NURSERY CRYME

"Nursery Cryme" is the first Genesis album to feature the classic five-piece lineup with Steve Hackett, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks. The band made as big of a musical leap on "Trespass" as they did on "Nursery Cryme." The songs on this record sound more mature and polished as opposed to its predecessor. Not only is the music better than before, but the storytelling and lyricism is also improved. I believe this is the record where the band truly found their sound, and?I'll just cut to the chase?it's a masterpiece. There is so much incredible music compacted in this meager forty minute album, which for Genesis is short. With the new boys (Hackett and Collins) added into the mix, this band became unstoppable within the progressive rock community at the time. Steve Hackett is one of my personal favorite guitar players as he, like Steve Howe, was classically trained, and that influence infiltrates his approach to guitar, making him stand out from other guitar players who perhaps had more of a blues background. Phil Collins is my favorite drummer of all time. I've always viewed him as a drummer first, singer second, though he is an incredible singer.

The album opens with one of my favorite songs of all time, "The Musical Box." This song took the formula that the band used on "Stagnation" and elevated it to the next level. The whole song ebbs and flows perfectly as it goes in and out of loud and soft sections, taking the listener on an epic roller-coaster-like journey. The first three minutes, in a typical Genesis fashion, contains gorgeous twelve-string acoustic guitars and meanders a bit but not in an aimless way. Then the music electrifies as we hear distorted power chords, crunchy organ, and powerful drum fills. Steve Hackett plays an epic guitar solo, but it's only the first one as there are more to come later. The music is brought down as we return to a brief section of rapidly strummed acoustic guitars. When the listener is least expecting it, the music intensifies yet again, and is even more powerful than the first climax. The final section is the grand finale, and is absolutely majestic. The music crescendos as Peter Gabriel sings "touch me now, now, now, now, now!"

It's hard to follow-up a tour de force such as "The Musical Box", but the next song, "For Absent Friends", is a perfect ditty as it features just Steve Hackett and Phil Collins, who are the aforementioned new boys and it showcases both of them nicely. "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" is a heavier track with a powerful ending.

Side two opens with an underrated Genesis song, "Seven Stones." This song is beautiful, especially the mellotron during the coda. "Harold the Barrel" was the start of a Genesis trend where on each album the band would include at least one frivolous song. It's enjoyable, but not a song that I take seriously. The album closes with "The Fountain of Salmacis", which is another one of my favorite songs. The crescendoing mellotron in the beginning of the song makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Mike Rutherford's bass lines are fantastic and Steve Hackett's guitar solo at the end is enormous. A brilliant ending track to the album.

In conclusion, "Nursery Cryme" is one of many masterpieces that Genesis would release. This album alone would make Genesis a beloved band, but they proved themselves to be a legendary band with subsequent releases.