Phantom's Divine Comedy, Part 1

1. Tales from a Wizard

2. Devil's Child

3. Calm Before the Storm

4. Half a Life

5. Spiders Will Dance (On Your Face While You Sleep)

6. Black Magic/White Magic

7. Merlin

8. Stand Beside My Fire

9. Welcome to Hell

Tracks:

Tales From A Wizard
Devil's Child
Calm Before The Storm
Half A Life
Spiders Will Dance (On You Face While You Sleep)
Black Magic/White Magic
Merlin
Stand Beside My Fire
Welcome To Hell

Customer Reviews:

Spooky.......2007-01-10

It was so spooky how much this guy sounds like Jim Morrison on most of the songs. Either way, it's a great CD.

Identity!.......2007-01-08

I don't wish to get into a big arguement about this, but the Phantom was a local rocker from Oxford, MI named Ted Pearson Jr. I went to school with his brothers and sister and knew Ted his whole life. Most everyone from my generation who lived in Oxford has a copy of the Capitol 45 of "Calm Before the Storm." I saw him perform several times at local venues.
Ted was quite a character. He often wore a full size sword at his waist in public and, though often stopped and questioned, it was legal (at least at that time in history) since the weapon was not concealed.
Officially, Ted died in a drug-related incident. However, there is much speculation to this day that he is alive and well and living under a Witness Protection program. I like to think that's what really happened.

The Singer Was Not Iggy Pop........2006-05-15

It was Tom Carson...

"Two distinct schools of thought existed about `70s rock outfit, Phantom. The first tended towards the view that Phantom was cynically signed by Capitol to exploit the recent death of Jim Morrison, whose vocal style Phantom singer Tom Carson copied convincingly. The second is that they were a pretty decent group whose vocalist just happened to sound more than a bit like Morrison.

Whichever of these two scenarios was closest to the truth we will never know, but such was Elektra's concern that the record buying public would be confused into thinking that Morrison was still alive that the record company attempted to obtain an injunction banning Capitol from releasing the band's first album, Divine Comedy. Predictably, Elektra's actions simply increased the publicity the band was attracting, and Capitol duly took full advantage.

In hindsight it's difficult to see what all the fuss was about, as Carson's vocals were only reminiscent of Morrison's at the end of his brief career. In the end, the one thing that is clear is that Divine Comedy is actually a pretty decent album. A consistently high musical and compositional standard is maintained throughout, with many critics acclaiming the mystical sound that was the album's hallmark. Two melodramatic tracks, Tales From A Wizard and Welcome To Hell, stand out particularly strongly, but the entire album is interesting, innovative, and extremely enjoyable."

It's Iggy Pop on vocals........2006-02-07

This album was released to perpetuate the rumors that Jim Morrison had staged his own death. Radio interviews, telephone conversations, and personal bank transactions were all executed well AFTER Morrison died. Some conspiracy theorists claim it was really him - no one knows, as of course, few records or notable evidence exists.

However, evidence DOES exist for this album. When it came out, they tried to make people think it was Jim, but soon afterwards Iggy Pop came forward and admitted that he had purposely imitated his good pal Morrison on the album to help create the legacy.

I'm not sure who the other musicians are, but it's not Jim on vocals, and the whole "mystery" surrounding this album can be explained a bit further on this website:

http://www.illuminati-news.com/art-and-mc/mojo-risin.htm

My guess at who recorded this..........2006-01-30

Great CD. I believe it was recored by the Michigan band SRC although with a different lead vocals instead of Scott Richards. The guitar work is either Quackenbush or a copycat artist. Listen to "The Angel Song" from SRC Milestones CD and you will see what I mean about being SRC. They recorded for Capitol records about the same time period as this release.

Average customer rating:

Between the Cuts
X...speaks the tale
Solving the Mystery

Divine Comedy Part 1
Phantom
Manufacturer: Radioactive
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00007MFGW
Release Date: 2006-03-31

Tracks:

Tales From A Wizard
Devils Child
Calm Before The Storm
Half A Life
Spiders Will Dance (On Your Face While You Sleep)
Black Magic White Magic
Merlin
Stand Beside My Fire
Welcome To Hell

Album Description

Think The Doors with a much heavier sound and a more polished singer and you have Phantom's Divine Comedy Part 1. An album steeped in mystery due to the un-credited musicians and of course, Phantom himself. Yes, the similarities to Jim Morrison are uncanny. The lyrics are also Doors/Morrison territory. Originally released in 1974. Radioactive Records. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Between the Cuts.......2005-03-09

Besides the obvious and major similarities to the Doors - There's a great mystery to this original record - Between each vinyl album cut, at very low levels, and recorded backwards is the following (Jim Morrison like) poem:
Is it Confusing
The Catch in the Scheme
Which is Reality
And Which is a Dream

Try Hard to Focus
Try to See Clearer
Half a Reflection
Escapes Through the Mirror

Here's the Transition
Achieving my Goal
But What Was I Selling
My Heart or My Soul

You Are the Witness
of What's Inside
The Story Unfolds
Within the Words of Rhyme

There's No Escaping
By Now It's Too Late
Look To The Beginning
But I've Sealed My Fate

Looking For Shelter
No Place to Hide
I Tried to Reject Him
He's Still At My Side

Searching For Answers
Reaching For More
The Soul is a Prison
And I've Locked the Door

Transcribed by Joan Kershaw

X...speaks the tale.......2005-03-01

Time waits for no man. It has been too long since my last review, when I spoke of solving the mystery for you, but it is not for me to solve for I am part of it, so let me share these personal thoughts with you. I cannot "review" the work of my life, except to say it had a life of it's own, but I cannot post my review without picking a number, so all things considered I'll give it a 4. You always want to do one more take! Our music was of a time & place that we traveled alone, as we were ahead of our time. Such things as wizards, black magic, and mystical tales were still unborn in the music world. Calm, Black Magic, and Devil's Child, were, for us, commercial songs but we hoped to expose the more creative and unconventional tunes like Tales, Spiders, and "Welcome" to the light of day. These are mystical tales, sung by a wizard with the voice you'll remember, and I enjoyed the drums as a creative instrument to fly like a dragon, or burn down the town! These are `stories' to put your head in another time and place, but I can't say if it's YOUR time and place. I want to thank Amazon for their review. This is the only `Phantom' album that Arthur and I ever did together.
Perhaps I should write a book. "X"

Solving the Mystery.......2003-11-23

I am "X", the drummer of Phantom. The proof is in what I will reveal in the near future!

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