SIMON PHILLIPS

The drumming ace unlocks his vaults.

This six-disc set brings together the first four albums from Simon Phillips’ Protocol project, plus two discs of previously unreleased demos. There was a long gap between releases – the debut came out in 1988, but Protocol II wouldn’t appear until 2013.

The biggest difference between the first album and the subsequent follow-ups is that Phillips played every instrument on the original himself. Thereafter, he brought in other musicians, so while the style of the music doesn’t change particularly much, the playing and musical interaction jump up a notch or three. Stylistically, the albums are akin to classic 70s fusion records such as

Jeff Beck’s Blow By Blow and There And Back, the latter of which had Phillips behind the kit. Protocol II and III feature Andy Timmons on guitar, Steve Weingart on keys and Ernest Tibbs on bass.

A defining characteristic of Phillips’ writing is that no matter how impressive the musicianship or how

unusual the time signature of a song, everything grooves.

You can nod your head to these records even when Timmons is stretching out on a solo or Phillips is rumbling around the drums in a track like Gemini. Catalyst, from Protocol III, is a funky rocker, while You Can’t But You Can lets Timmons channel some Nile Rodgers’ guitar licks.

Protocol IV saw Phillips and Tibbs joined by Dennis Hamm on keys and the amazing Greg Howe on guitar.

More so than Timmons, Howe has a touch of Beck’s slinky fluidity in his playing, evident in Solitaire and the fast, syncopated runs of Nimbus.

The two discs of demos feature the original sketches of the songs which are enjoyable but less energising than the full band versions. Phillips has changed the Protocol configuration once again, adding a sax player for his current tour, and listening to this set will only make you hungry to hear what the new incarnation has to offer. Consistently great stuff.