Philip Sayce - The Wolves Are Coming

If you’re someone who judges the quality of a guitar player based on the key metrics of: 1) the speed at which they can pick dem strings; and 2), the level of, shall we say, Hendrixity in their style, then I’d say Philip Sayce is going to be near the top of your league table.
As evidence of the former, I submit ‘Backstabber’, a track with a sledgehammer riff and cacophonous guitar sound, reinforced by seismic drums from Michael Leasure, on which Sayce delivers a guitar solo of blistering velocity – before the whole damn thing goes further into overdrive for a short'n'sharp finale like a goddamn drag race.

Play that funky rock music, Philip!

Pic by Amp Photography

As for metric 2, I draw your attention to ‘The Moon Is Full’, an Albert Collins tune that Sayce gives the full Jimi treatment, with rhythmic, funky, choppy, wah-wah inflected riffing, and a solo you could visualise Hendrix delivering on some black and white Sixties TV show.  I mean, I know Sweet Fanny Adams about guitar effects, but I gather Sayce’s pedal board features a few gizmos symptomatic of the classic Jimi sound, and by the sound of The Wolves Are Coming he makes plenty use of ‘em.  Check out, for example, ‘Your Love’, which starts with some Vocoder-ish guitar articulation and ends with a solo encoded in intergalactically “wobbly” tones, all bracketing a mid-paced, lop-sided kinda groove enhanced by some guitar/vocal harmonising.
Which is not to suggest that Sayce is a one-trick pony.  Sure, Hendrix played funky, but ‘Lady Love Divine’ squelches and bumps along happily in a vein more suggestive of Stevie Wonder à la ‘Superstition’.  Although, to be fair, near the end it deploys a very ‘Hey Joe’-like staircase-descending riff to good effect.  Meanwhile ‘It’s Over Now’ is a melodic ballad that kicks off with a hazy guitar sound, builds to a soulful, quasi-anthemic chorus, and features a gentle, bluesier guitar solo.  And ‘Blackbirds Fly Alone’ combines acoustic strumming, some more brittle guitar tone, and swirling, phased vocals.  There’s a nice bit of dynamics, dropping down for Sayce to solo, and if he then gets his wail on for the conclusion, it’s without going OTT.
Opening track ‘Oh! That Bitches Brew’ sets out Sayce’s stall, with a distorted, push’n’pull guitar riff and distorted vocals too for good measure.  It’s driven along by pounding drums from Leasure, who is well suited to this kind of modus operandi, before some descending chords herald a yowling guitar solo, interrupted by a neo-psychedelic, “merman I shall turn to be” type interlude.  But Sayce’s ability to get heavy with some different engine components is demonstrated later by ‘Black Moon’, which is propelled by a boom-da-da-boom glam rock stomp suggestive of The Black Keys in El Camino mode, with well and truly fuzzed up guitar chording for good measure, complemented by an off the wall tone that produces an acupuncture-by-guitar Sayce solo.
The closing coupla tracks offer contrasting moods.  The instrumental ‘Intuition’ starts off mellow, all moonbeams and starlight embellished by keyboard flavourings from Fred Mandel, then it steps into a grinding riff, full of foreboding, as the backdrop to some no-holds-barred guitar acrobatics that reach a whooshing conclusion.  Then the closing ‘This Is Hip’ is a perky, relaxed little blues, penned by John Lee Hooker but not in his typical brooding mood.  Instead it’s all easy acoustic guitar and rippling piano, and might have been better positioned as a mid-album palate cleanser, but it still makes for a breezy finish
In the midst of all the guitar wrangling Sayce is actually a pretty good singer, by the by.  But then, y’know, singing and lyrics probably aren’t why Philip Sayce fans will be shelling out for The Wolves Are Coming.  They’ll be holding their breath waiting for some kitchen sink guitar work driven by metrics 1] and 2] above.  And they won’t be disappointed.
 
The Wolves Are Coming is released on 23 February, and can be ordered here.

Philip Sayce - Oran Mor, Glasgow, 23 November 2023

Philip Sayce comes onstage sporting a fetching hat, and with a scarf dangling from the bottom of the 1963 Stratocaster he calls Big Daddy. He embarks on a bit of star-spangled lead guitar fluttering just to get warmed up, and then bursts into the choppy, neck-snapping, crunking, and frankly irresistible ‘Out Of My Mind’.  He cracks out a couple of hair-raising guitar breaks, then encourages a bit of handclapping, at which point I half-expect him to drawl “Move over Rover, and let Philip take over.”  You know what I’m talkin’ about?  But instead he dives into a grinding riff as the launchpad for a rollercoaster of finger-blurring, sky scraping fretwork, and ultimately a whammy bar cranking close.
You get the picture?  Philip Sayce is a five star, 24 carat axe fandangler, with a Hendrix influence

Philip Sayce - the quickness of the hand deceives the eye

pinned proudly on his sleeve, whose raison d’être is to try and set fire to that venerable ol’ Strat with just his fingertips.  And to anyone who might be inclined to sneer at that, I’d just say this – he does it very, very entertainingly.
Using a grinding blues intro as a springboard for the punchy rock-funk of ‘Powerful Thing’, he bounces around like an excitable puppy to the jabs and thrusts of rock solid drummer Bryan Head and bassist Sam Bolle, evidently having a whale of a time himself.  Then on the rolling stomp of ‘Bitter Monday’ – which, like several other tunes here, has a plenty infectious hook – he squeezes out a squelchy wah-wah solo, before letting loose a big drone of feedback, then fanning the strings with his right hand in a way fit to give him friction burns.
The way that howl of feedback gets a cheer of its own is testament to the healthy quotient of guitar fanatics in the house, and as the set progresses it’s clear their Christmas has come early.  Personally, as our Phil embarks on the slow, spacey blues of ‘Once’, with a whammy-warping opening to his solo, I’m fixated on two questions:  a) does he use a pick?  And b), if he does, where does it disappear to when he doesn’t?  It takes me half the show to be sure that yes, he does put a plectrum to work alongside his apparently double-jointed fingers, and the rest of the set to spot the sleight of hand with which he tucks it away.
But y’know, it’s also only fair to note that the fella has a good voice, showing off great phrasing on an SRV-like reading of ‘Blues Ain’t Nothin’ But A Good Woman On Your Mind’.  And he shows

Big Daddy goes strapless

a handy way with a rhythmic vocal too, on ‘Beautiful’, another chunk of stop-time funk into which they pump a pint of very ‘Hey Joe’-like bassy riffing.
Sayce is capable of slowing things down, as on ‘Aberystwyth’ (named after his birthplace) with its nicely developed themes, and the meditative ‘5.55’.  Bursts of scurrying prestidigitation are never too far away though, much as I might wish he could cool his jets and show a bit more patience at times.  He does show a handy way with some volume controlled weeping on ‘5.55’ though, along with a spell of near-silent picking à la Alan Nimmo of King King.
The closing stretch brings more tough stop-start funkiness in the form of ‘Morning Star’, with its whirlpool of a solo.  It segues into ‘Spanish Castle Magic’ in monster riffing fashion just to underline the Jimi influence, Sayce whipping Big Daddy from his shoulders to scrape the neck off the low ceiling, which really is no way to treat an expensive musical instrument (© Jim Steinman).  Needless to say, the crowd go nuts.
They encore with ‘As The Years Go Passing By’, a song recalled from his days working with Jeff Healey many moons ago, though I’d have preferred him to render it with Gary Moore’s restraint.  But hey, they rock out with ‘I’m Going Home’ to finish on a decisive upbeat note, Sayce even taking a wander off stage – though not far, ‘cause his Strat ain’t cordless, remember?
On one level the whole focus on wang dang guitar wrangling isn’t entirely my thing.  I’d prefer a bit more focus on the songs, and a bit more structure.  On the other hand though – hot damn but Philip Sayce puts on a show.