SIDES

It's interesting to speculate how successful Anthony Phillips would have been had he not been part of the early Genesis line up. On this showing, the answer is "not very". It is not a bad album, just a bit dull and unoriginal.

Phillips certainly drafted in plenty of help for "Sides", with over a dozen other musicians receiving credits. The vocalists dominate much of the album, perhaps in an effort to find the commercial success which has always eluded Phillips work.

On side one, the vocals on three of the tracks are credited to "The Vicar". I have no idea who this is, but "Lucy will" does sound very reminiscent of Clifford T Ward. Tracks such as "Side door" are just lightweight soft rock songs which go nowhere.

Side two is certainly a significant improvement as the pop themes of side one are replaced by Tony Banks like piano and generally more complex themes. "Bleak house" could have come straight from "A Curious feeling", while "Nightmare" has echoes of "A trick of the tail".

To continue the football analogy from the sleeve, very much a game of two halves. Skip side one altogether, and head straight for side two for the decent music.

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