WISE AFTER THE EVENT

Curiosity is a wonderful thing! I purchased this CD a few years back, not knowing who ANTHONY PHILLIPS was. I was thumbing through the Genesis section at a music shop and came across this. I asked the clerk why it was in with the Genesis CD's, and he told me that A. Phillips used to play guitar for them. So, I bought this along with Trespass. I'll leave me review of Trespass for another time. But this album is darn near perfection. Having said that, the first half is better than the second half. In fact, I think tracks 1 - 5 are unbelieveably good. My favorite song on the whole album is the title track - Wise After the Event. It is almost epic in length, at 8:45sec long. The final chorus of "Getting so much wiser . . . is so much fun" runs through my head all day after I've listened to it. That, and the harmonics he plunks out until the song fades. AWESOME! I also absolutely love the opening song "We're All as We lie", which is a great historical/fantasy romp, using plenty of puns from the game of golf. On the second half of the album, "Now what are they doing to my little friends" is the standout. It seems to be inspired by plight of animals hunted purely for sport. All in all, this CD is better than most of the stuff that has ever come out. It is thoughtful and accessible at the same time.