Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Don't Do Anything - Sam Phillips
Don't Do Anything Image
Metascore
84 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 7 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.5 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 8 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Summary: This is the first album not produced by T-Bone Burnett for the California-born singer-songwriter Sam Phillips.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Paste Magazine
    80
    On Don't Do Anything, she succeeds beautifully by doing nothing more than being the best possible version of herself.
  2. Q Magazine
    80
    Always an intriguing lyricist, her divorce from producer T. Bone Burnett seems to have added a bittersweet dimension to her words too. [Oct 2008, p.150]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. All Music Guide
    80
    With Don't Do Anything, Sam Phillips has struck out on her own with a work that's among her most challenging to date, and it reveals that she's held on to the gifts that have made her one of the most rewarding singer/songwriters of her generation while adding fresh accents as she follows her muse with commendable courage and clarity.

See all 7 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. JillL.
    10
    I have not stopped listening to this CD since I received the downloads from Nonesuch, and was also blessed to meet Sam in S.F. at Borders and hear her sing these songs. Her music affects me more deeply than any other music I have ever heard, and it stays with me as feelings of hope and unending possibilities. She is a gift to us all.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. JesseS.
    8
    Reliably ingenious, but could use some more weirdness.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. JamesB.
    8
    I'm very happy to see/hear the return of one of my all-time favorite singer/songwriters. "Don't Do Anything" is an excellent collection of intelligent and melodic pop tunes. And I feel it's a slight improvement on "A Boot and a Shoe". That's not to say I "disliked" Sam's previous album, only that her new release is more consistent. Aside from a couple tracks that too easily recall "A Boot and a Shoe", Sam's new album refreshingly features a fair amount of actual "electric guitar", especially on the superb "My Career in Chemistry" (one of the most original and "rockiest" tunes in her catalogue). Other standouts include: "Flowers Up", "Under the Night", "Signal", "Another Song" and the title track. All in all, this is one of my favorite albums so far in 2008.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

Recommended Products

  1. Bitch Magnet - Bitch Magnet

    • Release Date: Dec 6, 2011
    Bitch Magnet Image

  2. London Zoo - The Bug

    • Release Date: Aug 12, 2008
    London Zoo Image

  3. Harlan County - Jim Ford

    • Release Date: Jul 25, 2011
    Harlan County Image

Current Music Releases

Full List »
  1. Tago Mago [40th Anniversary Edition] - Can
    Metascore: 99
  2. Live in Europe 1967: Best of the Bootleg, Vol. 1 - Miles Davis
    Metascore: 99
  3. Siamese Dream [Deluxe Edition] - Smashing Pumpkins
    Metascore: 96
  4. The SMiLE Sessions - The Beach Boys
    Metascore: 96
  5. National Treasures: The Complete Singles - Manic Street Preachers
    Metascore: 95
  6. Achtung Baby [Super Deluxe] - U2
    Metascore: 93
  7. Some Girls [Deluxe Edition] - The Rolling Stones
    Metascore: 93
  8. Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down - Ry Cooder
    Metascore: 92
  9. Unto the Locust - Machine Head
    Metascore: 91
  10. Quadrophenia [The Director's Cut] - The Who
    Metascore: 90
  11. Rio [Live] - Keith Jarrett
    Metascore: 90
  12. What Were You Hoping For? - Van Hunt
    Metascore: 90
  13. Bitch Magnet - Bitch Magnet
    Metascore: 90
  14. Charity Starts at Home - Phonte
    Metascore: 89
  15. Nevermind [20th Anniversary Edition] - Nirvana
    Metascore: 89
  16. Young Man In America - Anais Mitchell
    Metascore: 88
  17. Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller, Vol. 1 - Drexciya
    Metascore: 88
  18. Bad as Me - Tom Waits
    Metascore: 88
  19. The Singles - Goldfrapp
    Metascore: 88
  20. Undun - The Roots
    Metascore: 88
All Current Music »