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Genesis - A Trick of the Tail CD (album) cover

A TRICK OF THE TAIL

Genesis

 

Symphonic Prog

4.28 | 2943 ratings

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colorofmoney91
Prog Reviewer
4 stars A Trick of the Tail is the album that marks the era where Phil Collins starts his role as the lead vocalist for Genesis, and I always considered him to be superior to Gabriel in vocal style for being more controlled and serious.

"Dance on a Volcano" features some nice technical chops that I don't recall hearing much of in Genesis' earlier material, and is kind of aggressive. The main motif of the song is quite catchy, and makes the track stand out more than it would otherwise, as nothing else really is significant other than the technical musicianship.

"Entangled" is a very beautiful acoustic-folk ballad that really reaches me emotionally. I've always felt that Genesis had strength in writing these beautiful acoustic songs. This track is soothing and I consider it to be stretched out to a very appropriate length at almost 7 minutes, and the ghostly effects near the end really do wonders for the atmosphere. This is one my personal favorites from this album.

I consider "Squonk" to be one of the earliest examples of neo-prog. It's progressive and lightly poppy with very strong synths throughout that give the song a heavy, monstrous vibe. The track is really catchy, and Collins really lets his vocals shine. This very strong track is one of the best on the album.

"Mad Man Moon" is a beautiful track with lots of soothing mellotron, and the vocals on this track really shows how Phil Collins vocals suit this style of softer songwriting much better than Gabriel. The song moves through a few passages that are all beautiful, and this track really sounds like it could have been a Renaissance song from the Ashes are Burning album. Very beautiful indeed.

"Robbery, Assault & Battery" is a slightly bouncy and poppy song with nice staccato mellotron lines, and despite its name it is actually quite a fun song. The chorus is very catchy and is easy to sing along to, and kind remind me of "I Know What I Like" from Selling England by the Pound. It eventually progresses into a nice solo on the keys backed by funky bass that takes up most of the track.

"Ripples" is another slowly paced song that is similar to "Mad Man Moon", but gets slightly more aggressive in the middle. The song goes from beautiful folky guitar picking, to fantastic piano lines set to a fast paced beat during the second half of the track. The light guitar solo near the end is very ethereal and calming. Collins again lets his voice shine, and this is one of the best tracks on the album.

The title track is another bouncy and poppy prog rock song that is highly enjoyable. This track also reminds me of "I Know What I Like". The beat is steady throughout which makes this very accessible to anyone.

"Los Endos" is an aggressive and bass-heavy song, with a very symphonic feel to it. It progresses through a few different passages, but maintains an excited feel throughout and is the best ending for a Genesis album that I've ever heard. Very strong instrumental ending to a fantastic album.

I feel like Gabriel leaving the band was mostly a good thing, and that Collins at the front profoundly improved the songwriting. Every song here is memorable and enjoyable, and often beautiful. Collins has a voice that suits the band far better, and I would highly recommend this album to any symphonic prog fans, even though I'm not really one.

colorofmoney91 | 4/5 |

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