THE GEESE AND THE GHOST

This is actually the first album I got in anyway related to Genesis and didn't even know Anthony Phillips was a founding member when I first heard him on Last.FM. The first song I heard, Master of Time, simply blew me away, and it wasn't even included on the original release of the album and was just a bonus track on a later re-release. It was a simple and beautiful song, driven by classical guitar and Ant's soft gorgeous vocals. I then decided to invest in the rest of The Geese and the Ghost and it was well worth it. Though originally it was to be a collaboration With Mike Rutherford his conflicts with Genesis, had him reduced to guest status, his presence however can be felt throughout and adds depth to the record. It has a very melancholic feel and is largely string driven but also features piano and lots of nice oboe. The main attractions of the album will be the two epics Henry: Portraits From Tudor Times and the title track, and also the two songs sung by Phil Collins, Which Way the Wind Blows and the beautiful duet God If I Saw Her Now. The album starts off with the short, instrumental, and pleasant introduction Wind Tales. It then goes into Which way the Wind Blows, another gorgeous piece with Phil Collins in lead vocals which in my opinion sounding the best in his career, especially on the later song God If I Saw Her Now. Ant and Mike also in top form here. It then goes into the 14 minute Henry: Portraits From Tudor times. It starts with what I imagine would be played when the king entered the grand hall. Then onto a nice reflective lute section that goes on for about 4 minutes. It then picks up as Henry goes to war, having a tad of a waltz feel with the chords being played here. The song then concludes with a grand sounding organ and a choir in the background. After that is the beautiful God If I Saw Her Now, a duet between Collins and female vocalist Viv McCauliffe. Their voice blend together quite well and Collins delivers my favorite vocal performance of his entire career. Steve Hackett's little brother John also does the flute on this track (and later ones) doing quite well, his solo in the middle of the song is haunting. Then comes the short and powerful instrumental Chinese Mushroom Cloud making a nice segue into the second long song, the the nearly 16 minute title track. The song stars off very pretty, with a bit whimsy making me feel like I'm in a magical forest. It Then pickups, adding Rutherford's bass, then mellowing back down but adding some synth in the background soon replaced by oboe adding to the whimsy. After the end of part of 1 it picks up being very reminiscent of Trespass, it really makes you see what Ant added to the group. It goes on sounding a lot like Musical Box which was originally written by Ant. After that it goes into a melancholic piece with more oboe. The rest of the song sounding very reminiscent of Trespass but no to say unoriginal, Mike and Ant's 12 strings sounding great together here. Concluding with the odd addition of electric guitar, though it still sounds great. Collections is another romantic melancholic piece with vocals done by Ant and more of John Hackett's flute can be heard here though pushed to the background. It finally concludes with Sleepfall: The Geese Fly West. The song features Ant's gorgeous piano work, a few strings, and the oboe I love so much. It brings a fitting conclusion to a masterpiece written by Phillips that is one of my all time favorites that I wholeheartedly recommend to any prog fan.