NURSERY CRYME

This is the first Genesis album to feature the "classic" line-up (Gabriel, Banks, Collins, Hackett, Rutherford), and builds upon the sound they had developed on the previous effort, Trespass, and adds a few new twists.

'The Musical Box' basically encapsulates what they were doing musically on Trespass in 10 and a half minutes, with the alternating between folksy passages and heavy guitars and organ bits. In later years, only the closing section of the song would be played in concerts, and in retrospect, it probably stands the test of time more than the song does as a whole.

'For Absent Friends' is significant in that it features the first Phil Collins lead vocal on a tune written primarily by Steve Hackett. It's pleasing but not that exciting.

'The Return of the Giant Hogweed' is one of the high points of the album, a bizarre fable about England being overrun by vengeful plants. Musically, it showcases the swirling rhythms that were the trademark of the band, and ends with one of their heaviest sections ever.

'Seven Stones' is a somewhat underrated little song about the role of fortune in human life. Some particularly nice mellotron, as well as tasteful guitar playing by Hackett.

'Harold the Barrel' is the band's first (of many) attempts at writing a comedic piece, and actually one of the more successful, though Gabriel's vocals are particularly hard to understand on many of the lines. Basically, it's about a parody of a community's reaction to the scandal of a restaurant owner going mad and committing suicide.

'Harlequin' is another short folksy piece, with nice vocal harmonies.

'Fountain of Salmacis' is probably the strongest overall piece on the album, drawing upon Greek mythology for the story of the nymph Salmacis and her unrequited love for Hermaphroditus. As with 'The Cinema Show' and 'The Lamia' on later albums, Genesis had a habit of drawing upon some of the most sexually-charged stories in Greek mythology for lyrical themes, and this is one of the most powerful.