He got signed by Columbia and moved to LA to make his debut album, Sunny Nights. It was released in 1988 under his new name, Parthenon Huxley. A nod to the old world, and a wink at the brave new one.
Parthenon Huxley also helped out on other artists' records. He coproduced the two albums that Mark Oliver Everett made as A Man Called E (before spawning the band Eels). He also worked with Sass Jordan, Stevie Salas, and Kyle Vincent, among others.
A man called E meets Mullet Man
Parthenon Huxley formed a power pop power trio and named it P. Hux. The band's 1995 debut album, Deluxe, is a celebration of being in love. Sadly, the next P. Hux album Purgatory Falls (released in 2001) was about the grief of losing his wife to cancer.
Huxley joined The Orchestra and toured the world with Mik Kaminski, playing ELO classics and new material. A song from The Orchestra's album No Rewind is included in today's share. There's also a remix of a song from Homemade Spaceship, a P. Hux album of ELO covers.
He eventually remarried and became the father of two daughters. Five more studio albums were released over the next two decades, plus two collections of stray tracks, three live records, and an autobiography.
Parthenon Huxley died in 2026, seventy years after Rick Miller was born. As a songwriter, he captured authentic feelings of love and loss. He could poke fun at organized religion and at himself ("Angeleno"). He could be eloquent, and he could celebrate "Simple Things". He sang and harmonized beautifully, and boy could he play guitar. Check out "Meteor Sky" from his other power trio, VeG. I treasure his music, and hopefully this collection represents his talents.
RIP P. Hux -- https://pixeldrain.com/u/dMmQrsAU
ReplyDeleteCompared to other blogs, Stinky and I don't do a lot of posthumous tributes. We prefer to give artists their flowers (and their due) while they're alive. But I didn't know Parthenon was ill, and the news of his death came as a surprise. Not that I knew the man -- he periodically sent email updates to the fans on his mailing list, and he autographed every disc sold from his website. That was the extent of my "connection" to him -- as a fan, and as a customer. Always thought I would one day take the opportunity to go up to MD or NC or VA for one of his shows.
"Deluxe" was my first P. Hux album, and remains a favorite. Back in the 1990's, CD's and DVD's were available for checkout from my public library. When they sold off their CD collection, I bought the library copy of Deluxe that I used to borrow. I ran into another copy of Deluxe a few years ago at another CD sale, and I sent it to Stinky.
I'd like to thank you publicly for your kind gift, Jon. It's a great album.
DeleteThis collection looks great! I( used to borrow CDs at the library, too!)
I feel like P. Hux would have had a better chance of commercial success if he'd have stuck with one name. I wasn't sure P. Hux WAS Parthenon Huxley when I first saw the album.
You're welcome! Good point about the name. Maybe he thought that "Parthenon Huxley" would be unwieldy but unforgettable (like Englebert Humperdinck) rather than pompous and difficult to spell (like Englebert Humperdinck). Kind of a dinck move.
DeleteFor awhile I thought P. Hux was the band's name, and Parthenon was the bandleader. But he also used the abbreviated name as a solo performer. I liked to think that the guy who made the Sunny Nights album had dreams of commercial success, while P. Hux was a guy who made music he liked to please himself. But the 2013 album Thank You Bethesda is credited to Parthenon Huxley, so there goes the other one of my Hux/Huxley theories.
Robin Lane sings backup on "Compromise"!
I just downloaded it, &I'll check out the track with ROBIN LANE! Thanks!
DeleteThanks for this Jonder! I'm good friends with his brother Tom, and HE calls him Parth! (And it was through that friendship that Parth and I went out to dinner once when my travelling sales career took me near where he lived. It was a fun evening, and he gave me a copy of "Purgatory Falls). Also, I always thought that he changed his name because there was another Rick Miller in the North Carolina scene (you know, the guy with Southern Culture on the Skids), but Tom asked him for me, and reported back that this was not the case.
DeleteInteresting! I never thought about the Rick Miller from SCOTS. I believe I read that Parth was one of five boys. Do you know whether their father was a military man? I ask because the American school in Athens Greece mainly serves the families of military and State Department employees. There's a song on the VeG album called "Burning Langley Down". Like his hero, Aldous Huxley, I think Parth was a pacifist with an interest in Eastern spirituality ("Buddha Buddha") and he was skeptical of organized Christianity ("Here Comes The Savior", "Guest Host For The Holy Ghost").
DeleteI should probably get the autobiography! Thanks again for your comment.
I can't remember what the father did, but I'm pretty sure it was for business. Get the book...it's really really good!
DeleteOK, I'm sold!
DeleteThe singer of Madness is called Sucks, no sorry, Suggs. Most of these wordplays are fartfetched.
ReplyDeleteCome to think about a very scientific joke. about the three states like solid, liquid and gas. In all three you can be incontinent.
Didn't know Richard Miller up till now, so thank you for bringing him to attention.
Suggs ain't so bad -- and he's married to Bette Bright! Here's my favorite quasi-scientific joke:
DeleteDid you hear about the restaurant on the moon? The food is good, but there's no atmosphere.
Never got his due; I blame BRLA...sobering he's only 2 year solder than me...and I'll almost certainly die just a few miles from where he did. Strange world.
ReplyDeleteA strange, sad, and beautiful world indeed. I think Hux died in Chevy Chase, MD. I'm hoping to die in a spectacular midair explosion, on a heroic one-way mission to defeat an evil extraterrestrial force and save humanity. I won't get the girl, but she'll be smiling through her tears as the music swells and the end credits start to roll.
DeleteWhen David Letterman's mother died in her sleep, he joked that she died doing what she loved. That sounds good to me!
DeleteI appreciate this introduction and farewell, all wrapped up in a journey. P. Hux lived a human life and shared it with us. That's art.
ReplyDeleteA lovely way to put it, efredd. I think Hux would have liked that. Thanks for your comment, and I hope you enjoy the music!
DeleteI remember borrowing LPs (& tapiong them of course) from the local library... Thanks for Parthenon Huxley, never heard of him before.
ReplyDelete