WIND & WUTHERING

A synth heavy album that shares its moments of brilliance between the combined efforts of Hackett, Banks, Rutherford, and Collins. Although it is said that Hackett's involvement here was severely limited, his influence is at least marginallay noticeable, which is more than what can be said for their later work.

On the whole, it is indeed, a listenable album, but the over-bearing, glossy production and the overall 'Collins-ness' just about drowns out all equity, morphing the songs into some kind of Adult Contemporary Prog. But perhaps the biggest disappointment is that the guitar work literally goes nowhwere. It just meanders along with the ocassional bit of squeaky, clean, playing that severely grates on my eardrums. The fact that Collin's smug demeanor on the record all but hints at the future direction the trio would take, makes my blood boil. This was an album where the heart was not put in, as already the three stooges were most likely racking up how many extra digits they could fit in on the end of their paycheck. They were just waiting for Steve to bugger off.

There are a few choice parts where things pick up and begin to show some balls, but for the most part, a largely mixed and unequal piece of work from what was once the greatest band of the prog era.