Anthony Phillips – "Wise After The Event" (1977)

The reason I bought this album was, as wasn’t unusual back then, the sleeve. I think I was around 20 years old and I remember the curiosity that aroused when I saw the sleeve’s painting. What kind of music could it be on an album with this rather odd cover? I had no idea who Anthony Phillips was. Surely it was a pretty low price asked, it used to be when I in my younger years bought albums based on sleeves. In addition, my album is a cut-out. Wikipedia explains cut-outs:

When LPs were the primary medium for distribution or recording, manufacturers would physically cut the corner, punch a hole, or add a notch to the spine of the jacket of unsold records returned from retailers; these "cut-outs" might then be re-sold to record retailers or other sales outlets for sale at a discounted price.

A relic from the past, but you often comes across these cut-outs today in the stores for used vinyl records. I was ambivalent to the music when I listened to the record the first few times, and this duality has continued.
Anthony Phillips was the guitarist in Genesis until 1970 when he quit the band, allegedly because of stage fear. Genesis had just recorded their second album Trespass. Anthony then started to study classical guitar and began a solo career.

Wise After The Event is Anthony Phillips second solo album, following the initial The Geese And The Ghost. It is a soft and gentle sound on the album with, in my opinion, very kind and non-provocative songs. Maybe too kind. I miss some mean guitars, groovy drum rhythms and a driving bass. I miss auditory challenges. Phillips instead offers lots of acoustic guitar, soft, cottonlike soundscapes and a kind voice. The individual songs are pretty good, but in the long run, it all sounds a bit similar. After a while, I’ve had enough of Phillips soft and gentle soundscape and lose concentration.

This is the only album where Phillips alone accounts for all the singing. A number of songs didn't end up on the album, these were intended to be on an accompanying EP, but this never became reality. Instead some of these songs were released as singles. One of these songs is Squirrel which explains the squirrel on the cover.

I can’t say this is a bad album, but it's not an album that ever belonged to my favorites. It gets a little boring since I miss variation.

　
Tracklist

Side A
1. We’re All As We Lie 4:34
2. Birdsong 7:30
3. Moonshooter 5:52
4. Wise After The Event 8:45

Side B
1. Pulling Faces 4:32
2. Regrets 5:15
3. Greenhouse 3:00
4. Paperchase 5:28
5. Now What (Are They Doing To My Little Friends?) 8:30