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headerIn a year that sees new releases and concerts from all (former) members of Genesis who are still active in the music business, Anthony Phillips does not make an exception. There are no live performances (last year, however, he released his third “live in the studio” CD) and it seems we will have have some patience until Private Parts & Pieces XI: Field Day is released. But the double CD that was released on May 17, 2002 does not only sweeten the waiting time for Anthony Phillips fans, but it is of great historical and musical interest for all fans of the early Genesis years. Volume II of the Archive Collection continues the third CD series in Ant’s discography (volume I was released in 1998; the other series are Private Parts & Pieces and Missing Links). Ant stated that this new CD would be more homogenous than volume I regarding sound quality and the attribution of songs to different periods. Ant recommends listening to the CDs in two sessions rather than in one go. 36 songs on two discs (with two suites of three and eight pieces) add up to a colourful image that deserves a closer look:


AntWork periods

dictSome of the compositions on these CDs date back to the early days of Genesis. The oldest recording, however, is from 1971. A special focus is on eight recordings from 1973, three pieces from the Sides period, four songs from a 1979 Library project, five pieces from the Invisible Men sessions and as a sensational add-on, the first official releases from the context of the Alice musical. There is no material from 1975, 1985 to 1987 and the time after 1988’s Tarka project. Nine pieces were mixed especially for this release.






Musical forms

gunThe CD contains few Library pieces, among them Romeo & Juliet, a number from Ant’s first Library project in 1976. Seven pieces that could be labelled “soundtracks” have very different quality. They include music for Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a surrealist student film called Fantomas, a documentary about the Middle East and for Alice.
Some of the instrumentals could be called “songs without words” because they are, except for The Anthem From Tarka, instrumental remixes of previously released songs. Three further pieces have to make do not only without words but also without a melody – they were never really finished. The collection features only two real songs; Ant sings on them as well as on a piece labelled “experimental”. The rest consists of various instrumental pieces.


Instrumentation / Musicians involved

flySeventeen people worked on 28 pieces, be it as musicians of assistant sound engineer. The best-known are Michael Giles of King Crimson and John G. Perry (Caravan, Quantum Jump) on Sisters of Remindum, producer Rupert Hine, long-time collaborator Joji Hirota, Andy McCulloch (of King Crimson), Richard Scott on the material from the Invisible Men and Alice projects and two members of Genesis: Mike Rutherford is credited for bass, 12-string guitar and co-writing on five pieces, and, surprisingly, John Silver.



Rarities?

bottleThe degree of rarity differs between the individual elements of the Archive Collection II. Nine pieces are remixes of previously released material with something important, e.g. vocals, left off. The Child Song is known from a bootleg (the In The Beginning pentalogy), but it is much more complete and in better quality on this album. Four songs are alternate recordings. Seventeen (or 16 and a half) songs are completely new.





Highlights

boneleft Deep In The Night was written by Ant and Mike and developed in 1969 in the same session that produced Beside The Water’s Edge (on Archive Collection Volume One). Ant later recorded it for Wise After The Event, but did not use it. Though it is not finished, this song (and its contemporaries) enchants with its peculiar beauty.

boneleftThe Old Wives Tale is not only a solo version of what was to become a duet with Enrique “Quique” Berro Garcia on Private Parts & Pieces III: Antiques, but also the instrumental version of the early Genesis song Little Leaf (1968). 

boneleftThe Scottish Suite II contains almost all the material from 1976’s Macbeth project that Ant had not used for the Scottish suite (I; on Private Parts & Pieces II: Back To The Pavilion). The suite is almost as enjoyable as its sister. Walpurgis Night in particular offers very spooky effects.

boneleft Windmill is the oldest recording on this double CD. It is from 1971 and it received special praise by Peter Gabriel who, at the time, stated that the piece “moves well”.

boneleftTregenna Afternoons features additional instruments like a wah-wah guitar and a special ending. It is a real alternate version of the classic number. In the introduction to this release, Genesis founding drummer John Silver mentions that he has not managed to get this song right on the guitar whenever he tried to in the last thirty years.

boneleft Picardy Pictures has a very impressionistic sound. Why has this number been gathering dust in the last 32 years?

boneleftThe instrumental mix of Falling For Love, performed by the Anthony Phillips Band, is a fine ending for the first CD. Note the additional lead guitar parts by Ant. 

boneleft Siesta is one of three piece for solo guitar from 1981. Interesting chord progressions there.

boneleft West Side Alice never became part of the musical, but it is an excellent piano piece.

boneleft Vic’s Tango is a stylistic curiosity in Ant’s repertoire. The drum box does not play any tango rhythms but a straight four-four with a double beat on the four. 

boneleft Quadrille (an old French formal dance) is the first release from the Alice musical and leaves us wanting more. 

boneleft Desert Suite: The Pipelines work exceptionally well.

boneleftDon’t miss the opening theme from Fantomas. First of all, it is not typical Ant, but you’d also miss John Silver playing the brushes on the drum kit – his specialty, as can be heard on The Magic Of Time (Genesis: Archive 1967-75).

boneleftVolume II follows volume I in the peculiar circumstance that, again, the shortest number has the longest title: An experimental Will The Last Man Off The Ice Rink (Please Turn Out The Lights) (1973) surprisingly resembles …Maybe I’ll Lend You Mine After All, a number Phil Collins would record four years later with Brand X.


safetyThe outer appearance is well-balanced and makes the Archive Collection Volume II a more attractive release than volume I. There are no marketing gags such as limited editions or bonus CDs. The cover art of the vanilla-yellow booklet is by Peter Cross. It probably was not made especially for this CD, but it is a trademark work of the artist who was featured in a “Peter Cross special” in an early edition of the fanclub magazine: If he does not produce commissioned works, he paints compact shelves on which one finds a number of peculiar and interesting items…  Elements from the “cover shelves” can be found dispersed throughout the booklet and as a silk-screen print on both discs. The obligatory photo of Ant is from the Invisible Men period.

The informative booklet contains comprehensive notes for all pieces including many anecdotes, introductions by orange farmer Chris Stewart and Alan Hewitt (of the official Anthony Phillips fanclub) and extensive thank-yous from Ant.
We would also like to mention Jonathan Dann who played an important role in sighting Ant’s reels and in creating this archive. We feel confident that there is enough material for Volume III – maybe something from the 90s…?

by Andreas Lauer, September 2004
photo by Helmut Janisch
translated by Martin Klinkhardt


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