Dionne WordPress Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • The Weekend Stream
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Esoteric Recordings Revisits Anthony Phillips' "Slow Dance" On CD/DVD Deluxe Edition

August 4, 2017 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint is happily determined to leave no stone unturned in its reissue series dedicated to the solo recordings of founding Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips.  The latest album to receive its deluxe multi-CD/DVD format is Phillips' 1990 release, Slow Dance.  The original LP has been expanded with an entire bonus disc of previously unreleased session material, plus a region-free DVD containing surround and stereo mixes.

Slow Dance, a two-part orchestral suite, was recorded by Phillips in 1988 and 1989.  The follow-up to Tarka, his collaborative album with Harry Williamson, Slow Dance became Phillips' first "proper" solo recording since 1981's electronic-infused 1984 (not counting Private Parts and Pieces and Missing Links anthology-style releases).  Its genesis, no pun intended, came with the success of the Private Parts volume Slow Waves, Soft Stars.  That intimate album had fit right into the burgeoning New Age market, with its soft, ethereal soundscapes.  Though Phillips hadn't intended to write for any particular genre, he was offered a sufficient advance by Passport Records, his then-label, to create a larger-scale piece.  Slow Dance would both fit into the New Age milieu and also showcase Phillips' compositional skills which could be applied to film and television soundtrack work.

Phillips crafted Slow Dance as a two-part suite, with each part filling up one side of the original vinyl album.  He played a variety of keyboards and guitars, as well as bass and drum machines, while the compositions were fleshed out with additional instrumentation including clarinet, oboe, piccolo, trumpet, harp, drums, and percussion.  Finally, majestic strings were added.  The end result blended New Age-style reflective music with muscular, more rock-oriented passages, both rendered with accessible and even catchy melodies. Indeed, the deliberately-unfolding Slow Dance at times recalls Genesis' early progressive works thanks to its modern take on classical influences.

The title of the album came at the suggestion of Virgin Records, the label which picked up the project after Passport Records folded, because the listener at the label felt that it might have made a suitable soundtrack for a ballet.  Indeed, Slow Dance is filled with evocative and varied music within its instrumental framework, conjuring up a visit to a far-off place or time...perhaps even into the future, based on its integration of then-cutting-edge keyboard sounds.

The album, on CD One, has been remastered by its original co-producer and engineer, Simon Heyworth.   It's joined, on CD Two, by nine previously unreleased tracks from the album sessions.  These include alternate mixes highlighting certain instruments in particular sections, and two versions of a potential single for the album ("A Slower Dance" and "Slow Dance Single Demo (Alternate Mix)."  (The latter is an alternate mix because the original mix first appeared on 1998's The Archive Collection Vol. 1.)   Given the 50-minute length of the complete suite, it's easier to appreciate its varied segments in these more compact presentations.

"Touch Me Deeply" and "Clarinet Sleigh Ride" are two outtakes recorded during the sessions but ultimately discarded as the suite took shape as two lengthy parts only.  The third disc of the set, a region-free NTSC DVD, presents the original album in both high-resolution LPCM stereo and 5.1 surround (96/24 DTS, and Dolby Surround options).  The surround mix isn't flashy, but rather, it expands the soundstage of this often-lush composition in subtle ways.

Esoteric's reissue is housed in a digipak in the style of the label's reissue of 1984.  A foldout poster with the album artwork is enclosed as well as a 16-page booklet featuring lengthy and informative notes by Jonathan Dann.  Track-by-track annotations are also helpfully supplied for all of the bonus tracks on the second disc.

Anthony Phillips' Slow Dance is available now at the links below from Esoteric Recordings.

Anthony Phillips, Slow Dance (Virgin V 2638, 1990 - reissued Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 32590, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1 / DVD

  1. Slow Dance (Part 1)
  2. Slow Dance (Part 2)

CD 2

  1. Theme from Slow Dance
  2. No Way Out (Alternate Mix)
  3. A Slower Dance
  4. Guitar Adagio from Slow Dance
  5. Touch Me Deeply
  6. Clarinet Sleigh Ride
  7. Slow Dance Single Demo (Alternate Mix)
  8. No Way Out (Original Mix with Drums)
  9. Lenta Chorum

All tracks on CD 2 previously unreleased.

Categories: News Formats: CD, DVD Genre: Everything Else Tags: Anthony Phillips, Genesis

Avatar photo

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Connect With Joe: FacebookTwitter

You Might Also Like

  • Genesis Lamb BoxGotta Get In to Get Out: Genesis' 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' Set for Deluxe Edition Next Year
  • Anthony Phillips Slow DanceSlow Dancin': Cherry Red, Esoteric Return to Anthony Phillips' "Slow Dance"
  • Stream 2023The Weekend Stream: July 29, 2023
  • Genesis BBC coverRelease Round-Up: Week of March 3

Comments

  1. Rob says

    August 5, 2017 at 10:33 pm

    I have been loving these Anthony Philips reissues.

    Joe, do you know whatever happened to Esoteric's Tony Banks reissue program? They were supposed to do 5.1 mixes of his whole catalog, but it has been ages since the first two were released.

    Reply
    • Avatar photoJoe Marchese says

      August 7, 2017 at 12:18 pm

      I haven't heard of plans for the next titles in the Tony Banks series, but I will keep my eyes and ears open, and be sure to report back anything here!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Version 1.0.0
    Natural Gas: Original Master Edition
    Natural Gas
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
  • Grateful Dead The Music Never Stopped
    The Music Never Stopped
    Grateful Dead
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
  • TMBG Spine Surfs Alone CD
    The Spine Surfs Alone: Rarities 1998-2005
    They Might Be Giants
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,677 other subscribers

Popular Posts

  • Most Commented
  • Most Viewed
  • Dionne Warwick Make It Easy on Yourself(Don't) Walk On By: Dionne Warwick's "Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971" Due in June on 12...
  • Tracks II CD packshot no disc artShut Out the Light: Bruce Springsteen Offers Seven Unheard Albums on 'Tracks II'
  • Rod Stewart Ultimate Hits Amazon exclusiveHe Wears It Well: Rod Stewart's 'Ultimate Hits' Due in June
  • RSD 2025 best of restRecord Store Day 2025: The Best of the Rest
  • record store day logoThe Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2025: Our Favorite Picks
  • John Williams Anthology 1Mondo Maestro: New John Williams Box Set Series Announced, Plus 'Star Wars' Re-Recordings on Vinyl

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popdose
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2025 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy