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ALBUM
REVIEWS
ANTHONY PHILLIPS |
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ALBUM
RATING SYSTEM |
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***** |
An
excellent album. Strong effort from beginning to end! A must own! |
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**** |
A
very good album. A few low points but, overall, a decent effort.
Recommended. |
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*** |
A
good album. Several weak points detract from the album, but it's still
worth owning. |
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** |
A
mediocre album. Unless you're a real fan, you might not like this album
very much. |
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* |
A
poor album. Stay away from this one unless you are a hardcore fan! |
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Anthony
Phillips - The Geese & The Ghost (1977) |
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WOG
RATING: ****
Anthony Phillips’ solo debut, The Geese & The Ghost, which was
actually started out as being an Anthony Phillips and Mike Rutherford duo
project, began its gestation in 1974 with Mike Rutherford in between Genesis
commitments. The album was completed in 1975, but did not find its way to
release until Phillips unearthed the project in 1977. Considered by many to
be among Phillips’ finest moments as a solo artist, Geese has some
elements and instrumental pieces that could almost fit seamlessly on Genesis
albums like Foxtrot or Selling England By The Pound, but still
manage to be distinctly Anthony Phillips. At this point, the musical styles
and similarities of Phillips and Genesis as a collective had only just
started to deviate, so you have a very telling collection of music almost
outlining what Genesis may have been like had he not left the band in 1970.
Of course, the fact that Mike Rutherford makes an appearance and Phil
Collins also provides guest vocals on “God, if I Saw Her Now” and “Which Way
the Wind Blows,” certainly doesn’t hurt the comparison of this effort and
the early works of his former band. |
The 2008 Voiceprint Records digitally remastered reissue sounds absolutely
superb with a level of clarity and depth that far outshines prior CD
versions of this release. The packaging in this new reissue is also second
to none, complete with new liner notes, detailed musician credits, periods
pictures and an incredible bonus disc of rare and largely unheard period
recordings and demos! These rare recordings include, for the first time
officially on compact disc, “Silver Song” with Phillips accompanied by
Collins and Rutherford. Fans will also note that "Henry" includes an added
section of the song that was omitted from the original release. So,
technically, you get yet another previously unheard track on the first disc!
This album is truly a must own from Ant’s catalog and is a wonderful place
to start if you are unfamiliar with his early works. This newly repackaged
edition is the definitive version of this album. The only minor complaint
that I can find with this reissue that prevents it from being absolutely
flawless from a fan perspective is the lack of inclusion of "Only Your Love"
another rare track from this period featuring Mike Rutherford and Phil
Collins. Why it was excluded, I have no idea. I can only hope it will be
released on a future Archive disc in Phillips' catalog. Overall,
highly recommended!
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Anthony
Phillips - Soundscapes: An Anthology (2003) |
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WOG
RATING: ***
A double disc retrospective sounds like it would offer a fairly
well-rounded overview of Phillips' career. Unfortunately, this is not the
case with Soundscapes. This 2-CD set is a nice introduction to the
volumes of Ant's more recent solo efforts with a few scattered older
pieces, but some of the major
highlights of the early part of his career, including material from
numerous classic projects such as The Geese & The Ghost, Sides,
Wise After The Event, and 1984, are completely ignored here.
Granted, there are probably copyright issues involved that have made their
inclusion difficult, but using the word "Anthology" without mention
of specific dates would lead the consumer to believe it is an
all-encompassing collection, which it is not.
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In
addition, this set has a few major mistakes. For example, track six on the
first CD is actually "Dawn Over The Lake" and not "Heart of
Darkness" and track four on the second CD is actually an edited
version of "The Reaper" from The Living Room Concert and
not the "Opening Theme" from Sail The World. There are
also a number of errors in the publishing information for the included
tracks. Snapper/Recall Records clearly did not put much effort into the creation of this
compilation, which is a shame, because the fidelity of the compact discs
themselves is excellent. Like Snapper's Steve Hackett compilation, The
Genesis Files, its a great listen, but it leaves much to be desired as
an all-encompassing history of the artist.
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Anthony
Phillips - Radio Clyde 1978 (2003) |
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WOG
RATING: ***
The session that Anthony Phillips recorded back in 1978 with Radio Clyde
in Glasgow was a widely circulated bootleg for years. Frankly, all of the
copies I heard of the recording were so many generations away from the
master tape that there was more tape 'hiss' than actual music being heard.
Now, 25 years later, this official CD has been released offering the
recordings in a level of sound quality that far transcends that of the old
bootleg tapes. Unfortunately, the master tape was never found, but
apparently Phillips was given a first generation copy of the performance
back in 1978 which has served as the source for this release. Since a
standard cassette tape was the production source, the quality is not
perfect, but it is surprisingly good.
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While
the session was recorded to promote the Wise After The Event album,
Ant does perform selections from The Geese & The Ghost, the
then unreleased Private Parts & Pieces album, and even a few
gems that we hard to come by including tracks like "Conversation
Piece" which was not released until a later radio session Phillips
recorded in 1993 which later became The Living Room Concert album.
Since Ant does not tour in support of his projects, these radio sessions
provide a rare glimpse into a side of his music we typically don't get to
hear. Radio Clyde will clearly be a value to anyone who appreciates
this era of Phillips career.
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Anthony
Phillips - Archive Collection: Volume Two (2004) |
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WOG
RATING: ***
I was fairly impressed with the assortment of rarities, demos, and gems
that made up Phillips' first Archive Collection some six years ago.
That being said, I expected this collection to be "the stuff not good
enough to make the first volume." How wrong I was. In fact, as a
whole, Archive Collection: Volume Two is by far a better release.
As was the case in the previous collection, the packaging remains first
rate with excellent liner notes and annotations about each piece. Even the
sound quality is surprisingly good, which is impressive in itself given
the fact that some of these tracks are rough demos from the early '70s!
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Personally,
I have always found these types of releases enjoyable. Outtakes, demos,
and the like demonstrate how some of the material we have come to love
over the years has evolved from its most infantile stages. Or, in some
instances, a first glimpse at long lost songs that have never seen the
light of day in any form. Any fan of Phillips work would find this
anthology of rarities a worthy addition to their collection. For the
passive fan or the Genesis fan who might be curious to explore the album,
you will see a few familiar names scattered among the collection's
impressive 45 tracks, including appearances by Mike Rutherford and John
Silver. Among the tracks that make up Archive Collection: Volume Two
there are some really beautiful guitar and piano pieces, a few really fascinating
alternate takes, and other distinctive tidbits recorded between 1971 and
1988. There are a couple of clunkers in the set, but not too many. All in
all, I found the release to be a thoughtful insight into Phillips' career.
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Anthony
Phillips - Wildlife (2007/2008) |
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WOG
RATING: ****
Depending on whether you bought this album in Japan or Europe, this title
originally surfaced in late 2007 or early 2008 respectively. The project is
comprised of numerous epic instrumental pieces Anthony Phillips composed as
scores for wildlife films between 1994 and 2000 in an on-going relationship
with renowned wildlife filmmaker Nick Gordon. Also featured prominently on
this project is Phillips long-time collaborator Joji Hirota, who many fans
will know from the Missing Links series of albums in Ant's back
catalog. This touching tribute to Phillips' collaborative and personal
relationship with Gordon, which spanned approximately fifteen years from
1989 until Gordon's untimely passing in 2004, is made all the more beautiful
and haunting by the heart-felt dedication by Phillips in the liner notes,
which gives great respect to Gordon and his passion for the wild.
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While being very different from Anthony Phillips rock or progressive style
projects, I will tell you that this music is really stirring. Sometimes,
soundtrack work just doesn't come across well as an album, because it
requires the crutch of the visuals of film or video to make a lasting
impression. This is not the case here. Not even by a long shot! In fact,
it's some of the most beautiful instrumental work I think Phillips has ever
done in the thirty plus years that he has been releasing music as a solo
artist. If you enjoy instrumental music, Wildlife is an album you
will most certainly enjoy again and again.
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