NURSERY CRYME

This is an album that you keep coming back to. I don't think there is another album in their catalogue that so perfectly sums up early Genesis. if you could take 'Englishness' and condense it on to a CD this would be the result.

You have everything from the symphonic grandeur of 'The Fountain of Salmacis' to the delicacy of 'Harlequin' via the outright silliness of 'Harold the Barrel', to say nothing of the progressive masterpieces that are 'The Musical Box' and 'The Return of the Giant Hogweed'. You immediately notice the presence of newcomers Steve Hackett and Phil Collins, and despite having even poorer sound quality than even 'Trespass' (not easily achieved) the album is far ahead of it in musical terms.

I'll go out on a limb here and put it ahead of Foxtrot, I simply think it's a better album. Not by much of course, and it's not as good as "Selling England......', but then again, nothing is!