VOYAGE OF THE ACOLYTE

I don't know what it is about some of the albums I used to love when they first came out on vinyl, only to add them to my CD collection years later and think, "OK, maybe it's not that great after all". "Trick of the Tail", "Wind and Wuthering" and "Voyage of the Acolyte" are all in that category.

No need to dwell on the story of how and when this came out. Obviously there was some dissatisfaction from Steve about his input into Genesis so he felt the need to release some of his own music. A lot is made of this being the best album Genesis never made but to me it has its own sound, though undeniably related to Genesis (a sort of brother in law who visits occasionally perhaps). This is quite possibly because the lack of Tony Banks among the musicians, though Rutherford and Collins do feature.

All in all, without dissecting it track by track, it's a good album with some weak bits (Steve Hackett should NEVER be allowed to sing his own material- see "The Hermit"), some strong bits (personally I love the harmonies on the chorus of "Star of Sirius" though perhaps it's a little overdone).

All in all though it just doesn't excite me or move me like it once did. Maybe it's over- familiarity, maybe it's just my tastes changing, or maybe it's the chance to reflect more on its true quality. I guess it's probably a combination of both. Strange though that I still rate highly "Please Don't Touch", the album that followed this.