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Anthony Phillips

Private Parts & Pieces X - Soirée

Review by Gary Hill

Anthony Phillips first came to prominence as the original guitarist for Genesis. Since leaving that group he has released a very extensive catalog. All of his albums are of high quality, but there is a wide range of sound changes from set to set. This one is all instrumental and mostly classical piano based. It's quite a strong album, really.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2018  Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.


Track by Track Review
Sad Ballerina
A song that seems to have the perfect title, this is a piano solo that seems to depict that particular ballerina.
Final Lights
Another piano solo, this one seems to be more upbeat in terms of mood. It's very much a pretty classical number.
Sultry Leaves
This has a bit more of a tentative vibe to it. It grows gradually, but is another very classical music oriented piece.
Fivers
I love the delicate little fills on this classically oriented piano piece. It has a great energy and moving arrangement.
Creation
While this isn't a huge change in terms of the type of music, this is quite powerful and dynamic. It has gentle sections and more bombastic ones.
Keepsake
Another potent piano solo, while this isn't a huge change in terms of style, it is different thematically.
Venetian Mystery
I love the tone and rather melancholy mood of this piece.
Scythia
Moving both in terms of emotion and the energy level of the track, this is a very powerful number. Yet it also has some forays into pretty oddities as it works its way forward. It is quite a dynamic number.
Cantilena
Pretty and at times gentle, this is also especially evocative. There is somehow an olde world vibe to this in a rather ethnic way at times.
The Oregon Trail
Fast paced and dramatic classical piano work drives this number forward in style.
Passacaglia
Another pretty piano solo, this not greatly changed from the other material around it, but is a strong entry with its own identity.
Gazebo
Gentle and a bit dreamlike, this is quite satisfying.
Passepied
There is a great contrast on this composition. Part of it is forceful and bombastic. Other parts are sedate and delicate. They work together nicely.
Fallen Flower - Dedicated to the Memory of Diana, Princess of Wales
Somehow this reminds me of the type of music you might hear at the start of a soap opera. It is gentle and a bit sad. I suppose given the dedication and title that makes sense.
Noblesse Oblige
Another pretty piece of music, this has some powerfully emotional sections.
Hope of Ages
This is a poignant and soaring kind of number. It has a lot of bombast and drama in the mix. It also has gentle respites built in as a sort of resolution.
Obezag
Trippy atmospheric electronic sounds are the basis of this number, making it a big contrast to the rest of the album. Yet it really fits well within the sound of the set.
Rain Suite
This is so powerful and dynamic. It's also rather extensive at six minutes of piano music. It starts with a fast moving section that plays through. Then around the half way mark it drops way down and starts to build back up from there. This next section gets particularly powerful.
After You Left
Presenting a contrast to the louder and energized movement that closed the last piece, this is slow moving and delicate. It's sad and also pretty.
Summer's Journey
This isn't a big change, but it's another pretty classically based piece of music.
 
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