WISE AFTER THE EVENT

This record is very graceful & delicate acoustic guitar oriented, although there are conventional bass, drums and keyboards parts. There are some excellent electric guitar solos. This record is not extremely progressive, despite the rather elaborated compositions. The highly pitched & expressive male lead vocals are excellent and fit very well with the miscellaneous delicate acoustic guitar sounds; almost all the tracks are excellent. "Birdsong" has a graceful part made of floating keyboards and expressive lead vocals. There are many beautiful delicate piano parts, like on "Moonshooter". Unlike his "Private parts & pieces" albums, Anthony Phillips made a rhythmic and structured album here; the rhythm is rather slow, so that you can fully listen to the numerous soothing melodies created by the guitars. Only "Wise after the event" is less magic, delicate and graceful: maybe the rhythmic acoustic guitar is too monolithic and repetitive, even slightly approaching the modern King Crimson style!

On the other side, the catchy "Pulling faces" is quite rock, rather having the style and intensity of the "Sides" album; the lead vocals, the electric guitar solos, the keyboards, the bass and the drums form a perfect highly emotive music. "Regrets" comes back with a delicate approach, but without guitars: piano, sublime & elaborated orchestral arrangements, tender male lead vocals: it is ABSOLUTELY beautiful, poignant, mind troubling and slightly romantic: it is one of the best tracks on this album! "Greenhouse" is another gem, full of happy lead vocals between David Sylvian and Richard Sinclair, and not timid rhythmic & melodic acoustic guitars. "Paperchase" is another excellent rhythmic song made of a mix of acoustic & electric guitars. The last track, "Now what", has a VERY subtle, delicate, melodic and addictive mix of piano, intense lead vocals and floating keyboards: the last mellow part sounds a bit like the end of "Dancing with the moonlit knight" on the "Selling England by the pound" album.

Rating: 4.5 stars