SIDES

Some skilled prog friends gave a hand to his album from Anthony and surround him on this " solo" album. But I have to say that while you are listening to the first part of this work; it is quite a deception.

Most of the tracks are on the soft-pop-rock ballad style. Vocals are rather average, melodies quite childish ("Holy Deadlock") and little to no guitar solo are available ("Lucy Will", "Side Door"). The only song that stands out is the good and upbeat opener "I Want Your Love".

Some "Trespass" acoustic feel are available on the peaceful and more attractive "Souvenir". Fortunately, the album gets much better with "Sisters Of Remindum" which is quite a good progressive track in all the acceptance of the word. It features pastoral and wild passages, beautiful piano parts, and complex instrumentation: it is THE highlight so far.

The same mould is used for the nice and sweet "Magdalen". It could have been featured on "Trick Of The Tail" without any trouble. My favourite song is the excellent "Nightmare". It sounds as a beautiful dream: full of fantasy, great synths, superb bass play and excellent drumming. This long instrumental track holds everything we can appreciate on a Phillips record: melodic, sweet, catchy, superbly crafted and beautifully symphonic.

As you can see there is a bit of a mixed feel with this album. Very good songs sit along with some weak ones. Three stars overall.