A TRICK OF THE TAIL

This album, along with "Wind and Wuthering", is proof that Peter Gabriel's departure from Genesis was far from being as bad for the band as Steve Hackett's departure. This album picks up where Selling England By the Pound left off (don't get me wrong, I LOVE The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, but it was a hell of an experiment that deserves a field all it's own and stands alone within the Genesis discography, a parenthesis if you will), and showcases a more united band, all members going in the same direction, which must have been a relief for everyone involved after The Lamb... The sound was the best they had had at that point, the songwriting was top notch, the execution brilliant. One small downfall : Phil Collins' drumming began to suffer a little due to his handling of lead vocals (really, just a little) in certain songs, even though most songs didn't call for excessively technical drumming. Collins more than makes up for it with his singing though, the vocal melodies being, in my opinion, the best from Genesis (Gabriel was theatrical and all, but not as melody friendly as Collins). The stars on this album are Tony Banks and Steve Hackett, without a doubt. Every song here is brilliant, but my favorites are : Dance on a Volcano, Entangled, Mad Man Moon, Ripples and instrumental album closer Los Endos.

The best post-Gabriel album, and even rivals any Gabriel era albums for that matter. One of my favorite Genesis albums ever.