PRIVATE PARTS & PIECES II - BACK TO THE PAVILLION
Anthony Phillips
•Symphonic Prog
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3.77
| 134 ratings | 18 reviews | 16% 5 stars
Excellent addition to any |
Studio Album, released in 1980 Songs / Tracks Listing - N.O.R. Side - Anthony Phillips / vocals, Classical, 12-string & electric guitars, piano, Polymoog, ARP 2600, co-producer
Collection of previously recorded pieces that had been parts of or intended for other projects and to Quinino for the last updates Edit this entry |
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ANTHONY PHILLIPS Private Parts & Pieces II - Back To The Pavillion ratings distribution
(134 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(16%)Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(52%)Good, but non-essential (26%)Collectors/fans only (5%)Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
ANTHONY PHILLIPS Private Parts & Pieces II - Back To The Pavillion reviews
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Collaborators/Experts Reviews
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
With the piano, keyboards and guitar effects here, it sounds sometimes like Brian ENO, or even GENESIS' "Trespass". Mike RUTHEFORD plays the bass on couples of tracks. There are couples of tracks containing wind instruments too. The songs are often mystic. Anthony PHILLIPS is really talented to produce very good piano parts and keyboards ambience.
PROG REVIEWER
PROG REVIEWER
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Symphonic Team
In light of the facts that (1) the first Private Parts & Pieces album was initially a free give-away that came together with the Sides album in the UK (and only later got a separate release), and (2) that it consisted of an assorted collection of guitar and piano solos, duets and ensembles from 1972 to 1976, I think it is fair to consider this second Private Parts & Pieces album subtitled Back To The Pavillion as the proper beginning of the series.
This album is certainly an improvement over the first one, but the real interest here lies in the opening five-part Scottish Suite. It is here, and only here, that we find anything that deserves to be counted as Prog on this album (and indeed these moments are very rare it Anthony Phillips' Private Parts & Pieces-series). The rest of this album is again an assorted collection of further Classical guitar and piano solo pieces plus some ambient, electronic numbers. Ant would later develop his electronic side further, but at this stage it is fair to consider these numbers as experimental. The nine minute K2 is overlong and uneventful. I Saw You Today sees Ant taking to the microphone, otherwise this album is entirely instrumental.
While Back To The Pavillion is the natural starting point when it comes to the Private Parts & Pieces-series, it is not all that impressive in its own right. It is recommended to fans of Ant's debut The Geese And The Ghost to which it bear some occasional resemblance.
PROG REVIEWER
When the epic suite which opens the album starts, I was submerged with such a great feeling: grandiose and bombastic intro ("Salmon Lead"). I was rather charmed and curious to listen more of it. Unfortunately this long suite is more a collage of short parts with no real liaison between them. Still, after a weaker "Parting Thistle" the artist plays a softer prog section with fine acoustic & electric guitar moments (but not only).
The longest part from this "suite" is a chance to discover Anthony's maestria on the acoustic guitar. It almost sounds as ?I guess you know who. This track is really a marvel of delicacy and it is sooooo melodic. My fave part from this work probably. "Trespass" atmosphere is fully reconstructed. And that's so great!
The "Scottish Suite" ends up on a quiet and relaxing note (piano mainly). If I had to rate this part only from this album, four stars would be definitely granted.
The songs that complete the album are quite different: from very short "interlude" tracks that are not really necessary to splendid and ambient passages like during the emotional "K2" which is very much Schulze oriented (or TD is you prefer). The same sort of music can be experienced during the well named "Heavens".
Some usual and obvious acoustic guitar track are of course featured ("Spring meeting" or "Nocturne"). The last few songs are not memorable ("I saw you today") but I rate this album with four stars thanks to the great "suite" as well as a few very fine tracks (four or five).
COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
Total time 56:58
B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of truly sensitive, emotional and personal progressive rock music. Beautiful.
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
It starts with an epic in 5 parts, what more prog than this? Scottish suite sounds very Genesis, even if the piano parts remind sometimes to the Wakeman of Six Wives. What I find bad is the excessive use of tapes, often played reverse as in part 5. Playing at the countrary to obtain what you want when the tape is played reversed, is a good mathematical excersize, but one minute is enough, or at least, let me joke, add a hidden satanic message.
On the good side, the piano parts are very good. Not that Anthony Phillips is a Wakeman or a Keith Emerson, but he plays good enough and is a good composer, so a track as "Lindsay" can be interesting. I think the inspiration comes from Chopin or similar, but even with the classical mood tgere are clues of The Geese and the Ghost.
"K2" is quite a newage track, slow and repetitive with the echoed guitar adding an oriental touch. It's an excellent ambient track.
What is a 35'' track for? The guitar harping is quite good but...
"Heavens" is another instrumental track with a neo-classical mood very close to Genesis. Relax and enjoy.
Back to classical guitar with "Spring Meeting". If you have present some Steve Hackett's tracks like "A Cradle Of Swans" , this is the genre. In terms of passages in some moments it strongly reminds to The Geese and the Ghost.
Unfortunately Ant restarts playing with tapes for 48 useless seconds, then other 41 seconds of acoustic guitars before a real track starts again.
I have previously mentioned Chopin, so why don't insert a "Nocturne"? A very nice one, but made of classical guitar instead of piano. Technically is nothing more than a studio, but the composition is good.
Back to piano again for less than two minutes. I think this album is made of a lot of non- developed ideas. This could have been the intro for a long track like "Henry" but remains just a short piano track. Same for the 45 seconds of the following track which feature the Oboe of Rob Phillips.
"Will Of The Wisp" is a bit longer but also it seems to be no more than an "idea". "Tremulous" features the former King Crimson and Camel Mel Collins at the flute and it's just a flute solo with a bit of acoustic guitars in the background for a couple of minutes.
"I Saw You Today" is the first song with lyrics. Anthony sings and this is a pity. The song is not too different from "God If I Saw Her Now", but Ant's voice is everything but nice.
"Back To The Pavilion" is the (sub)title track. It's a piano solo, again very melodic and with a classical flavor.
As usual when reviewong old stuff, I can't comment on the bonus track because it's not present on my vinyl copy
It's a good album, light years better than Sides, but it doesn't reach the level of the first PP&P. Considering the weaker parts I think that 3 stars is a honest rating, just a little generous.
PROG REVIEWER
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
Special mention should be given to the 15-min. excellent opening ''Scottish suite'', described by Phillips as ''a collection of Scottish Salmon farmer's songs and 12th century Paraguayan tin-miner's threnodies''.This belongs among Phillips' most genuine, sophisticated and progressive compositions, a meld of late-70's Symphonic Rock with bucolic British Folk, dominated by excellent handling of classical guitars, dark keyboard flavors and melodious symph-based textures in an all instrumental majesty very close to his days with GENESIS, at least during the acoustic lines.Definitely a highlight of his career with a nice balance between acoustic themes and electric energy and a charming combination of dramatic and gentle musicianship.Cut off the ''dramatic'' and ''electric'' words from the previous description to follow the storyline of the rest of the album, which is filled with romantic piano lines, acoustic crescendos and embryonic pre-New Age flashes with Phillips being the absolute officer, passing through stylistic variations, which have all in common the mood for sentimental, heavily acoustic and ethereal soundscapes.The material here is not bad at all, but falls short compared to the impressive opening opus.This comes indeed as a collection of short pieces and different sources of inspiration with Folk, Classical and minimalistic Music as the guidelines, leading to instrumental isolation, always led by Phillips' lovely tunes and accomplished skills on guitar and keyboards, but leaving much to be desired regarding a richer and more progressive side.
An uneven release, which somehow manages to keep a high level of musicianship.Maybe too mellow and experimental for the casual prog listener, but the acoustic tracks have a nice and attractive atmosphere, while ''Scottish suite'' is a real stunner and a good enough reason to purchase the album.Recommended.
Latest members reviews
One of the last typical progressive rock attempts by AP. The album start greets us by brilliant warm emotional electric guitar, piano and synth lines a la Genesis. The suite called "Scottish Suite" is an excellent composition consisting of sonically different parts, acoustic ones being also v ... (read more)
Report this review (#2242783) | Posted by sgtpepper | Saturday, August 10, 2019 | Review Permanlink
No this is in fact not 'private parts and pieces'. It's a full-fledged concept album belonging to the notorious PPP series just formally. It's refined and sophisticated sympho prog of highest level. It's one of the very best solo albums ever made by Anthony Phillips. And the heavy artillery of 1970s ... (read more)
Report this review (#1057377) | Posted by proghaven | Thursday, October 10, 2013 | Review Permanlink
What a unique album! There may be some other albums out there that have consisted of nice, relaxing short intrumental pieces of a mininalistic nature, but none I know of that begin with such a charged progressive sky-opening-up moment as the first part of "Scottish Suite", "Salmon Leap." Fur ... (read more)
Report this review (#507722) | Posted by 7headedchicken | Tuesday, August 23, 2011 | Review Permanlink
This is probably the best single sample of "what's going on inside the head of ANT PHILLIPS". It's really a "best of" album from him, before he ever released one. PP&PII is an eclectic collection of musical ideas out of the head of one of Genesis' and Prog's great visionaries. ANT includes onl ... (read more)
Report this review (#119090) | Posted by Mcgraster | Friday, April 20, 2007 | Review Permanlink
From start to finish, Back to the Pavillion is, like the best of Anthony Phillip's work, an escape for the listener, a minor journey into enchanted whimsical realms. Although Geese and the Ghost (actually named after two sounds on a keyboard being used at the time) is typically considered his ... (read more)
Report this review (#68418) | Posted by | Sunday, February 5, 2006 | Review Permanlink
I think that Anthony Phillip's music is very underrated. This LP is a very well-composed piece with many different parts and styles influenced by the Genesis' school but you can find the Phillips' sound in every note. "Scotish Suite" is a masterpiece of prog-rock and the prog-ballad "I saw you ... (read more)
Report this review (#39829) | Posted by progadicto | Tuesday, July 19, 2005 | Review Permanlink
It reminds me of some of the more mellow momments on Hackett's Defector or Spectral Mornings. It's just great stuff. Very 'understated' but still manages to pack the odd punch - well, ruffle, at least! ... (read more)
Report this review (#25951) | Posted by | Tuesday, November 23, 2004 | Review Permanlink
this is my favorite album. if you like sensitivity, this is your record. the perfect combination of sweet guitars, gentle keyboards and a delicate piano, make of this master peace a very emotional album. this is a record of melodies, not complex structure,whith exeptions of course. this melodies ar ... (read more)
Report this review (#25948) | Posted by | Saturday, April 10, 2004 | Review Permanlink
This minor progressive masterpiece is probably the best of Ant's Private Parts & Pieces series, very creative and interesting, the album largely flows as once piece, with well written and performed acoustic throughout by Ant, good keyboards, and not too much singing from Ant, which in excess can pul ... (read more)
Report this review (#25946) | Posted by Gonghobbit | Sunday, January 25, 2004 | Review Permanlink
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