Providence 
Artist: Phil And John And The Woodthieves 
Label: Alliance Music (UK) 

Phil and John are something of an enigma.  They tour the UK (and occasionally the US) combining guitar duets with a lot of comedy but for some reason their following never seems to grow.  Their albums have varied widely from discs of acoustic ballads to a retro 60s sound when they collaborated with Steve Taylor and Lynn Nichols.  Live, the guys are usually compared with Simon and Garfunkel but when it comes to recordings, they've yet to record anything which could be called a classic. This album sees the band collaborating with an unidentified group of musicians to produce a collection of folk-influenced pop tunes. There are some fun songs here, and some good tunes, but the album in general suffers from over-production and a lack of direction. -----James Stewart 
 

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