Grouchyfriendly

Amazon.com
Phil Roy has been working in the music business for years, writing songs for numerous artists and for movie soundtracks, including, Leaving Las Vegas. Grouchyfriendly, Roy's first solo attempt, reveals that the years of sharpening his skills have finally come to fruition with a mature and sublime record--a record more likely to come from a major recording artist in midcareer than a relative unknown on his first release. Like Dylan and Springsteen, Phil Roy is a storyteller, telling tales from a first-person perspective that isn't necessarily his own. Like Mark Eitzel, the crown prince of "grouchy" singer-songwriters, Roy is particularly adept at sketches of hard-luck lives and unrequited love. The songs on Grouchyfriendly play like the soundtrack to Raymond Carver's stories--tales of broken hearts and dreams, false starts and expectations, self-doubt and loathing, hard drinking and hard luck, all in the pursuit of one moment of tenderness or a shot at redemption. On "Alcohol Affection," Roy presents a Bukowski-esque drunk searching for love in a bar and solace in a bottle. On "Melt" (cowritten by actor Nicolas Cage), the narrator, filled with regrets and fueled with alcohol, begs for one more chance at love, as his perception of his ex-lover increases to godlike proportions and his own self-esteem takes a nosedive. Roy isn't afraid to bare the dark side of his soul, but in his lighter moments he can also poke fun at his "grouchy" self. On "Ridiculous," Roy's playful lyrics are juxtaposed against a Leonard Cohen-like dirge, while on "The Business of Love" he sounds like a young Tom Waits as he riffs on his own incompetence in the field of romance. Throughout, Roy is accompanied by a host of accomplished musicians who contribute the perfect backdrop to the songs. The guitars, played by Brazilians Heitor Pereira and Ricardo Silveira as well as Roy himself, expertly weave around each other, providing Roy's gritty voice and honest lyrics with the requisite tension they deserve. --Paul Ducey

Product Description:
Phil Roy calls himself 'an independent artist determined to get my music heard', and he is succeeding. He's created quit a buzz for himself at radio (LA's KCRW, Austin's KGSR & Philadelphia's WXPN), on the internet (Amazon.com and his own site www.philroy.com), and in-store play (just an upstart coffee chain named Starbucks). Currently a resident of Santa Monica California, his music has been used in the independent films 'Love + Sex' & 'In The Weeds'. 'Melt' is the first single off of 'Grouchyfriendly, the album Tom Waits calls 'Uncommonly smooth, yet strange and curious'. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Grouchyfriendly

Tracks:

Intro Prayer
Melt
Show Me The Way Home
Why Do We Make It So Hard
This Business Of Love
Ridiculous
Trains Running
Where Do We Go From Here
If Only If
Everything My Heart Desires
Alcohol Affection
Perfect One (With Guest Vocals by Adam Cohen)
Under Stars
It's Alright
Jolly

Amazon.com

Phil Roy has been working in the music business for years, writing songs for numerous artists and for movie soundtracks, including, Leaving Las Vegas. Grouchyfriendly, Roy's first solo attempt, reveals that the years of sharpening his skills have finally come to fruition with a mature and sublime record--a record more likely to come from a major recording artist in midcareer than a relative unknown on his first release. Like Dylan and Springsteen, Phil Roy is a storyteller, telling tales from a first-person perspective that isn't necessarily his own. Like Mark Eitzel, the crown prince of "grouchy" singer-songwriters, Roy is particularly adept at sketches of hard-luck lives and unrequited love. The songs on Grouchyfriendly play like the soundtrack to Raymond Carver's stories--tales of broken hearts and dreams, false starts and expectations, self-doubt and loathing, hard drinking and hard luck, all in the pursuit of one moment of tenderness or a shot at redemption. On "Alcohol Affection," Roy presents a Bukowski-esque drunk searching for love in a bar and solace in a bottle. On "Melt" (cowritten by actor Nicolas Cage), the narrator, filled with regrets and fueled with alcohol, begs for one more chance at love, as his perception of his ex-lover increases to godlike proportions and his own self-esteem takes a nosedive. Roy isn't afraid to bare the dark side of his soul, but in his lighter moments he can also poke fun at his "grouchy" self. On "Ridiculous," Roy's playful lyrics are juxtaposed against a Leonard Cohen-like dirge, while on "The Business of Love" he sounds like a young Tom Waits as he riffs on his own incompetence in the field of romance. Throughout, Roy is accompanied by a host of accomplished musicians who contribute the perfect backdrop to the songs. The guitars, played by Brazilians Heitor Pereira and Ricardo Silveira as well as Roy himself, expertly weave around each other, providing Roy's gritty voice and honest lyrics with the requisite tension they deserve. --Paul Ducey

Album Description

Phil Roy calls himself 'an independent artist determined to get my music heard', and he is succeeding. He's created quit a buzz for himself at radio (LA's KCRW, Austin's KGSR & Philadelphia's WXPN), on the internet (Amazon.com and his own site www.philroy.com), and in-store play (just an upstart coffee chain named Starbucks). Currently a resident of Santa Monica California, his music has been used in the independent films 'Love + Sex' & 'In The Weeds'. 'Melt' is the first single off of 'Grouchyfriendly, the album Tom Waits calls 'Uncommonly smooth, yet strange and curious'. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

Phil Roy's powerful live performance style.......2002-02-14

Jill Sobule w/Phil Roy
at Luna Park, West Hollywood
Wednesday Nov. 8, 2000

Phil Roy proved to be an unexpected highlight. Prior to launching a solo recording career, Roy provided music for such films as Leaving Las Vegas, As Good as it Gets, Love & Sex, and The Mask, and provided material for a diverse range of performers including Joe Cocker, Aaron Neville, and Jennifer Love Hewitt. These commercial efforts belie the emotional depth of Roy's self-released album grouchyfriendly, currently a top independent seller on Amazon.com.

Roy, singing and playing classical guitar, was joined on stage by John Leftwich on double bass. The songs, rich with thick chords and raw, personal lyrics probed themes of isolation, compromise, and loss with a unique quiet beauty. "It's Alright," recently heard on TV's Judging Amy, deals intimately with universal fears. The soulful "Alcohol Affection" contained surprising changes and a haunting refrain: 'pour another one...pour another one.' Roy closed the set with his indie hit "Melt," a love ballad for a damaged soul co-penned by Nicolas Cage. This musician seems to have found a rare balance in his life between commerce and art. In a world where music is too often merely product to be marketed like so much soap, Phil Roy's work is as human as it gets.

Insight not Babble.......2001-10-10

Found this CD through a search for Colin Hay. Bought it on a lark. 'SHOW ME THE WAY HOME' raises the hair on the back of my neck. Very few songs do that to me. Kudos for the 'If you like.."section. Would never have found Phil Roy without it.Would love to see him in concert. Keep up the good work.

Must see to appreciate!.......2000-10-06

If you liked the album, you will absolutely love Phil Roy Live! One of the best performers to come along in years. If you have the opportunity, run to see him.

Unparalleled.......2000-10-05

The greatness here is that Grouchyfriendly is not a compilation of homogeneous songs. The joy is that each song is entirely unique and whole. That "Melt" is a great song is no argument. But in addition to "Melt," there is the gentle "Show Me the Way Home," the slick "This Business of Love," the funny and profound, "Alcohol Affection" and the soothing "It's Alright." There is a depth of expression in Phil Roy's voice that is real. The guitar work of Heitor Pereira and Ricardo Silveira weave throughout to create a sound that is unparalleled in anything I have heard. Each time I listen to Grouchyfriendly, I am stirred and amazed but it's depth and subtlety. Now that I have found Phil Roy, I can't imagine being without him.

I Wept.......2000-10-04

The first time I heard "Melt," I wept. Full-on, clouding-up-the-shades tears, until I had to pull over or risk having an accident. Maybe it was the words, about some heartbroken guy who would do anything to get his girl back, who spent his time dreaming up increasingly amazing feats to prove his love for her, or the plaintive texture of his voice, but there I was yanking tissues and hopelessly trying to save my makeup on the 101. When it was over, KCRW dj Mike Morrison revealed the name of the song's writer, blissfully unaware that he'd just shoehorned my heart out of my chest with the simple spin of a disk. Who was this Phil Roy and why had I never heard of him? And more importantly, why was his record only available online? (from a forthcoming Sneeker.com review)

Music Album:

Music Album