SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND

This was my first contact with Peter Gabriel's Genesis. It is an excellent album, but it has two main drawbacks : "More fool me" and "I know what I like" which are not essential to me. "More fool me" can be seen as an interlude but it is an uninteresting love song and Phil Collins sings in a voice I don't like (it would have been better to put something like "For absent friends"). "I know what I like" has been a hit ; the song is fun but does not fit in the atmosphere of the rest of the album. That's why I put only 4 stars. "Dancing with the moonlit knight" is one of my favourite songs. The progression is very impressive and the arrangements give a beautiful "medieval" atmosphere that can be heard all along the album (except for the two songs already discussed). "Firth of fifth" is simply amazing, with the piano intro that can't be found in the live versions (what a shame !). "The battle of Epping Forrest" is a funny song, particularly the acoustic part, with PG singing with many different voices...very original, but some might dislike it. "After the ordeal" is a "serious" and beautiful conclusion to "the battle" and then it ends up very softly with "the cinema show" and "aisle of plenty" which take back the theme developped in "dancing with the moonlit knight".