Vincent Carr’s fifth album ‘Rekindled’ (released under the name Vincent Carr’s SUMIC in 2016) was one of the year’s most pleasant surprises. Taking influences from Nick Drake, John Martyn, various 70s prog bits and a smidgeon of trad English folk, the album took the listener on a very pastoral musical journey. Traces of Freddie Phillips’ children’s TV scores also added to the album’s very English qualities. It was an album only heard by a relative few, but those who did, invariably loved it.
Tag Archives: prog
MAGNUM – Magnum II
Magnum’s debut album ‘Kingdom of Madness’ had a long and somewhat difficult birth. An album had been completed by the end of 1976, but for reasons best known to themselves, the Jet Records label sat on the tapes. Magnum continued to write new material and gig constantly, and subsequently, the album was given an overhaul. A few older tracks were sidelined for newer songs and a rejigged long-player eventually appeared on record shop shelves in August 1978. This possibly didn’t help the album’s fortunes in the short term; instead of being released at a time when the record’s prog and pomp styles were still in vogue, Magnum were left with a fantasy themed album drifting in the unsure waters of punk and new wave bands. It only scraped the UK album chart’s top 60.
Brand new Anthony Phillips album released in October
It’s a good time to be an Anthony Phillips fan. Following the October release of Rocking Horse Club’s excellent tribute album ‘Which Way The Wind Blows’ [a full review can be found here], the original Genesis guitarist will release a new solo album on 25th October.
ROCKING HORSE MUSIC CLUB – Which Way The Wind Blows: The Music Of Anthony Phillips
There have been various Genesis related tributes over the years. From Magna Carta Records’ all-star prog-fest ‘Supper’s Ready’, to critically acclaimed live shows from The Musical Box, to Steve Hackett’s own ‘Genesis Revisited’ series of recordings and tours, they all have their place. They also have one thing in common: they are heavily weighted towards the band’s output from 1971-76.
By comparison, the band’s founding guitarist’s contribution to the band is all too often overlooked. 1970’s ‘Trespass’ is an important transitional album taking Genesis from vaguely psychedelic pop in a Moody Blues vein to the ground breaking, sprawling and epic sound that would later be celebrated and Ant’s distinctive playing was a huge part of that. Even more overlooked is Ant’s extensive solo career, but a group of musicians from New Hampshire have taken giant steps to put that right with their 2019 release ‘Which Way The Wind Blows’. Chances are, the world at large would have little interest in a group of musicians from the Rocking Horse Studios sharing their interpretations of music that isn’t already widely known, but that gathering of friends have taken extra, important steps towards making sure their tribute is as broadly appealing as possible: ‘Which Way…’ features some cracking guests.
New Anthony Phillips tribute set for October release
There have been various Genesis related tributes and revisitation recordings over the years – not least of all from former guitarist Steve Hackett – but the solo works of the band’s first guitarist Anthony Phillips have all too often gone unheralded by comparison.
This October, musicians associated with the Rocking Horse Recording Studio are set to put that right. Along with the help of their more famous guests – including the legendary Steve Hackett and Supertramp man John Helliwell – ‘Which Way The Wind Blows’ takes a new look at some of Anthony’s great solo works.