Departure CD

Eric Phillips clearly knows what he's doing when it comes to arranging instrumentation. The composer known here as Kennebec has crafted a truly evocative collection of work on "Departure", managing to squeeze every last drop of emotion from the tools in his belt, or at the end of his fingertips.

The result is a proper journey into places close yet faraway, from opener "As We Grow Older", a classical piano outing, through to the likes of "Wellspring", which paints pictures in the mind of both the Far East and wild northern wildernesses. To describe it as easy listening would be to cast what for many is a very negative, throwaway net over proceedings. Nevertheless, it's very easy to listen to, with "Yesterday, Tomorrow" a real triumph of ivory-expressed feelings, and the final, titular number offering an excellent example of how this artist hasn't forgotten the joys of poppier avenues.