FIELD DAY

Field Day is a massive collection of acoustic guitar pieces from Anthony Phillips. If you've heard the fifth album in his Private Parts and Pieces series, Twelve, you already have some idea of what to expect here: classical guitar which meanders between the tranquil and the new agey and more complex passages reminiscent of Phillips' proggier work. Taking over two decades to record and assemble due to the compositional structure of the album bloating as the project progressed, it's an impressive achievement, though at the same time one to be approached with caution; it's long enough that it's a challenge to sit through the entire thing, especially considering that it isn't enormously varied despite the occasional other bit of instrumentation creeping in here and there, but at the same time it's structured such that the individual tracks don't really pass muster unless taken as part of the whole.

In short, it's worth a listen, but only if you're already a dedicated Phillips follower; those new to his work would be best advised to start with something which is a bit more varied and requires a bit less investment of time to get into, like The Geese and the Ghost or the first Private Parts and Pieces album.