Anthony Phillips Dragonfly Dreams

Dragonfly Dreams – Private Parts & Pieces IX by Anthony Phillips celebrates 28 years. In fact the cd has originally been released on 4th November 1996. But it doesn’t show its age at all. The precious music of the super talented British guitarist, in fact, sounds poetic and evocative as always in this fantastic album. The creativity behind each song is great, as is the mix of different styles that makes the listening very interesting in an album divided into two parts. In this work Ant collaborated with the composer and guitarist Enrique Berro Garcia.

The “guest” on Dragonfly Dreams

The presence of Enrique Berro Garcia is not too surprising as the musician had already appeared on other albums of the Private Parts & Pieces series.
Anthony Phillips, on the other hand, is responsible for the vocals, keyboards, songwriting and production. Then obviously we must point out his performance on the guitar, always of the highest quality standard. It is no coincidence that Phillips, who began his career as guitarist and “musical inspiration” for Genesis, is considered one of the most gifted musicians in the world. Furthermore, his eclectic skill on the 12-string guitar is one of his distinctive signs. Practically almost everyone who loves the 12-string guitar or plays it recognizes him as a “Master” of the genre and refers to his performances and compositions.

Dragonfly Dreams – Private Parts & Pieces IX: an “evergreen” album

This is a wonderful collection of songs ranging from 1980 to 1995 with various musical styles. Five songs included in the album, as we already said, have been written by Anthony together with Enrique “Quique” Berro Garcia. The album kicks off, after the short Openers and In the Valleys, with the very good Something Blue. A song that is anything but obvious in Anthony Phillips’ long discography, with a great pop and swing atmosphere and an irresistible vibe. Between pop and jazzy, Something Blue is a “pearl” of this album, a song that certainly does not go unnoticed. Afterwards it was also covered in various other versions, including one with female vocals. Something Blue was composed during the sessions of Invisible Men, one of Ant’s most easy listening albums.

And let’s not forget She’ll be Waiting, a very intense and “pop” ballad, one of the most interesting track of the compilation.

The various styles of the album

But in Private Parts & Pieces IX there is much more, starting from the improvisations of Under The Ice or the fascinating sound of the synthesizer in Lostwithiel. Not to mention the sometimes exotic style of Hills Of Languedoc and the refined Chinese Walls, 17:32 minutes long. A long bizarre piece in some ways, as Phillips himself says, with an interesting use of the 12 string guitar in an unusual tuning! This album closes with Old Faithful, Summer Ponds & Dragonflies and Lost And Found.

The remastered version of the cd

The 28th anniversary of the Dragonfly Dreams – Private Parts & Pieces IX – is an excellent opportunity to celebrate one of the many masterpieces of Anthony Phillips’ repertoire. It should be noted that, apart from the original 1996 version, the album was remixed and re-released in 2018 for the Private Parts & Pieces Volumes IX-XI box set along with Soiree and City of Dreams plus a bonus CD featuring some hitherto unreleased strong guitar tracks such as ‘Skylarks Over the Water’’ and ‘Riddle of the Sands’.

The CD also contains extensive bibliographical material by Jonathan Dann, with the original artwork restored for this occasion.