Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Phillips, Anthony
Label: Voiceprint
Released: 1979
Length: 56:46
Rating: 4/5
The original guitarist of the legendary British prog rockers Genesis had already made a name for himself as a solo artist with two excellent albums of pastoral-tinged symphonic prog rock, ruled mostly by his acoustic guitar. For his third solo outing, “Sides”, he decided to try to reach a wider audience too. The album was officially his third, though technically his fourth, coming after “Private Parts and Pieces”, which was recorded earlier but came out in the UK in the same month and year.
“Sides” is Ant’s first and last serious attempt at getting radio play, which makes it his most commercially minded album. He was determined to pull it off, so once again he invited a first-rate cast of musical helpers, among whom prog rock fans hold two in the highest regard: the drumming mastermind Michael Giles and the cult guest flutist/saxophonist Mel Collins, both former members of King Crimson.
In many ways “Sides” follows Ant’s trademark formula of pastoral symphonic prog rock with a strong melodic streak and romantically tinged arrangements, but it also nods to a few musical trends of the late seventies, disco and melodic rock among them. The album’s stylistic split reflects that: the first half has tighter compositions that are friendlier to commercial radio stations, often bordering on pop rock, while the second half holds the longer, more complex symphonic progressive rock pieces Ant is best known for.
Then again, this was a kind of near-universal trend among established progressive rock musicians in the late seventies, who, in the wake of the punk, disco and arena rock invasion, mostly found themselves in some sort of ‘identity crisis’. Luckily for Ant, the experiment paid off, and the album even ranks among his best work. The excellent cover also deserves a mention. It was designed by Ant’s longtime collaborator Peter Cross, and it’s one of the wittiest album covers of all time.
The individual tracks offer a really wide range of musical influences, with which the calm, reserved guitarist fertilized the primal symphonic rock heritage that goes all the way back to his days with Genesis. The opening “Um & Aargh”, where, besides an intricate string of witty guitar phrases, he also steps up as lead singer, is a prime example of a harmonious cross between symphonic prog and melodic rock. Ant knew full well that his voice wouldn’t have the desired effect on AOR ballads and bouncier, more commercially minded numbers. So for “I Want Your Love” and two more songs on the album, he brought in the superb singer Dan Owen, who did his vocal job with distinction. “Lucy Will” is a typical Ant pastoral ballad, full of playful romance and heartfelt pathos , where this outstanding acoustic guitarist proves himself an incorrigible builder of infectious subtlety.
“Side Door”, seasoned with disco rhythms and Collins’s tenor saxophone, is by far the most commercial piece on the album and the only one with hit potential. “Holy Deadlock” is a capricious ballad with sarcastic lyrics and mischievous synth sounds, quite similar to what Steve Hackett, Ant’s successor on guitar in Genesis, was doing at the time. On the ultra-romantic “Souvenir”, Ant truly shows his best-loved, instantly recognizable face for the first time – authentic old-English pastoral to the tenth power, sounding like it came out of some ancient age, and with an atmosphere that even recalls a lost ballad from early Rainbow (Dio era). Ant’s symphonic prog rock legacy shines in full light on “Sisters of Remindum”, which is packed with dramatic orchestral arrangements over Phillips’s signature classical guitar technique, marked above all by exceptional tightness and precision. All the fans of the legendary drummer Mike Giles get their fix here too, as he serves up some first-rate, jazz-flavored transitions.
”Bleak House” really sounds like some forgotten track from the early Genesis days (“Trespass” era), a blend of indescribable melancholy and mystery. Ant’s handling of symphonic arrangements here is at a truly enviable level, and proof of how far he’d come in this area, considering he’d built his reputation mainly as an outstanding guitarist. Dale Newman’s excellent vocal performance also does a lot to lift the melancholy atmosphere. “Magdalen” is in a similar vein, except that this piece, held together by Ant’s serene vocals, is a touch more complex still and has even more dramatic symphonic arrangements that will have every prog rock connoisseur licking their lips.
The closing instrumental “Nightmare” is the most ambitious piece on the album, and despite the dominance of the coming generation of synthesizers, it strongly recalls something left behind in a dusty drawer of Gabriel-era Genesis. Ant’s bravura solo adventures on keyboards prove that, despite his relatively short time with Genesis, he learned a thing or two from Tony Banks. Most original CD editions of the album also include an instrumental version of “Magdalen” as a bonus track, which lags behind the vocal version in atmosphere hardly at all.
“Sides” was a surprisingly successful experiment in crossing symphonic prog rock with the rock trends of the late seventies, but it didn’t bring the legendary Ant the commercial success he was after. He all but abandoned this kind of chase for marketing validation in the years that followed, and instead carried on with his series of instrumental albums, “Private Parts and Pieces”, thus securing the loyalty of all the longtime Genesis faithful.
Lineup
Anthony Phillips – guitar, keyboards, vocals, backing vocals
Michael Giles – drums
John G. Perry – bass guitar
Dale Newman – vocals, backing vocals
Dan Owen – vocals, backing vocals
Ray Cooper – percussion
Frank Ricotti – timpani
Morris Pert – congas
Mel Collins – tenor saxophone
John Hackett – flute
Production
Rupert Hine
Tracklist
1. Um & Aargh
2. I Want Your Love
3. Lucy Will
4. Side Door
5. Holy Deadlock
6. Souvenir
7. Sisters of Remindum
8. Bleak House
9. Magdalen
10. Nightmare
11. Magdalen (Instrumental)
