WIND & WUTHERING

If there is one Genesis album that can stand proudly beside Selling England By The Pound it is Wind & Wuthering, the magnum opus of the Phil Collins fronted incarnation of the band. One For The Vine is just as overtly Progressive as The Cinema Show or Firth Of Fifth and while a majority of the album is generally more Prog-Pop orientated this is no negative factor. Blood On The Rooftops sounds like a leftover from Selling England, familiarly British and smothered in delicate acoustic guitar playing. Your Own Special and Afterglow are certainly amongst the most commercial sounding pieces Genesis had released up until this point yet in some ways the band are closer to their Prog roots here than with A Trick Of The Tail or even The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. Wind & Wuthering is essentially Tony Banks' album, his virtuoso talents flowing gracefully through every song. Three instrumentals may seem excessive yet all are just as melodic and memorable as any song with lyrics. The ultimate highlight here is undoubtably Eleventh Earl Of Mar, hard rocking and energetic Genesis had not told a story this well since The Battle Of Epping Forest. A second dosage of proof Genesis did not need Peter Gabriel to survive.