Anthony Phillips

I tend to think of Anthony Phillips in his role as founder member of Genesis. He left after their first two albums and has since followed a very different path as student, teacher and eventually found his way back into the music recording and publishing world after 7 years away.
In fact though he has been very successful as a solo artist and the series of ‘Private Parts & Pieces’ (I - IV) was released in ‘78 and onwards – music that he composed for various projects dating back to 1972 but that were collected as examples of where he was as a musician.

The four albums have been collected here, along with another album of previously unreleased material, and they show the breadth of talent he has in terms of a composer and musician.

Every track here has its own integrity but as a complete set the mood swings and the sheer intensity of the playing, set alongside the beauty of his playing – especially the 12 string work – both intrigue and leave the listener breathless.
He seems happy to swing between synth laden Genesis styled numbers and introspective and exploratory pieces for acoustic and 12 string. He openly admits to basing much of his work on classical and baroque pieces but takes them into new realms and develops the themes and tones into a very new and heartfelt musical statement.

Definitely a collection to be savoured one piece at a time as to listen to it all in a sitting will obscure the heart and soul at the core of the music but with the wealth of music on offer it is difficult to stop yourself moving from track to track in a frenzy of discovery.
Like a fine wine sip and absorb and let the flavours work their way into your soul – more a Chateau D’yquem than a Lambrusco.