SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND

There is only 2 bands and 2 albums by those bands that I feel truly deserve a 5 star rating, Selling England By The Pound is one of them. I went most of my prog life being blissfully ignorant to Genesis and it took some time for their music to sink once I did decide to look into what they did. I didnt understand this album the first handful of times I heard it. I had no idea what this band was going for it all seemed incredibly silly and some what boring at times and I almost dismissed them forever. Once I saw some live footage of the era I instantly understood and it connected on such a deep level that I was then able to go back and give this album among others a proper listen. The band creates vivid imagery throughout this album with lush musical passages and lyrics filled with stories and images of the Elizabethan age. The song writing in the band seemed to reach its peak on this album as we hear the band very much working as a whole rather then the technical skill of any individual member. Still managing great leaps with time,key and tempo changes within the songs but never letting any of those leaps disrupt the flow of the song letting all of the strong melodies present step up front. Really not a weak track on the entire album even though some people would have you believe that The Battle of Epping Forest is 11 mins of filler I feel rather strongly otherwise. The true highlight of this album is the closing Cinema Show with melodies that seem to grab hold of the essence of my being, to me it is everyone in the band at there very best. This is a must have album to anyone interested in Progressive Rock. Run!