Anthony Phillips-"Why the Genesis reunion left me out!"

[Scott Bails]

Didn't Tony play 12-string on "Entangled," too?

[GuitarGeek]

On the 'Calling All Stations' tour they had a set where Mike, Tony and Anthony Drennan all played 12-strings for 3 tracks, Lovers Leap, Follow You..., and the intro to Dancing With The Moonlit Knight.

Well, ok, but i was talking about the original during the 70's. Originally, Follow You Follow Me didn't have any 12 string, and Dancing With The Moonlight has just a little bit of it.

[GuitarGeek]

Didn't Tony play 12-string on "Entangled," too?

As near as I can tell, Tony played 12 string on the following songs:

The Musical Box
Lover's Leap
The Cinema Show
Entangled

There's probably a couple others I'm forgetting. But I think at least during the Hackett era, the rest of the time you hear double 12 strings, it's Mike and Steve. I know Tony is credited with playing 12 string on Duke, but I never been sure where it occurs on the record. And I still don't know which songs on Tresspass he plays guitar on.

[2steves]

Genesis always played 12 string---as a group--Tony, Mike and the guitarist---don't know if Anthony came up with that idea---I would think it was something they all came up with at school together--- they liked the sound.

[bill g]

Pretty sure Tony played 12-string in 'Stagnation' and 'Dusk', and maybe even 'White Mountain'. According to interviews he played a lot more 12-string in the early days on the material between FG2R and Trespass. Definitely 'Cinema Show', and 'Entangled'. My comments about him playing on the CAS tour were just as a curiosity item.

[jeffo621]

So here's a question: I've thought about picking up some of Phillips solo stuff for some time. Where should I start?

[progfan915]

For traditional song-oriented albums I think everyone would agree you can't go wrong with Geese and the Ghost, and Wise After the Event.

For instrumental albums, my vote goes to Slow Dance (for an orchestral feel), Ivory Moon (all solo piano pieces!) and New England. I must admit that the all acoustic instrumental albums can get a bit tiresome, for me anyway

[Progatron]

So here's a question: I've thought about picking up some of Phillips solo stuff for some time. Where should I start?

There's no doubt you should try Geese And The Ghost, Wise After The Event and the Private Parts And Pieces vols. I + II 2-CD set. For the new listener, those are your best bets.

I have his entire catalogue, and I like almost all of it, but there's no point in overloading you with recommendations. Start with any number of those I mentioned above, and enjoy!

[jeffo621]

Hey Progaton -

Major Thumbs Up to you for that answer. It's always frustrating when people give a list of thirty albums or are vague with their recommendations. Thanks so much for your succinctness!

[firth5th]

That's fair of Tony, but to say what should've been done doesn't mean it will be done..In fact, I don't remember any credits given except the name of the band..

Don't know why anyone thinks Ant deserves writing credit for The Musical Box

[Firth]

There's no doubt you should try Geese And The Ghost, Wise After The Event and the Private Parts And Pieces vols. I + II 2-CD set. For the new listener, those are your best bets.

I have his entire catalogue, and I like almost all of it, but there's no point in overloading you with recommendations. Start with any number of those I mentioned above, and enjoy!

What about the latest re-releases?

[Progatron]

What about the latest re-releases?

Well, I can only speak for the ones I own. I have everything he's done (with the exception of the recent 5-disc Harvest retrospective box and the Geese 5.1 edition), mostly the excellent 2-disc Voiceprint reissues that began in 2008. I highly recommend those as they are done exactly the way I like, with all the rarities and extra tracks on disc 2, and the album proper left alone on disc 1 - as well as nice booklets in each of them. The first ten volumes in the PP&P series are on five 2-disc sets as well. I enjoyed building my A.P. collection, and these reissues were an excellent way to get the job done!

[bill g]

For traditional song-oriented albums I think everyone would agree you can't go wrong with Geese and the Ghost, and Wise After the Event.

For instrumental albums, my vote goes to Slow Dance (for an orchestral feel), Ivory Moon (all solo piano pieces!) and New England.

[Proglodite]

PP&P V "Twelve" is one of my favorites - 60-minutes of solo 12-string based on the months (and yet another double entendre title I didn't fully fathom until composing this post!).

Slow Dance is another favorite.

Problem with Ant's releases are at one point or another they're all 'favorites'. PP&P IV "Catch at the Tables" is frequently omitted, yet I feel it's one of the best PP&Ps.

It might be easier to list the ones newbies should steer clear of:

Invisible Men
Finger Painting
Sail the World

[Rufus]

There's a letter sent in by a fan in the latest Prog Magazine after he recently saw Mike & The Mechanics. He told Mike he was a big fan of the early stuff to which Mike replied-"I don't listen to that shit anymore"!!!

[Trane]

"Calling them the original lineup is just convenient parlance, isn’t it? I’ve kind of got used to it. Occasionally one feels a little bit of a sort of footnote in history, almost airbrushed out. At other times I almost feel embarrassed about the interest shown to a time where, to be honest, some of the music was a bit rough.

He admits: "Obviously it’s difficult being the one that left Genesis, in some respects. There’s always going to be an element of that but – of course, the reality of stardom ain’t that great a lot of the time.

"You never have any peace; everyone's after you; the slightest thing in your private life is up for grabs. You can sign 99 autographs and then not sign one and you're in big trouble.

"So there’s a lot to be said for actually having a quiet life.”

"Airbrushed out"?? I guess it's a personal impression... I sometimes feel like Hackett would have more right of feeling that way that Phillipd does

Sounds like he's made his peace with all that long ago. Thanks for the bit

Not sure about this... or else, he wouldn't have reacted like he did...
OK, i realize that maybe someone (journalist) sought and provoked a reaction of his, but I'd have a hard time believing that Ant would not realize this would be printed somewhere on the net of music mags

But he's right about a quiet and private life

[Trane]

Pretty sure Tony played 12-string in 'Stagnation' and 'Dusk', and maybe even 'White Mountain'. According to interviews he played a lot more 12-string in the early days on the material between FG2R and Trespass.

So that would make a pretty heavy list:
Stagnation
White Mountain
Dusk
The Musical Box
Lover's Leap
The Cinema Show
Entangled

.... for someone having been quoted disliking playing the guitar

[bRETT]

"

Not sure about this... or else, he wouldn't have reacted like he did...
OK, i realize that maybe someone (journalist) sought and provoked a reaction of his, but I'd have a hard time believing that Ant would not realize this would be printed somewhere on the net of music mags

He basically seems fine with it. Just one of those cases where the "classic" lineup gets misidentified as the "original" one (see Jefferson Airplane, etc...)

[bill g]

It might be easier to list the ones newbies should steer clear of:

Invisible Men
Finger Painting
Sail the World

And yet 'fingerpainting' has 2 of my very favorites, 'Tropical Moon over Dorking' and 'Paradise Found' that makes it my personal favorite of the 'missing links' series. I would also avoid 'Slow Waves, Soft Stars', and the newer ones like 'Wildlife'

[ThomasKDye]

Invisible Men

It's not prog (mostly) but I actually like the sweet innocence of Ant's attempt at early eighties pop. He's so guileless when he sings songs like "Golden Bodies," "Love In A Hot Air Balloon" or "Sally." Probably most prog fans wouldn't like it, sure, but I enjoy putting it on from time to time when I'm in a pop mood.

[Splicer]

There's a letter sent in by a fan in the latest Prog Magazine after he recently saw Mike & The Mechanics. He told Mike he was a big fan of the early stuff to which Mike replied-"I don't listen to that shit anymore"!!!

Mike's nose has always been the highest in the air of all them.

[aith01]

There's a letter sent in by a fan in the latest Prog Magazine after he recently saw Mike & The Mechanics. He told Mike he was a big fan of the early stuff to which Mike replied-"I don't listen to that shit anymore"!!!

Why are musicians criticized for themselves being critical of their own work?

It's quite possible that quote was taken out of context, and we don't know what Mike's tone was when he said it -- I've a feeling it was part of that dry, self-deprecating English wit that often gets "lost in translation".

I won't begrudge him if he doesn't like that old stuff -- doesn't detract from my enjoyment of it at all, and it does not lessen my appreciation for Mike as a musician or composer.

[Gizmotron]

As near as I can tell, Tony played 12 string on the following songs:

The Musical Box
Lover's Leap
The Cinema Show
Entangled

There's probably a couple others I'm forgetting. But I think at least during the Hackett era, the rest of the time you hear double 12 strings, it's Mike and Steve. I know Tony is credited with playing 12 string on Duke, but I never been sure where it occurs on the record. And I still don't know which songs on Tresspass he plays guitar on.

I have some photos of Tony playing 12-string from the 76 and 77 tours...they are some of my most prized photos because it was a hard event to capture due to lighting challenges and other, more dynamic things happening on stage during those moments.

[2steves]

Mike's nose has always been the highest in the air of all them.

You could be right---his nose does seem up in the air---but he's usually more diplomatic than Tony when he speaks. It's not too far fetched to think if Mike and the M are his idea of good music than maybe he doesn't like Fountain of Salmacis anymore.

[Casey]

"old shit"? And how old is the M&M stuff he's now touring with?