Private Parts and Pieces VI: Ivory Moon is the eleventh studio album by English multi-instrumentalist and composer Anthony Phillips. It was released in January 1986 by Passport Records in the United States and Canada as the sixth instalment in his Private Parts & Pieces album series. Ivory Moon consists entirely of piano pieces written between 1971 and 1985, with all tracks recorded in August 1985. It is Phillips's first album not to feature him as a guitarist. Background and recording After finalising his previous album, Private Parts & Pieces V: Twelve, Phillips decided to continue with his Private Parts & Pieces album series and prepare material for the sixth instalment. He had several ideas for the direction that the album was to take, but the lack of a recording deal with a UK label with limited money to fund a larger-scale project, limited his options. Phillips then decided to assemble a group of solo piano compositions that he had written between 1971 and 1985, which marked a change in direction for Phillips, as each of his previous albums had featured his guitar work. Phillips was inspired to write "Sunrise over Sienna" from the works of Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, of whom he was a fan of. "Winter's Thaw" and "The Old House" include the earliest dated compositions on the album, parts on both were written in 1971 shortly after Phillips had started formal piano lessons. Early versions of both tracks were recorded and put together with other demos in the summer of 1972. "The Old House" was formed of many sections that Phillips had come up with that were pieced together to form a complete track. "Tara's Theme" and "Moonfall" are piano versions of songs originally put together for a planned musical adaptation of the picture book Masquerade (1979) by Kit Williams. Though the musical never came into fruition, Phillips felt they were worthy for inclusion. The former was originally titled "Riddles". "Winter's Thaw" was inspired by how cold it would get in Phillips's room at his parents’ house, resulting in him becoming ill with chilblains and resorting to wear mittens to play the piano comfortably. The album's cover painting is a work entitled Sea-Dogs Motoring by Peter Cross, who had designed the sleeves for many of Phillips's previous albums. The painting is based on Leith Hill Tower in Dorking. The back cover features a photograph of Phillips taken by