ANTHONY PHILLIPS & ENRIQUE BERRO GARCIA: PRIVATE PARTS & PIECES III - ANTIQUES

I played this album till its grooves had no more music left in them when this first came out--such beautiful melodies and moods came out of this duo. This one stands next to "Field Day" and "The Geese and the Ghost" as my all-time favorite Ant albums (though I love his work on "Trespass," Mike Rutherford's "Smallcreep's Day," Camel's "The Single Factor," as well as on his own "1984" and "Slow Dance"). I don't know the story of how Ant and Enrique Barro Garcia met and decided to compose and play with one another, but I love Enrique for bringing out the serious composer and performer in Ant--everything else between "Geese" and now always felt a bit tongue-in-cheek--loads of fun and many interesting though disjointed songs and melodic hooks, but nothing really displaying Ant's mastery much less commitment to any sort of musical idiom. Ant created--and still creates--music that is totally and uniquely Ant's.

1. "Motherforest" (1:55) two guitars harmonizing pure Beauty. (5/5)

2. "Hurlingham Suite" (11:15) (17.25/20): - I Ivied Castles (4:44) two beautiful guitars playing in perfect harmony with and off of each other. Full of Ant's quirky, unexpected chord and key changes. (8.75/10) - II Frosted Windows (2:25) slow progression of a thousand chords. (4.25/5) - III Bandido (2:46) aggression from acoustic guitars! Aggression with sublime fills and runs. Careful" Virtuosity on display! (4.5/5) - IV Church Bells At Sunset (1:20) gorgeous pastoral melodies. (4.75/5)

3. "Suite In D Minor" (8:27) (18.25/20): - I Whirlpools - fast arpeggiated chords on nylon string guitars (4.25/5) - II Cobblestones - slower arpeggi with one guitar doing more lead melody making on the higher end. (4.75/5) - III Catacombs - multiple guitar picked chord progressions with electric and acoustic guitars soloing in L & R channels à la Stephen Stills and Neil Young. Great tension build and release. Amazing! (5/5)

4. "Danse Nude" (1:31) reversed acoustic guitars! Brilliant! (4.5/5)

5. "Esperansa" (2:02) multiple picked 12-string chords with electric guitar soloing gently over the top. (4.5/5)

6. "Elegy" (3:28) plaintive 12-string strums forming a "classic" tear-jerker, joined by Enrique's beautifully toned and touched Spanish nylon string guitar. (9.25/10) 7. "Otto's Face" (4:23) more "classic"-feeling motifs performed with arpeggi on nylon and steel string companions. What a show by Enrique on his Spanish nylon string. Definitely an Ant classic. (9/10)

8. "Sand Dunes" (8:24) is this what the angels play in heaven? Only Ant can think/imagine these chord progressions. And such a heart-wrencher! And then 12-string takes over the foundation in the third minute. This is not what we were expecting! Such amazing dynamics from two guitars--singing such a mood-shifting song. One of Ant's all-time best. Reminds me of my favorite Christmas album of all-time: Jean-Pierre Rampal, Michel Legrand, and Alexandre Lagoya's Pastorlaes de Noël. (20/20)

9. "Old Wives Tales" (4:46) How can so much beauty come from one album! Nylon and steel companions both singing their beautiful love songs in perfect harmony. (9.5/10)

A/five stars; A masterpiece of progressive rock music in the folk/symphonic vein.