Nothing if not prolific, albums of world-class song-smithery having been pouring out of Phil Thornalley in recent years. Initially under the Astral Drive moniker and more recently plying his craft under his solo ‘brand’.

Of course, Thornalley has been honing his writing chops for a while. Since well before the big hits he became most known for (Natalie Imbruglia, Bryan Adams, Pixie Lott, etc).

“On ‘Swamp’ , my first album as a solo artist in the 80s, I wasted my time and talent trying to fit into an industry ‘box’’. Now I’m free to be irreverent, irreligious and probably irrelevant. I can laugh at my own narcissism and cynicism.”

“With this new album I wanted to have fun lyrically with the concept of ‘fame’, the ‘lust for glory’ but deliver it with some good old fashioned tunes and some self deprecating humour”

Once again Phil uses his enviable collection of vintage recording gear to capture the humming, strumming and drumming of his one man band. Or, as Phil quips, “a one-man self delusion!”

“If only Holly would love me”

With an album title based on wry wordplay, the eponymous lead track reflects the same tension between art and celebrity mulled throughout this affectionate, tongue in cheek album.

Rich with diminished chords, the opening song , a three piece ‘suite’, commenting on the pitfalls of lusting for fame, evolves from an ELO rocker into a simpler three chord stomp and finally, a ridiculously grandiose, modulating score from a would-be Hollywood biblical epic.

The cynical streak of grappling for fame follows with the imagined mephistophelean voice laughing at our self-inflicted political demagoguery with The Wilbury-esque When The Riots Start.

“I dusted off my Frampton-style Voice Box for the guitar solo on that one. It’s basically a garden hose with a 12” speaker”

Though apparently not short of new ideas, a few of the songs on this new album had actually been sketched decades ago. But as Phil says, “a good melody doesn’t let go”.

Songs like Shipwrecked Love and Drive Baby Drive finally found their best lyrical and musical setting this time around.  Shipwrecked Love - the album’s sole ballad - carries the listener on a tide of navel gazing sadness towards the end of a love affair.

“I stumbled on a minimalist Reich-like piano motif that suggested the sea. It had a gentle but insistent rhythm that led me to the melody and the lyrics. Granted, adding a complete orchestra isn’t a subtle approach” laughs Phil, “but subtleties have never been my bag”. Cellist Karl McComas-Reichl played all the string parts - a very sympathetic symphony.

Failing Upwards has probably the most cynical lyric on the album. Martin Brammer (Kane Gang, Lighthouse Family, Tina Turner) co-writes on this one and the similarly themed commentary of When The Riots Start. “Martin always brings a fresh phrase and an original lyrical slant, plus a twisted sense of humour, to our songs”, says Phil.
“I had seen the phrase over the years and, probably like most people, I’m in awe of these ‘vital’ executives who bury one business into the ground and then effortlessly move onto the next gig with a golden parachute and a bonus. I just don’t get it.”

Drive Baby Drive motors along with a Simon and Garfunkel style finger snapping verse and an exploding sunrise of a chorus, idealising the carefree life we all wish we had. 
“I feel as though it’s hyper positive, rolling along the highway of life, not looking back, with one hand out the window. Of course it’s an ideal, not a reality, but it’s nice to dream every now and then”

“I actually pinched a line from a George Harrison song ‘If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there’ . I think my song reflects that kind of irresponsible, mindlessness.”

The Golden Age contrasts fifties flavour, complete with doo-wop vocals, with the modern reality of making a living from music. “A playlist ‘pick’, an Instagram tick, you get a cent for a billion streams”.

“It features my debut as a whistler” said Phil. “I recorded this in my little garage studio in the Suffolk countryside, using my son’s childhood beginner drum kit and a cheap chinese Les Paul copy. Seemed to fit the bill”.

The McComas-Reichl orchestra, with his multi-tracked cello arrangement, features heavily in How to Marry a Millionaire. A song that weaves a nod to the former glamour of Tinsel Town and a deep bow towards the black and white era icon of attitude that is Lauren Bacall.
“Cool as an ice pack; Shoulders like a QuarterBack”.

Another debut instrument features as a Kazoo solo in the affectionate Lynne-esque romp ‘Mister Moonlight’. With charging cellos, stylized vocal arrangements and voices shifting colour with almost each line of lyrics . 
“I used some old 70s techniques of slowing down then speeding up, or vice versa, the tape machine to create unexpected vocal tones. Nowadays it’s one of the few tricks that’s harder to do with digital recording than with analogue tape machines.”

With an abundance of material recorded, and no desire to make a double concept album, the CD version includes five bonus songs that didn’t meet the brutal cut of self-imposed run-time constraints of the album proper.

Stoned All Summer Long has playful nods towards the great Neil Diamond. Faye, continuing the Hollywood theme, is a paean to the beauty of 70s movies’ icon Faye Dunnaway. Sweet Dreams and Dreams on Hold take the fifties song structure and add a handful of “Big O” melodies and melancholia.

The final bonus track, Stay Young At Heart, has one of Phil’s favourite lyrics: “Here is the saving grace, while sunlight still warms my face, for soon we depart, so I say, stay young at heart”.  The song was originally written with Bryan Adams for his 2016 album Get Up. “Jeff Lynne liked it but sadly never got around to producing it”, says Phil, “so for this album I rewrote some of the lyrics to make it more philosophical for my purposes.”

“Somehow I keep writing songs and making records. My family, dating back a few generations, has a habit of being crafty, making things - wheelwrights, coffin makers, seamstresses . I just happen to make records. I love the whole process, from that light bulb tune that illuminates my imagination in the kitchen to the last drum fill of the recording’s finale. I hear it all. I can somehow play most of it all. And luckily I’m in a position to make those songs come alive. 40 odd years of humming, drumming and strumming’s got to be good for something. Hope you like it.”