The Geese & The Ghost
	Produced and Engineered by Simon Hayworth, Michael Rutherford and Anthony Phillips
	Released on 1977
	US CHART POSITION #191
	Find it at GEMM
PVC 8905 cover

A nthony Phillips was little more than a footnote to the great career of Genesis; that is until he released The Geese & The Ghost in 1977. Blending orchestral and acoustic instruments, Phillips’ debut album had a grace and grandeur unseen since the days of Trespass and Nursery Cryme. Featuring the participation of Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins (on vocals), John Hackett, Jack Lancaster and others, it was Anthony’s money shot, and he made it pay off in a big way by delivering the best music of his life. In a sense, Anthony has become a victim of his own success, since subsequent albums have fallen invariably short of Geese’s goals, but that’s a discussion for another day. If you enjoyed the pastoral prog rock of early Genesis, more wonders await you. There is, for example, the story of “Henry: Portraits of Tudor Times,” in which the players from the Age of Chivalry walk again. There are songs featuring Phil Collins (“Which Way The Wind Blows,” “God If I Saw Her Now”) that match “More Fool Me” for beauty. There is the stirring title track, “The Geese And The Ghost,” with its gentle agility sure to delight Genesis fans who thought the realms of magic lost to the late ‘70s. To put this into perspective, there are only a handful of albums to my mind that will delight core followers the way The Geese & The Ghost does. For Genesis followers, Voyage of the Acolyte becomes the reference point (though that was a deliberately darker work). For Yes fans, Jon Anderson’s Olias of Sunhillow or Rick Wakeman’s Six Wives of Henry VIII yield as much pleasure. Some of Geese’s credit must go to Mike Rutherford as well, who appears alongside Phillips throughout and shares his affection for acoustic adornment. In a sense, Geese also stands as Rutherford’s best solo album outside of Genesis. Listening to this album in Spring or Summer, when the scent of a world in bloom wafts gently through the window screens, is to be in concert with life itself. If you don’t own this yet and have played Foxtrot down to nubby grooves, do yourself a favor and grab this golden goose.

PVC 8905 back cover	PVC 8905 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. WIND - TALES    (Anthony Phillips)    1:02
2. WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS    (Anthony Phillips)    5:51
3. HENRY: PORTRAITS FROM TUDOR TIMES    (Anthony Phillips/Michael Rutherford)    12:11
   (i) Fanfare    0:56
   (ii) Lutes' Chorus    2:00
   (iii) Misty Battlements    1:15
   (iv) Henry Goes To War    3:36
   (v) Death of a Knight    2:33
   (vi) Triumphant Return    1:46
   
4. GOD IF I SAW HER NOW    (Anthony Phillips)    4:09
5. CHINESE MUSHROOM CLOUD    (Anthony Phillips/Michael Rutherford)    0:46
6. THE GEESE AND THE GHOST    (Anthony Phillips/Michael Rutherford)    15:40
     Part i    8:01
     Part ii    7:39
   
7. COLLECTIONS    (Anthony Phillips)    3:07
8. SLEEPFALL: THE GEESE FLY WEST    (Anthony Phillips)    4:33
   
   CD reissue bonus track
   
9. MASTER OF TIME

CREDITS

ANTHONY PHILLIPS -- acoustic 12 string, 6 string, classical guitar, electric 6 and 12 string guitars, basses, dulcimer guitar, bazouki, synthesizers, mellotron, harmonium, piano, organ, celeste, pin piano, drums, glockenspiel, timbales, bells and chimes, gong, vocal
MICHAEL RUTHERFORD -- acoustic 12 string, 6 string, classical guitars, electric 6 and 12 string guitars, basses, organ, drums, rimbales, glockenspiel, cymbals, bells
Phil Collins -- vocals (2,4)
John Hackett -- flutes (4,7,8)
Nick Hayley + friend -- violins (6)
Jack Lancaster -- flutes, lyricon (8)
Charlie Martin -- cello (5,6)
Viv McAuliffe -- vocals (4)
Lazo Momulovich -- oboes, cor anglais (3,6)
Tom Newman -- hecklephone and bulk eraser (9)
Rob Phillips -- oboe (6,8)
Wil Sleath -- flute, Baroque flute, recorders, piccolo (3)
Kirk Trevor -- cello (5,6)
Martin Westlake -- timpani (3,5,6) (and thanks to Brendan and Viv)
Send Barns Orchestra and Barge Rabble conducted by Jeremy Gilbert
Ralph Bernascone; soloist
Anton Matthews -- mixing engineer
Peter Cross -- cover design and art

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