WISE AFTER THE EVENT

Given the extended gestation of their debut studio work "The Geese And The Ghost", it's somewhat surprising that barely six months later he was back into the studio to recording tracks for his second studio release "Wise After The Event". His record label and his manager convinced Anthony Phillips that is was in the best interests of his career that his next future album should feature more songs and less instrumental tracks than his debut had. With very few music written between 1973 and 1975, when Phillips was studying music and the time after that was spent almost completing his debut album, tracks for his second album had to be written during the rehearsal and the recording sessions of it.

So, "Wise After The Event" is the second solo studio album of Anthony Phillips and was released in 1978. Phillips invited to participate on this album a very extensive list of musicians including some names very well known. So, the line up on the album is Anthony Phillips (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Michael Giles (drums), Mel Collins (soprano saxophone and flutes), Rupert Hine (backing vocals, percussion, locks, probs, modes and vibes), John G. Perry (bass), The Vicar (guitars, keyboards and sundries), Jeremy Gilbert (keyboards and harp), Robin Phillips (oboe), Perkin Alanbeck (synthesizer), Rodent Rabble (clicks, claps and crampons), Humbert Ruse (drums and bass), Vic Stench (bass) and an orchestra conducted by Gilbert Biberian.

"Wise After The Event" has nine tracks. All songs were written by Phillips except "Greenhouse" which was written by Phillips and Jeremy Gilbert. The first track "We're All As We Lie" is a near perfect opener to the album. Here, he blends the acoustic folk, the high pitch 12 strings guitar, adds a special folk touch to the song, with dreamy vocals followed by Giles' pulsating backbeats and an enduring melody line. The second track "Birdsong" is in the same vein of "The Geese And The Ghost". It benefits from Phillips' reflective vocal and soaring electric guitar coda which tellingly exhibits some similarities between his and Steve Hackett's technique at the time. It was originally written just after Phillips left Genesis and has echoes of Genesis' "Trespass" album. The third track "Moonshooter" is one of the best songs to showcase Phillips' unique acoustic guitar style and reserved vocals. It's a slow song very sweet and very acoustic not very different from Phillips' standard songs. The fourth track is the title track. It's an eerie and lengthy piece with a strange other worldlyfeel. It demonstrates the subtle and perfectly judged drumming of Michael Giles, and such is the unusual nature of this song that in some ways it does brings to my mind, King Crimson. The fifth track "Pulling Faces" has a range that perhaps uncovers some of the limitations in Phillips' singing, but on the whole he handles vocal duties with charm and sincerity. It has some rare energy, more in the rock Genesis' vein that settles down when the vocals arrive. The sixth track "Regrets" is a mournful song of lost love, and most clearly features Phillips' distinctive wistful cracking voice, conveying heartbreaking emotion on the only song on the album with orchestration. Written in 1975, it shows the slow burning nature of his song writing. The seventh track "Greenhouse" brings us back to a more familiar melodic territory with lyrical, musical and vocal hints of The Beatles in their psychedelic phase. It's a short piece that has something to do with the early Genesis' drama. The eighth track "Paperchase" has a trippy feel that is continued by the gossamer thin, floating opening as the song seems to focus positively and supportively on the memory of beautiful summer days from the depths of winter. It's more meandering and less detailed in their arrangement. Still, it remains engaging and containing of enough depth to keep you thoroughly hooked. The ninth track "Now What (Are They Doing To My Little Friends)?", Phillips' plaintive voice perfectly glides over the sad and emotive music, soaring with emotion and restrained anger in the choruses. It drifts away elegiacally before appropriately fading into a dark ominous sounds.

Conclusion: "Wise After The Event" is an album totally different from "The Geese And The Ghost". So, it gave him a chance to select some early material. He was able to release the album in a record time. As Phillips said, this was really his first album, because "The Geese And The Ghost", despite being came out under his name solely, was very much written closely with Mike Rutherford. "Wise After The Event" marks also the only album where Phillips sings as a lead vocalist on the entire album, like Tony Banks did on his second solo studio album "The Fugitive", released in 1983. In my humble opinion, and as Banks, Phillips, despite has a nice voice he isn't properly a vocalist. However, he composed all songs to his voice and I think he made really a very decent vocal work. So, all in all, "Wise After The Event" is a very good album and it's, in a certain way, more cohesive and more uniform than its predecessor is. Still, I sincerely think that it lacks to it some magic. Still, it represents an excellent effort of him and deserves to be listened by all Genesis' fans and by all that simply love the symphonic classic rock music. It's a great addition to any prog decent collection.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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