1984 [Original recording remastered, Import]

When this album came out in 1981, I was in synthesizer mode. I loved the sounds and the creativity that was being generated by these (relatively) new instruments. The cost of the synthesizer was coming into the realm of the affordable and allowed a lot of musicians to express themselves in ways only attainable by very few 10 or so years prior to this release.

I was captivated by this album, how the melodies were strong and cohesive. It was also a decided break in what Anthony Phillips had done prior to "1984". While I had purchased all of Anthony's work released previously, there was nothing in his catalog that prepared me for this.

There were to be only two more releases that would feature electronic sounds as being predominant - "Invisible Men" and "Private Parts and Pieces VII". They also happen to be two of my favorite releases.

I am not sure of the chronology, but this style of music, or the method to produce music (you really did not need a studio, as such)became popular around this time. Some of Bill Nelson's solo work comes to mind.

My only criticism for this recording is the drum machines. I think that the sounds were mixed too loud and at some points were competing, not complementing, the rest of the music. That is a shame for it mars a splendid release.

With that being said, the bonus disc that comes with this release provides some interesting and possibly preferrable versions to tracks that were originally released. On some of the alternative versions, the drum machines were mixed quieter or were non existent. The melodies have now been released.

Do yourself a favor and get this reissue.

Anthony Phillips was the original guitarist for Genesis (he played on their first two albums, "From Genesis To Revelation" and "Trespass"). Since leaving the band in 1970, he has embarked on a long, productive solo career, making many brilliant solo albums of all different styles of music: rock, pop, classical, new age, guitar and synth. He is also a master instrumentalist, and one of the finest guitarists and keyboard-players around. Oddly, Phillips' solo career has always seemed to fly just under most people's radar. He has never racked up massive sales, and yet, he HAS racked up more solo album releases than any other former Genesis member---about 25 so far! Picking one album of Anthony's as my personal favorite is *extremely* difficult, as he has so many magnificent albums. But I'm going to pick this one---"1984" (actually released in 1981). With only the most sparing bits of guitar appearing here & there, "1984" is a synthesiser album. And it is also my personal pick for Best Synth Album Of All-Time. (Strange, you say...shouldn't I be giving this honor to Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks? Well, Tony IS the Keyboard King of course, but, truth be told, he's never really recorded a *strictly* synthesiser album in his long musical career, even though the keyboard is always the dominant instrument of Tony's.) "1984" is basically a 35-minute synthesiser suite in two parts, bookended with both a prologue and epilogue piece at both ends. And it is phenomenal. To make a long review short, it is very arguably THE most adventurous album Phillips has ever recorded, as he takes the listener on an amazing journey of sounds, moods, and atmospheres. The music is at turns light & poppy (in particular Prelude '84), but also very dramatic, haunting, and captivating. From beginning to end it is absolutely breathtaking stuff. It's a perfect album to play late at night with the lights out, too. Just put it on and let Anthony sweep you away! There are synth albums, and then there are GREAT synth albums. Anthony Phillips' "1984" is undoubtedly one of the great ones. Yes, it is pretty surprising to be picking "1984" as my personal favorite Anthony Phillips album, when Anthony is most well-known for being a guitarist (and oh, what a guitarist he is). But "1984" is truly something special.

In this 1981 album, former Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips celebrated the approaching date of Orwell's "1984" by making an album that's all synthesizers and drum machines. Guitars only make the occasional cameo appearance, and the only vocals are a vocoder during the last act. The music is too cheerful to sound inspired by Orwell's book. Over 80% of the album is one 35-minute track, which puts a synthesizer riff through various paces. It's good, but goes on too long with too little variation to come anywhere close to greatness. "Thick as a Brick" or "Supper's Ready" can justify their length--"1984" can't sustain 35 minutes. In Tony Banks' hands, this would have been a 6-minute cut on the "Fugitive" album. There's also a catchy "Prelude '84", which is in fact very comparable to Banks' "Fugitive" piece "Charm", and a bland closer "Anthem 1984". By the way, play the LP at 45 rpm and the drum machine on the main track makes a lively dance beat. This is a 3-1/2 star album, and one that screams "80s"; you only have to listen to a few seconds to know what decade it was recorded in.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

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