SOUNDSCAPES - AN ANTHOLOGY

Anthony Phillips' CD's - especially his later works - tend to be hard to find in Finland. I managed to get this 2CD compilation, which has been released cheaply through Snapper Music. For the outlooks this is rather poor thing, I admit, but it's all very well compensated by the musical contents. The title Soundcapes hints that it's almost completely instrumental music and a good deal of it is originally composed for TV series or films. As most proggers more likely know his early albums such as Geese & the Ghost or Wise After the Event from the seventies, this set is a wonderful introduction to his later music. It demonstrates his respectable abilities as slightly classically orientated composer for various instruments and combos. His music is often very beautiful and emotional - without being too sentimental.

It starts with 'Bleak House', an ethearal Dickens-inspired ballad from Sides, his third album if I remember right. The other sung song (Ant sings himself on both) is 'The Women Were Watching', which comes nearest the regular 80's pop music, but is still pretty good song. These songs fit nicely among the various soundscapes, often with an atmosphere related to nature (wasn't Tarka a soundtrack for a film about an otter?). There are no bad tracks really. The same can't be said about e.g. Harvest of the Heart compilation from Private Parts & Pieces series. Naturally one would like to have more information of Phillips' discography, and perhaps less cheap-looking oufit alltogether, but it's the music that comes first anyway.