Selling England by the Pound (Genesis)

Year: 1973

The Good, Bad and the Average

The Good: Firth of Fifth and The Cinema Show

While these two songs are very solid, they do not make this album a masterpiece.  "Firth of Fifth" is the third song and showcases some nice instrumentation in the way of keyboards early and guitar late.  Banks and Hackett showcase their skills rather nicely in this song and the overall effect is impressive.  "The Cinema Show" is an epic which weaves a nice story with a melody that never bores or gets old.  The whole band contributes nicely with Gabriel doing some emotive singing which adds some texture to the work.

The Average: Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, I Know What I Like, More Fool Me, After the Ordeal

"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" starts off well but seems to drag about midway through the song.  In my humble opinion, it is long only for the sake of being long.  Good progressive rock songs should capture your attention and not let go.  This song just doesn't do that for me.  After about three minutes, I am ready for the next song, which is..."I Know What I Like" has a catchy melody and is fun to sing along with, but it does not grab my imagination.  So while I am glad that the day has broken on the "Moonlit Knight" with this song, I am already looking ahead to the aforementioned "Firth of Fifth".  "More Fool Me" showcases Collins' vocals nicely.  But other than that, it is a pretty forgettable love (pop?) song which really slows the pace coming in right after "Firth of Fifth."  "After the Ordeal" is basically an intermission piece stuffed between the two eleven-minute epics on this disc.  It is so forgettable in this position that I can't even think of anything to say about it.

The Bad: The Battle of Epping Forest, Aisle of Plenty

My primary gripe with this album comes in the form of "The Battle of Epping Forest."  This is a goofy song that is almost painful for me to listen to.  Gabriel seems to have fun with the various vocal jokes that he pulls off when performing this song.  But I would much prefer to hear him do the Slippermen than this mess.  The song begins with a march beat and flutes and turns into a musical brawl of epic (pun most certainly intended) proportions.  Hackett does insert a few fun little guitar riffs, but this song could just as easily be mistaken for a disco tune (in certain parts) as it could for progressive rock.  "Aisle of Plenty" is basically a 90 second reprise of the opening of the album with Gabriel adding some non-sensical utterances as the album closes.  I'm not sure why the band felt the need to end the album this way, but there it is.  A disappointing closure to an otherwise decent album.

Overall

I like Genesis and I like this album.  So while I would recommend it, I feel I should point out its flaws with this review.  The good songs are good enough to carry this album, but I can't for the life of me say that this is a masterpiece of progressive music.  I much prefer Genesis' next effort in The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Genesis)

Year: 1974


Like all good prog, the first time I listened to this album, I scratched my head and thought "What the heck is this crap?!?"  And though I still haven't figured out what all the crap on this album is, I have grown to really appreciate this culmination of music.

It seems that most hardcore Genesis fans have a hard time liking The Lamb compared to Foxtrot, Selling England, etc.  However, I much prefer this album.  I am a sucker for concept albums (even if I don't always understand exactly what the concept is).  There are so many unforgettable passages in this two-disc experience beginning with the opening piano solo.

While I do recognize that the album isn't perfect due to some "less than musical" moments ("The Waiting Room" and "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats"), there are so many great tunes packaged in The Lamb that it would be wrong to think of this as being anything less than excellent as far as a musical album is concerned.  Songs such as "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "In the Cage", "The Carpet Crawlers", "Lilywhite Lilith", "Anyway", "The Lamia", "The Colony of Slippermen" and "It" are all great songs.  Some of them are haunting in their solemn melodies and some are thought-provoking with their anguished lyrics, but all are great
music, in my opinion.

I highly recommend this album.

Foxtrot (Genesis)

Year: 1972

While there is some very good music on this album, I just don't see it as being amazing as most prog enthusiasts will tell you.  I refuse to agree with the majority that "Supper's Ready" is one of the best epics ever.  In my opinion, it's dull and offers very little substance both lyrically and musically.  I think that "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is the highlight of the album, with "Time Table" and "Horizons" offering some good stuff in smaller packages.  "Watcher of the Skies" kicks things off and is the poster child for the mellotron, but otherwise doesn't do much for me.  It starts off slowly and never seems to go anywhere.  "Get 'em Out By Friday" is fun and is a nice change of pace on this album.  While I like this album, I cannot in good conscience say it is one of the best ever.  Ho-hum.