Thursday, June 29, 2017

POWER Pop



Parthenon Huxley, or P. Hux if you will, has been making music for a long time, first as guitarist for A Man Called E. before that man formed Eels. Then, on his own, with a number of solid pop and rock records. He is also part of The Orchestra, a band of former ELO members. (In 2005, P. Hux released "Homemade Spaceship," a very fine collection of ELO covers.)

But it is 2001's "Purgatory Falls" that I keep going back to, a record about Huxley dealing with the death of his wife from cancer. The subject matter is pretty damn heavy for its running time of just a bit over a half hour. But it isn't all a downer. I find the whole thing quite remarkable. Genius actually.

It's a difficult listen, but completely worth the time. I hadn't thought about this record in a while, but the song below popped up on the trusty iPod, and I fell into the rabbit hole. All told, "Purgatory Falls" is a great record whether you know the backstory or you don't.

5 comments:

buzzbabyjesus said...

I hear me some less mannered Elvis Costello collaborating with John instead of Paul.
It has "feel" galore, and a sad beauty.

Shriner said...

P. Hux is awesome. One of those unsung talents (like Chris Von Sneidern).

FD13NYC said...

Excellent artist, great music! I especially like the Deluxe album with It'll Be Alright and One More Day In The Life. Love his work with The Orchestra as well.

cmealha said...

I was familiar with 'Offer You the World' from the same album which is PHENOMENAL. Have to dig in.

hpunch said...

Great call. This album is a masterpiece. It comes from a real place, not much music does.
You're right, on paper it could be a dismal listen, but it somehow manages to bring me to a higher, better place.
It was my album of the year when it was released.
The lyric. " I loved everything about you, I even love things I never loved about you" is genius.