FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION

It's cute, it's overpoweringly naive, it's full of godawful strings and it has an 18 year old Peter Gabriel singing about The Slough of Despond and animal friends. And to be totally honest, it's kind of lovely at points. The 70s Genesis magic isn't there yet, but the vocal melodies are; imagine Visions of Angels without the ridiculous chorus and you've basically got a From Genesis To Revelation song. There are a few rockier numbers too, which aren't spectacular but, again, have some great vocal melodies; 'You're in the hands of DESTINY!'.

Anyway, the whole deal is supposed to be a biblical-themed concept album, but at this point in Genesis' career it's better to ignore the overal arch of the lyrics and let the music and Gabriel's vocals do the storytelling. They do a pretty good job; among the lush balladry there are some appealing prog flourishes like minor key variations and pretty little piano solos, and Peter Gabriel is already a very competent vocalist who manages to sustain the whole thing despite competing with an impossibly thick layer of orchestral syrup.

Highlights include the eye-wettingly lovely In The Wilderness, the tumultous The Serpent, and One Day just for the hilariously misplaced trumpets and impossibly twee lyrics. Window is very pretty too. Anyway, if you're a shameless Genesis fan quite willing to post on internet message boards about how As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs makes you weep openly, don't overlook this album.