Ivory Tower

French-born Philippe Auclair was the in-house producer and writer for él Records and his arrangements and songs were a crucial part of the label’s output. Adaptable to él boss Mike Alway’s demands — Brill Building pop, smooth jazz, French classical, a cappella vocal arrangements and ’60s pastiches were all in his wheelhouse, and he proved adept at writing songs to order out of titles Alway threw at him — as Louis Philippe, Auclair released two albums on the label, the second of which, Ivory Tower, is arguably his masterpiece. Opening with a sumptuous cover of lost Brian Wilson composition "Guess I’m Dumb," its 14 songs each showboat his skillset, urbane countertenor and a level of pop sophistication arguably at the time matched only by Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon.