TotW 02/25/2019 - 03/03/2019: ANTHONY PHILLIPS - Which Way The Wind Blows

    • Official Post

    What do you think about "Which Way The Wind Blows"? 11

    1. 15 points - outstanding (6) 55%
    2. 14 points - very good (2) 18%
    3. 13 points - very good - (2) 18%
    4. 12 points - good + (1) 9%
    5. 11 points - good (0) 0%
    6. 10 points - good - (0) 0%
    7. 09 points - satisfactory + (0) 0%
    8. 08 points - satisfactory (0) 0%
    9. 07 points - satisfactory - (0) 0%
    10. 06 points - sufficient + (0) 0%
    11. 05 points - sufficient (0) 0%
    12. 04 points - sufficient - (0) 0%
    13. 03 points - poor + (0) 0%
    14. 02 points - poor (0) 0%
    15. 01 point - poor - (0) 0%
    16. 00 points - abysmal (0) 0%
    ANTHONY PHILLIPS - Which Way The Wind Blows
    Year: 1977
    Album: The Geese And The Ghost [review of the 2008 remaster]
    Working title: unknown
    Credits: Phillips
    Lyrics: Yes
    Length: 5:52
    Musicians: Anthony Phillips, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford
    Played Live: never
    Cover versions: none

    Notes: Anthony Phillips's debut album came out only in 1977, but The Geese & The Ghost became an instant prog classic and won much praise in the music press. Ant got his friend Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins to play on this album; Collins also sings on this track.


    We invite you to share interesting facts and tidbits about this track. Let's look at the track in the context of the band's / the artist's history, at the music, the songwriting and all other aspects that are relevant for this track. Please do stick to the discussion of the track above. Comparisons to other tracks are okay, but remember that the other track you may be keen to talk about has or will have its own Track Of The Week thread. If you spot a mistake or if you can close a gap in the fact sheet above please feel free to contact martinus or Christian about it; we will gladly add and improve!

    ...cried a voice in the crowd.


  • When I first saw (not long after getting into Genesis) that early member Anthony Phillips had made a solo album, I didn't even know what he looked like, much less that he'd already released (by that time) at least 5 other solo albums. (As I recall, I ended up hearing 1984 and BACK TO THE PAVILION before hearing GEESE.)


    GEESE is a very medieval album, and "Wind" fits right in with that. It's not my absolute favorite thing on the album, but it's a nice way to start things off.


    (BTW, for those who haven't heard it, there is an incomplete demo on ARCHIVE COLLECTION VOL. 1 of Ant singing the song himself. A historical curiosity, nothing more.)

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

    Edited once, last by DecomposingMan ().

  • One of my absolute favourites out of the entire Genesis + solo catalogue. I first heard this one on progarchives, I instantly fell in love with that song and kept listening to it for 2 hours on loop. The song led me to the album, the album led me to Ant's discography, finally I became a fan of Anthony Phillips. And it all started with this little gem of a song :)

  • The song led me to the album, the album led me to Ant's discography, finally I became a fan of Anthony Phillips. And it all started with this little gem of a song :)

    Pretty much the same for me, although I must say, even through I have several Ant's albums, I don't really think he eever achieved the peaks of his first release.

  • I don't really think he ever achieved the peaks of his first release.

    I'm not among those who rate GEESE as Ant's best album. Still, most of his material that I would rate higher than GEESE is spread among his various works rather than being gathered together in entire albums. Come to think of it, I would find his albums very hard to rank.

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • I'm not among those who rate GEESE as Ant's best album. Still, most of his material that I would rate higher than GEESE is spread among his various works rather than being gathered together in entire albums. Come to think of it, I would find his albums very hard to rank.

    I struggle with Ant's albums, they never sound consistent or even to me. Geese for my money is the exception.

  • A tantalising glimpse of what a Genesis in the mid 1970's with Ant could have sounded like..

    As Trespass is one of my favourite Genesis albums I love this cross pollination of current and former members..

    "She looks at me and gently smiles, as if she knew I'd ask her all the time..."

  • I struggle with Ant's albums, they never sound consistent or even to me.

    Wow, I find that an interesting statement. If there's one quality I'd say I hear in almost any given Ant album, it would be "evenness."

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • Wow, I find that an interesting statement. If there's one quality I'd say I hear in almost any given Ant album, it would be "evenness."

    It depends I guess on how you interpret that, I find most of his albums ''bland'' so in that respect they might be considered even or homogenous. I really need to be in a particular mood to listen to his music and it is always pleasant but it doesn't go beyond that. Geese being the exception perhaps. Funny, how he was considered the driving force within the band and he and Mike were the ''Rockers'' in a way, his contribution in terms of songwriting was substantial, according to the others but then he seems to have lost interest in it.

  • it is always pleasant but it doesn't go beyond that

    I've thought almost exactly the same thing -- always pleasant but only a handful of songs that really blow me away (and none of them are GEESE tracks, BTW, except maybe "Henry").


    Still, I must like Ant's music, because I have more albums by him than any other artist besides Steve (and one non-Genesis artist)! On the other hand, I've gotten rid of more albums by Ant than any other artist!

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • Well Ant's music does have a discreet charm, I'll give you that but personally, I find it hard to put my finger on the reasons why, when I try to analyze it.

    There is a lot of noodling going on at times, as pleasant as it may be. I was listening to to Slow Dance the other day and IT IS nice but it is no Vangelis or Eno, if you like that genre. Something like Field Day, again very nice, it creates a peaceful mood but it is also irremediably forgettable. The Private Parts &Pieces series, again nice but I struggle to find anything life altering. Going back to the the thread, I like Wind a lot and I believe it is one of his best. It's solid songwriting which is something he didn't tackled enough imo throughout his career, still it retains those elements of pastoral, medioeval atmosphere, Ant's music is imbued with. I'm still hoping someone like Big Big Train will cover it someday since they covered Master of Time.

    Edited once, last by Fabrizio ().

  • I'm surprised no one has mentioned Wise After The Event, my favorite of Ant's. This along with Private Parts And Pieces Part II: Back To The Pavilion and The Geese And The Ghost are his best IMO.

  • Reading through the comments I'm gonna be a snob and say apparently a lot of people don't "get" Ant's music. :P No offense. 'Field Day' took me years to get into but it got me in the end, I love this album and it opened the door for a lot of his other albums; "forgettable" is such a wrong word for what Ant does.

  • Reading through the comments I'm gonna be a snob and say apparently a lot of people don't "get" Ant's music. :P No offense. 'Field Day' took me years to get into but it got me in the end, I love this album and it opened the door for a lot of his other albums; "forgettable" is such a wrong word for what Ant does.

    Yes, you are quite right, yours are snobbish comments but no offense taken. I heard and have in my collection several albums with similar music to Ant's , specifically in this case, since you lingered on Field Day, acoustic guitar pieces and imo they are simply on another level not only from a compositional but also from a technical point of view. I am glad you enjoy it, I do too, although apparently not as much as you do. As I said I have several albums of his, I didn't need to wait for Field Day to open the doors to his music, it happened decades before and I frankly see no need to put yourself on an imaginary pedestal of alleged superior musical knowledge or understanding, it's quite unbecoming and would remain to be seen. ''Forgettable'' is a word that perfectly describes how I feel about it , label it as ''wrong'' feels quite inappropriate and goes against to the overall spirit of this forum which should and generally is of respect. I though we were over the routines of: '' I like it hence it's great'' or '' You don't like it hence you don't get it''. Apparently not….

    Edited 2 times, last by Fabrizio ().