THE NEW ANTHONY PHILLIPS ALBUM

I have only heard fragments of it so far, but I think that the new Anthony Phillips/Andrew Skeet album Seventh Heaven is really going to be one of the major releases of this spring.

The release sheet describes it as:

A brand new studio 2 CD set from ex-GENESIS guitarist ANTHONY PHILLIPS and composer ANDREW SKEET.

ANDREW SKEET is a composer primarily for television and film, and is much in demand as a conductor and arranger and has worked with GEORGE MICHAEL, SUEDE, UNKLE, SINEAD O’CONNOR, as well as establishing his own orchestra. His music has been featured in The Apprentice, Banged up Abroad, and What Katie Did Next amongst many others.

Featuring on the album is BELINDA SYKES who sings on the track ‘Seven Ancient Wonders’. Belinda has performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York, and has recorded with KARL JENKINS and directs the medieval band JOGLARESA.

Also performing is JOHN PARRICELLI, one of the key figures on the British Jazz scene co-founding the jazz orchestra LOOSE TUBES. He has featured on over 200 movie scores including Lord of the Rings, Shakespeare in Love and The Constant Gardener. He has also recorded with LEONA LEWIS, DUFFY, WESTLIFE, ROBBIE WILLIAMS, RUMER, amongst many others.

All in all an amazing package.

Tracks:
Disc 1: Credo In Cantus, A Richer Earth, Circle of Light, Grand Central, Kissing Gate, Pasquinade, Rain on Sag Harbor, Ice maiden, River of Life, Desert Passage, Seven Ancient Wonders, Desert Passage, Under The Infinite Sky, Forgotten Angels, Courtesan, Ghosts of New York, Shipwreck of St Paul, Cortege.

Disc 2: Credo In Cantus (instrumental), Sojourn, Speak of Remarkable Things, Nocturne, Long Road Home, Golden Leaves of Fall, Credo, Under The Infinite Sky, The Stuff of Dreams, Old Sarum Suite, For Eloise, Winter Song, Ghosts of New York, Daniel’s Theme, Study In Scarlet, The Lives of Others, Pas de Deux, Forever Always.

Anthony Edwin "Ant" Phillips (b. 23 December 1951, Chiswick, west London) is an English multi instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of the band Genesis.

He played guitar and sang backing vocals until leaving in 1970, following the recording of their second album, Trespass. He left due to suffering from stage fright, after being told by his doctor that the best thing would be to leave the band.

He is known for his twelve string guitar work, and his influence can be heard throughout Genesis's early output. Genesis's first album after Phillips's departure, Nursery Cryme, featured two songs which were holdovers from the days when Phillips was in the band: "The Musical Box" (originally called F#) and "The Fountain Of Salmacis." "The Musical Box" especially remains a favourite of fans.

After leaving Genesis, Phillips studied classical music (especially classical guitar) and made recordings in collaboration with Harry Williamson, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins, among others.He played the keyboards on the demos for Peter Gabriel in 1976. His first solo album, The Geese and the Ghost, was issued in 1977.Phillips released his second album in 1978, entitled Wise After the Event. This was followed the next year by Sides. Both of these albums were produced by Rupert Hine and were intended to reach a mainstream audience, though neither album was successful in that regard.

In its initial release in the UK, Sides was accompanied by a more experimental album entitled Private Parts and Pieces; in the U.S. and Canada the two albums were issued separately. Private Parts and Pieces II: Back to the Pavilion followed the next year, and several further sequels were issued in the 1980s and 1990s.

Phillips began writing material with Andrew Latimer of Camel in 1981, and was a featured performer on that band's album, The Single Factor (released in 1982).Phillips released a mainstream pop album entitled Invisible Men in 1983. He later claimed that this project went "horribly wrong" as a result of commercial pressures, and would subsequently eschew mainstream success in favour of more specialised material.Phillips remains involved in a variety of musical projects, including extensive soundtrack work in England often for the label Atmosphere part the Universal Music Group. In the mid-1990s, he released an album entitled The Living Room Concert, which featured solo acoustic versions of his earlier material. He also provided archival material for the first Genesis box set, Genesis Archive 1967-75, released in 1998.Several of his albums feature artwork by Peter Cross.

Check out the Gonzo page for this album