister-in-law Selena came in and added another flavor to the song. Check out the lyrics, ‘You said you were going to marry me for eternity but why is your text going off tonight…who dat?’ and then we’ve got the male perspective where temptation got the best of me!”

Notable for its consistency of sound and quality, Phil credits producer Davis (with whom he worked on both Classic Love Songs and A Mighty Love) for bringing the kind of production values usually associated with classic albums of yesteryear to READY FOR LOVE: “I’m proud of my association with Chris. As a musician and producer, his talent is never-ending and he’s as hard a worker as I’ve ever seen,” Phil comments. Whether it’s the jazzy upbeat jam “Shine On Me” – which Phil describes as “the kind of song you want to play when you’re in the mood for a totally infectious groove” or the intimate, late-night mood of “The Shelter Of Your Heart” (which Phil wrote by himself, “a declaratory song particularly for couples who have been together for a long time, a statement expressing the idea that your partner is your sanctuary”), READY FOR LOVE is track-by-track, an album that flows with warmth and sincerity.

It is the latest triumph for a man who has built a career based on a deep and abiding love for music itself. Born and raised in East St. Louis, Phil was exposed to the art of great singing at an early age. “Growing up I always knew that I wanted to be a singer,” recalls Phil. “I would watch and listen to all the great singers like Nat ‘King’ Cole, Johnny Hartman, Arthur Prysock and Billy Eckstine that my mother listened to while she cleaned the house…”

After a spell as the lead singer of the Montclairs (whose “Begging’s Hard To Do” was a moderate R&B hit and whose “Make Up For Lost Time” became a cult favorite in British soul music circles) in the early ‘70s, Phil quickly became one of the most sought-after backing vocalists in the music business. A brief stint as part of the singing duo Perry and Sanlin, Phil launched his solo career in 1991 with The Heart Of A Man, which featured an impressive re-make of Aretha Franklin‘s “Call Me” that hit #1 on the R & B charts. Phil’s 1994 album Pure Pleasure yielded another hit with his version of “If Only You Knew” and also featured a seven-minute version of The Spinners’ classic, “Love Don’t Love Nobody.” Known for his skill in multiple musical genres, Phil began achieving success in the contemporary jazz arena through his featured vocals on albums by Lee Ritenour, The Rippingtons and others. His next solo album, One Heart One Love, hit the Top Five of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart; 2000’s critically-acclaimed Book of Love was followed by the 2001 album Magic which highlighted Phil’s songwriting prowess.

Busy as a touring artist and an in-demand session vocalist – whose credits include work with everyone from Patti LaBelle, Anita Baker, Peabo Bryson and George Duke to Quincy Jones, Barbra Streisand, Boz Scaggs and Rod Stewart – Phil returned in 2006 with Classic Love Songs, reminding audiences immediately of his ability to put his own stamp on such tunes as Lionel Richie’s “Hello,” Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” and The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination.” The 2007 album A Mighty Love (with standout cuts like the Dionne Warwick gem, “Déjà Vu,” War’s “The World Is A Ghetto” and “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” initially recorded by Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes in 1972) brought enthusiastic reaction from music buyers, starving for the kind of authentic, heartfelt music that has become Phil’s stock in trade.

The father of four, Phil has been actively working to foster Arts education through the Philill Foundation, an organization founded and led by his wife of twenty years, Lillian “Tang” Tynes, a notable soul and jazz vocalist in her own right. “It’s important to me,” Phil says, “because my wife has a vision for a Charter School that educates through all genres of the Arts. Also we are both artists so we wanted to give back to the youth through art and education.”

With READY FOR LOVE is giving back to the audience who has supported him through the years: “I’m so thankful for the loyalty they’ve given me…it makes all the difference in the world to know my music is touching people…” With his distinctive brand of musical romanticism, Phil says, “We’ve been in an era where it’s not about the music but about the flavor of the month. If you’re going to record classic music, you’ve got to come with real melodies, real arrangements, real songs…” With READY FOR LOVE, Phil Perry has delivered on all three counts, bringing home a piece of work that has a timeless and enduring quality to it.

READY FOR LOVE in stores September 23rd on CD.

Inque PR