"Lyrical Echoes" - Anthony Phillips' studio concert CD and lyric book reviewed by Alan Hewitt.

Drawing from many of his albums, the CD begins with the acoustic brilliance of Reaper from the first of the Private Parts & Pieces albums, and a great introduction it is, too. Following it are two classics from The Geese & The Ghost; Which Way The Wind Blows and the delightful Henry: Portraits From Tudor Times suite. Amazingly enough, Anthony's vocals are extraordinarily strong on the former, and the suite of pieces following are delightfully executed by Anthony and it is almost possible to forget that on the original version this suite was played by several musicians on several instruments. Anthony makes such a good job of filling in the gaps.

A new piece follows in the form of the delicious Conversation Piece which despite Anthony's protestations; I am sure I have heard before. However, it is another beautiful example of Anthony's craft on the acoustic guitar and is followed by another one in the form of Field Of Eternity.

Sistine gives us another example of Anthony's considerable vocal talents and although not one of my favourite tracks; it has an added charm of its own in the live context and serves to convince me that Anthony really should sing more often on his albums. The highlight for me personally comes with Lights On The Hill which just gets better every time I hear it. A Truly wonderful performance of a delightful piece of music.

Rounding off the album are two contrasting pieces: Last Goodbyes; another delightful sample of Anthony's piano skills, leading into the sweeping grandeur of Collections with a stunning vocal performance from Anthony; so much better even than the original version.

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to hear Anthony in concert; this CD will serve as a very useful pointer and may just help to convince Anthony to try the real thing in the not too distant future.

Accompanying the disc, is a booklet comprising the lyrics to all of Anthony's songs, with the exception of It's Not Easy which were omitted at Anthony's request. The booklet is delightfully accompanied by introductory text and a charming design by Helmut Janisch; editor of the German Genesis fan Magazine: IT. As a complete package this one is hard to beat and it is a MUST for fans of Anthony's music.

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