THE GEESE AND THE GHOST

I think it´s about time to write a review on Genesis original lead guitarrrist´s debut solo album. I had this disc a few years ago and I remember I didn´t like it at all. Pehaps my expectations were too high since I heard a lot o praising for this album. Or maybe my early copy didn´t have a good sound. Whatever the reason, I decided to get the new, remastered, double CD edition of The Geese And The Ghost instead of my old one. And I can say I changed my mind about this work.

Another reviewer wrote that Phillip´s first solo efford was a kind of Genesis Trespass without the other band members. Well, not so much so, but in fairness you get a lot of the guitar playing from that album and that´s a compliment. There are a few gentle vocals on three tracks (two done by Phil Collins), but mostly this is an instrumental record. A mix of classical and folk influences, with a little bit of rock and jazz bits here and there. If you´re into that kind of music, then you´ll surely love this album. There are several very good moments, but expect few electric guitar interventions and even fewer bursts of energy: there is almost no drums or notable keyboards passages. Genesis Michael Rutherford plays here but you´ll hardly notice him. In general it is Phillip´s guitar and several types of subtle string and woodwind instruments parts.

Highlghts are the title track and the gentle Collections (nive vocal by Ant Phillip himself). The new remastered edition has a brighter, better sound as far as I can recall. The second CD is basicly a colection of demos and alternative versions of the songs of the original album, with a couple of tunes that I believe were intenteded for this CD or written around the time but didn´t make it to the final cut. Nice, but definitly only recommended for the hardcore fans and collectors. The exception is the beautiful Master Of Time, a really great track that I don´t understand why it wasn´t on The Geese And The Ghost.

All in all, a nice, gentle disc, with several subtle colors and sounds. Nothing really fantastic (I was really expecting something more rocking), but good anyway, specially for early Genesis fans like me. 3 stars.