SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND

I'll be brutally honest here when I say that 'I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)' is my favorite Genesis song that they ever wrote. It's simple, effective, progressive, and a very worthy song. Tracks I have real problems with are 'Dancing with the Moonlit Knight' and 'Battle of Epping Forest'. Both are overdone, especially the latter, with lots of unnecessaries, which is maybe designed purposely to make Cinema Show look better, who knows. Cinema Show is a nice track, however, when I compare it to other Prog epics, as indeed this song is often lumped in with other epics, it just doesn't quite measure up.

The best place to go in search of Genesis material, SEBTP is a classic of symphonic prog, the best of the band and a foundation for the genre of Prog. This is also Gabriel's best vocal work.

Some people think that this album in not deserving of a five star rating because of songs like More Fool Me and I know What I like not being up to the same standard as the others on the album. This may be true but the fact is the songs with the almost unsurpassed technical, melodic and rhythmic brilliance like Firth Of Fifth, Cinema Show and Dancing with the Moonlit Night are in a league of their own. Every song on this album is a gem: some are diamonds and some rubies, but all gems!

This is one of the defining symphonic prog albums by which others will always be compared. A true masterpiece.

Many people think that the band didn't have virtuosism like Yes or Jethro Tull... They don't need to show it in solos.... they do it in composition: virtually every song on their catalog is rarely below interesting; their songs never tend to drag unlike some of Yes' work (Starship Trooper comes to mind), and if in fact they were mediocre in instrumentalism, I just don't hear how they could measure it... the execution on this album is impeccable; Collins was still the incredible drummer; Hackett with his precise calculated obbligato solos, Banks with his renewed interest in the grand piano, Rutherford's effective bass lines, and even with Peter Gabriel's strained vocals that fit perfectly with every song... I just can't imagine them being sang by another (not even Collins).... all led by superb arrangements and compositions (forgot to mention the tasteful lyrics by Gabriel), which were their forte in those days. I dare to say that "Battle Of Epping Forest" is one of the most amusing songs from their heydays, with Gabriel and his usual gimmicks, a very humorous arrangement and even bits of rap (in a very innovative way at the time); this time they relied on more pastoral soundscapes in contrast to the bombastic organ-mellotron lead "Foxtrot"; but the result is undeniably a work of art...

a well deserved 5 for this fine album.... I can imagine now how they lost their muse in the early 80's.... all the songwritting abilities were worn out excessively between this release and their previous "Foxtrot".

"Selling England" has two leaders: Peter Gabriel (lyrics) & Tony Banks (music). The other three - Collins, Hackett & Rutherford have contributed a lot to the final result: Steve Hackett added new guitar inserts, Mike Rutherford have enriched the acoustic flavor if the album, and Phil Collins even sang in one of the tracks (More Fool Me), but Peter Gabriel & Tony Banks are definitely the maestros of this orchestra. While Banks wrote here some of his best composings, Gabriel have given a big artistic capacity to the record with the smart & honed texts, that he built throughout the years. When the two learned to work together, the final piece have entered the world prog pantheon.

The first song in the album ("Dancing With The Moonlit Knight") is a Gabriellic lamentation on modern Britain, and the changes it passed in the 60's & the 70's. Gabriel, with his special voice, is using his high rhetorical abillity and his perfect english accent to criticize the turn of his country from a social welfare country to a capitalistic free-market country. The name of the album - "Selling England By The Pound" - is taken from one of the songs, when Gabriel took this line from the Labour party election campaign.

So we have smart lyrics & brittish texts on the one hand, but on the other - what's really good with "Selling England" is the fact that you can really be impressed from the album's quality without even understanding what it's really about. "Moonlit Knight" has some of Genesis' greatest moments: the musical structure is evolving in a progressive way, building heights and breaking them at the end - just like a simphonic poema or a suite; the record sounds incredible, aspecially in the "Remastered" version (which i've purchased some days ago). The great guitar work by Hackett emphasizes the Rock-N-Roll side by Genesis, but not forgoes the symphonic production, lead by Banks, a big fan of Bach.

A very important piece in the album is "Firth Of Fifth". (track no. 3) The piano solo act at the beginning can be written as one of the great achievements by him. It was so great, actually, that even Banks himself had difficulties of playing it live, and in some part he gave up. Although even Banks admitted the text of "Firth" it is very hard to understand (A poetic attempt to create a comparison between the flow of water in the river, to the flow of music, while dealing with the time dimension), the composing & the production are so accurate, that the text is almost marginal. The flute solo by Gabriel, escorted with a beautiful solo act by Hackett defines the greatness of "Firth" and early Genesis.

In conclusion, comparing to other Genesis albums, "SEBTP" is in high spot, mainly between 1 & 2. It is true that "Foxtrot" is a competitor, because of "Supper's Ready", but not all of the tracks there are special like these one. "Nursery Cryme" is also brilliant, without a doubt, but it's production can't really beat "Selling". "Selling England" is one of the best prog albums, that really have re-defined the genre and put high standarts, and it is unmissable till today. It is recommended to take a look at Gabriel's lyrics, and to enjoy the humor & irony of it, with the excellent music, rich polished productions that took the prog music to another level, and really influenced a generation of musicians. You can't get anymore Brittish & Prog than that. 5 stars.

Dancing with the moonlit knight: Unbeleivable guitar, just perfect, the way it is sang is just magical, mike rutherfords punchy bass is just great, plus tough drumming from phil, the end to the song is so amazingly emotional. 9/10

I know what i like (in your wardrobe): A cool song, really cool sound, reminds me of my family when they are drunk (dont ask me why) overall a good pop/prog song. 7.5/10

Firth of Fifth: Tony Banks is just magical, truly magical, his piano makes me weep, just stunning, then when the song comes in, with all instruments, this wall of atmospheric sound hits you like a boxer would hit his opponent, clean off your feet. 9/10

More Fool Me - Should of expanded more on this song, not too much though, its just a bit too boring in all honesty, but does an important job in breaking up the two big tracks. 6/10

The battle of epping forest - I said earlier that i knew nothing about lyrics, but you dont need to be einstein to know that these lyridcs are something quite amazing, the whole song is just fantastic in each department, tony banks with his amazing keyboard solo's, steve hackett with his fantastic guitar effects, mike rutherford with his punchy basslines, phil collins with his fast textured drumming and last but certainly not least, the front man gabriel, with my 2nd favourite vocal performance ever, (first being great gig in the sky by pink floyd). stunning! 10/10

After the ordeal - some stunning guitar work here from hackett, pure magic, need i say more? 8.5/10

The cinema show - some more amazing stuff from hackett, him and banks really worked there socks off here to pull off maybe the pinnacle track of the album, more superb dextrous drumming from phil and the bass once again is flawless, thanks to mr. rutherford. 10/10.

Ailse of plenty - A brief reprise of dancing with the moonlit knight, unecessary track, with starnge voicing effects that are in my opinion are silly, the weakest track, should of made a better effort with it. 4.5/10

thanx for listening love from mike xxxx

(if you feel you would like to contact me you can get my address from above thank you)

The overall sound has a somewhat chamber music feel to it, with acoustic guitars, some flutes, and oboes here and there, plus obvious classical influences throughout.

The Cinema Show is the song you need off of this album. I would argue that Aisle of Plenty should be tacked on to it as well. In case you haven't heard the song, it's a pretty quiet piece with acoustic guitars at first. It then leads into an odd time signature section of synth soloing for several minutes. This soloing is not just noodling over the same chord changes. There are new musical ideas as it goes along. Aisle of Plenty finishes it off and makes sense. There are some interesting vocal ideas in Aisle, and it is enjoyable on it's own if you won't edit your mp3s as I like to do.

The Battle of Epping Forest is my pick for next best song. Odd times, many different sounds, changing dynamics and high quality musicianship. It has to be one of the most difficult songs Genesis ever did. It ranks as a prog rock classic.

After The Ordeal is an instrumental piece. The beginning of this piece is very classical sounding. The second half seems to slow down with the drums and electric guitar added. Despite the slowdown, I consider the strong first half to be classic material.

The classics keep coming on this album. Firth of Fifth is a very easy song to like. The instrumental middle section is classic, once again. On this album Genesis have really developed their signature instrumental sound, which they kept for several albums after this one.

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight comes in as my final classic choice off this album. Varying dynamics and lots of ideas in this one.

If you can avoid two songs on this album, they are I Know What I Like and More Fool Me. They are more simple style songs, if not poppy. I have never understood the success of I Know What I Like. I can honestly say it sounds like they recorded it in their garage. The singing is terrible, and the musical ideas are weak. I recall enjoying the live version on Seconds Out better.

Despite two weak songs, the album overall is a classic, it is 5 star all the way, and is essential for your collection.

Let me just point out that, in my opinion, this is virtually a perfect album. It sounds considerably cleaner and more sophisticated than its predecessor, FOXTROT, but not TOO clean (which must be the main drawback of TRICK OF THE TAIL). And although Peter Gabriel's puns sound embarrassing at times, SELLING ENGLAND is full of unforgettable lines, declaimed with just the right amount of theatricality, e.g.:

- There's a fat old lady outside the saloon!

- 'I do my double-show quick", said Mick the Prick, fresh out the nick.

- When poor, 'twas salvation from door to door, but now, with a pin-up guru every week, it's Love, Peace & Truth Incorporated for all who seek...

There must have been a few punks who got annoyed when former English 'public school' (i.e. private school) boys tried to sound like 'East End Heroes' (especially since a few years after the release of SELLING ENGLAND, Ian Dury and Madness were to delight the public with authentic Cockney accents) but I, for one, will happily carry Gabriel's lyrics with me to the grave.

The most mysterious track on this album must be 'Cinema Show/Aisle of Plenty' - especially that beautiful passage where twelve-string guitars are paired with wordless vocals. A true controversy recently raged on this site when one prog-lover complained that 'Cinema Show' was spoiled (for him) by Gabriel's irreverent mention of a 'chocolate surprise'. Oh well, perhaps it will help to bear in mind that 'The Cinema Show' is a light-hearted parody of the dour love-affair described in T.S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land' (complete with obligatory references to the blind seer Tiresias). I simply adore the way Gabriel enunciates the words: 'With head held high and floral tie'...

And what other rock band would have ended their masterpiece so eerily, combining references to 'deadly nightshade' with a menacing recitation of bargains in a local supermarket?

The musicians in the band weren't too great or talented, compared to some of their rivals. Hackett knew what he was doing, and had a unique and beautiful soaring guitar sound. But he couldn't match Howe. Gabriel had a obsession in personating characters, and turning a music album into some kind of play.. I don't think it comes across very well, just sounding amatuerish and annoying. A mediocre flautist, but he did use it to good effect. Ruthorford, an average bassist. Collins was the group's most talented, and he was a very tight drummer. Tony Banks is my favourite, his keyboard style is so satisfying and groovy you can't help but have an eargasm.

The music, however, is quite good. "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" is a essential peice of scorching progressive rock. I Know What I Like and More Fool Me are pretty bad, and set back the album from being a essential masterpeice, Epping Forest is average, The Cinema Show is beautiful but a bit too long, After the ordeal is nice, and Aisle of Plenty is pointless.

A good 4 star album, not the mind blowing album people make it out to be.

This is where my prog journey started, the first prog album I ever bought. Now I understand why, this is an easy listen, and because of it never up to the higher standards layed down by Yes and for example Van der Graaf Generator.

This album has a lot of good moments, like Dancing with the moonlith knight, firth of fifth and cinema show, however it also has it's share of weaker moments, like the ending of the first track and the start of Cinema show.

The weakest moment of all is the track "more fool me" a horrible track where Phill Collins is showcasing? his vocal abilities (not so good at the time, they would improve a lot after), why this track is on the album, is beyond me, but I guess all members wanted some contribution.

The album is pretty unbalanced with VERY good moments to horrible moments, I can't see why this is considered as such a masterpiece, we true progheads should be more interested in some more complex prog (obviously the reason this is so popular is that this is easy to listen).

3 stars, no more, maybe a bit less ;)

It's hard to believe this came out only the year after Foxtrot. The production is so much clearer and it just sounds more 'modern'. I don;t know whether it's the synths that Banks started using, or the richer bass sound that Mike Rutherford obtained. At least part of it is down to Steve Hackett though. Gone is the scratchy fuzz and in comes a wonderful rich guitar tone, best illustrated on Firth of Fifth.

And lyrically Peter Gabriel was on top form too. Battle of Epping Forest is a prime example. They could never match his humour and characterisation after he left.

And a word for Phil Collins too. I've always thought he was a great drummer, making the tempo and time signature shifts seems effortless. I can forgive him his solo outing on More Fool Me. Actually I don't mind the song.

I really can't believe I first heard this in 1973!

The opener "Dancing Out With the Moonlit Knight" is fantastic. The introductory vocal part is one of the most emotional of the Genesis repertoire. The exchange between Young man "You are what you eat" - Eat well" and Old man "You are what you wear" - Wear well" is quite bizarre. The musical section is bombastic and energetic. The first fave of mine from this great album .

Their first mini-hit, "I Know What I Like" is quite catchy and is quite love at first sight due to the beautiful melody. But I must say that you can get a bit bored by the song after hearing it on and on ... This song would probably have ranked higher in the charts if Genesis has accepted to perform it at Top Of The Pop (which they didn't). Still, it peaked at Nr. 21 in the UK charts.

It is not as simple as it sounds : there are a lot of characters acting here : Ethel, Jacob, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Farmer, and Miss Mort. Poppy, a nice pop song after all.

I have already mentioned in other "Genesis" reviews that I considered ""Firth of Fifth" one of my top three fave of the band. This song (almost 10 minutes) is wonderful : great piano intro (which was skipped during most of their live sets) and very good flute playing by Peter.

And what to say about Steve's guitar solo? It is one of most melodic solo I have ever heard : subtle, passionate, romantic and emotional : it could have lasted for ever. It is really one of the greatest moments in music history (all genres considered). Another highlight.

For the purpose of this review, I would consider the fourth track of side one as non -existing.

Side B opens with "The Battle of Epping Forest", a quite complex & long track with lots of vocals. I needed several hearings to enter into this scenario. (I was 15 and not very fluent in English at that time) but since lyrics were printed on the LP (Genesis was really a precursor for this as well), I finished to know it by heart (and I can tell you it is a difficult excercise).

So, Louise is the reverend hard to please? You're telling me ! The story is taken from a news story concerning two rival gangs fighting over East-End Protection rights. There are a lot of characters again here : Willy Wright, Little John, Georgie, Harold Demeure of course, William Wright, Mick the Prick, Liquid Len, Bethnal Green Butcher, Bob the Nob, Jones, Roy, Louise and the Reverend.

The story describes the fight between all these people and their gangs. The last two sentences are hilarous : "There's no one left alive - it must be a draw." "So the Blackcap Barons toss a coin to settle the score". I quite like this track, but it is probably one of the most difficult one to get into (together with "Get'em out by Friday" probably).

The instrumental "After the Ordeal" is a good transition track : ideal to calm down after such a "battle" and prepare the listener to another epic track : "Cinema Show".

This one will become a classic for their life shows, allowing Peter's narrative skills to submerge the audience with this sexually oriented love story (you know, Romeo & Juliet).

The instrumental section will influence lots of tracks to be produced later on by prog followers / clones (some of whom with great talent). While Steve's guitar was the highlight on "Firth", in this one the long instrumental section offers a fantastic cohesion between Tony, Mike and Phil who does a great drumming job.

"Aisle of Plenty" is the real closing part of "Dancing out with the Moonlit Knight" rather than being a track on his own.

With this album, Genesis definetely pleased all their fans. During their supporting tour, there was almost a riot after their Brussels show. While choosing the tracklist for the tour, the band decided that since it was a kind of theatric representation, there would no encores.

The crowd was so excited after the show that they were yelling for more than fifteen minutes after the lights went on refusing to leave the concert hall (Forest National). The police, mounted on horses had the hall evacuated after a long, long time.

At this stage, the band was discussing whether or not they should do an encore. Belgium was special to them. I mentioned in another review that their first concert abroad was in Brussels (in March 1971).Three were in favour, two not. I do not remember who though.

So, there was no encore. This story was published in the review of the concert, because, unfortunately I did not attend to this one in 1974. What I will soon do though is to attend the "Selling" tour performed by the tribute band "Musical Box". This is probably the best "Genesis" cover band.

Steve joined them once on stage at the Royal Albert Hall for an encore ("Firth" I think) and Phil did the same not so long ago in Montreux (on "It" from The Lamb" tour). If ever they are coming close to where you live, I recommend you to go and see them.

They are fabulous and will allow you to discover how "Genesis" was on stage for this tour. Five stars for these fifty minutes of pure happiness (pur bonheur). It is their first album to enter the US charts (Nr. 70, while it will reach Nr. 3 in the UK).

The only song on this album that is not perfect is "More Fool Me." Phil tries to steal the show but fails, though his drumming throughout should be shown to those think that he's a crappy artist (myself included until I learned he plyed drums so well instead of releasing bad pop albums). "Dancing" features more of Steve's pioneering use of tapping (first used in music on his solo on "The Musical Box") and Peter's lead in in haunting. "Firth of Fifth" is stunning, with Tony and Steve displaying their immense talents. "Battle of Epping Forest" didn't immediately click but I've come to love it. "After the Ordeal" is a bit poppy but still very enjoyable. "I Know What I Like" flaunts Peter's weirdness. "The Cinema Show" and the closer "Aisle of Plenty" are insanely good. Supper's Ready is the best Genesis song, but Cinema comes so close to snatching that title away. Tony shines but each member contributes to this stunner featuring some of Peter's best vocals.

The beauty of this record is how the songs seem to be a continuation (they should, it's a concept), but are so strikingly different. Tony, Mike, and Steve blend in with one another yet simultaneously craft their own melodies. Phil's drumming reversed my opinion of him, though I still can't stand his voice or his corruption of this band following Hackett's and Gabriel's departures. This album is a staple of prog rock, though "More Fool Me" keeps it from being flawless.

Grade: A

Is there a better opening line than that? Not in my world. When these words starts the first song, "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", on Genesis second masterpiece ("Foxtrot" is the first one) "Selling England by the Pound", you know you are in for something special, something magical. The first time I heard this song I was knocked to the floor. I'd never heard anything that beautiful before. It was my first encounter with Genesis and I was trapped.

A short run through the tracks:

1. "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" Probably the best track on this album. The before mentioned intro, the vocals, the music, the lyrics. Everything is perfect! 5/5

2. "I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe)" This is a fun track, very cathcy! Love it! 5/5

3. "Firth of Fifth" Amazing piano work, and of course, Steve Hacketts amazing guitar solo. Another 5/5.

4. "More Fool of Me" The weakest track. A filler between the long numbers. Pretty catchy though. 3/5

5. "The Battle of Epping Forest" I love the lyrics to this one, and especially the reverend part. Gabriel shows what a genius he is! The music is outstanding too! 5/5

6. "After the Ordeal" A nice instrumental. Nothing less, nothing more. 4/5

7. "The Cinema Show" Great keyboards! Epic as hell! Fantastic! 5/5

8. "Aisle of Plenty" A nice closer, but I would like to see it fused together with "The Cinema Show" in one track instead, but nice tune anyway. 4/5

All in all: A masterpiece. Some flaws, but who hasn't? 5/5!

Now that that's been said, I really can't penalize a great album on the grounds that I'm not crazy about the amount of synths used. This album is completely lacking of filler tracks. Dancing With the Moonlit Knight kicks the album off to a nice start. I Know What I Like is an amusing tune, if hardly a prog masterpiece. Firth of Fifth sees the album picking up steam. I suppose you could say that this is one of the band's early "hits", though given it's 9.5 minute length, I doubt it saw heavy radio play. It's merely one of the more recognized songs in their musical list. More Fool Me feels like a pop song (read: Beatles-esque pop, not Brittney Spears). It's quite the pretty piece, though as far as (relatively) short melodic pieces go, I prefer Trespass's Dusk. The Battle of Epping Forest is another of the great tune that earns the album its hype. After The Ordeal is a (again, relatively) short instrumental piece that really serves as the last few minutes of Battle of Epping Forest. I really have no memories of the song as a stand alone; however, the last 4 minutes or so of Battle of Epping Forest are quite nice ;). The Cinema Show was the track that sold me on this album, coincidentally the track that is posted on this site. In my opinion, it's the highlight of the album. Much like After the Ordeal, Aisle of Plenty is actually the last minute and a half of Cinema Show if you ask me. It's a nice closing to the album but definitely shouldn't stand alone.

Anyway, my initial instinct was to give the album only 4 stars, but as I was typing the review, I realized that the only bad thing I have to say about the album is that I liked Trespass better. You really can't go wrong with this album and really should already have it in your collection.

Well, firstly, I don't really know how to review this album, because I just got it from my dad and it is my first Genesis album. So I listened to it and try to grab every aspect from the album, the emotion and musicianship of the artists also those little things that tickle your soul :P.

Just a little history about my father. He once said Genesis was at its best when they were still with Phil Collins, and Selling England By The Pound was their best album. As a younger generation of progressive rock, and because I was introduced to progressive rock through metal music (such as Dream Theater), I just listened to my father anything he told me. Well probably he is my main source to older progressive rock, such as Genesis, so when he said this is the best album, then I believe this is the best album.

For me, I generally look at an album from two main aspect, the emotion and the musicianship, or musical skills. Now when I listen to the songs in the album while closing my eyes, they are indeed a bunch of beautiful songs, there is no doubt about it. Every single song is a truly masterpiece, and I have chosen my favourite, which is the first track, Dancing With The Moonlit Knight. The song begins with Phil Collins' nice vocal tone, "Can you tell me where my country lies?", followed with also beautiful guitar and keyboard tone. I'm sitting here in my bedroom at 10 in the morning, looking through the window while listening to the song, what an amazing moment. Then the song progresses to the highest energy, "The Captain leads his dance right on through the night." What an amazing feeling. The final solo is pretty similar to Yes' Close To The Edge, with a beautiful nuance from the keyboard and rapid drum lines, yet the guitar lines provide a nice harmony.

I Know What I Like has more of an easy-listening tone, especially when it hits the "I know what I like, and I like what I know" line. This song has more mainstream aspect of Genesis. One thing that should be pointed is the bass lines throughout the song, very groovy and nice. Indeed, while the keyboard provides the nuance (again), the bass seems singing together with Collins, truly great. The song is also around 4 minutes, as I said before, more mainstream that the other songs.

The next track, Firth Of Fifth begins with a beautiful harmony from the keyboard, although the beat is quite fast. Then the vocal starts, which reminds me of something similar, and I am still trying to find what it is. At some point, I am like listening to Fish from Marillion. It is just me or what, I don't know, there is something similar between these two vocalists. The most interesting part, and also my favourite part is the instrumental part at around fourth minute, where all instruments got together with odd time signatures with a very significant tone from the keyboard. The drum is also worth hearing, because it offers an incredible feeling and virtuosity, just like the guitar.

More Fool Me really emphasizes the beauty of Collins' vocal sound. The track only contains his vocal and nice guitar sound at the back (maybe more, pardon me), but it is a really nice song with high emotion. Also a short song, only three minutes in length.

The Battle Of Epping Forest is more or less similar to Firth Of Fifth, with a somewhat fast beat. Also, the instrumental part of the song offers a nice virtuosity with also nice emotion. This track is also the longest song in the album, almost 12 minutes. When I look at this song, and compare it to other songs, Selling England By The Pound's songs are arranged in "long-short-long-short" songs, or maybe "more prog-more mainstream-more prog" arrangement. Then it is followed by a nice instrumental song, After The Ordeal. Simple, yet profound. That is how I describe this song.

Now comes another epic song, and more progressive song, The Cinema Show. I actually have heard this song before I bought this album. Guess who introduced it to me? Dream Theater. If you have heard Octavarium, the lyric contains, "day for nightmare cinema show me the way to get back home again". So when I bought the album and looked at this track, I thought, "aha! This is the song!". And without any doubt I know why Dream Theater included the name of this song into their lyrics, because it is a real masterpiece (just like each one of the songs), and ended with a cool outro instrumental as well. The virtuosity of each one of the personnel is undeniable. Then at the end we can hear the same theme as Dancing With The Moonlit Knight.

And just like last song, Aisle Of Plenty, it has a pretty similar theme as Dancing With The Moonlight Knight. I consider this is an ending song, because besides the fact that this is the last song, this short song seems to conclude everything in the album, by also returning to the same theme.

In conclusion, after a quite long review, I gave this album five stars, because of the emotion and the musicianship of the artists (goes back to my first words, just like the album). This is my first Genesis album so I don't know how to relate this album to other Genesis albums. However just by looking at this album, I now know that it was such as great band (at least in Phil Collins era, just like my father said).

Join the dance - Imoeng

And it brought Genesis very far away, to the very top of prog excellence. Personally I prefer "Foxtrot" to this extraordinary effort, though the concept behind this one puts up a fight. Call it a tie in quality. Let's begin:

"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" is a very nice song which I think runs of steam in the end... and simply fizzles out. As it stands, it's not until you hear its initial melody reprised in the album's last track, that you understand this is more like a prologue to this british-centered opus. Yet, I find this song too long.

"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)": Hey, a pop song! Nice percussion, Phil. A simple, catchy tune.

"Firth of Fifth": whoa. The best Genesis song ever? Highly likely. What happens when you have a blistering piano opening, a majestic melody, a beautiful flute solo and an amazing keyboard solo, all in a row? You think "this is too good to be true, end this now before you ruin it!". Then Steve Hackett hits you in the head with one of the best guitar riffs in rock history, and afterwards the whole thing returns where it began, tying things up with a ribbon bow. Kneel before this prog anthem.

"More Fool Me": sweet, short one, foreshadowing Phil's ballads in the future, maybe. Very well placed after the Firth of Fifth monster, makes you catch breath before going on.

"The Battle of Epping Forest": a mini rock opera in the style of Foxtrot's "Get 'em out by Friday", with Peter assuming the roles of various characters. Hard to get into, but valuable in its ambition.

"After the Ordeal": Seems to be there to provide an epilogue to the battle in the previous song, but to me it's not a very special instrumental.

"The Cinema Show": The first half of the song is a very nice melody with myth-inspired lyrics, but it's not until the instrumental half of it kicks in that this song jumps to the status of "classic". Astounding drum work by Phil and one of the most emotional solos by Tony. And then it seamlessly segues into...

"Aisle of Plenty"... the reprise of the beginning of the first track, with lyrics filled with references to corporative Britain.

Two masterpieces in a row... what's in store for this band now? Well, a double album with a twisted story, of course!!! Bring on Rael!

Just a remark...I have this album on a vinyl and believe me, the sound is INCREDIBLE...exspecially the drums and the synths...really great LP.

Anyway, when considering the more melodic art rock (with King Crimson and ELP on the opposite side of the spectrum) it doesnt get better than this. Higly recommended.

I still remember the first time I have listened to "Dancing With The Moonlight Knight" on the radio. I was about fifteen and was my first contact with Genesis. I loved this band at that time. Well, I was a teenager and since that years, I had listened to many albums better than this one.

The first three tracks are excellent, and enough to justify the presence of this album in any prog collection. There are frequent changes in style and great instrumental sounds, especially guitar and keyboards, as many reviewers explained in this site. "Firth Of Fifth", is my favorite Genesis song. The music is simply astonishing, and after 4 minutes and 45 seconds, begins a section of about two minutes with one of the most wonderful tunes I ever listened to. The following two tracks ("More Fool Me" and "The Battle Of Epping Forest") are, at least in my opinion, far below the rest of the material. I really dislike this two songs and the reason why I can not give more than three stars to this album. "The Cinema Show" is really good but not enough to make me forget the two previous tracks.

I have something like twelve Genesis albums (vinyls, cassettes and cd's) and I can really assure that some of them are better than "Seling England By The Pound" though I find here two of their best songs.

In my opinion, "Seling England By The Pound" is an overrated album; nevertheless I recommend it to anyone who wants to get in touch with the music of Genesis.

OK, lets pretend that NOBODY EVER HEARD THIS ALBUM and this is my FIRST REVIEW ;) The album of GENESIS begins with "Dancing with the Moonlight Knight" - 8-min epic filled with emotional structural changes yet very melodical and enjoyable. "I know what I like" was chosen as a single (it's simple and whimsy) and it's pretty fun to watch live. "Firth of Fifth" is another epic, more ballad-like, with legendary piano intro and Hackett's solo in the middle. "More Fool Me" is the only weak track here - the cruel Phil shows his voice for the first time, the future creeps in..."The Battle of Epping Forest" (almost 12 minutes long) shows Gabriel's manner of changing voices for each character, and it's great. "After the Ordeal" is a wonderful instrumental piece, almost pastoral in atmosphere. "Cinema Show" begins like a ballad but later turns into powerful and melodical jam in 7/8. It closes with "Aisle of Plenty", reprise of "Dancing..." opening tune.

After all, highly recommended for fans of MARILLION, THE WATCH, RED SAND, IQ, CITIZEN CAIN, RAEL, SIMON SAYS and ANGLAGARD. A Must ;)

"Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" (9/10) From the opening gripper line that we all know so well, to the final culmination, this song keeps you gripped till the end. This is the band at their best: HACKETT experimenting with slide picking, BANKS as melodious as ever and PHIL and RUTHERFORD holding the rythm in the background. The middle of the song is definitely the highlght, as it culminates into a crescendo of guitar mellotron and organ only to descend back into tranquility towards the end.

" I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) " (6/10) Not a very serious song, it was definitely put there so that GABRIEL could voice his political opinions in the simplest way possible. It's a funny song, but that's about it. The sitar adds a nice touch, giving the song a (very limited) oriental feel. Simple drumming, simple melodies, mostly just a lyrical adventure.

"Firth of Fifth" (9.3/10) If it were up to me, I would rate this song the second best from GENESIS, very very close behind "Supper's Ready" (Apocalypse in 9/8 is why...). The song begins with a soft piano intro, progressively building and then suddenly ending, as GABRIEL enters. He sings for a while, and then the magic begins. There isan awesome crescendo starting with organ and mellotron then building and building until we get a full fledged orchestration experience for a couple of minutes. Then its HACKETT's turn as he enters with a lovely weeping melody on his guitar that leaves you with goosebumps. What a great song.

"More Fool Me" (2/10) This is just another filler, which really brings nothing to the album and is just overshadowed by the previous song. I usually skip it when I listen to the album, which I usually hate to do, but in this case, it is innevitable.

"the battle of Epping Forest" (7/10) Too long for the lack of melody and the overuse of vocals. After you later listen to cinema show you'll come to this song asking yourself if it's really worth listening to this song. It begins with an army drum roll then flows quite nicely into a vocal hurricane of GABRIEL experimenting with different tones, which is quite appreciable. But there aren't as many breaks as I would like to see: If you look at the sleeve, the lyrics for this song take up about a while page, so you can imagine theres very little room for musical explorations. Not bad, but not great.

"After The Ordeal " (8.5/10) This is the perfect follow-up from the previous song, as it is completely instrumental. The combination of piano and guitar is comparable to the most melodious songs of PFM or BANCO, flowing nicely until the percussive introduction, at which point the song basically becomes majestic. A good segway into the beautiful song which is to come.

"Cinema Show" (9.2/10) A masterpiece this one it: there is nothing wrong with this song, any way you look at it. The lyrics at the beginning are nice but the 6 minute instrumental that follows is the highlight. Amazing keyboard work from BANKS incorporating synths and organs in a marvelous medley of music beaty. There isn't really a point in describing the music here, because it cannot be put into words, it must be heard.

"Aisle Of Plenty " (4/10) A reprise of dancing with the moonlight knight, not really necessary, but enjoyable. Slightly dissapointing as an ending to this album, it would have been more intelligent to end with the previous track.

OVERALL: I'll give this album a generous 4.3/5 stars only because there are 4 highlights out of 7 tracks.

Enjoy your listen, its worth it

This album is not perfect, however. I find myself irritated beyond measure by 'The Battle of Epping Forest'. Yes, let the Charterhouse boys pontificate about the decay of the upper classes. But I can tell you that almost every sentiment they present about the working classes rings false. Hyperbole, yes, I know. But not eleven minutes of it. I've been beaten by a chain, and it's not all alliteration, let me tell you.

That said, there are moments of true beauty. The daring they show in starting with GABRIEL'S unaccompanied vocal lets us know something great is to follow. 'Dancing With The Moonlit Knight' is a magnificent song, overshadowed only by 'Firth of Fifth' and its oft-mentioned instrumental section. No virtuosity here: GENESIS did what I wish more bands would do - let the songwriting speak for itself, without instrumental over-embellishment. 'After the Ordeal' is a cruelly underrated instrumental piece, providing a breathing space necessary, well, after the ordeal of the previous track. And what an achingly melancholic ending GENESIS have contrived: 'Aisle of Plenty' brings the record to a perfect conclusion.

A couple more things to think about. Production here is so much better than 1972's superior 'Foxtrot'. And, speaking of that album, there's nothing as superb as 'Supper's Ready' here. This was not GENESIS at their best musically. Both 'Foxtrot' and 'A Trick of the Tail' contain better music, in my view. But they never approached this level of insight again.

An important milestone in the history of music.

Does a record can begin and close in a much nicer way than Gabriel's sole voice on "Dancin with the Moonlit knight, and the coda of the end? The medieval inspiration, the pristine acoustic guitars, the dynamic instrumental section and the floating conclusion make of the first one of the most powerful "unsung classic song" of the prog repertoire. After the idiosyncrasic guilty pleasure of "I know what i like" , you go to the great piano overture of Firth of fifth, the fiery keybord flight, and the most sensitive and emotional guitar solo i've esperienced, excuses to mrs Gilmour and Latimer. The Collins singin' interlude and the underrated "After the ordeal" set the table for the greatest song (if not piece of music) of the greatest record of my personal listening experience. These acoustic guitars and vocals harmonies (ni nan na nan, nan na nan na nan... well excuse me here i go again...) letting place to the dual conversation between Collins and Banks, how many times in my life!

To me,never has Gabriel sung and wrote lyrics better than this; this is also the record where Steve Hackett acquired his status, and the one on which i realized all the importance of Michael Rutherford in the overall sound of the band. Their last record as a band under this incarnation and their crowning achievment. The "tossing of the score" at Epping forest can't prevent me to give the highest rate. As for the Musical Box tribute by the way.

An album full of all time classics, every song with the exception of Collin´s ¨More Fool Me¨ is beatiful..so this album is not just a Masterpiece of Progressive Rock, this album defines Progressive Rock.

"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" is one of the most thoughtful and beautiful passages ever composed by any band. Exquisite piano follows a solitary opening and a wonderful guitar part by Hackett. "you know what you are, you don't give a damn." The song follows many passages of moods from melancholy to anger and the music follows with tremendous arrangement. "you know the deck is uneven right from the start" summing up the state of affairs in England and the social inequalities inherent..

"I Know What I Like" is another classic song with the wonderful "cuckoo to you" verse, and all things very British might I add. Great percussion in the breaks from Mr Collins...and such great lines as "gambling only pays when your winning" hmmmm..

"Firth of Fifth" is truly a beautiful song drenched in heavy organ that opens into a soaring Hackett guitar solo at about the six minute mark taking the song to new heights. One of the most memorable three minute pieces follow as the band is able to take it down and back up again as the solo leads the listener on a marvelous musical adventure.

Of course the epic "Battle of Epping Forest" runs over eleven minutes in length resulting from a news story about rival gangs fighting over east end protection rights.the songs finish is with everyone dead and a coin toss to decide the winner. In between the band takes the listener in and out of a narrative with typical tongue in cheek humor and all the instruments in exactly the right places,

"Cinema Show" with soft beauty and rich instrumentation tells the story of anticipation of two lovers being taken back in time by a man who has crossed between poles.there is no mystery.more earth than sea.wonderful keyboards fill this mood driven song's middle and it clocks in at over eleven minutes.

All told not a weak moment on this five star essential prog album, a tremendous band at the peak of their musical creativity.

SEBTP was one of my first "prog" purchases, and it's funny how long it took me to really get into it. Now I find it's a record I tend to go back to every so often just because I "need" to. There's just something about the piano intro to FoF going right into the first chords of the second part of the song that I just have to hear really loud sometimes.

The ultimate progressive music album Period! There is nothing this album dosent have to offer. In fact its so progressive, non prog lovers dont even understand it! I own well over 50 prog album (and I'm only fifteen), and I must say that if you want progressive music, you want selling england by the pound!

Every song is a masterpiece portrait hanging in the gallery of Prog. From the commercially acceptable Dancing with the moonlit night and I know what I like, To the classic prog anthems of Firth of fifth and the cinema show. All the musicians are at there best, Tony has discovered synthesizers, Phil's drumming is tight, Steves guitar work is at it's peak, and Gabriels voice, lyrics, and even his Flute are at the top of his talents.

If I were thrown in a deep pit with a stereo and an album of choice, I would choose Selling england by the pound!

"Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" starts off with Gabriel singing all by himself, the instruments are silent. "Can you tell me where my country lies ? Said the unifaun to his true love's eyes...". That is so emotional. Acoustic guitar and piano follow then the mellotron floods in as the song kicks in. Check out the guitar playing of Hackett on this tune ! Things becomes quite pastoral 6 minutes in to the end of the song. "I Know What I Like (in your wardrobe)" was the single released from this album. For me the vocals really steal the show here. Gabriel speaks the words, he also sings the words, and he offers up some vocal melodies too. Some odd metered drumming from Collins as well. "Firth of Fifth" opens with perhaps the greatest piano melody I have ever heard. Gabriel's incredible vocals come in,and the vocal melody before 3 minutes is so emotional. We get a flute melody from Gabriel, a synth solo from Banks, and a dark, haunting, melancholic guitar solo from Hackett as the mellotron flows. The band actually had purchased a new mellotron just before this recording. It's fitting the song would end as it began with some beautiful piano melodies.

"More Fool Me" has mellow verses with fragile vocals from Collins while the chorus is more uptempo with strummed guitar. "The Battle of Epping Forest" is such a journey ! Marching band-like drums and mellotron to open.The vocals from Gabriel are brilliant as he plays different parts.There is a couple of occasions that THE BEATLES came to mind. Synths are fantastic 9 minutes in. This is just an amazing tune. "After The Ordeal" is a beautiful instrumental. "The Cinema Show" opens with 12 string guitar soon to be joined by vocals. The song brightens 2 minutes in. The sound is so delicate and intricate with these textures and shades drawing our attention. It's all too much to listen to just once. There is a vocal melody 4 minutes in that is like listening to sunshine. 6 minutes in the mood changes as we eventually hear Bank's pulsating keys and mellotron. "Aisle Of Plenty" is only a minute and a half long, but it makes you want to start the record all over again because it is sort of like a reprise of "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight".The mellotron is at it's most glorious on this song, and that is saying something because there is a lot of mellotron on this masterpiece.

And speaking of masterpieces, this is album one of the greatest ever.

Oh, and another thing - "More Fool Me" is one of the album's strong points, not it's weakness. IMHO.

Another notable difference is the much better sounding guitar work of Steve Hackett including his soaring solo on Firth of Fifth and some exceptional piano playing by Tony Banks on the same song. I Know What I Like also gave the band some exposure in the British pop charts.

Selling England by the Pound is considered by many to be the band's greatest achievement, although I'm more inclined to lean towards Foxtrot. Regardless of the difference of opinion, this is the fourth consecutive masterpiece the band had created in a short four years. Not many groups have received such accolades. This album is easily one of the most important contributions to progressive rock and is an essential acquisition. Five stars.

There are two purely pop songs on this record, "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" and "More Fool Me." Taken purely as pop songs, they are both fairly competent, but slightly grating. The better of the two is "I Know What I Like" for its delightfully odd English imagery and unique (in Genesis's discography) musical introduction. "More Fool Me" is a solo acoustic song with Phil Collins on vocals, and despite having a catchy chorus, the song is totally bland. Strangely, I cannot imagine Selling England By th Pound without these two songs. They both pale in comparison to all other songs on this album, but it feels like their pieces of a mosaic that would not feel complete if they were missing.

Now, the only other song that is not totally glorious on Selling England is "The Battle of Epping Forest." It's quite an odd song; a gang battle narrative. While it does give Gabriel a chance to offer his varied vocal talents by voicing various townspeople, the song drags on a bit and never has anything very interesting to say. Of all the songs on Selling England by the Pound, including the two previously mentioned pop songs, "The battle of Epping Forest" is the most forgettable.

Everything else is almost beyond words for me. If I were writing this for some sort of publication, I'd flesh out my review a bit to describe the other songs in full, but I'm sure the many, many reviewers before me did so to a great effect. The bottom line is regardless of its faults, Selling England by the Pound is absolutely essential, even though the rating I'm giving it now does not explicitly mean "Essential: a masterpiece of progressive music." It is.

One of the great things about this album is that it doesn't seem stuck in its time period or dated. Perhaps that has do to with me hearing the music for the first time a few years after it's initial release, but I don't think so. What it cannot escape is that the whole thing is heavily steeped in British culture, which gives it a special appeal to me, since I watched way too much Monty Python growing up.

I love the way Dancing With the Moonlit Kinnnnig-ht(s. We are French, why do you think we have this outrageous accent?) goes through many changes, starts out mellow, takes off, then lets you down gently I the end.

I Know What I Like, skip this one if you don't believe British humour belongs in music. I believe it actually had some success on the pop charts over there.

Firth of Fifth is my favorite song. Beautiful piano opening by Banks and then the song explodes into an epic with the whole band joining in.

More Fool Me has Phil's first appearance for the band doing solo vocals. A nice little love song accompanied by Steve on acoustic.

Ah, The Battle of Epping Forest. This one took a while for me to get into since I had already fallen so much for Supper's Ready. Much more interesting at the time for me for an epic type of song. More of that British humor rears its ugly head.

After the Ordeal. Just an excellent mellow instrumental. Say no more!

The Cinema Show. Take a little ex-lax with Father Tireseas. Just a little twist on one of the lines one of my friends came up with. A better long track than the Battle, from a musical standpoint. Really builds to a nice climax at the end, very energetic.

Aisle of Plenty. Kind of a weird ending to the album. "It's scrambled eggs."

Holy crap! only 587 ratings. Better get mine in before they run out space.

Rating of songs: in order of appearance on the album: 5+5+5+3+2,5+5+5+5=35:8= 5 stars

ESSENTIAL

The sounding quality of this album is far superior than previous effords and Gabreil never sang better. Although I still think that Foxtrot is their creative peak, this is also a masterpiece of prog music in any sense, a very influential album and had not dated after all these years. So, even with some faults (at least for my ears), I cannot give this classic anything lower than a 5 star rating. It is a must have for any prog fan and one of the reasons for my love for this kind of music.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 4 Style/Emotion/Replay: 5

This is an essential album for all prog collectors and is always a wonderful listen. If only they'd missed off More Fool Me it would have got top rating with ease.

I should probably start off by remarking that I am a big fan of early Genesis, and not someone with an axe to grind. However, this is probably (with the exception of "Genesis to Revelation") my least favourite album up until Steve Hackett left. In the process of asking myself why this is, I came to the conclusion that, on a technical and structural level, it highlights a couple of the key latent shortcomings of Prog in general - and that's why I felt moved to put my feelings into words.

Before I get to the tracks themselves, I'll give a short rundown of my conclusions:

1) Sonically speaking, when the rock element of prog rock is toned down, there is a tendency for the ambitious structures of the music to lose groundedness - like a marvellous machine partly-disengaged from its drive mechanism, or a wonderfully-engineered car losing traction because the tires don't have enough grip.

2) Lyrically speaking, in the absence of a darker, more sombre element to the lyrics, prog can have a tendency to whimsy - which is not a Bad Thing in itself, but usually sits uncomfortably with weighty and ambitious musical structures.

3) "Prog" music in general - except when supremely well-done (and quite often the key factors here are unplannable) - can have a tendency to sacrifice musical coherency and totalising structure, in favour of diversity and complexity.

OK, let me flesh out what I mean in terms of Genesis, and Selling England.

Compared with an album like Nursery Cryme, say, it's clear that Genesis' sound became gradually less heavy as the Phil Collins influence increased - culminating in the band's guitarist (startlingly, for any "rock" group, prog or otherwise) actually not being replaced when he left. However, regardless of whether you like the poppier kind of music in question - and for myself, I don't, particularly - it IS noticeable that the lighter, keyboards-based sound suits the (poppier, shortened, simplified) context of the later albums. Musically, it "works".

For me, Selling England is an example of an album which doesn't quite "work", because the ambitious structures don't have enough weight - sonically or lyrically - to anchor them properly. It is, for considerable stretches of the album, almost what I would call Prog Pop - and in my view, that's not often a happy combination. OK, enough with the abstractions, let's look at the tracks.

Moonlit Knight - This starts wonderfully, with a very strong folk-rooted melody beautifully delivered by Gabriel. Develops very well too, as the keys, then guitar, then piano come in. Top notch so far. But after one minute twenty of this, this excellent build- up drops back down (presumably to give it somewhere to rise to for the chorus). The chorus itself works well, but from here on it's noticeable that the sections with vocals seem to sit uneasily with the overall rhythm. Basically, the "song" (perhaps because of its folk roots) works beautifully without the drums, but never seems quite to hit rhythm or tempo bang-on once the drums have entered. And the instrumental sections don't seem to relate strongly enough to the song itself, resulting in a slightly disconnected general feel. But overall, if not a classic, still a very good track.

I Know What I Like ("and this isn't it") - Apart from the lawnmower noise and the flangey guitar riff, I never did really get into this song. Sounds almost too much like a Phil ballad - but with rather more surreal lyrics. However I do love "Me, I'm just a lawnmower, you can tell me by the way I walk", so at this point I'll wink and move on...

Firth of Fifth - Wise programme choice here: we need something to split up the two Phil-type tracks, so let's slot in the best track on the album. No gripes with this one at all - it's musically strong, feels structurally coherent despite the variety in tone-colour of the different sections, and has a couple of moments of magic - "a waterfall / his madrigal / an inland sea / his symphony". And a great, emotionally-engaging guitar solo. FoF has - in spades - a gravitas that is missing on most of the rest of the album. Five star track.

More Fool Me - Heh... yes, I'll resist the temptation for sarcastic comment on the track title. Suffice to say that, for my money, this is not really a GENESIS song. So let's turn to something much more interesting...

Battle of Epping Forest - This track, for me, sums up what I was getting at in my earlier general criticisms: in that it somehow lacks the gravity to hold its structures together. Lyrics too plentiful, and too lightweight & pun-tastic - so that when the Shakespearian conclusion (everyone dead) finally arrives, it feels strangely trite, rather than ironic and moving as it might have been. Musically, there is not enough grit and substance here to anchor the flyaway tendencies of the song, and the digressions of the instrumental structures - and let's face it, if there's anything a track about a pitched battle between London gangs SHOULDN'T be, it's flyaway.

After the Ordeal - Pleasing enough - if slightly insubstantial - instrumental. In fact, placed in a context between two heavyweight- champ album tracks, this might have been exactly what was needed, and I might have been raving about it hitting just the right tone. But in reality, it has the (bitty) Epping Forest on one side, and on the other side it has...

Cinema Show - Now the first time I listened to the album, I had high hopes for this track: I think one of my friends had told me it was a bit of a winner. For some reason - from the title and the Gabriel-context - I had imagined it as being a dark masterpiece about some eerie cinematic halfworld, symbolically pointing up the insubstantial nature of our own reality. Ahem. In fact, it turns out to be a sweet wee song about a bloke taking his burd to the pictures. OK, it throws in a bit of Greek mythology in the form of the Tiresias myth, but there's nothing here that really inspires me. Once again, it lacks that certain "gravitas" for which Prog is sometimes criticised, but without which it tends to unravel and dissipate itself.

And finally - Aisle of Plenty - OK, reprise of the Moonlit Knight to end - and the moody echoey ambience and explicitly bleak outlook on consumer society makes it feel and sound surprisingly modern. In fact it could probably be released today and not seem dated. Good end to a decent album, but one which - for me - has never inspired in the way that Foxtrot or Nursery Cryme do.

However, when I say that Selling England is my least-favourite album of the seven that Genesis produced between 1970 and 1977, the most striking thing this tells us is just how splendid Genesis were during this period

Among the highlights are the intense opening track "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight", with Peter Gabriel's haunting a cappella vocals."I Know What I Like...", with its huge organ tones and lawnmower sounds, is a Genesis classic. "Firth of Fifth" features some lovely piano work from Tony Banks, nimble-wristed drumming by Phil Collins, but the real MVP is Steve Hackett and his majestic and atmospheirc guitar solo. "More Fool Me" shows the future of Genesis with Phil Collins taking the lead voice, and "The Battle of Epping Forest" shows Peter Gabriel at his best both as a lyricist and vocalist. It highlights his penchant for multi-role theatrics. "Cinema Show" is perhaps the best track on the album. It features more lyrical/ vocal excellence from Gabriel, strong instrumental prowess from Banks and Hackett, and some of Collins' best drumming ever. His effortless timekeeping during the 7/8 section shows why Collins was one of the very best drummers in rock music, long before he became a pop star.

Selling England By the Pound is an absolute must to own for any fan of Prog. It shows one of Prog's best bands riding high on wave a of momentum that carried through to the next album,The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and helped make it a hit. However, give a listen to Selling England By the Pound and hear what Genesis fans in-the-know have known for years about this classic album. It is their true magnum opus.

And so we come to this album. What a great choice. I'd already heard the first two tracks earlier and they had impressed me enough to make this my first Genesis purchase. The record doesn't get boring at any point, there is no filler and the material ranges from the more pop-oriented songs (I Know What I Like..) to the prog epics (The Battle Of Epping Forest, The Cinema Show). Collins actually does the vocals on "More Fool Me" and he sounds suprisingly much like Gabriel, kinda makes me wish I had gone to see Genesis on their tour this year.. (nah, it's gotta be Gabriel :-P).

Absolutely awesome album, most highest recommendations.

Despite two relative throwaways, 45 out of 53 minutes of this album are gold; 34 minutes are deserted-island-worthy:

The opening track (Knight) is a thriller, beginning with a soft but unforgettsble midieval melody, which soon slightly changes scenery as a riff, tempo and light drums are established, and the sound slowly gains depth as vocals and a cool kind of string sound in the background come into the mix. The song reaches a climax at 2 minutes, and after, a bit of grandeosity, the tempo quickens twofold and the song becomes completely original. At this point, Phil Collins is at his best (possibly only rivaled by his performance in Los Endos), and the strumming of that guitar mixed with a rich bass sound makes for an ideal atmosphere. As this middle section reaches its climax, Tony Banks's awesome Hammond T-102 organ, which is about the coolest sounding thing in the universe, becomes a shining demonstration of perfection in sound. After a versed climax and another versed climax, same as the first in the song, the song becomes drums, organ, and synth in a wierd and intricate series of complex chord changes, ultimately leading into a softer mood and a final plucked loop that completes this song in a Layla-esque bore,exept no drums ore rock of any kind but it works better because of the theme. 5-stars

Wardrone is fun and surreal, but has a nice greenish atmosphere. Its an interesting eccentricity. 4-stars

Not much to say about Firth of Fifth. What can I say? Its a masterpiece. An amazing piano riff becomes an amazing chord progression (with that awesome organ), which then becomes a little flute-piano fest, which becomes the initial riff in sinth form with awesome organ accompaniment, which becomes an almost spacy 3-chord instrumental passage, going from psychedelia in minor to a beutiful scene in major, which then transforms back into phase 2, and ends! 5-stars!!!

MFM=pointless.1-star!!! tle of Epping Forest is wierd. Its good moments (Anything not involving a cockney accent or chords other than B-major) are sweet, but everywhweer else its a little talky and disjointed/uncomfortable. A hesitant 4-stars because od good instrumentation, and Gabriel is a card.

AtO is an example of instrumental soft rock with midieval overtones and prog atmosphere. 3-stars.

Cinema Show is wonderful, with the exception of their choice of synth sound. But I love Phil's performance at the 7/4 section of the song. What begins as a Shakesperian romance becomes a lovely instrumental, taking everything from Knight and prog-o- tizing it still further, with more dramatic, complex beat, and more chords, leading into the next track after a synth-filled while. 5- stars.

A. of P. is a bookend, with the same theme as Knight. Therefore, automatic 5-stars.

Taking a weighted average (with percentage of the whole album in terms of time), we have: 5*0.15+4*0.075+5*0.18+1*0.05+4*.0.21+3*0.075+5*0.20+5*0.03=4.3

...but screw math.

Dancing in the Moonlit Knight is a very accessible song for even non-prog listeners IMO. Great imagery here, as well as clever lyrics filled with allusions and puns.

I Know What I Like is a neat shorter piece. I'm often turned off by Gabriel's quirky voices, but, it's not too extreme here. Decent melody.

Firth of Fifth is a gem. Banks offers a spine chilling performance. The lyrics/vocals are a secondary piece to this song. Genesis is able to show off their versatility here, showcasing Hackett as well in one of his few epic guitar solos.

More Fool Me...... Hm..... Collins' only vocal on the album. I will call this one a fair effort. Perhaps on a weaker album it wouldn't be viewed so poorly, but it certainly is not as strong. IMO, this song does not disrupt the mood or flow of the album, which is essential. It makes sense to me, but could have easily been omitted without much loss.

The Battle of Epping Forest is one song that one that prog-nerds, such as myself, will giz over, but to the common listener will regard as boring and too quirky. Even myself, it took too listens to really "get." I believe this to be a great track, although, I don't feel that it is a track that can really make sense without being listened to with the entire album.

After the Ordeal - Love it or hate it... all it is is a filler transition, some decent work by Banks. Nothing outstanding, but again, it doesn't disrupt the mood/flow of the album.

The Cinema Show: Ah.... at last, the if you aren't convinced that this is a 5 star album, this song should do it. Beautiful opening lyrics. The synth is in full use here. Some non-prog fans are often weary of >10 minute songs, but this song to me feels like a 3 minute song. Like Firth of Fifth, this is mostly instrumental; and however pretentious or mystical the lyrical concept is, one cannot be denied an image based purely on the beautiful crescendo. I often find myself humming the final keyboard notes to myself. Very memorable, very epic. Progs on the mythological reference to Tiresias: the world's most famous transvestite.

Aisle of Plenty wraps this up in an eerie way. A reprise of Dancing in the Moonlit Knight, the listener feels something unfinished about the end, yet still complete. Truly a great clincher, not epic, but just great.... it almost perfectly segues you into a deep thought when the album ends in silence.

One thing I like about this album is the inclusion of instrumentals on the tail end of songs. This album also maintains a consistent mood. When this album finishes, I always get the urge to restart from the beginning. A masterpiece.

But, why say it's not so perfect? Because that's a good reason. All tracks are really great (''Dancing With The Moonlit Knight'' is a good example of how good and involving Gabriel's voice is; ''I Know What I Like'' is a real good music who has a good chorus to sing; ''Firth Of Fifth '', the best Genesis' music in my opinion, has a good mix of piano, keyboards and drums, in a perfect harmonic and melodic way; ''The Battle Of Epping Forest'', a nice kind of novel, has a lot of good rythims and sensations; ''After The Ordeal '' and ''Aisle Of Plenty '' are a good example of ''transition musics''; and, to finish,I gotta say that ''The Cinema Show '' is a music that has a nice lyric, mixed with a some good melodic riffs). But that's one I don't like. ''More Fool Me'', with Collins in vocal, is simply horrible. It has a huge difference from other tracks ( I can't tell why, but that's a fact.)

Whatever, in my opinion, every prog rock fan must have this piece of work. ''Essential: a masterpiece of progressive music''

Selling England By the Pound is elegant, emotional, and entertaining. All performances are flawless and have a certain depth of passion that is exciting in there own little ways. Each song is brilliant, big in their own ways, musically flawless.

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) is my favorite song, its a bit shorter than the other tracks, but has a cool deepness to it that just gets into the mind, a real winner.

This album is an obvious standard in prog music. What else need I say?

'Selling England by the Pound' is possibly GENESIS' greatest work although GENESIS' style of symphonic prog is definitely not for everyone and I happen to be one of those people. There is some definite great music on this album but the main problem I have is the bands' more pop based approach to prog and their often overly pretentious humour and approach to the music.

That said there are some fantastic tracks here, 'Dancing with the Moonlit Knight' is head and shoulders above the rest, with some great symphonic moments and a killer middle breakdown featuring some blistering guitar work from Steve Hackett featuring one of the earliest recorded examples of guitar tapping technique. 'Firth of Fifth' is the most symphonic song on the album with a great classically inspired piano introduction then moving into organ and mellotron laden territory.

Songs like 'The battle of Epping Forest' do drag on a lot though and I loathe the silly accent impersonations that Gabriel employs here. 'More Fool Me' is purely and simply a filler track, as is the lackluster instrumental 'After the Ordeal'. 'The cinema show' does end the album pretty strongly though with some great prog jamming in the end.

'Selling England By the Pound' is a good album on the whole but it is boring and pretentious in a lot of places, most fans of 70's prog will definitely enjoy this though.

One of the most complete works in the history of Prog Rock, featuring satirical lyrics from the British culture, but also monumental musicianship and an impressive prog value.''Dancing with the moonlit knight'' is a fabulous opener, where shades of Genesis' folky flavors are still around, but well adapted by a highly symphonic sound with loads of Melotron, synths and organ and Hackett delivering his new guitar techniques, this one is swirling around very complex themes and dramatic symphonic breaks.''I know what I like (in your wardrobe)'' is a lovely Pop Rock ballad with charming vocal harmonies and an airy atmosphere, which still retains much of Genesis' sophisticated profile, but ''Firth Of fifth'' is the real deal of the opening side.With Gabriel's excellent vocal alternations from sweet singing to a hoarse lyricism and a masterful instrumental background, featuring smooth but professional grand piano preludes and interludes and Banks' soaring Moog synthesizer flights, the track is slowly led to a majestic outro with Hackett's crying solos and Banks' organ sounding like an orchestra.Absolutely brilliant.''More fool me'' is a short acoustic piece with Collins on lead vocals, somekind of a British lullaby soundwise, pretty sweet and easy going.

Side 2 opens with the 12-min. ''The battle of epping forest'', a symphonic tour-de-force along the lines of the 70's British Prog academy with light rural overtones over an orchestral, complicated instrumental enviroment, interrupted by lyrical parts and melodic lines.One of the most theatrical still flawless vocal performances of Gabriel is featured on the track, which manages to keep an unmet balance between electric, acoustic and keyboard-led themes, with Banks playing nicely the organ and electric piano, while the ending section is again superb with a dramatic atmosphere.''After the ordeal'' has to be one of the most underrated pieces ever written by the band, a light Symphonic Rock instrumental with an ethereal atmosphere, shining through the collaboration between Hackett's FOCUS-like soft electric tunes and Banks' lovely Classical-drenched piano lines, ending with some folky flute by Gabriel and a memorable melodic solo.What an introduction for what has to be one of the best pieces in Prog Rock history, the 11-min. ''The cinema show'', which may sound too bucolic and mellow for its opening half, but structurewise it's one of the best songs ever written.Gabriel at his best, and his best demands a calm, rural atmosphere of acoustic textures, piano, organ and flute, with Hackett entering gently in the process for a soft electric enviroment, soon to break into Banks' Mellotron washes and unforgettable Moog synth soloing, eventually the piece will close in a more complex way, which still is showered by lovely melodic lines on keyboards.The very short ''Aisle of plenty'' plays its role in a sufficient way, a mellow farewell with Mellotron, guitar and soft drumming with Gabriel behind the microphone, brilliant way to close the ultimate prog journey.

Words are poor to describe the inspiration and influence of this album in Prog Rock history.A Symphonic Rock monument, which is pretty complex with all these thematic moves, keyboard flashing and electroacoustic changes, but still keeps a down-to-earth profile.Among the top 10 Prog Rock albums of all times, no doubt, and an essential way to start your collection regarding the genre.

The part where I do agree with this albums class is of course the two great classics of this album, Firth of fifth and The Cinema Show. I already loved these songs in the eighties (in the seventies I hadn't yet really discovered Genesis) and I still do so that will probably be forever. It's the rest of this album I have a bit of a problem with. The two other "epics" of this album are far less than the two classics and the shorter songs are even less than The Battle.. and Dancing.. That's about 2/3 of the album time so that's why I can't get myself to giving this 5 stars. But of course it's good enough for 4 (4.25).

Dancing With the Moonlit Knight: If the peter gabriel era genesis was one of the best prog bands ever, and selling england is their best album, than this track is one of the greatest songs ever written. The acapella intro is mystifying and sets the tone for the album. the lyrics are absolutely bitlingly critical of Englands Regime and popular culture. The delicate acoustic guitars and piano are perfect for this mood. When Peter sings, "DIGESTING ENGLAND BY THE POUND", i get goosebumps no matter . The build up of this song is amazing. The blasting crescendo into the chorus is amazing, and hair-raising again, and you CAN ACTUALLY HEAR MIKE RUTHERFORDS BASS LINE. AND ITS AMAZING. Following the amazing chorus is the insane instrumental section like genesis had never done and would never do again, the closest they came was the ending of dance on a volcano. Steve Hackett brings finger tapping into mainstream music here, NOT eddie van halen, not to say he wasnt a good guitarist. This solo is only one of many great guitar moments on this album. This solo/solos is followed by another, slightly different chorus, with very imaginative imagery and allusions. This is followed by another instrumental section, this time dominated by synthesizer, very cool time changes and riffs, I like it. This is followed by a gradual slowdown into a spacey outro with acoustic guitars and flute/ mellotron. Its just an amazing song and I am still in love with it, no matter how many times i hear it.

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe): The beginning is another strange syntehsizer fade in and and a cool drum intro by our man collins. the spoken intro by gabriel is quite good, and it opens into a blatant pop song, but i love it. another great bassline by rutherford, and some sitar-sounding guitar from hackett. The lyrics are strange, but thats a good thing here. The flute/drum solo as the outro is amazing. I hate how when they did it live, they replaced the flute with crappy sounding synthesizers.

Firth of Firth: Piano intro=godly. thats all i have to say. The lyrics come in, authored by banks himself, and are not especially good, but they fit the dramatic feel of the song. The lyrics lead into a gorgeous piano/flute duet, it nearly brings tears to your eyes. this all builds into a reprise of the opening on synthesizer, but with some kick ass drumming from phil collins to back it up. After that comes one of the most famous moments in prog rock history: Steve Hackett's jawdropping, tearjerking, emotional solo that murders me everytime. The change from minor to major key near the end is like a revelation. The reprise of the intro again on piano brings this masterful song to a close.

More Fool Me: this is an ok song, if it had been any longer it would have been bad. I do like the melody, the guitar is good, not all steve hackett guitar has to be jawdroppingly intense. He knows when to let others take the spotlight.

The Battle of Epping Forest: The drum/flute intro on this song sets the mood for the upbeat storytelling goofyness that is to follow. Tonk Banks shines alot on this song, I wont go through it much because it shifts moods so much its ridiculous. The lyrics tell of a gang fight, merging old and new with traditional song title and modern plotline. The mid song tale of the reverend and his adventures is hilarious and perfect. Near the end, they almost pioneer techno with banks' synths. all in all, a plethora of prog

After the Ordeal: Amazing Instrumental showcase, great piano and guitar duet through out, with flute and drums added near the end.

Cinema Show: The deicate acoustic intro leads us into a major league prog workout. The lyrics are great, telling yet another story about 2 lovers, each with different ideas of how their date will go, and the ever present Father Tyresias orchestrating it all. The synthesizer solo is one of banks' finest moments and also is a famous moment in prog. It all slows down and leads into the Aisle of Plenty, reprising Moonlit knight and closing the album in the most perfect way, with shopkeepers yelling their sales up and down the streets of old england.

All in all, on of the best album of all time, fully deserving the 5 stars, thank god for Genesis

What about the other four tracks, though? Well, you get two fillers in the first half: "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" and the Collins-sung "More Fool Me." They aren't bad, but to throw them in with those gigantic juice machines is preposterous. In the secnd half, however, the pieces actually compliment the awesome factories. "After the Ordeal" is a nice instrumental and "Aisle of Plenty" beings back a theme from the opener for a captivating close.

If you're reading these reviews because you aren't sure whether or not you want this, please stop. Buy this album. You don't have to be a fan of anything in partciular to love this album, or Genesis' music in general. But regardless of how many Genesis albums you have, you'll listen to this one more than any other. It's simply the best.

Genesis were at their peak when they made this album. The classic seventies lineup was still intact, and everyone seems to contribute with the best of their talents. I will have to make a special note here that you should really listen to Tony Banks keyboards on Selling England By the Pound as they have never been so omnipresent in Genesis music before. This has to be one of my favorite keyboard perfomances ever.

Dancing with the Moonlit Knight starts the album in great style with the classic Peter Gabriel a capella opening: "Can You Tell Me where My Country Lies". The song starts of mellow but soon builds into one of the most technically challenging songs Genesis ever made. I love this song and it is one of my favorite Genesis moments. I remember when I heard this one the first time. I was blown away be the fact that Genesis could be something else than the eighties hit machine I knew.

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) is a good song with a great humour and some nice percussion. It took me a while to like it though, as I didn´t find it that exciting to start with. It grew on me though and allthough I still don´t find it to be the best song Genesis ever wrote it´s really good.

Firth Of Fifth is a great epic song and another of my favorites. It starts out with Tony Banks playing som classical inspired piano and then comes a very heavy riff. The song ends with the classic Steve Hackett guitar lead ( solo) which is maybe his finest moment with Genesis ( there are of course numerous, but this one is very significant).

The weakest song on Selling England By the Pound and the song that almost make this album loose a star is More Fool Me. A useless pop song sung by Phil Collins. This is the worst song Genesis made with this lineup, and a step in the wrong direction. It´s rather dissapointing on an album that is so great. I always skip this song and never felt it was part of the album. Selling England By the Pound is still a masterpiece though, just don´t listen to this garbage song.

The Battle Of Epping Forest is a great epic with some very clever lyrics. Peter is at his best here, using multible personalities and voices to match them. The song is one of the more progressive Genesis songs in terms of structure. It´s a great song and an enjoyable listen.

After The Ordeal is a nice intrumental track, and it´s a breather between the two epics that surround it, as it is very mellow an soothing for the ears. Maybe not the best song on Selling England By the Pound, but certainly not a bad one either.

The Cinema Show is another one of my favorite Genesis songs. It´s really emotive and beautiful. Listen to those 12 string guitars. The song ends with a synth lead/ solo by Tony Banks that is almost in the vein of ELP, just more melodic. Aisle Of Plenty is just an outro song and plays some of the themes from the other songs on the album. OK but nothing special.

My conclusion is that allthough there are 1 weak track and a couple of good but not essential tracks on this album, they are overshadowed by the masterpieces. These songs are the best symphonic Prog rock songs ever made by any band, and I can give this album no less than 5 stars for that.

For me this is simply the most important album in the history of symphonic prog rock and the best place to start for newcomers to the genre.

It starts immensely powerfully with one of my favourite Genesis tracks - Dance with the Moonlight Knight, but then you start to begin to see even in these early days Genesis trying to take a commercial stance with "I know what I like" - a truly great pop song with an inspired lyric, but a diversion for them.

Then it breaks out into the absolute majesty of "Firth of Fifth" - a masterpiece of tremendous power that you can really lose yourself in.

And then... (so sorry to say this), it falls onto "More Fool Me" which is a truly horrible 1970's pop song, and perhaps the beginning of the writing on the wall for Genesis....?

"The Battle for Epping Forest" is OK, but erratic and staggered - it doesn't flow very well and is poor compared to "Firth of Fifth", and somehow the lyrics are annoying.

The album then recovers again for the last three tracks - the "Cinema Show" obviously being the best - a lovely piece, although a little over-soft sometimes.

Some of the music is over-soppy/ wet in places, but is saved by the awesomeness of "Dance with the Moonlight Knight" and "Firth of Fifth" - these two tracks recover it to 4 stars for me.

Not as good as the final Gabriel album "The Lamb...", which hardened up somewhat and was more interesting - and which I really enjoy.

It starts remarkably strong with "...Moonlit Knight" an all out assertion of their power as a band, and we had yet to see them as ferocious as this on album, with the speed and intensity of the playing. "I Know What I Like" is a fanciful sing-a-long, but I have never enjoyed this song. I get it, I just find myself uninterested in it musically or lyrically. Why it is held in such regard, I cannot comprehend. "Firth Of Fifth" is the best thing they've ever committed to vinyl. I am always amazed at how gorgeous this song is with melodious keyboard runs, Gabriel's great vocal and Hackett's unbelievably powerful and controlled solo. I absolutely love this song. "More Fool Me" is often sighted as the blight to the album, and while I have no love for it, boring and slightly out of place, this worst spot has to be reserved for the next song, "...Epping Forest." This is the band at its most indulgent and more the sorry for it. Gabriel's lyrics always worked better when they were subtle, unlike this heavy handed assault where he barely has enough time to spit out the lines, almost rushing each line to the end. Musically it is all over the place, beyond the chorus I can not remember any of the music at all. Nothing wrong with going all out, everything wrong with doing it badly. "After The Ordeal" and what an ordeal "Epping" was, is subtle and attractive, but maybe too much so as it is scarcely remembered. "Cinema Show" closes things well, I particularly like the lyrical content, but i must say I prefer the more muscular versions of this song on their live releases, as this one sounds a bit anemic. "Aisle Of Plenty" while not really a song more a time-filler for the album side, nevertheless gets shut off early by me as it comes off as irritating and pointless.

The performances throughout are superb as expected, but on a couple songs, inspired. I feel as if I've been too harsh, but I feel it is a mediocre album saved by two to three outstanding songs.

The Good:

Dancing With the Moonlit Knight - A great opener. Gabriel's vocals are never better, great guitar work, great synth, interesting chord and tempo changes. I'm just a bit disapointed in the ending which just seems aimless, like they tried a lot of their tricks and couldn't come up with anything that worked.

Firth of Fifth - A classic. It owes a lot to In The Court of the Crimson King but that doesn't mar my enjoyment. The piano is captivating, the vocals just burst in, the flute/synth/guitar instrumental in the middle is one of their best, the melodies are great and it's perfectly arranged. They really pack a lot of great mysic into this piece.

Battle of Epping Forest - Parts of this are very good. The opening verses for about 4-5 minutes are lively and interesting and there's a great part starting with the "Its 5-4 on william wright; he made his pile on derby night" piece. Banks has a sort of counterpoint going that works really well with Gabriel's vocals. After that they lose their way. The longish section started of by "They called me the reverend when I entered the church unstained" sounds like they're struggling to, I don't know, keep the song alive, bring it hiome, do something interesting...it doesn't work for me. If they could have cut it off around the 8 minute mark it would have been another gem.

The Cinema Show - My favourite on this album and in my A+ group of all Genesis songs (along with Supper's Ready and the Genesis Live version of Musical Box). The first part is pleasant enough - a decent song augmented by Gabriel's vocals but then comes prog's, and maybe all of rock's greatest instrumental. Everything just flows on the synth and accoustic guitar piece and Phil's drumming is excellent. The early melody is beautiful and then the synth bass/chorus sound blows it into the stratosphere. After that you have the spacey scale runs bracketed by the struming and drumming and an extended closing of another diminishing scale run perfectly backed up by a slower, Gilmourish-tempo mellotrony (it's probably just a different synth) chorus that gracefully fades into the accountic guitar notes of Moonlit Night. This is a masterpiece and would be the career achievement for any other band. The closing Aisle of Plenty really ought to be considered part of Cinema Show and ends the album wonderfully.

Every prog fan ought to give this album a few listens and then just see if doesn't become part of your permanet playlist.

The first song opens with a Dancing ... wow what a masterpiece. Leading on into What I Like in your wardrobe... This was maybe my fav at the time. It sounded like fantasy. Firth or Fifth is a long winded symphony, but I always like gettting excited by the musical interlude. More Fool Me is my least fav on the LP. At the time I did not know that Phil Collins was leading up this song. I always felt that this tune just did not fit into the prog music. Thankfully, the 2nd side goes into my most fav side. The Battle ... After the Ordeal .. Cinama Show and Aisle of Plenty are all TOP NOTCH tracks.

This is one of my all time fav, but not a total masterpiece because of Phil's More Fool Me. Sadly, this is the road that Genesis was to take after Peter and later Steve left the band. TOO BAD that there are more POP Genesis CD rather than Prog CD's.

****** songs: Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (8:02) Firth Of Fifth (9:35) More Fool Me (3:10) After The Ordeal (4:13) The Cinema Show (11:06) Aisle Of Plenty (1:32)

**** songs: I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (4:07) The Battle Of Epping Forest (11:49)

Total Rating: 4,70

StarStarStarStarStar

If there's an album that represents England, this is it. Nostalgia, sarcasm and biting dark atmosphere stand side by side, augmented by (in my opinion) some of the most impressive Genesis lyrics. An absolutely essential and flawless album, and one you should instantly go out and buy if you don't already own it.

'Can you tell me where my country lies?' Gabriel's lone vocal opens the enchanting Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, a song about the search for and loss of identity. Musically perfect, with Collins on drums and the Hackett-Rutherford guitar interplay especially standing out. All eight minutes are outstanding. The stunning, original lyrics take it to another level, and really bring out the tragic and satirical concept.

I Know What I Like is a great, entertaining, light-hearted pop-based song. Magical drumming and good bass here, as well as enjoyably random synths. Perhaps too many pop elements for some people, but it suits me just fine.

The Banks-penned Firth of Fifth is stunning. Great piano solo, great guitar part, great use of various keyboards, good bass part, great vocals, good lyrics and absolutely stunning, original drumming from Collins. At times powerful, at times whimsical, at times moving, very fluid and altogether brilliant. Ten minutes of sheer brilliance.

I actually love More Fool Me, a melancholy ballad sung mainly by Collins (with one or two harmonies) with emotional acoustic guitar and lyrics which suit it perfectly. Perhaps not for every prog-man, but I prefer it to anything on A Trick Of The Tail.

The Battle For Epping Forest is a bright and cheerful account of a gang war, with occasionally amusing and generally tolerable lyrics and Gabriel really letting himself go with the vocals. A mixture of inane cockney accents, which you either will or won't like, musical sarcasm and the general excellence present on the rest of the album. I've grown to enjoy it, though I was dubious at first, but I suspect that this is one of those songs where the experience is different for each listener.

After The Ordeal is, in my opinion, one of the finest brief instrumentals ever, beginning with the best guitar-and-piano interplay I've yet heard and a few taps on the tambourine. As it moves to a slightly more polyphonic track, with a great drum entrance by Collins and organ, flute and synths all making some sort of appearance, there's a gorgeous guitar solo.

The Cinema Show is basically an exercise in going from soft to equally soft but somehow louder to softer so subtly that the listener barely notices. The Gabriel-Collins duet on vocals is great, and there's trademark soloing by Hackett and Banks, as well as great drumming. One of those songs which is mostly indescribable if you haven't already heard it.

To round off the album, we have possibly one of the best conclusions in the history of prog rock. The brief Aisle Of Plenty is essentially a reprise of part of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight with a brilliant fade. The perfect conclusion to a perfect album.

Rating: Five Stars

Favourite Track: After The Ordeal

Allthough all the tracks included here are simply excellent, specially the long ones, like Dancing with the Moonlight Knight or The Cinema Show, wich are just one of the best progressive's tracks from the 70's. The "Foxtrot"'s formula is perfectionated here, making a really elegant, catchy and powerful album, with good lyrics, and with every instrument sounding pefect... Steve Hackett makes another outstanding performance, both experimental and accesible, Tony Bank's keyboards playing is just excellent (the solo in Firth of Fifth is great!) and they have even more protagonism than in "Foxtrot", Peter Gabriel's voice shines in the whole album, I little less strident... All the musicians made their best efforth here.

So I think that the long tracks are the best music Genesis has made... But the short ones, being are also enjoyable, like the commercial I Know What I like, and the medieval influenced After the Ordeal... Are not as great as the long tracks, and that's the fact that doesn't allow "Selling England by the Pound" being a perfect masterpiece in my opinion. The whole album deserves a close listening, but the comparision between the short and long tracks is not in the album's benefit. "Foxtrot" has no flaws in my opinion, every song in it was just great... And although "Foxtrot" has not the quality of some "Selling England by the Pound"'s songs, the first surpases the second in terms of homogene quality. This is the reason I give "Foxtrot" five stars, and "Selling England by the Pound" only four.

Best songs: the four long songs are the best of the album... Four precious jewels, and along with Supper's Ready the best Genesis's long tracks.

Conclusion: for me, this album has some of the best Genesis's music, and it's one of the highlihgts of the 70's decade... This album should not be missed. Dramatic, sentimental, complex... But still really accesible! This album has everything that a real music's lover waits... Just the short tracks, although they are also excellent and they give variety to the album, doesn't let the record have the highest rating, because they are a bit under the stunning level of the long ones.

My rating: ****1/2

In other words, I don't care what anyone else thinks. I'm going to review these early Genesis records based on what my heart and ears tell me, not on what is socially acceptable or what is historically significant.

That being said, I should say that Genesis is one of my favorite prog bands of all-time. I enjoy their music IMMENSELY. Yet, I find inconsistencies with their Gabriel era work that it makes me sit back and take a closer look at all of these so-called prog masterpieces.

I'm finding that, after several decades of listening, some of the Gabriel era Genesis albums don't age very gracefully. They have too many holes in them. Too many bad moments that lessen the overall effect of the album.

For starters, SEBTP contains some of THE MOST SUBLIME music ever made; in any genre. On the other hand, it contains some cheesy moments that would make any honest-hearted music fan cringe in disgust.

I typically don't like to do a song-by-song analysis but being that this album is so high on most everyone's list I will go into more detail than usual.

First, the BAD:

4. More Fool Me (3:09): What the! This is MUCH WORSE than anything Phil Collins did after Hackett left the band(up to, and including, And Then There Were Three). Why is this song on this record? What compelled the band to have it come after Fifth of Firth? Who in their right mind would allow this song to coexist with everything else on this record? But it's not alone. Read on...

2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (4:06) : This tune is SO OUT OF PLACE on this record that it makes me wonder if Peter Gabriel era Genesis ever understood how an album is mastered; ie. the flow of one piece to the next. A VERY basic concept when creating an album. Specially when the album is supposed to be a concept of sorts.

The aforementioned tunes are some of Genesis' lowest points, only to be matched by the cheesiness of Collins solo ballads and some of Gabriel's own solo work.

Those two songs are VERY REVEALING and clearly tell me that the band had very little breadth. They certainly could go very deep into some pieces(see the GOOD parts below) but didn't have enough material available to make a flawless recording, needing to add some very bad filler material.

Now, the GOOD. What saves this record is that the good is VERY GOOD to flat-out MASTERFUL.

1. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (8:01): It's simply one of the most creative and emotional songs ever made. A LOT has been said about the opening voice and how the music kicks in creating a dense and symphonic masterpiece. Certainly, one of the highlights of the prog genre. If the record contained this song and no other, it'd earn four stars. It's that good.

3. Firth Of Fifth (9:34) : Why didn't this piece come directly after the opening track boggles my mind. Anyway, this is another prog classic. The way it FLOWS through various moods is totally sublime. Of course, the much heralded Hackett solo is the highlight of the piece, but the opening classical style piano by Banks should not be downplayed; it's excellent.

5. The Battle Of Epping Forest(11:43) : This is one of the most lyrically complex Genesis pieces ever written by Gabriel. He threw in the kitchen sink and then some. But it works and works very well. The conversation that persists throughout the piece between Gabriel and Rutherford is quite entertaining and paints a VERY convincing picture of the story line. This is theatrical prog at its best. Too bad that The Lamb couldn't achieve this same level of theatrics. This one is a masterpiece.

Finally, 7. The Cinema Show (11:06) : I have to admit to being a hardcore Tony Banks fan. Throughout Genesis' history Banks has been its most consistent force. I don't think any other member has contributed as much to the Genesis sound. The Cinema Show is Tony's place to shine on this record and he takes the limelight quite well, majestically soloing throughout the majority of the piece in a graceful and melodic style that Tony does so very well.

In conclusion.....

Selling England By The Pound contains some of THE BEST music in the history of prog. BUT, the low points are so low that it's nearly impossible to give this one the five star rating. I'm not one to scrutinize every part of every song for sonic and compositional perfection while doing a review. However, I don't expect any one song(or two as is the case with this album) to stick out so prominently that it tarnishes an otherwise flawless record. Filler material is unacceptable from this level of musicianship.

FOUR STARS.

Selling England by the Pound is considered as a masterpiece by many (including me) and is listed among the highest ratings here. The homeland of the band is shown in a way representing what it was once, and what it is now. Can you tell me where my country lies? asks Gabriel, the answer is pressed in about fifty minutes on vinyl. And it is not a land of hope and glory, is it?

Dancing with the moonlit knight makes the album start with a highlight. From the a-capella start to the end, the angry guitar riffs, the solos, the dynamic and changes make up the perfect song to transport the message. I know what I like (In your wardrobe) tells of the decadence and uselessness which is an upper-class family, living a live old nobles would despair - says a lawn mower. The piano intro of Firth of Fifth gets played more or less regularly by me, and I enjoy it as much as the song. I did not like it that much, but it does not take long to get used to it. With The Battle of ... oh, I forgot More fool me. Calm, silent song I did not even noticed at first, until Phil begins to get loud. It seems to shout 'Come on, take a break, for here comes the long...' The Battle of the Epping forest. What is wrong with the youth? Some do not see that the streets are not for small war. Musically, this delivers most changes in this album, and is so chaotic it will disturb the listener at first. However, why not? Does not a masterpiece grow with time? After the ordeal is a relaxed instrumental, after the next of the highlights is reached: The Cinema Show. Both, Phil and Peter do an exceptional performance as vocalists. Banks does not need to hide. With Aisle of Plenty, the album ends in a recital of the Dancing with the moonlit knight melody. The conclusion of the album: 'I don't belong here'. It mixes in several themes, to end it with a fade-out.

Overall, this is Genesis at their peak. Some people might have noticed that I did not mentioned Hackett once up to now. To make it short: He delivers virtuose techniques, but never forgets melody. Collins seems to be able to do anything he wants with his drums and the rythms are strengthened by Rutherford, Banks switches from background chords to melodies in the forerground. Gabriel seems to reach perfection in his (!!) style, while Collins with the band adds the rest.

Oh, England, do not be sad. After all, some here is just pure sarcasm. And you have a band to be proud of! Five stars, without a doubt.

Is it just me, or do most of the best albums or songs have a dramatic opening that is unforgettable and grabs your attention for what is about to come? Gabriel's opening line Can you tell me where my country lies? sung a cappella performs that duty admirably for this album. Absolutely chilling. The rest of the song, as well as the rest of the album, live up to this moment. This is actually a rather strong contrast to the somewhat lighthearted I Know What You Like. However, the latter song nevertheless provides a very good interlude between the opening track and the excellent Firth Of Fifth. Ah, yes, Firth Of Fifth. Definitely one of the highlights of the album. While Gabriel is his normal excellence in vocals on this piece, the real emphasis is on the instrumental parts. Most of the band members have solos here, from Rutherford's brilliant opening piano section, to Hackett's famous guitar part, to some of Gabriel's flute work. A very complete piece.

Now I set apart the last piece from side one on itself for good reason. More Fool Me is the Moonchild of this album: it is the one piece that seems to fall short of the rest of the album, often the song of most contention when debating between a four or five star rating. Often, it is seen as marring an otherwise flawless album. Personally, I almost always skip this track. So, is it right to give an album a perfect rating when there is a track on it that you always avoid? Well, it depends. In this case, I'm willing to let it slide, and give the album the full five stars. I feel that, while it adds nothing to the album, this song really doesn't hurt it very much. I mean, it really isn't a bad song; it just isn't a good song, either. It's simply there. Don't pay it any mind, and it won't cause you any harm.

After ignoring that one song ol' Phil What's-His-Name wrote, we approach another song of minor contention. I fell that, while it is a bit cheesy, The Battle Of Epping Forrest is still a very good song, with great instrumentation and a rather impressive and amusing vocal performance by Gabriel. Now we come to a song that I feel is somewhat overlooked. That's understandable considering the two mini epics its sandwiched between. Despite such oppressive circumstances, After The Ordeal comes very close to being my favorite track on the album, perhaps falling short of the song that succeeds it. A relaxing, instrumental piece with infectious piano, this really is deserving of more attention than it gets. Not a bad little solo by Hackett either. However, the song that truly makes this album is The Cinema Show. Some songs you can't say much about because of how bad they are; some you can't say much about because of how good they are. Fortunately, this song falls into the latter category. Suffice to say that the instrumental section at the end (or the whole song really) could be one of the greatest moments in prog history. And how do you follow that up? You melt into Aisle Of Plenty, a succinct song that wraps up the album beautifully. Really one of the best ending tracks around.

All around, a magnificent album. Essential in every prog rock collection, five-stars, etc. Definitely listen to the Genesis fanboys on this one.

This is the best record that I know. Every note, every chord are in the right place. Selling England is the masterpiece of the masterpieces, a magic album. Unique. Everyone who loves music, no matter which kind, should own it. Along all these years, this music has kept his freshness and his originality. The essence of Prog-Rock is conteined in this tracklist; Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, Firth Of Fifth, The Battle Of Epping Forest, After The Ordeal, The Cinema Show. More Fool Me is the weakest link, but it does not break the magical chain, I Know What I Like is a non-prog song but it fits good. Aisle Of Plenty works very good as the gran-finale. If only I could I would give more than five stars...

This was one of the first Prog albums I ever bought, and having relocated it pressed into service as a cat mat in the garage, (with the LP cover reduced to a pungent and hairy cardboard Frisbee) must say its contents have aged considerably better than the packaging, (which mirrors uncannily its owner). This was perhaps the last album where Gabriel and his collaborators were on the same page in the hymn book.

And did those feet in ancient time walk upon England's mountains green?

'Dancing With the Moonlit Knight' - Gabriel's voice has an unmistakable texture, that when heard in isolation as it is here on this memorable intro, reveals a cherubic huskiness, like a chain smoking dove. The melody swoops and dives unpredictably during this forlorn spell cast by that most self consciously zealous of all shy magicians.

(You mean you like this bit then?) Yep.

The deliberate use of an English folk song setting is significant as it sets up a nostalgic smokescreen, not for a past he pretends was preferable, but for a stealth raid on the iniquities that Gabriel sees have befallen a once green and pleasant land. There is some real 'bile' in his delivery here which I didn't pick up on 19 years ago, couched in a caustic disdain for the crass and venal aspects of modernity that he perceives will erode all that is venerable.

(You mean he's angry then?) Yep.

Easy now, sit you down Chewing through your Wimpy dreams They eat without a sound Digesting England by the pound (The consolation offered by 'leisure' as a new brand of 'freedom', with the consumer's silence being all the approval that marketing will ever need to foist more and more of this unquenchable junk on us).

It's impossible to fault a creation as well crafted and tightly woven as this. Were we to throw the parts up in the air I'm sure they would land in exactly the same order and carry the same weight. As a social satire of the British Isles in the early 70's it is unmatched in Prog. Perfection.

'I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)' - A glorious and unashamedly simple pop song that Genesis milk for all it's worth on a classic 'camp-fire' sing along chorus. Here alas, PG slips occasionally into that irritating 'method school eccentric' mode of his and should know by having studied closely Arthur Brown, that you ain't ever gonna get 'surreal' out of 'nonsensical' no matter how hard you batter it or who's listening.

'Firth of Fifth' - Contains one of Tony Bank's finest moments on piano in a stunningly inventive and beautifully played lengthy introduction to this track. As for the remainder, we should simply lobby the makers of dictionaries to amend their next versions to include an entry: 'Majestic' - see Firth of Fifth

'More Fool Me' - Can't say I ever signed up for the Revolutionary Workers Party after hearing this track. Phil Collins is undoubtedly a very fine singer, but I could never figure out why he chose to sing lead on a tune that is so obviously out of his comfortable range?. His debut lead vocal on For Absent Friends from two years prior was considerably more assured than this rather feeble offering. Good acoustic song but the one with the soft center that everyone passes over in the box of chocolates. Pleasant, but so is gluttony.

'The Battle of Epping Forest' - Perhaps the least successful of all the larger scale Genesis compositions. This one suffers from some underdeveloped and arid patches that wobble precariously under the load and let's face it, east end gangsters definitely ain't Peter Gabriel's milieu.

The intro gets precisely zero 'mood setting' points for just sounding like a sloppy and unmemorable marching flute band. (Although I confess to having never heard a tight and memorable marching flute band either)

Some of the sections are really good but you wish they were considerably closer together eg They call me the Reverend etc which has both a memorable tune and displays PG's fine grasp of story telling and embellishing a character by 'speaking on pitch.' The same vocal technique is utterly wretched however, when attempted on the 'thug' accents (which originate from much lower down the social pecking order than the singer), so these bits drag and irritate in equal measure.

'After the Ordeal' - Beautiful instrumental track that displays just what an unerring knack Banks has for playing just enough and no more with which to support perfectly the musical materials at hand. Delightful electric piano arpeggios bubble their way all through this tune and the lead guitars have a sumptuously understated quality enhanced by some slinky snaking flute towards the end by PG.

(You mean you like this one then?) Yep.

'Cinema Show' - Rather appropriately, this utilizes the dual perspective/split screen device of film on the brilliant opening section where the two protagonists are united in intent but divided in motive. What follows is a couple of minutes of those cascading acoustic guitar arpeggios and meandering flute exercises so beloved of Genesis and they seem to lose a bit of focus. But things perk up significantly afterwards and from this point onwards the instrumental writing and interplay is tear wellingly beautiful.

Genesis were one of the most democratic of bands both in their compositional credits and their instrumental writing. This is abundantly illustrated on this track where no single individual dominates as the 'spotlight soloist' over the rest. All the band are employed in the creation of a multi layered and ever changing dynamic 'whole' and this set them apart from so many of their contemporaries. The overriding priority here is always melodic whether in statement or enhancement and of all the prog giants it was perhaps Genesis who were least guilty of virtuosity as a end in itself.

(You mean they don't disappear up their own backsides on the solos?) Yep.

'Aisle of Plenty' - In time honored Prog protocol a little 'tail ender' linking back to the opening. It's purpose is more for structural symmetry than anything else and those Anglophiles amongst you with an affection for clever puns are in for a treat hereabouts. (but the rest of you may be left scratching your heads at the British references)

The production on this record represents a quantum leap from its predecessors. Suddenly there is a clarity on a Genesis record where before they sounded so hard up they recorded in the dark.

BTW if someone can tell me what a 'unifaun' might actually be, please drop me a line.

The third in a string of 5 spectacular albums Genesis has to build on the momentum of the great Foxtrot. Not only did they accomplish it they did it in completely different way. Here instead of the epic Suppers Ready we have a whole album loosely based on the decline of English Society. Each song has a distinct texture and feel from the light hearted I Know What I like to the pompous Firth of Firth to the light jazz feel of The Cinema Show. Some of the best song writing in Genesis career is present here. Also though the caliber of the musicianship as well as the recording quality finally all come together for the band. Peter Gabriel's voice has reached a maturity level that really come alive in Dancing With the Moonlit Knight and The Battle of Epping Forest, sort of a operatic rendition of an English news story with Gabriel assuming several rolls. After the Ordeal is a great example of the fine instrumental jams this band was capable of in this period of their existence.

Highlights for me are the Piano introduction of Firth of Fifth by Tony Banks as well as the great band rendition of the same solo in the middle and of course Gabriel's Flute solo and then Hackett's guitar solo. Huh! All that in one song. I don't have the time to put all my highlights here. See that is what makes this album a masterpiece. Just completely sublime.

5 Stars

The opener, Dancing With the Moonlit Knight seems to set the mood for the album. Starting with an a cappella opening from the great Peter Gabriel himself and with pastoral-sounding guitars coming in seconds later, the song later becomes heavier, and after a few minutes, all of a sudden Steve Hackett comes with his double tapping technique! The song also is full of witty lyrics, being a critique on the Americanization of England.

The second song, I Know What I Like, is also a great song, but it has to come after the epic Moonlit Knight, so it would be inevitable that this song would be looked down upon slightly. The Song is still great, and I like their use of the electric sitar. The song almost seems to reach in pop territory, especially when the chorus hits (this could perhaps explain why it was their top 20 hit song in England or anywhere else for that matter).

The third song, Firth of Fifth, is probably my favorite song on the album. That amazing piano intro always gets me, and it is one of many examples why Tony Banks is up there with the ranks of Rick Wakeman, Jon Lord and Ray Manzarek in the greatest rock keyboardists ever. The lyrics are a bit weird, but many other great aspects of this song make up for this, one being the epic guitar solo from Steve Hackett. The solo is a bit slow, but every note is amazing. The flute solo is also very cool and unique (not that often do you hear flute solos in rock music).

More Fool Me is also a great song. The second song ever sung by Phil Collins, too. He does a great job at vocals, and it is certainly no surprise to me why he became their vocalist years later. The pastoral sound of this song seems to fit with the rest of the album, so it doesn't run the risk of sound out of place.

The next song seems to bother some people, but unlike most, I seem to enjoy this one. The Battle of Epping Forest is most likely the weirdest piece of music they have ever done. This is the longest song on the album, although the length doesn't seem to bother me. Filled with crazy pianos, weird guitar pieces, and odd lyrics which tell of a fictional gang fight, this song, although very weird (but not to the point where it's uncomfortable), is very satisfying.

The next song is the only instrumental on the album, but it is a great piece of music, might I add. With a great acoustic guitar at the beginning of the song that transitions to an amazing electric guitar piece for the other half of the piece. Also, amazing piano work (as usual) from Tony Banks.

This has to be my favorite song on the album. Forget what I said earlier about Firth of Fifth, even though that song is absolutely amazing, but it certainly can't top something like this. Every part of this song is perfect. The pastoral sounding guitars at the beginning with Peter Gabriel silently singing his lyrics, and eventually it gets heavier and heavier, and soon enough some amazing electric guitar work from Steve is presented from Steve Hackett. At around five minutes, as you're wondering what direction this song is going to go into now, then at random, Genesis cleverly pulls an amazing keyboard solo out of their hat that last well over five minutes and finishes the rest of the song. Another note to add for this song is the great drum work by Phil Collins, especially during the keyboard solo. Steve Hackett also does an amazing job on guitar for this piece, too (what else would you expect from a man like him?). The song later segues into Aisle of Plenty, which recalls Dancing With the Moonlit Knight, and the album finishes on an extremely high note that cannot be reached.

This is not only the best album in prog rock history, but this could possibly be the best piece of 20th century music I have heard. I am glad that more people are coming out and putting this album in "best albums" lists, especially after people like Rolling Stone Magazine keep shunning them. I would recommend this album to anyone, no matter what their taste in music, because no matter what someone's music taste is they're bound to find at least a few things on this album that they would find interesting.

I'm a huge fan of Genesis. I actually have a local cover band of the Peter Gabriel Era Genesis. I really don't see why this album has such high praises especially in comparison to other genesis albums or prog albums. Let me try to explain why this album isn't the greatest. Here's a break-down of the album

1. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight: Best song of the album hands down. Probably the only reason I have this album. Awesome time changes, different recurring themes, excellent musicianship overall. Love the tune.

2. I know what I like: Yes I do and it's not this tune. This is Genesis gone POP. I don't see anything special here. Pretty much just showcasing Gabriel's vocals. Nothing technical or even remotely prog in this tune. Just some exaggerated prolonged chords and vocals.

3. Firth of Fifth: Decent track. Gotta give it to Banks for the crazy time changes right off the bat. The main chorus is kinda boring but we get a little progressive near the middle of the track. Nice solo by Hackett.

4. More Fool Me: Horrible. Another f****** pop song.

5. The Battle Of Epping Forest: One of the better songs on the album. Love the marching band introduction. The melody is pretty catchy too. Has some dark breaks will Phil's vocals soaring over weird chords. Lots of cool prog going on with this track. Worth checking out for sure.

6. After The Ordeal: Cool intro. Again props to Banks. Rest of the song just seems to drag with boring drum beats and sustained notes from Hackett.

7. The Cinema Show: Alright song with some darkness to it. I personally find this song is too long. They try to get progressive with the song near the middle and I don't really see where it's going. At least an attempt is made.

8. Aisle Of Plenty: Ending track. Trying to bring back the main theme of the album. Just doesn't seem to fit.

To conclude, anyone who knows anything about Genesis or prog will tell you that Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot are their best efforts. Please listen to these albums first if you're new to the genre.

What could I possibly add about an album that has over 300 reviews already? Not much, really. I too think that this is a masterpiece and thus that its status here is well-deserved. This is one of those albums that defines progressive Rock. If you don't know what progressive Rock is (as you surely do if you entered this website) then you should take a listen to this album (in addition to a few other ones by Yes, Jethro Tull, etc.).

The distinctive voices of Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, the unique and distinctive guitar sound of Steve Hackett, the fantastic keyboard playing, bass and drums by Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins respectively are extremely impressive. These five extremely talented people were all in the same band! Also, all five of them had that certain special something that you might call "star quality" (and as you probably know they all had more or less successful solo careers). Yes is the only other band I know of that could make that claim. Not even The Beatles had as many as five unique talents among their ranks.

Selling England By The Pound was the peak of the Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. It has some of Genesis' very best and most classic material on it. I cannot mention any favourite tracks because I would end up listing them all (possibly apart from More Fool Me which is slightly out of place here, but has its qualities).

A Prog classic if there ever was one. Absolutely essential for absolutely everybody!

I hear umpteen nods to "Foxtrot" on this album, but I find "Selling England By The Pound" pales in comparison to its predecessor. Even the nonsense lyrics seem less clever to me. Musically, "Foxtrot" is a million miles from "Trick Of The Tail" whereas "Selling England By The Pound" moves a little closer to the later, more accessible post-Gabriel GENESIS sound; GENESIS' tentative steps towards the mainstream, if you like. And I have to agree with a previous reviewer regarding the sound of Tony Banks' synthesizer on the album: it irritates me at times on several of the tracks; not the playing, which is good, but the buzzy sound of the instrument itself.

'Dancing With The Moonlit Knight' has its moments, I suppose, but just does not excite me, and it peters out rather, evocative moonlight tinkling or no.

The single 'I Know What I Like' charted and had a fair amount of airplay at the time. It's still a foot-tapper, but is hardly stellar Progressive Rock, being rather simple and monotonous (but still, granted, with that early GENESIS quirkiness).

The piano, flute and electronic keyboards on 'Firth Of Fifth' are more interesting, and I think this is one of the better tracks on the album, but again I find it less sophisticated than the tracks on "Foxtrot", catchy and soaring melody or no.

'More Fool Me' is just pure Phil Collins pop; a foretaste of what was to come, unfortunately. Inconsequential musically and lyrically.

'The Battle Of Epping Forest' is another track I can tap my foot to (and indeed like), with plenty of the quirkiness of early GENESIS, but again I feel it does not achieve the quality and energy of the music on the previous album.

The long intro to 'After The Ordeal' initially piques my interest but this track then goes flat and becomes boring.

'The Cinema Show' is a pleasing track but just lacks that extra something to take it from good to great in my book, although it's probably my favourite track on the album and segues nicely into the brief 'Aisle Of Plenty' with its nonsense lyrics playing on UK supermarket names.

Well, what more can I say? In some ways I still can't fathom why this album is so popular. To me it's good but not outstanding and, with the exception of parts of some of the tracks, I find it unmemorable with nothing to make me sit up. Basically, I find the album makes for rather tedious listening. Yes, there's melody; yes, there's variety; yes, there's oddity; but for some reason it just does not do it for me. If half stars were possible I'd award this album 3.5 stars but, as they aren't, I'm going for 3 stars (Good, but not essential). As I mentioned initially, I recognise I'm at odds with the majority, but there are so many albums that I would recommend or buy before this one that I can't bring myself to award it four stars.

It's years later and this masterpeice still charms me. From the heavy guitar riffs in Dancing With The Moonlit Knight to Phil's beautiful vocal in More Fool Me, This album is one of the greatest albums of all time.

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight- 4.5/5 stars, A wonderful harder rocking song of Genesis with a great opening, but the 2 minute downtime ending I never quite understood.

I Know What I Like- 5/5 stars, The song is reletively poppy for Genesis at that time, but nonetheless, a great song

Firth of Fifth- 5/5 stars, Easily one of the greatest songs of all time from the classical opening to the perfectly executed jam session in the middle, a masterpeice.

More Fool Me- 5/5 stars, A great acoustic song with Phil on vocals adds a lot of greatness to this already awesome album.

The Battle of Epping Forest- 4.5/5 stars, a really good opening and ending, but the middle feels too all over the place. Also, I like this song, but I could picture many people saying it is way too acquired taste for them.

After The Ordeal- 5/5 stars, a great folky opening which can easly prove why Steve Hackett is my favorite acoustic guitarist. The second half is highly emotional and Steve sounds great on the electric guitar as well.

The Cinema Show- 5/5 stars, an amazing acoustic opening with Tony Banks' keyboard solo at the end perfectly executed with great sound and playing.

After The Ordeal- 5/5 stars, basically a reprise of the first track, but it such a great reprise that it makes SEBTP easily have one of the greatest endings to an album of all time.

If I haven't said enough yet, just simply buy this album and you will not once regret it.

Selling England By The Pound is yet another one of those albums that really doesn't need another review stacked on top of it's already hundreds upon hundreds of reviews that already say more about it that any one person could. Of course, like most other 'classic' albums, this is for a reason. When it came to the prog game in the 70s there were few that could match the symphonic power of Genesis at the top of their game. The albums they released with the full power line-up (and even two without) are considered among the best to ever be recorded by the progressive genre in general. This little disc is no exception. Following close on the heels of their freshly released masterpiece Foxtrot, Genesis here decides to carry on the style they'd tinkered with on Trespass and mastered on Nursery Cryme. Larger than life orchestrations backed by clever and inspired lyrics sung by one of prog's great minstrels, a Mr. Peter Gabriel himself.

This albums does not have a monster side long track like Supper's Ready, but the main compositions it does house have just as much power backed into a more concise punch. For those who have not yet heard the album, it contains four main compositions as well as four 'minor' (minor used loosely here) compositions. On the first side all the songs are on the short side (two between 8-9 minutes and two between 3-4 minutes) and each song holds well on its own. The second side has the two songs which break the 10-minute barrier and also two supporting tracks which work in tandem with the rest of the album. Even the layout of the album itself has been well thought out it seems, and while it may remain a mystery if it is so just because of the limit of working on 'sides', it still works none the less.

On side one we have a couple of Genesis's best moments. Opening the fray is Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, a tour-de-force of heavy synths and guitars after a mellow intro which has sometimes been called, ''an unexpected headbanging moment'' as the tone shifts. Less heavy and more on the 'beautiful' side is the other longer composition, Firth Of Fifth. This one with it's swirling synth work and excellent instrumental sections has sometimes been called ''Genesis's best moment'', and some will even argue that it tops the entirety of Supper's Ready. Judge for yourself, but the instrumental interplay in this song is simply wonderful and a joy to listen to over and over again. The other two songs on the first side are sometimes frowned upon, likely because of their relative simplicity. But they still work. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) has a catchy chorus backed by harmonized vocals. A fun and short song. More Fool Me comes off as rather uninteresting at times, but it still has a kick coming into the song when Collins finally lets loose with the vocals. Somewhat of a sign of things to come from later (and less popular with the proggers) Genesis, but a modest song on the album. But even one modest song cannot stop this behemoth of an album now.

Coming into the second side we're treated with another couple of Genesis's finest moments. The Battle Of Epping Forest is another heavier song with its sharp and pressing vocals from Gabriel backed by war-like instruments to further the atmosphere of the tune which reaches its coda with After The Ordeal, a soft outro. The Cinema Show is another exercise in keyboard wizardry backed by some great vocals and guitars, all around good performances make for a very moody song in the same kind of atmosphere that Firth was in before. It all comes to an end with a medley of all the songs on the album in Aisle Of Plenty.

Chuck this review on top of the already massive pile. No surprise that this one is going to get a blistering 5 out of 5. This is an - if not the - essential masterpiece by a wonderful prog band in their classic era. This is one that no prog fan should be without. Recommended for all! Don't miss it!!

So the reason why I think this is one of the greatest prog albums of all time is because of the soul musicianship of everyone in the group. Peter Gabriel has a unique voice as well as lyrics, Tony banks has an excellent taste of writing and synthesizer use, Phil Collins always has a varying fashion of drumming, Steve Hackett creats an incredible atmosphere without using too many notes, and Mike Rutherford always has a solid bassline and always drives the band. Although I barely know the story line of this album, I'm pretty sure I know the music by Its self! I'll start off track by track...

Dancing with the Moonlit Knight you can expect to be a great opener. It starts soft with piano and vocals, eventually closing with an awesome instrumental section (as well as Firth of Fifth and, The Cinema Show). This song has great use of melloton and acoustic guitars.

I Know What I Like I guess you could say is a lot more mainstream than any other of the songs on the album. Although there Isn't too much variety in this song, it has a great hook and lyrics. I Know What I Like is (or was) always a crowd favorite at concerts.

Firth of Fifth No joke, is one of Genesis' greatest songs. It has one of the greatest synthesizer and guitar solos in history. Not one aspect of this song is bad. The intro, verse, bridge, and instrumental sections are all masterpieces in themselves. The guitar solo I think is the best part of the song. I think between this album and Lamb Lies are Gabriels peak at lyrics and singing. Expect incredible things coming out of the headphones when you listen to this bad boy!

Now, I personally love More Fool Me. I think the range of vocals fit Phil's voice alot better than Peter's ever could (well I guess thats why he sang it?). But anyway, Its a kind of quiet song with pretty 12-string in the background with a great chorus. What I find interesting about this song is that I could hear this song on A Trick of the Tail more than on this album. Not saying because Phil sings on this song, but it just has kind of a sound that would fit Trick of the Tail more. Anyway, great song though.

Being the longest song on the track Battle of Epping Forest is probably the most adventerous. It took me about 10 listens to fully appreciate its uniqueness. This song is almost Jethro Tull'ish with the kind of quirky lyrics and acoustic guitars towards the middle. I love this song because of its awesome variation and organ & guitar interplay.

After the Ordeal stands out in an excellent way. It kind of reminds me of Medevel times towards the beginng with the classical guitar and piano. At about 2:14 Steve does an electric guitar melody that kind of reminds me of a guitar riff you would hear off of In the Court of the Crimson King. Anyways Its an awesome instrumental. It also has some of Peter's flute playing which I love.

Now what can I say about Cinema Show. It has the greatest instrumental section of all time in Genesis history. Its defenently the centerpiece of the album also featuring the greatest synth solo of all time. I also love the arpeggiated 12 string at the begginng. The instrumental section being in 7/8 creates a really driving feel for all other instruments especially the drums. The only thing I wish was different about the instrumental section is that it could be more driven and more on the edge like the Seconds Out version. It just seems very calm on the album. I guess that's what the band was striving for but I still can't get enough of this song.

And finally, Aisle of Plenty is brought in by the outro of Cinema show. At the beginning you might recall the guitar riff in Dancing with the Moonlit Knight. Its a short little song but guess what...its still great. Not totally sure what the lyrics are about but hey, Its Peter Gabriel!

I hope you enjoyed my first review! Keep it Prog!

The album opens up with the soaring rocker "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight". Starting with a quiet acoustic guitar melody accompanied by Peter Gabriel's soft vocals the album slowly picks up pace before pounding grand piano notes and Steve Hackett's suave guitar performance kicks in. Hackett's musical ability on this track is mesmerizing and his solos are spectacular. I personally find that this album contains Hackett's best guitar work out of their entire discography and it is already noticeable on this first song. Next up is the very popular "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". This song was the group's first charting single and a concert staple to this day. The song opens with a very strange lawnmower sound effect with a spoken word intro by Gabriel. Much of the song is filled with prominent keyboard melodies, sitar riffs, and some decent bass work from Rutherford. The song ends with a flute solo by Gabriel and a repeat of the unnerving lawnmower effect.

Going into song three, we come across "Firth of Fifth" my favorite song on the entire album. Beginning with a majestic grand piano piece by keyboardist Tony Banks the vocals and other instruments enter creating a very powerful grandiose song. Gabriel's vocals eventually leave to allow a soft keyboard and flute duet enter only for that to exit and let the keyboards take full stride. Hackett soon enters creating one of his most dramatic and emotional guitar solos on the entire album, closing out the rest of this mini-epic leading into the soft "More Fool Me". This is a simple song sung by drummer Phil Collins accompanied by acoustic guitar played by Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford. It isn't the first time Phil Collins handled lead vocals. He had vocal duties on "For Absent Friends" from the album Nursery Cryme.

What would happen next is probably the craziest moment on the entire album as we hear "The Battle of Epping Forest." After a tense military drumbeat, the wild thumping bass, ringing keyboard and staunch guitar run rampant throughout the song while Gabriel sings along trying to catch up to them. Filled with mesmerizing keyboard solos and leaping guitar lines, Gabriel tries out different voices to represent the characters of the song which is a tale of a gang battle at Epping Forest.

After this hyper tune ends we meet up with "After the Ordeal". The only instrumental song on the album, this is a showcase for more of Hackett's glorious guitar work. Beginning with a baroque guitar and piano opener the song leads into Hackett's guitar workout that never fails to satisfy me. Now comes the next epic on the album "The Cinema Show". Starting with a quiet acoustic guitar piece similar to the opening of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" we have a soft dreamy guitar piece filled with references to Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Halfway through the song the vocals end and once again Tony Banks's virtuoso keyboard talent enters with one of his best solos in the entire Genesis canon, not to mention some of Phil Collins finest drum work.

Last we are left with the lush "Aisle of Plenty" which sounds like a leftover coda to "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" but also serves as a nice conclusion to an already lovely album.

The band would then tour into 1974 before recording their sixth and final album with Gabriel, the epic concept album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". If you are new to Genesis and new to the Peter Gabriel era of the band, which is completely separate itself, please pick this up. It is an essential not only of Genesis but of progressive rock and something that not just a "prog" fan should own, but a fan of music as well.

The moment in the 'Moonlight Knight' when the mellotron voices resets the main chord change (c# minor, g# minor, A maj7) is the pinnacle of the song for me.The band is strong here,and Gabriel sings his lyrics with ballz :)

'I know what I like' is a fun song...Phil Collins once said: 'I'm playing like Ringo on this one...' :)) It's nothing special as a song,but it had the most commercial success because of it's pop kind of sound... Later,Collins developed it during his era by throwing in a tambourine solo...it kept the audience entertained

'Firth of fifth' - the top 5 Genesis song, it's so clever and so well put together... Banks' piano intro has become legendary by now :) and the way they deliver it again later with the whole playing....Genesis at their best - genius! Hackett's solo is breathtaking,it has a smart production,and it takes us back to the closing verse of the song. Collins plays his best,especially on the solo...

...But then he takes the mic :)) - 'More fool me'... It's the necessary contrast on the album.Very different then the other tracks. Collins reveals himself as a ballad singer with tender approach to his music and lyrics then Gabriel.

'The battle of Epping Forest' - nice epic, a story for itself... Gabriel already had numbers like this: Giant Hogweed,Get 'em out by Friday... in which he uses dialogues and storytelling... This one I like the best...I can really see the cavalry at the opening of the song...the lyrics are faithfully depicted in every part of the song. The song is in a funny form,but it's the result of 'respecting the lyrics'.

'After the ordeal' - I always looked this track as and intermezzo...like a instrumental track in a musical to give the actors time to change costumes :)

'The cinema show' - beautiful,storytelling,sensible,mellow,smart....this song is a gem! The guitars at the beginning reminded me on a harpsichord...It's another pastoral mood deliverd by the 12 string acoustic guitars...the song develops later,and it has a long instrumental section in which the spotlight is on Banks...

'Aisle of plenty' - is a short reprise of the first track...it's a logical closure,and while the 'main chords' are played in the fade out,Gabriel tosses prices of all kinds of food-like he's criticizing his own homeland...

One of the smartest albums of all time! Essential at minimum!

many details of this album can support this: the book end theme, excellent solo work by Banks and Hackett, lengthy and dramatic tracks, amazing drumming by Collins, and more!

the only two songs i have trouble with are more fool me and after the ordeal. these tracks seem to have a loose purpose towards the album as a whole, being very popish and bland. don't get me wrong these tracks are still enjoyable, they just don't seem to fit in with the other songs.

i just HAVE to give this album five stars! it is definitely a unique work and an experience not to ignore!

I first heard Firth of Fifth on Seconds Out and was totally floored by Steve's sliding and looping solo, which is almost note-perfect from the rendition on this album. That this is hardly ever listed as one of the 100 best guitar solos in Rock-n-roll, is a clue that the wrong people are making those lists. (Although, I'd argue that it's since been surpassed by his wondrous solo on 12 from Neal Morse's ?.) Starting it off with one of Tony Banks best piano passages makes it a prog feast. And this is its original home.

The Battle of Epping Forest is an epic of a near-fantastic grotesque of a satire about a gritty reality. Caricatures just spew out of Gabriel's (likely) horn of plenty. It's a strange ride. Like Return of the Giant Hogweed, this one took quite a few listens to become one of my favorite Genesis pieces. The music leaps and cavorts about, setting the numerous tones. From the battle march that begins it, to the strangely discordant folkish pop, to the sing-song ballad-y Reverend interlude, back to the discordant battle, to the plodding dirge that backs the epilogue, to the ascendant outro just seem to frame the various moods of the story. Is it uneven? You could make the case. Does it ramble? You might say that. Is it daring? I think so, and as I said earlier, an epic. Whatever it was at the end They provide you with a lot of interesting musical ideas, and Mike Rutherford's rattly and rhythmic bass is a treat on the faster sections.

I find After the Ordeal to be very much what I came later to expect from Steve Hackett: Half accompanied classical study, half arcing melody played mostly on electric guitar with the exceptional note choice of Mr. Hackett. It's a favorite of mine.

Then there's Cinema Show. Admittedly it is one of their greater and more memorable songs. But I have to say that the enjoyment of the second half of the song is dead from overuse by the latter Genesis. Still fresh when I hear it, though, is the opening song that latter Genesis didn't enjoy playing as much as the bright, rhythmic combination of keyboard runs/drum solo.

So mentally, this splits into two songs for me--but when I think about it, I've often had a problem with what part of the second half sounds anything like the frail vanity hypnotically snaking through the first half. Memorable to me is the gentle opening, the delicate arpeggio-ettes, joined with Peter singing narration and quotes of Juliet and Romeo, and then a dazzling transition to Father Tiresias (with some very enjoyable Hackett fills swirling around infusing energy) growing in tempo, and complexity and interplay of arpeggios. Delicacy, frailty, and vanity (in all sense of the word) flow through the music and story adapted from Eliot's The Waste Land. Tiresias sees the permanent in the temporary in all of its show and bluster, but somehow nostalgic despite its empty promises. (People get confused though: Show is not a simple copy of the typist in Eliot's poem, it intensifies themes of (well) show and Tiresias vision is less empty.)

That The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was more ambitious, and that they pulled off that task with some success might prompt some to place Lamb ahead of Selling in some people's eyes. But consensus--and I--put this as the cream of the crop in Genesis albums. This is the very definition of an Essential masterpiece, and one of my all-time favorites--5 stars.

It was the first album that I brought on CD, which was back then not even the remastered version yet, but just a copy straight from the same mix as the LP. However the first fewlines of Gabriel blew me away completely......Pure Ephoria...I would say...and the quality of the album does stay on a high level till the last notes of Aisle Of Plenty (that Mellotron sound Wow !!!).

The first parts of songs I heard from this album were in the Old Medley that Genesis played during the 1992 We Can't Dance Tour....I recorded the Knephworth show on TV and it made me really curious...however for some reason I never took the next step and listeneded to the original...or better say I didn't even knew that Firth Or Fifth and I know What I like where were from that particular album. That changed a year later when we decide to go deep into Genesis's past.... and Selling was our first stop. I took a few cd's in the local recordstore and listened to them. It were A Trick Of The Tail, Nursery Crime and Selling....Selling was the first one I put on and after Gabriel's first words I knew for sure that this was the one I wanted to buy. And there my journey into the Gabriel era started.

All of the songs grew out to classics in its own sense and all of this songs gained an enormous fame over the years and were played ober and over over the years on several tours. The legendary moments are simply too many to remember but to name a few. Gabriels vocals on Dancing, the Mellotron on Dancing, the guitarsolo (possible the most beautifull guitarsolo ever recorded by any progband) on Firth Of Fifth and the last part of The Cinema Show.....

After this I brought the remaster of it in 1994...but it was dissapointing......and for long I did not dare to listen to it again. So often I rather liked to put on a bootleg, listen a live version from the Collins Era or eventually nothing at all. This all changed last year when Genesis atlast decide to release the last Genesis box....soon I rediscovered Selling again...and finally it was recorded the way it should be......so clear....so pure, so tight and so dynamic....I was like a live recording.....If the orginal of Selling was already mindblowing and should deserve 5 stars, then the new remaster (SACD or DVD audio preferable) should deserve a 6th star...and this goes for all the other remasters as we'll.

No Progessive rock fan can efford it not to have this in your collection.

Selling England By the Pound managed to do so in a way I'd dare say not even Close To the Edge did. Is it amazing that such a complex and enigmatic piece of music has been able to cross the barriers of time? Probably not.This album has a rare quality: it's deepest music depths and overwhelming complexity can be ignored to the point of hearing it as casually as possible. Those interested in it's stunning musicianship,however,will find here the most theatrical album ever made, nevertheless free of any haunting pretensions.

Peter Gabriel's lyrics are at his best here, poems that are spread beautifully through the music.Unlike some of Genesis best moments,Gabriel's voice and charisma never overshadow the other musicians here.That's particulary noticeable in Firth of Fifth,in wich the band reaches what is perhaps a perfect balance of instruments,to create a symphonic piece that's likely to be unmatchable by all means.From it's wonderfully nostalgic piano introduction,passing through majestic verses crowned with beautiful lyrics(sang by a tear-splattering Gabriel),to it's fading conclusion, this piece is the purest definition of prog.It would all seem less amazing,of course, if it's arrangement wasn't in contrast with a dramatic guitar solo which crumbles it's way to an epic ending.Breathtaking,really.

Firth of Fifth is a masterpiece,but it would be incomplete,hadn't Genesis created the best album opening of all time here,in Dancing With the Moonlit Knight.To the sound of nothing,Gabriel opens the album asking:'Can you tell me where my country lies/said the unifaun to his true love's eyes?'.With a crying guitar chord by Steve Hackett,comes the answer:'It lies with me!Cried the queen of Maybe/for her merchant eyes, he traded in his prize'.The band then softly unleashes an epic introduction to it's music,singing about the decadence of Great Britain, the death of 'old father Thames' and how the fat old lady England was sold by the pound to American culture.The album was conceived right in the height of the first oil crisis in 1973,and the lyrics, although marvelous and poetic,all have a purpose. In usual albums,these would be as good as it gets,but not here.

The Cinema Show is the soft and delicate relief to the album,without losing,nonetheless,the class of previous compostions.Along with the contemplating After the Ordeal(to figure between the best instrumental tracks in prog)and the brief silent despair of the closing song,Aisle of Plenty, it creates the majestic atmosphere of reflection,in constrast with the previous madness and sarcasm of the eleven- minute piece The Battle of Epping Forest and I Know What I Like(In your Wardrobe),the former representing the beloved weirdness of classic Genesis,and the latter being the first hit single in the band's career.

More Fool Me is a brief transition from the opening mood to the deepest reflections of the second half.

The exotic majesty of Genesis, first presented in 'The Knife'(the closing track in the Trespass album),and which from there on was in constant natural enhancement, reached a peak in this album to create a monster which the band wasn't able to tame(what eventually leaded to it's classic formation rupture),a monster which overshadowed the rest of their career from there on,despite the success of the next album(the classic The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway),and which,indeed,has been a quality standard ever since. A monster wisely named Selling England By the Pound.With and without it's charismatic leader Peter Gabriel,the band made wonderful pieces of music,most of them being well- kept secrets in the mists of time nowadays,but make no mistake:this,their best known work, is Genesis magnum opus.

One aspect of Selling England that I 'll praise are the lyrics. Gabriel is known for his thought provoking songs but I think that in this album he reached his peak. This record feels so british and cynical ! and I love it for that. Then we have several seminal prog rock tunes like Dancing with the moonlight knight , The Cinema Show and Firth of Fifth. Let me add that the much maligned poppier songs on this album are not masterpieces but not by any means filler songs I enjoy the acoustic ballad and the synth sounds in I know what I like. SEBTP's problems do not lay there. Lastly it seems to be a major improvement on the sound department and production , the record does not sound muddy like their previous releases.

If I have stated all those positive aspects then , why I don't give SEBTP the full 5 stars mark ? Mainly because The Battle of Epping Forest is too long and Gabriel abuses of his theatrics on this tune putting way too much enphasis on dialogue. It's a pity since musically the song is exellent and could have worked better as a 5 minute piece. The instrumental After the ordeal is not as stong as Horizons or Los Endos for instance. Finally the main reason as regards why I do not consider this record as a masterpiece has to do with the fact that sometimes Selling England bores me to death!!! The record is way too calm and pastoral for my tastes. However I can appreciate it when I am in the mood for it.

That being said , this record is a must have for anyone but is not as exiting as other Genesis releases like Foxtrot or the Lamb. And not by any means the best prog album of all times , just one of the most iconic ones.

This track earns this album 5 stars by itself. Now add in Firth of Fifth containing both arguably the best composed key part in prog and the best guitar solo. Then we get Cinema Show which is a grand mini- epic that is as good as any in Genesis' repertoire save perhaps Supper's Ready. Great lyrics, great composition, just amazing music.

Unlike some other prog masterpieces, however, this record is not without flaws. The much maligned More Fool Me is actually more listenable than it's reputation, but in retrospect it does stick out on an album of this high standard. I imagine Genesis had no idea that we'd be debating the merits of this album almost 40 years later (and surely we will be then too), so including a short foray for the guy in the back was not seen as a very critical choice at the time.

The rest of the record is solid prog, ranging from the quirky single I Know What I Like to the odd time Battle of Epping Forest to the instrumental After the Ordeal. All are very good prog, though not the heights that the rest of the album climbs.

CTTE and DSOTM are more flawless, but even they don't quite reach the heights you find here. As many many people have said, if you don't own and know this album, it is pretty hard to call yourself a prog fan.

What I love about this album is the story behind it - the longing and yearning for an England that is passing, never to come back, and the realisation that what is to follow is nowhere near as sweet and as innocent. That is exemplified by Dancing with the Moonlit Knight...Can you tell me where my country lies...? Gabriel almost pleads with his audience. A moving, perfectly played song.

I Know What I like was the first single success in the UK, and is fantastic.

Firth of Fifth is a magnificent achievement, with Hackett towering above all others - indeed, it is his finest moment with the band, and you get goosebumps listening to this solo.

More Fool Me was not Phil's first vocal effort (that was on Nursery Cryme), but it is fantastic. The live version on the Archives Boxset is even better, with acoustic guitars ramping up the tempo.

The Battle of Epping Forest is PG's go at being a punk before the punks were even heard of! This one tells of changes in society from the white working class perspective, and I thought of this today when reading reports of strikes about migrant workers in the UK. After the Ordeal is a fantastic interlude and coming down before The Cinema Show, which is simply a tour de force of a love song told from both genders point of view and featuring a magnificent Banks keyboard solo which is still a live favourite to this day.

Aisle of Plenty is the perfect bookend to Dancing.... and ends the album's theme with a gentle and perfectly played rant against the power of the emerging corporate supermarkets destroying the traditional English town. Thankful for her Finefare discount indeed!

A great LP, and apologies to those who might think it has been reviewed too often, but there is a reason for this. It is an LP that speaks to us all in a deeply unique and personal way. You do not have to hail from Middle England to appreciate the sentiments behind it, and you certainly all marvel at the musical accomplishment. Utterly essential to any prog collection.

Well, there was The Firth of Fifth; a masterly sound made by them. A monumental killer melody by a flute and and then a guitar has built the great gig until now! And, a golden track named The Cinema Show. You'll like it even you're in the waterfront, or even in the sea!

A talking lyrics like "I'm just the lawnmower.." is an avant-garde move!

I cannot fault this album. I am probably listening too much to it...... but I am only have a short life. The artwork is brilliant and I regard this as a true classic and perhaps the best prog rock album ever. Nuff said.

5 stars.

In my mind this album has three very good songs: Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, Firth Of Fifth, and The Cinema Show. These songs are great and if the rest of the album had been up to this standard it probably would have been the greatest prog album of all time. Unfortunately, in between we have songs that do absolutely nothing for me. I Know What I Like and More Fool Me are short songs with a pop feel to them. The music is fairly simple and the vocals are neither interesting nor catchy in my opinion. The Battle of Epping Forest is another disappointment for me. This is a long song which really doesn't offer much despite its length and while lyrically it may be an important part of the concept of the album, I can't get into the concept if I don't even enjoy the music.

On the weight of the three greats, this album gets 4 stars from me, but if I could give this album one word it would be inconsistent. I would recommend foxtrot and even nursery cryme to someone getting into genesis before this album.

Selling England by the Pound is usually regarded as the best Genesis album, both from the band's Peter Gabriel phase (or the progressive phase, as some say), as well as the latter incarnations of this famous English band. Some even consider it to be the best progressive rock album ever. Indeed, to some degree, it is hard to disagree: this was the Genesis best selling album prior to Trick of the Tail and it has great songs, such as Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, Firth to Fifth and Cinema Show. However, this album do have some songs that are simply sub-par , when compared to the rest of the band's progressive output, such as I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe), More Fool me and The Battle of Epping Forest and, for that, I do not think this is the best Genesis.

As I said, this album have both incrdibly beautiful songs as well as others that are quite weak. For that, I believe that the album is considerably uneven and unbalanced, because those weak songs completely break its flow, disturb the song to song musical progression.

Take the first two songs as an example: after the extraordinary, dramatic and powerful opening song, Dancing With the Moonlit Knight, the famous ballad I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) breaks that flow considerably. the songs have completely different emotional tones to them and, to make it worse, they aren't even that much different, so it is not possible to defend this change even for the sake of contrast!

The same thing happens with the two following songs, Firth to Fifth and More Fool Me, but this time it is even worse, because in the first case (Moonlit Knight and I Know What I Like), at least the second song has an artistic outlook to it; instead, More Fool Me is a straight pop tune without any relation whatsoever to the rest of Selling England. In fact, the closet relation this song will have with any other Genesis album will be with Duke, more than half a decade later.

Fortunately, the second part Selling England by the Pound (side 2 on the vynil) actually goes in a crescent, differently from the album's first part. Starting with the seemly endless tune The Battle of Epping Forrest, the album manages to get better and better with each passing song. The mentioned track (Battle) has a decent opening part, but slowly descends into senseless notes being played in melodies that don't make sense in the big picture: one has little relation with the other and they are way too elongated. So, maybe if this song was to be trimmed down a couple or maybe even four minutes, I believe it would sound much better. Don't get me wrong here, this song isn't very good and reducing its length would make it sound better, but it does not mean that Battle would become an actual great song just for making it shorter.

After that point, the songs keep growing and growing in quality. Starting with the simple yet beautiful After the Ordeal, which presents us an interesting duet between the guitar and piano. The whole thing eventually amounts to the second to last song, Cinema Show, which manages to take the album back to the level of excellence it was in the opening track. Nevertheless, I don't believe this song alone could make up for almost half an hour of underwhelming (or dispensable, in the case of Aisle of Plenty) music.

The highlights go to Dancing With the Moonlit Knight, Firth to Fifth and Cinema Show.

Rating and Final Thoughts

Despite having some strong points, Selling England by the Pound cannot escape the facts that it is an uneven album with many songs that are less than exciting. I am also quite sure that ir is not the best album released byGenesis. In fact, I think that progressive rock fans value Selling England by the Pound much more than what it is actually worth.

EDIT 1: After listening to the album again and again recently, I have come to the conclusion that I have been somewhat generous in my review of Selling England. The lack of direction on the opening tune and the stark decrease on the quality of the songs in between the highlighted tracks have made me come to the conclusion that the appropriate rating for this album is three, not four stars. EDIT 2: After some more careful examination wile re-writing my review, I've decided that even the 3 stars rating was too much for this album. Its fundamental flaws in song placement as well as having downright bad songs made me reconsider my rating, downgrading it for 2 stars.

Peter Gabriel was clearly one of the strongest members of the band at this point: his influence on the band totally revealed itself on the next record, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which is almost a Peter Gabriel solo album rather than a Genesis album. On Selling England by the Pound his vocal performance is great, but, most of all, the lyrics he penned are all excellent. The concept of this album is the decay of Britain, with the loss of the old traditions: Dancing With the Moonlit Knight, the opener, speaks about the old pagan dances(with the Moonlit Knight, who seems to be a representative figure of the Gods the people of Britain believed in in the past). Musically, this song is the first highlight, opening slowly and then featuring some of the heaviest musical passages this prog rock group ever penned. The guitar melodies and riffs are, at times, incredibly catchy, and the drumming is obviously top notch.

Firth of Fifth and The Cinema Show are the two best songs though, two of the most beautiful progressive rock songs ever released. The first one opens with some amazing piano lines, leading us to the triumphant beginning with Gabriel singing the brilliant first vocal lines: The path is clear, though no eyes can see. The course laid down, loooong before!. This track is possibly the happiest one of the bunch, so to speak: ttriumphant is the best word to describe this marvellous song really, and it adds a lot of variety to the album, as the majority of the other tracks are a lot darker. The guitar solo, during the middle section, is the best solo I've ever heard in my life: pure emotion. Listen to it, please. The Cinema Show is excellent as well, one of the best love songs I've ever heard. The guitar solo is yet again awesome.

The other long song of Selling England by the Pound is The Battle of Epping Forest, and it is, in my opinion, the weakest of the long tracks, even though being quite epic at times. The track wouldn't sound out of place on The Lamb as it is strongly driven by the vocals and the lyrics. As I prefer much more instrumental passages, rather than songs dominated by the vocals, I don't enjoy the tune as much as the others, but oh well, it still is a pretty good track. I Know What I Like is a very catchy pop piece, yet still maintaining some progressive elements. I like it. After the Ordeal is a sweet instrumental, More Fool Me is yet another pop track, sung by Phil Collins, and Aisle of Plenty closes the album in the good ol' Thick as a Brick fashion, if you catch my drift.

As a whole, Selling England sounds even better. This is definitely one of my favourite albums ever and my favourite Genesis album, even though Nursery Crime is also unbelievably good and quite underrated.

Best Moments of the CD: -the guitar solo on Firth of Fifth.

Now I've read many of the reviews here, and whinced at some of the comments made but wholeheartedly agreed with all the positive comments. I've known this album since I had it on vinyl back in the seventies and probably know every word off by heart, which is quite easy to do with such a well written an well produced masterpiece.

Firstly I'd like to offer opposing views on the negative comments regarding a couple of tracks that are by no means a let down to the rest of the album (in my mind).

More Fool Me. This is a fantastic song that is sung with sensitivity by Phil, and beautiful guitar work by Steve. Think about it - it wouldn't have suited Peter's voice so well, and was a great showcase for Phil to step up to the microphone. It also provides a welcome and perfect breather after the breathtaking Firth of Fifth, so I really fail to see why others view it as out of place on the album. Don't dare press that skip button, that would be sacrilege!!

Battle of Epping Forest. This is just a work of genius. It has all the elements of a great story - superlative riffs that are played as well as anyone could ever play them, lyrics that are clever as well as humerous, and characters that allow Peter to prove how entertaining he is when at his most creative. Maybe it's easier for the English to take this humour to heart and enjoy it for what it is, but the 'silly voices' and 'bad cockney accents' are just that - silly and bad, but deliberate I suggest. And funny. Peter Gabriel isn't an actor, he's a performer - and a unique one at that.

General comments - this is one of those albums that raises goosebumps, causes shivers down the spine and even brings tears to the eyes (in a good way). Even more so if you were lucky to ever experience any of this music live. I rate every track at 5 stars, apart from the last track Aisle of Plenty at 4 - and this is only because it's more of a fade-out from the previous track and relatively short, so no real problem there. There are many reviews stating this a a desert island disc, and I have no hesitation in following suit - the easiest 5 star recommendation I'm ever likely to give.

This is probably my hardest one to review. It's because I'm stunned by sheer quality of this. Maybe it sounds foolish, but it would be far easier if it was some lesser known album. It's milestone of Genesis work. I can appreciate lyrics a lot, but only when I understand them. Of course I take this album very differently, than native speaker, for me they're this kind of British style I like. Well and after so many listening (thanks to so easy-to-approach-kind-of-music) I think I understand them.

Little bit lamenting "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" (Moonlight?), which I take as ironic parody of then-current British Isles (I understand what "chewing your..." means when I read description on wikipedia, it didn't even crossed my mind, because I didn't know what Wimpy means) with great intro, something like a capella, but after just seconds, gentle guitar comes (and synth).

"Wardrobe" is annoying song for me, something like Love to Love You on Caravan's album from similar year. I skip it when I can.

"Fifth of the Firth" with weird lyrics (which I though I'll understand, after reading article on wikipedia about this song - bad luck, no understanding now, they're still same crazy as before), but nice melody. When I wasn't thinking about lyrics (I didn't read them), all song was nicer, but only a little bit. Still it's good one and when I first listen this song, I was repeating first three minutes over and over again. Then, as I was listening (I know this album for about 9 months now, it was my first introduction to Genesis musis), I realise that I can appreciate middle part solo too. And maybe even more.

do you want other tracks ?

EDIT June 2010 - I'll leave this text as it is, I realized that keeping it that way is nice effort to see "how I wrote" when I started. It's my 10th review, so nothing big yet.

5(+), because of because (hehe). And after all these listens, I even like "Wardrobe", even it's not as good as others are.

My word, what a beautiful album. This has single-handed broke me into Genesis, and with that, all of symphonic prog. Opening with the epic brilliance of Dancing, which has some of the best solo trading, interspersed with melodies that archangels dream of crafting. Speaking of angels, Gabriel has the voice of one. This single song has so many memorable, and evocative sounds that you just want to stop and listen intently. Majestic and bombastic. I recommend buying this album for this track, alone. Although ignoring the other songs would be a pity...

IKWIL (IYW) Is next, and hints at commercial overtones, without losing prog sensibilities, and is a step down from The first track, but still such a great song. The chorus is expertly crafted. Firth of Fifth has some entrancing melodies, and one of my album favorites. More fool me is a short and soft song, and pretty. After the ordeal follows the album suit, and I enjoyed it. The Cinema show is a majestic rapturous finale (well, not counting the DWTMK reprise that is Aisle of Plenty, which is a very beautiful end).

In all, I had never really gotten into symphonic prog, until I gulped this masterpiece down. I concede that this is truly an exemplary album, and I adore it. I highly recommend this to anyone. Five Stars.

The album starts with "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight", which is in fact a fantastic start, I absolutely love this song, the great acoustic riff in the first verses, the powerful and catchy chorus and the absolutely stunning guitar solo, this is one of Genesis' best creations. The song starts out quite soft, but after the first chorus a very dark guitar riff will be heard and Steve Hackett plays a marvelous guitar solo. After the chorus is repeated for the second time the dark riff plays again, this time there is not a powerful guitar solo, but a great synth solo, a fantastic song.

Next is "I Know What I Like", one of the flaws of this album, it isn't a bad song, but it's not a very memorable prog song. The song is pretty poppy and happy and I don't think it comes close to being a Genesis classic, which the previous song definitely is.

The third track is "Firth Of Fifth", a track that is loved by many prog fans, and I understand that, it's a great track. The song starts out with the piano intro, which is beautiful. Gabriel's singing comes in, which is as good as always, and three lovely solo's are heard, a flute solo, a synth solo and one very long and very good guitar solo. This song is pretty diverse and I can enjoy it very much, though it's not as good as "dancing With The Moonlit Knight".

The next track is "More Fool Me", by far the worst track of the album, it's a Phil Collins pop song, don't get me wrong, Phil Collins is good in what he does, but I don't like pop songs, definitely not when I'm listening a true prog rock album.

"Battle Of Epping Forest" is next. The track is quite entertaining with Peter Gabriel stepping into the roles of several characters. The biggest flaw of this song, I think, is that is lasts eleven minutes, which is pretty long for a song such as this. If it would last only three or four minutes it would be a nice one, but after a couple of minutes the song gets boring already.

Next up is "After The Ordeal", a nice instrumental. I don't think it's a great song, but it definitely is a good one and it shows the great skills of Tony Banks and Steve Hackett.

"The Cinema Show" is one of the true epics of this album, just as "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" and "Firth Of Fifth", the song starts out with great guitar playing, not great in the way of the playing being incredibily hard, but it does just sound very good and I think the guitar playing characterises this song. After the first part of the song, the vocal based part, we get a lengthy synth solo, which is very nice and enjoyable. Though "The Cinema Show" is a nice song, I think it lacks something, it just feels a bit incomplete, nevertheless it's a great song.

"Aisle Of The Plenty" is a decent ending of the album, it reprises the acoustic guitar riff from the first song, but apart from that it's not a very special song.

I don't understand why this album is rated above other Genesis albums like Foxtrot, which I think is much better. I'm rating this album just three stars, it has several great songs, but also some pretty big flaws, which screws the album up for me.

The perennials are the brilliant "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", a showcase for Gabriel, Banks and Hackett in equal proportion; the majestic "Firth of Fifth" with its blueprint guitar solo; and the fanciful but intensely melodic "Cinema Show/Aisle of Plenty", with one of the warmest synth solos committed to posterity. Add in the pleasant ditty "I Know What I Like" and the baroquely beautiful "After the Ordeal" and you have all the trappings of a classic.

The remaining two tracks are the innocuous and lightweight "More Fool Me", which would by itself not spoil a 5 star performance, and the loquacious "Battle of Epping Forest", that is too long and atrocious to be simply ignored. As a result, this one gets docked a full star, still essential but not nearly perfect, due to about 16 ounces of gristle.

"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" Gabriel's almost anthemic voice alone opens the first song. Pastoral guitars and soft keyboard accompany him. The lyrics are full of references to English culture (or lack thereof- referencing Wimpy's burger restaurants and Green Shield stamps). Steve Hackett's electric guitar solo, with his two-handed tapping, swelling, and strange way of playing make this one of the most unique guitar solos of that time. The Mellotorn choir underscoring the heaviest part of the song is at once haunting and awe-inspiring. After the final chorus, the music begins to fall away, become less and less extant until only a strange acoustic section backed by Mellotron ends the piece. All said, this may just be my favorite Genesis song, both for the musicianship poured into it as well as its charming lyrical wit.

"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" One of the quirkiest songs Genesis ever did, the second song is full of catchy lyrics about a lawn mowing man who has no motivation in life to be anything "greater," as he is perfectly happy trimming grass. Mike Rutherford's crawling bass is the musical centerpiece of the chorus for me. Hackett's guitar effect sounds very close to a motorized lawnmower.

"Firth of Fifth" Tony Banks showcases his talent with the introduction to one of Gabriel-era Genesis's most beloved songs. It goes right perfectly into the verse, with Gabriel's voice at its most majestic, and subtle layers of instrument flowing underneath like a gentle river. Once again, my attention turns to Rutherford's interesting bass lines. Following a short piano interlude, Gabriel treats listeners to a tenderly dark flute bit. Things pick up with Banks's piano, and the introduction is back, only this time it's in full force with the whole band behind it, and Banks using his synthesizer lead for the main melody while Collins batters his snare. Hackett's solo is considered one of the greatest moments of the song, during which he recalls Gabriel's flute line, making the lengthier notes quiver. The way the music travels back to the verse is masterful and a clear indication of what Genesis was capable of compositionally. The fading piano makes for a beautiful ending.

"More Fool Me" Phil Collins sings lead vocals on this short song, which is easily the weakest song on the album. The chorus is catchy, but the verses send me to sleep and are somewhat hard to follow (strange, since it's more of a pop song). This song gives some indication of the simpler direction the band would take after Gabriel's departure (consider "Your Own Special Way"); had this song been excluded in favor of something more interesting, this masterpiece of an album would have been even stronger.

"The Battle of Epping Forest" An underrated song to be sure, "The Battle of Epping Forest" boasts some of Gabriel's wittiest lyrics ever, chock full of double entendre and clever voices. Not only that, but the bouncy instrumentation, compliments of Rutherford's bass and Banks's various keyboards, make this one of the most interesting pieces the band ever played. The acoustic-based section is loaded with cunning words and interesting exchanges.

"After the Ordeal" A Hackett-composed instrumental that for some reason irked Banks and Gabriel, I find this to be one of Genesis's best wordless pieces, if not the best. It blends beauty and sophistication together in a way lost on so many artists. It is certainly strange how this lovely piece of music could be the center of disagreement, particularly part of the reason Hackett would eventually leave Genesis.

"The Cinema Show" Laden with twelve-string guitars, the beginning of this song discusses the romantic involvement of Romeo and Juliet before getting to the more upbeat chorus, which speaks of Tiresias, a man who according to Greek mythology, spent seven years as a woman. The chorus is one of the best choruses ever written, with engaging lyrics and an unforgettable melody. A short flute solo over twelve-string guitar and mounting organ, followed by some vocalizations, bridge the two recitations of the chorus. The second section of the song is a second key place for Banks to showcase his musical talent in a 7/8 time signature. Collins's drumming is equally spectacular here. The denouement is beautiful, as it eases into a reprise of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight."

"Aisle of Plenty" This is the full reprise of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" that brings the album back around perfectly, referencing several aspects of modern English living.

For many this album gathered all the ingredients and all the musical adventures a prog band must have in that period, I mean this is the peak of progressive music with this album released by Genesis in 1973 entitled very well and full of meaning Selling England by the pound. The story behind the album as already many said here is about the fall of british empire. Now, from the biggining I must say that is not my fav Genesis album, not by far, I prefer Nursery cryme (from Gabriel era) and Trick of the tail to be their best album ever. The music is to me is very well composed, with flaws (sometimes the album is to mellow in places ) and highs, the prestation of Tony Banks here is absolute brillian on every pieces. he remains one of my fav keyboards players ever, very inventiv and very smooth and elegant. The best pieces are all in my ears, all are good and very enjoyble, but with all that I can't give it 5 stars, something is not really working, musically speaking. Anyway this album remains one of the best they ever done and for sure one of the pinacle of progressive music in general. I will give 4 stars, an example of early masterfull work for sure, but not a masterpiece in my opinion, sometimes I have the impression that this album is little overrated.

My only big concerns with the album are ''More Fool Me'' (a sappy ballad that goes too slow) and believe it or not ''Firth of Fifth'' (some of the solo bits go a little too long for my tastes). However, this is a textbook example of what a great progressive rock album sounds like. Even with the pop hit ''I Know What I Like'', this album is a winner. An undeniable masterpiece.

One of the most profound aftershocks that emanated from Crimson`s sonic frankenstein were the enchanting musical stylings of Genesis who, after several kicks at the cat, refined the symphonic rock concept both in terms of musical structure and production. Favouring melodic and harmonic thematic developments over virtuosic resplendence, 1973`s Selling England By The Pound eclipsed anything the band had previously recorded and in retrospect can be seen as the Mount Everest in the evolution of progrock in the early seventies. At the same time it could well have been reponsible for driving a proverbial nail into the coffin of the progressive rock movement. With expansive pastoral tones combined with abstruse lyrics it is widely accepted amongst conniossuers as the genre`s finest hour. But on the contrary, it provided all the bombastic flatulence that fed critics for their seathing commentaries. Paradoxically though, the work transformed Genesis into a viable commercial endeavour on both sides of the Atlantic. A catchy and rather philisophically charming single entitled I Know What I Like ( In Your Wardrobe ) almost made the UK top 20 while the album itself peaked at #3. The absurd, yet alluring, cover painting, The Dream, by Betty Swanwick alludes to the single and was even altered to better suit the lyrics of the song by adding a lawnmower at the request of the band! Genesis also began headlining their own shows, a US breakthrough loomed over the horizon and previous albums such as Nursery Cryme and Genesis Live began to climb up the UK charts. This was the happy time for progrock with other bands such as Jethro Tull, Yes and Pink Floyd sharing the limelight.

The splendour of the intricate musical stuctures and outré lyrics on the work cannot be overderstated. The love tragedy of Cinema Show, the absurdity of The Battle Of Epping Forest and the ostensibly classical Firth Of Fifth which loosely follows a sonata model of theme/development/recap/coda all reflect affections for early classical compositional structures and a learned private school education. Although not their strongest lyrical effort, ( aknowledged by members of the band themselves ) a contemporary conciousness prevails over the work using both ancient and coeval English metaphors. This is evident from the onset with singer Peter Gabriel`s opening capella, " Can you tell me where my country lies?" which questions the economical and social strife in Britain at the time. The lyrics become somewhat muddled at times particularily on The Battle For Epping Forest and Firth Of Fifth so it is best to let one`s immagination flow here. Guitarist Steve Hackett even once refered to the album as mad and surreal!

Overshadowed by later commercial successes, early Genesis albums such as this one don`t age well and it is more likely that they will hold more lasting appeal for those who lived through the period and witnessed the visual backdrops and Peter Gabriel`s theatrical characterizations on the live stage unseen on vinyl and CD reproductions. I attended a Genesis concert in the summer of 2007 and when they played some of the earlier material I noticed a look of perplexity on the faces of some of the younger people in the audience!

Passage of time notwithstanding, Selling England By The Pound is without question the most exquisite of the Peter Gabriel phase of the band and although not without flaw, it remains one of the most enduring stylistic elucidations of the early seventies progrock phenomenom.

This is progressive rock in all the senses, amazing work, beautiful moments, the solo in firth of fifth say it all..beautiful melodies..

a five star album without doubt..

Thanks to genesis for create something amazing...

Cheers..

"Selling England by the Pound" is one of the greatest progressive albums ever.

Not that I've been single for years, but back in the day . . . I had one of those on again off again relationships. We'd date then get into some moronic fight and break up, then we'd get back together and it'd be all special for a while then we'd drift apart again. I always kind of knew she'd be there when I needed to go back to her and every time we got back together, it was amazing.

"Selling England by the Pound" is that old girlfriend for me. When ever I needed her, she's always been there. (I've now said something new about Selling England, though in all fairness, that's possibly the most disturbing analogy that I've made so far.)

Rather than doing an in depth track by track analysis, which has been done countless times, I'll just throw some of my thoughts out there.

"Dancing With the Moonlight Knight": Gabriel's opening line is one of the most beautiful examples of his voice. There is so much tone and power to his voice, all stuck into the plea, "Can you tell me where my country lies." The last couple of minutes, the mellower part, are some of my favorites of this song; I love the airy feeling that Banks and Hackett's interplay gives me.

"I Know What I Like": ok, I feel a bit sheepish; I never realized that Hackett was simulating the sound of a Lawnmower here until the rerelease with video. There's a video that shows Gabriel mimicking mowing throughout the intro of the song. Yes, it took me twenty or thirty years to make the connection, oh well, more fool me (yep, did you see that, kind of a play on words there).

"Firth of Fifth" is a song that I didn't appreciate until spending time on here. I never quite picked up on the majesty of it, and here's why. The vocal parts sung by Gabriel sound very forced to me, it's almost as if the words and music are constantly tripping over one and other. In addition, I wasn't a big fan of the piano intro by Mr. Banks. In my youth, I'd routinely skip this song in youthful exuberance to get to my favorites. Now, I get it a bit more. While I still think the vocals sound forced and slightly out of time, I truly appreciate the solo sections of the song. Hackett's work here must be one of the most beautiful guitar solos in existence.

"More Fool Me" eh, what can I say, I don't mind Collins ballads, but his voice isn't strong enough at this point in his career to pull this one off well. This is the weakest part of the album (yeah, no surprise there).

Despite the grief it gets, I love "The Battle of Epping Forest". In particular, the run from the four minute mark to about five minutes and twenty seconds is beautiful, the inter play between the notes of Banks and Hackett's runs weave a tapestry of sound that is subtle but stunning once you pick up on it. At random times throughout the bit, random chords appear within the rhythms that each is playing separately, creating a third, independent rhythm. This is one of the most complex and beautiful bits of an all around amazing album.

"After the Ordeal" is a Hackett showcase piece that really shows off his mastery. Even though it's only a four minute song, this one should not be overlooked.

"The Cinema Show" is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. There are at least three goose bump moments. The first notes of the guitar always give me that creeping feeling of majesty. The nanas at the four minute mark are equally beautiful. Finally, the last half of the song features Collins, Rutherford and Banks at their best. The rhythm section with Banks overtop is worthy of ELP, though without the machismo. Kind of like the quiet younger sister, able to let her beauty shine through without the pomp. Banks solo at the seven minute mark is the piece that taught me how to solo; it's not about the quantity of notes, but which notes you put where. The second half of the solo, a repetition of the first with the powerful choirs adding power behind the lead is truly one of the best choices of keyboard sounds that I know of. Literally, this song shaped my playing more than any other piece of music.

"The Aisle of Plenty" is a haunting closer to this masterpiece, revisiting "Dancing with the Moonlight Light's" main melody.

No, I didn't end up with the girlfriend that I mentioned in the first paragraph, and I'm quite happy with "The Flower Kings" and Frost* and the newer music that I listen to these days, but "Selling England by the Pound" will always be one of those CD's that will always have a soft spot in my heart.

Five stars, easily.

Well, what do we have here... another 'Selling England By The Pound' review? As one of the highest rated albums on the site, I almost feel obliged to review the album and give my opinion on it.

I can safely say that yes, 'Selling England By The Pound' is a masterpiece, but not necessarily a perfect work. Tarnished only by a few bland moments, and a song that deters from the overall product, it is a powerful trip and a genre-defining album in prog music.

The album starts up with a very powerful and memorable track (and one of my favourite Genesis tracks) 'Dancing With The Moonlit Knight' which starts out not with a bombastic progressive onslaught, but the acapella vocals of singer Peter Gabriel. While I've never been a huge fan of Peter Gabriel, his vocals really shine on this album, and his quirky inflections really compliment the witty lyrics.

Other highlights include 'The Battle Of Epping Forest' (the lyrical highlight of the album) and 'Fifth Of Firth' (which has one of the most beautful guitar solos I have ever heard.)

I don't have too many negative things to say about the album, but one song that did get on my nerves after a fairly short time was 'More Fool Me,' which I think really deters from the album's quality consistency. It's an unnecessary acoustic track, minus the chorus which is tolerable and pleasant.

Another thing that I found a bit distracting was the production of the album. At times it sounds a bit noisy and low-fidelity. I understand that this was the early 70's and the band wasn't exactly exposed to the highest quality equipment, but on another masterpiece of theirs 'Foxtrot' (that in fact, came before this one) the sound quality is much better. It doesn't really hurt the compositional integrity of the albums, but it still robs the album of being 'perfect' in my eye.

Overall, 'Selling England By The Pound' is something every progressive music fan should listen to and own. A true essential, and one of the highlights of Genesis' career.

Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - already unleashes the sirens.

I Know What I Like - introduces a playfulness - without loss of ernest - that few songs can achieve without being silly.

Firth of Fifth - is a timeless PROGRESSIVE MASTERPIECE. It doesn't get much better than this.

More Fool Me - Okay, I liked Phil back then. More fool me. Or was there a promise that rushed in on A Trick of the Tail, Wind And Wuthering, Duke and a few times more? Absolutely. Within the Genesis oevre, this Phil moment is a second mini-origin.

The Battle of Epping Forest - Is great fun. Gabriel's dialects and fanciful flights are ingenious. I remember reading that Tony Banks felt that there were too many words being sung for the intricately crafted music of this piece (or something like that). I don't find the piece overfrought with wordage, more like a stage performance of an epic event with a perfectly synchonised, driving, galloping soundtrack.

After The Ordeal - Is a beautiful instrumental. Entirely non-pretensious and wonderful.

The Cinema Show and Aisle Of Plenty - Here, the second PROGRESSIVE MASTERPIECE of this marvelous album. Everything comes together in this composition. All of the musicians with their respective sparks whip up fireworks. Gabriel and Collins in delightful unison. The blend into Aisle Of Plenty always halts my breath. Gabriel makes evident what the voice of a minstrel sorcerer can conjure: Visions of the market place of sound and possibilities, singing about selling by the pound - spiting the sell out with visual mimicry. Like that moment on Wish You Were Here: "... by the way, which one's Pink?" Those other two albums are truly great. But in my eyes, they do not manage to release the siren's cry as consistently, dramatically and musically brilliant as this singular album. So I'm hoping to see its rating boosted.

Can you tell me where my country lies? With this intriguing question sung acapella, Peter Gabriel opened this other Genesis masterpiece at his peak, both vocally and lyrically. Selling England by the Pound might not have been as flashy as Foxtrot, and was not as groundbreaking as Nursery Cryme, but it was the perfect balance.

Overall the most gifted band of their era, especially for their unmatchable composition skills which enabled them to create songs that were all complex, melodical and emotional, Genesis probably reached its top with Selling England by the Pound, and I say this even though my favourite songs from them would probably be on their previous, aforementioned albums. Selling England by the Pound simply was an even more complete, entirely coherent work as a whole - a melodical celebration of symphonic prog rock flowing seamlessly for the entire running time.

As I pointed above, to me Peter Gabriel was at his peak on this album. His vocals are right on all the way, whereas he had a tendency to overdo them from time to time before this. And lyrically, Selling England by the Pound was just superb. Politically and socially engaged as it is mostly a reflexion on 1970's Britain, and yet very subtle, mixing medieval, Renaissance and more modern themes. I am not aware of any other band coming even close to such finesse during their time.

Among the 70's Genesis classic albums, this is perhaps the one which took the longest to grow with me. I have been a long time thinking that this was their weakest effort, but it turned out that it was my own effort which was too weak. Never give up on this album if you are still uncertain of what to think of it - a revelation is waiting around the corner for you.

At the moment this review was written, this album was unexplicably ranked #3 behind Pink Floyd's Wish you Were Here and Yes' Close to the Edge. In my view, the former is nowhere near as progressive or complete as Selling England by the Pound, while the latter is so many steps behind with regard to lyrical and melodical achievement...

Anyway. No need to explain that you do not have a progressive rock collection if you do not own this album. This is the essential among the essentials.

For me it's simply because of Dance With The Moonlit Knight and Firth or Fifth. Those two tracks are easily among the most beautiful pieces of progressive rock ever recorded, especially in the symphonic prog sub-genre. Amazing musicianship that is both muscular and subtle and that never gets in the way of the compositions. Stellar guitar work, great melodies and plenty of chilling and dramatic moments. Oh yes this is prog at its pinnacle.

There are also flaws though. More Full Me is a pretty embarrassing moment and I know for sure that I don't like I Know What I Like. Ok, you might need to read that one a few times. I guess many people won't enjoy Epping Forest all that much neither. Well I sure like that quirky Epping piece. Also Cinema Show is an epic classic with one of the better synth solos in rock. Not that there is much competition (brouhaha). I'll leave you sitting on that for now. If you're curious how I feel about prominent keyboards in rock I have to divert you to my Yes, ELP or other Genesis reviews :)

Well that should do it for this one. You must be bored to death already with reviews about this. 4.5 stars

However, dances with the moonlit knight, cinema show, and firth of fifth are all perfect mini prog epics in my opinion. They ooze melody, technical skill (without showing off), interweaving sections seamlessly and don't get boring. For me it is almost instantly a classic, despite it being released a good 12 years before i was born. They simply don't make records like this anymore...

Ive avoided reviewing this for a while due to wanting to be sure that my score was justified, and it turns out that this album has stood the test of time for me.

An easy 5* for me due to 3 pieces that are simply not matched in any modern music and will last forever, and a lovely reprise of dances at the end

For me, this album marks the end of that amazing trilogy. Of course, THE LAMB LIES DOWN contains some brilliant songs (Carpet Crawlers, Anyway, Slippermen), as does TAIL (Entangled, Mad Mad Moon) and WUTHERING (Blood On the Rooftops, Unquiet Slumbers/In that Quiet Earth), but these are less brilliant albums than collections of songs with brilliant moments (as well as moments that don't work).

Newcomers should probably start with this album, and play it over and over until its brilliance becomes apparent.

1. "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" - 10/10

2. "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - 10/10

3. "Firth of Fifth" - 10/10

4. "More Fool Me" - 10/10

5. "The Battle of Epping Forest" - 9/10

6. "After the Ordeal" - 10/10

7. "The Cinema Show" - 10/10

8. "Aisle of Plenty" - 10/10

79/8 = 98.75%...5 stars!

Its an amazing opening the first track "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight", because you can hear the vocals of Mr. Gabriel a capella just superb. With this proof you have little clue about what this album means. So you need to sit and close your eyes because all the album is excellent.

Maybe there are 2 songs with a poppy taste, yes the weakest in the album could be " I Know What I like" and "More Fool Of Me" sang by Mr Collins, but all the album is well structured.

Without count this pair of songs we have the rest of the album like a truly masterpiece. And if you hear all the album in one listening you can discover that this one is like a book when it starts with "dancing" and when it finish with a little reprise a.k.a "aisle of plenty".

Maybe is not my favorite album of Genesis but surely my second. Check it out by yourself.

Highly Recommended!! Epic,Beautiful,Excellent,Sweet, Essential in a prog collection... A must- have !!

I know that this is probably one of the albums with more reviews in this website....but since this is one of my all time favorites (a bit of a cliché...but I Know What I Like!) I have to review it.... I usually do a song by song review but I don't think it is necessary here.

This is not a "propper" concept album but it has coherence both musically and lyrically...The central theme is England and I think this is the ultimate british album... among the lyrical highlights we have Dancing With The Moonlight Knight, Firth of Fifth, The Battle of the Epping Forest (great narration here) and The Cinema Show (go Gabriel!).... musically almost the entire album is a highlight, being More Fool Me a low point...its not a bad song, it's actually a nice ballad and shows Phil Collins' vocal quality (who would have imagined what would happen later...)....

The musicians are as great as always: Hackett has never let me down (lets forget GTR), Banks is an absolute master of keyboards (lets forget later Genesis here too) and the piano intro for Firth of Fifth is a classic, Gabriel is at his best here with all of the characteristic dramatism and humor that we all love, the highly underrated Rutherford gives a very solid bass foundation to the music (he is one of the best prog bass players ever... neglecting post Hackett genesis) and finally Collins... this is the proof that he should be drumming not singing (he is one of the best drummers ever) when you have someone as Peter Gabriel in the band...well.... More Fool Me proves he is a good singer so he shouldn't waste this talent. Indeed, he is one of the best (with Chris Squire) backing vocalists in prog and Disney gave a good use to his voice (I used to love his soundtracks before I discovered Genesis and Peter Gabriel)... + In my opinion his vocal work with the band after Gabriel left on albums such as A Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering is nothing less than top notch.

There is nothing else to say.... an album in which More Fool Me (a very underrated ballad) can be considered a low point deserves no less than 5 stars... A timeless masterpiece...

PS: An absolute essential...specially for those new to prog rock and / or genesis

Now that that's out of the way, let me do a little explaining:

1) Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - Wow, this is an incredible opener. It starts out with Gabriel singing acapella then each instrument slowly comes in, this is all building up to the chorus, followed by a long instrumental passage with a blistering solo by Steve Hackett. The lyrics are wonderful, dealing with the English dream or somesuch, maybe I'm wrong about that but at least they paint an image in your head, and that image will be different depending on who you are, unlike YES, but I'll review that some other day... Some more verses, chorus again, then my favorite part: a 2 minute instrumental passage which is just amazing, the same four or five notes being repeated while layers of percussion, cymbals, fading mellotrons, and plucked strings add some atmosphere. In a word, haunting. 5/5

2) I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - Now this is really good fun! Starts out with a low synth note, perhaps to represent the "cosmic lawnmower", and a spoken word intro by Gabriel: "It's one o'clock and time for lunch, When the sun beats down and I lie on the bench I can always hear them talk." The lyrics deal with young, English, upper-middle class children who just seem to want to laze about all day and "know what (they) like, like what (they) know". The melody is very memorable, great instrumentation, great playing and singing... this may be the closest they ever came to a pop song in the Gabriel years. 5/5

3) Firth of Fifth - Beginning with a classic(al) piano intro by Banks, the verses are rather simple in structure, and the lyrics maybe a bit pretentious, but it's the instrumental parts that really cook here: It's all based on variations on the original intro, played by Banks, and Collins' drumming is just superb, almost jazzy. Rutherford plays seemingly simple basslines, but they're really almost the heart of the song, nobody could play them better, then after a sort of synth solo by Banks.... a stupendous, moody, wailing (I mean that in the best sense of the word) solo by Hackett. It isn't played fast, but you can hear the emotion he puts into every note. After another verse, the song fades out with another piano melody from Banks. 5/5

4) More Fool Me - Now this is just a complete step away from all the previous songs. A simple love song with an acoustic guitar as its only accompaniment? And yet, it seems to fit in perfectly, I honestly need a break from the epic songs once in awhile and after the first three tracks (especially Firth of Fifth) I could use a breather, which is why I have no problem with it, really. As for the song itself, its actually really sweet and heartfelt (for a Collins ballad) and his voice isn't that bad, though definitely not as emotional as Gabriel's. The lyrics are great, and the chorus very uplifting. There's nothing wrong with this song. 5/5

5) The Battle of Epping Forest - This is probably one of the greatest epic prog song ever written. It fades in with a sort of military-style snare drum pattern and flute accompaniment, (Gabriel is just great here, he overdubs several times to make some great harmonies), then slowly fades out. It's a great way to start, I always feeling like I'm a soldier marching through a field, about to fight in some great battle taking place just over the horizon. The song is actually about a gang fight going on in a residential area of England, and it very cleverly draws comparisons to a real battles between nations ("Here come the cavalry"). Gabriel's singing is just incredible here, with various characters and puns used in the lyrics. The concept is just genius, and the instrumentals are unique for each verse. If you listen to the lyrics you can hear the story of each gang member, it's all very good fun. Then, out of nowhere, a new part: The story of a reverend, who inadvertently solicits a prostitute and becomes involved in the smuggling trade. In all honesty, it's hilarious, which is what I think they intended. Good prog bands should let you laugh at their songs, unlike YES (oh, here we go again). In the end: nobody wins because everybody's dead! They flip a coin to decide who's won; the whole thing was for nothing. I don't understand why even some seasoned Genesis fans tend to dislike this song, but listen to it with an open mind and you will be rewarded. 5/5

6) After the Ordeal - An ordeal that last song certainly was, but a good one. This is an instrumental, don't ask me about the concept, but the instrumentation is great, with each part as complex as the next (no drums, though). It's somewhat medieval in style, bar the guitar, basically just a great song, you can tell they took a lot of time with this one. 5/5

7) The Cinema Show - This is technically the last original song on the album, about a couple destined to meet at the cinema show. Ok, so the plot may be a little silly, the lyrics are fine, but the instrumental bits are what make this song wonderful. Gabriel plays his flute more than in any other track, and he does great. It's mostly acoustic, and Hackett is wonderful on the playing that way. Then in the middle we suddenly have a change of tempo, we go into 7/4, and we get a great synth solo from Banks accented by Collins' drumming, probably his best effort on the album along with "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", all building up to a climax with the whole band playing, then it all quiets down, we hear the guitar riff from "Dancing", and it fades into the last song... 5/5

8) Aisle of Plenty - A reprise of the theme from "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", the lyrics have been changed, it shows in the end the dream has been lost, and all it was was crass consumerism, that England has lost its culture in this new world. A salesman starts to recite prices of his various items, and it slowly fades out. A fitting end. 5/5

Final: What else is there to be said. I'll say it again: This is the greatest progressive rock album of all time. Get it at all costs, if you can't afford it, sell an organ on the black market. Just make sure it's a non-important one. Like your appendix. Selling England by the Pound gets 5 stars out of 5.

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight is a damn good song, one of the few by Genesis that I still like to listen to after all these years (even my favorites, I have listened to so often that I rarely play them anymore, as I have every note committed to memory). But like most Genesis, I wish there were better, and longer solos.

Firth Of Fifth is another highlight in this band's career, and Hackett even provides a nice guitar solo, but here Genesis sound like they are trying to recreate King Crimson's sound. And they do a fair job of it.

The Battle Of Epping Forest has potential, but this recording is marred by a particularly drab Tony Banks performance. His keyboards here are a prime example of why I compare him more to Tony Kaye of Yes than to the truly great prog keyboardists. He has the skills to occasionally rise up and play something spectacular, he just usually chooses not to.

The Cinema Show is another fine prog tune. Worth having in any collection.

A solid four star album.

The year 1973 was something of a watershed for the English giants in my opinion. One can argue whether Selling/Dark Side/Topographic Oceans were the "best" these bands had to offer. My feeling is that all three works saw their bands taking the last gasp of their original visions and team unity to their most accomplished conclusions. All still contained the spark of original magic, the lack of overt cynicism, the feeling that the bands still believed in the strength of their group creativity. While future works would still be very impressive there would be more division, more cynicism, band members departing, and the realization that what were once friendships making discoveries together were now organizations. As albums from all three would continue to make strides in production and sophistication, Gabriel would later describe in one word the feeling that would descend upon all three: machinery. And yet in the heart of 1973 it was all still so fresh and vibrant for the fan of rock music, progressive or otherwise.

As Floyd did on Dark Side, Genesis would grasp bits and pieces of previous albums and manage to spin them into a work with more cohesion, greater accessibility without compromising extended instrumental excitement, a finer studio ear for arrangements and dynamics, and a superior eye for the overall package as a work of art for the ages. Moments of brilliance were there on Cryme and Foxtrot but here the music is magical start to finish. As with Dark Side we can become a bit spoiled over the decades as these works are damaged by "overkill" within the prog community and thus hammered as being overrated. But in fact this is not the case. From any vantage point I take of Selling England it comes through as completely convincing, extraordinarily warm, charming, and inspiring. The playing on the album has been raised to another level not only by the clearer production, but the voracity in which each member seems to be striving to make every note and word count. We are treated to four outstanding Genesis epics averaging 10 minutes in length, none of which overstay their welcome by even a second. These elaborate pieces are separated by four "glue" tracks which serve as breather moments and cleanse the palette before throwing the listener back into the album's ride. The mixture of the romantic English pastoral vibe with the dynamic rocking sections and vocal passion deliver the fan an amazingly sincere and direct experience. There is no waiting period required to connect with Selling, there is no effort required. You are simply bowled over by the overall care bestowed upon this one, and the melodies within will visit your inner dialogue over time. These melodies come and go in my consciousness without ever thinking about Genesis. They are just there playing on my mind's audio channel. I can't say that about every album I appreciate. And more than a collection of tracks Selling feels like a film that pulls the listener into its midst. You are a part of the story.

While Gabriel would remain for the next album it is here where the band feels the most authentic to my ear, delivering on every front as if their lives depended on it. While "Trespass" remains my personal favorite Genesis album, there is no doubt in my mind that 1973 delivered a masterpiece each from Genesis, Yes, and Floyd.

"Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" - From the first sentences Peter Gabriel elegantly mumbles a capella to the music box-like outro, this song is scrupulously finalized and complete; the constantly shifting arrangement, the rigorous guitarwork, the at times comforting and at times forceful vocalization...there are next to no discernible flaws anywhere in this track's impeccable structure. The only criticism I can give is that the ending drags a bit after two minutes. This is a small complaint, however, and hardly diminishes my high regards. No other opening track in prog history, in my opinion, can touch "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight". Rating: 10/10 "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" - The first thing that caught my attention with this piece was the lyrics, which corresponds to the music perfectly. The 'brand of whimsy' which Genesis is famous for is most distinguished on this song (although "Harold the Barrel" and "The Battle of Epping Forest" give it a run for its money). This track is almost like the group's answer to "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" with its almost psychedelic sound. The quirkiness which Gabriel-led Genesis is so famous for is perfectly embodied by this classic. The unconventional sitar performance from Steve Hackett and Peter's droll flute set the scene perfectly. Rating: 10/10

"Firth of Fifth" - Although it was never commended by the critics, "Firth of Fifth" remains one of the most beloved and well-known songs by the earlier Genesis, and is arguably their most manifestly jazz-fusion-influenced track. The song's highlight is Tony Banks's exemplary piano and keyboard work, most exceptionally at the beginning of the instrumental segment. The sound of the entire piece is quite classically influenced, this is the situation with most Genesis tunes, but it also contains echoing of jazz music (as I'd mentioned earlier), particularly in Banks's piano work. The lyrics aren't as mind-blowing as they usually are (they're commonly described as 'pretentious'), but they certainly don't take much away from the overall effect that "Firth of Fifth" provides. Rating: 10/10

"More Fool Me" - This song is a conventional, somewhat unexciting ballad which contains a few instances of lyrical panache, but not much else. It's most notable attribute is the vocal performance from Phil Collins, which isn't particularly spectacular, but does show off his blisteringly high tenor voice. Rating: 7.4/10

"The Battle of Epping Forest" - Although the song's length certainly isn't reasonable or justifiable, "The Battle of Epping Forest" is a fun song, but not much else. The lyrics are entertaining ("I followed a sign that said beautiful chest, it led to a lady who showed me her best"), but they're also a bit too...plentiful. Most classic Genesis tracks have generous amounts of instrumental work, but "The Battle of Epping Forest" is completely devoid of this characteristic. Had they cut this song down a good 8 or 9 minutes, it would be more diverting and listenable, but the sheer length of the track takes a lot of its listenability away. Rating: 7.6/10

"After the Ordeal" - This instrumental ranks among the best in rock music, without a doubt. It isn't one of the group's masterpieces, but it certainly provides a good chance for taking a breath between "The Battle of Epping Forest" and the concluding masterpiece, "The Cinema Show". Rating: 10/10

"The Cinema Show" - Selling England By the Pound's closing masterwork is not only one of Genesis's greatest achievements, but one of the greatest achievements in the entire prog genre. It begins with the perfect coalescence between Gabriel's mystical voice and Hackett's melodious and distinctive guitar. The melody is then slightly adjusted to better accommodate a more complete and complex composition; Banks's keyboards and Collins's drums come in and add greatly to the song's substance. Their flawless instrumentation continues until the final few measures of the song, which contain a reprise of the guitar motif from "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight". Rating: 10/10

"Aisle of Plenty" Finally, the album closes with this haunting melody; the humorous lyrics, which contain several subtle allusions to British companies, fit the melody perfectly, oddly enough; the album comes full circle with this fantastic and beautiful closing melody. Rating: 10/10

A+

Okay, I'll be honest, I never really got into Genesis that much. I had listened to a few songs here and there, but didn't really feel that it was something I could listen to over and over. I didn't really see how it was "prog" at all. I wanted to listen to some to see what the big deal was. I was happy when I found this album at the library.

I came home and put it on my CD player. In the next 45 minutes, my previous opinion of Genesis was crushed, and I found respect for these musicians.

Listening to the songs, they sounded fairly simple. I didn't really catch the changing time signatures and complicated rhythms until about my third listen. This came as a surprise, but I soon realized that this showed just how good they are. The band moves easily from one time signature to another, without making it obvious. For example, the instrumental section in "The Cinema Show" sounds rather simple, but when analyzed, it is very complex. It is the same on all four of the longer pieces, which are, of course, the best four on the CD.

Overall, this album is a bit lighter than what I am used to listening to. The drums aren't as heavy as Yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer or Gentle Giant. This, however, is not a negative thing! The end of "Firth of Fifth" is incredible. The music can be described as relaxing and light, but the guitar solo is one of the best out of everyone.

While this isn't the best album I've ever had, I would strongly recommend adding this album to your collection!

Another album that tells stories but this time, is too muh serious! The most funny storie here is "The Battle of Epping Forest", a pause to relax.

The album is full of good compositions: the manner that begins and ends, "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" and "Aisle of Planty" are the best moments along with the keyboard solo on "The Cinema Show". "After the Ordeal" reminds "Horizons" but less erudi and more folk - another great Steve Hacket composition.

The reason why I don't give 5 stars for this album is the same as in "Foxtrot": some times is kind of boring and the a little part of Genesis theater magic is lost!

For sure is a must but it is not a masterpiece.

Well... There are masterpiece tracks and more 'average' tracks on this '70's music, but the all-around effect that this type of music has in the Prog-world in monstruous. All the characteristics of Prog are here : complex music, very unpredictable melodies, odd-time signatures and rythms, special lyrics, musicians that are athletes on their instrument, intensities. The epics are responsible, alone, for the high-class scoring : 'Dancing', Firth of Fifth, 'Epping' and The Cinema Show. Everyone of those songs is a classical, being directed to a nice story and being constructed magnificiently with all the members of Genesis participating at what has become the group's specific sound. They became a unity through a few numbers of releases (1971-1974), the climax being this one, mostly because of 'Firth of Fifth' and 'The Cinema Show', that are in my view in the Top-10 individual Prog-songs of all-time. Emotions when you listen to those songs are built in a unique way, either in 'Firth' when the piano gives place to the power of the group, followed by the well-known flute theme and the crying guitar; or either in 'Cinema' by the slow-guitar start, a very nice impro, a nice rythm center part, and the fabulous 7-8 second part that is not equalled in this world. I know this group since a long time, of course, as many here also, but if you are new to the progressive music, with an open-mind on complex music and willing to discover, curious about this classic that has high-ranking, you are not mistaking at all in getting in a hurry this fabulous CD. You will get instantly 'The Best' ! You will discover after each listening elements of beautiful music that will transport you, if you like super guitar work, fantastik keyboard and mellotron play, a very special drum play, if you like to remember forever Peter's voice, and a musicality arising from a group that is different than all individual parts.

Even if some other songs would not each attain 5 stars, the overall rating to give to this CD is 5.0, because of the complexity and the incredible music recorded here. Even a theme in the first song emerges later... Super. The epics balance easily the shorter songs, because they enhance this CD value to the very Top. It is bad that we cannot give 8\5 for 'Firth' and 'Cinema' !!

Well ! Enjoy !

Peter Gabriel starts it off beautifully, I might add, with "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight." Oh man do the rest of the band take off from there! It just gets better and better. One important note. During Steve Hackett's solo he hits this note and I don't know what he does to it, but it is just awesome to hear. I don't think I ever heard anyone do it before that. This is after his trademark frethand tapping, which was being done by him since 1971, as opposed to Eddie Van Halen's version. The song is chock full of prog delight. You have got to hear it!

My next favorite is "Firth of Fifth" which will give you goose bumps, it is so wonderful to listen to. Peter has such a visual quality to his lyrics. He is a true master of the word! Hackett and Banks shine on the solo parts. It's just great.

The last part I like starts from "After the Ordeal" and ends with the last note on the record. Tony Banks is simply killer here! It always slays me. Genesis is one of the best there is!

The one I didn't really care for a whole lot was "Battle of Epping Forrest." It just seemed about five minutes to long to me. With that said, the band is still at the top of their game. Gabriel again makes you feel like you are right there in the middle of everything as the story unfolds. I may end up liking it better some day bacause it is well played and a good song in its own right.

"More Fool Me" finds Phil Collins sneaking one in for the band with a good vocal here.

I can take or leave "I know what I like." It is a good song and well played also. In fact there are no weak tunes whatsoever and I feel this is essential listening, so I am giving it 5 stars, no question about it.

Firth of fifth: The maximum into the progressive rock. If someone wants to know what is or was the Progressve rock, just listen this track. Is perfect. Acoustic classical piano, stand out keyboard solo, the best guitar solo, and a great drum work. Even a flute by Peter Gabriel. Great lirycs for me too, even when the Genesis guys don't like it. The main composer of this song was Tony Banks, with the principal collaboration of Steve Hackett to evolve the Banks melody into the guitar solo.

Cinema Show: Epic that shows another great example of the progressive rock could be. Composed by Banks, Rutherford and Collins. The acoustic guitar intro by Rutherford is fantastic, and the Banks solo, is maybe the best Keyboard solo in the history of the rock music. Of course, the live versions sounds better than the studio version.

Dancing with the moonlight knight: A complete group effort. Great lyrics by Gabriel, prog guitar solos, mellotron choirs, great chorus, great drum work, etc. Everything is here, in a perfect open for this great album.

The rest are good, but not excelent.

Five stars, and sorry by my writing

Actually there are enough reviews for this album, but the reason why I still write a short review for it is that I don't understand the big hype around this album, especially regarding the fact that this record has to get 5/5 points simply because it's Selling England By The Pound.

So what I am going to do is try to write about this album critically (as I do see some points of criticism from my side) and probably also write a text which is perhaps enjoyable to read or maybe even a bit informative for the people who know this record already.

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight may be my favorite track on this record: everything fits well here, especially great is the Victorian feeling which the track creates by using masses of 12-string-guitars and distant electric guitars with the trademark swirling, distant Hackett sound: combined with Peter Gabriel's unique voice and in the later progress of the track soft Hammond organ swabs, majestic grand piano and Phil Collins's playful drums the track becomes a typical, or perhaps the typical progressive rock track. Rapid guitar tremolos accompany the third stanza, medieval Mellotron choirs enter and bombastify the mighty chorus-like part where Mr. Collins also shines with his perfect drum play. Still the most impressive part is Steve Hackett's guitar solo in which Genesis come closer to hard rock than ever while Mr. Hackett develops his tapping technique; I always wonder how he creates this percussive sound from 2:45 on in that melody which in its mercuriality reminds me of Bach or someone else from the Baroque epoch. A more enraged stanza follows - after a majestic mellotron choir section - and leads us into the ARP synthesizer solo with Hackett's electric sitar in the background which is so typical for Tony Banks (check the strange rhythms and nearly-as-strange synthesizer melodies which despite that sound great and nearly catchy) which then slowly unwinds with soft Hammond organ chords... You will see: when you love Progressive Rock and you listen to this track you will see that everything is at the right place and leads to sheer pleasure: the music is so perfect that malicious tongues could nearly call it expectable and 'cliche' - if Genesis hadn't invented this often-copied cliche with this song: it could be the most essential progressive rock song ever.

The interesting thing is that from 5:54 on Genesis finish the song with a 2:09 minutes long psychedelic soundscape part in the vein of Trespass (listen to White Mountain to see what I mean) with heavily echoed 12 string guitars, treated Mellotron sounds and - far away - Hackett's lovely electric guitar sounds: balm for the progressive rock listener's ears and a quite untypical, but superb way of ending a fulminant rock track. At the moment I can't think of any other epic which ends in a similar way.

Peter Gabriel's I Know What I Like turns the world of pop music upside down: catchy music, but lyrics about a lawnmower and corresponding sound effects ("There's a future for you in the fire escape trade."; this quote says everything). Like every single, as which the song climbed on rank twenty-one in the British single charts, the compositional focus should lie on the vocals melody and the lyrics, and it also does here: every time I am astonished by this cool 'flow'/groove of the lyrics of the stanza beginning at 1:40 that is rhythmically so exciting that I think about one of the better hip hop pieces. But the infectious catchyness doesn't change the complexity at all: everywhere you find the quirky elements of Genesis that make their simpler pieces that interesting. Dig that Phil Collins solo part from 1:25 where masses of percussion instruments accompany a scat vocalization melody by Collins, but merely as long as necessary, in this case for ten seconds or so - then the music goes on in its usual way. Mike Rutherford is also brilliant at his bass guitar, for example with a playful bass line in the chorus, and the electric sitar which plays the simple main riff/motif of the song. The song fades out with the characteristic hollow-sounding synthesizer melody in the end which finally is overlapped by the lawnmower sounds, essentially (I think) some kind of motor (of a hairdryer or a ventilator) recorded through the pickups of the electric guitar.

Firth Of Fifth is the next classic progressive rock piece on the album which everybody should know. And as everyone probably knows it I probably don't need to write that much about it. Fortunately, Tony Banks plays the famous one-minute piano introduction on a real grand piano and not on this awful electric piano which he used live for these purposes. The odd metres (how about four bars of 13/16 followed by four bars of 15/16 leading into one bar of 2/4 and then returning to 13/16 again?) make the intro not only a real treat due to the nice harmonic progressions but also for rhythmical reasons that are as progressive as they can be. I also do adore the dynamic way of playing: sensitive and restrained passages contrast with more powerful and self-assured ones and the sustain pedal of the piano isn't used for undefinable sound carpets, but for (in my book) fitting articulation. Shorter said: this intro is big fun listening to, especially when you are a keyboarder yourself. The stanzas which follow are often criticized for the lyrics which are seen as 'cheesy', but as English isn't my native language I don't care too much about that; in fact, I believe the sound of the words ("To see reflected there, the trees, the sky, the lilyfair.", for instance) to be quite harmonious and nice. Musically, I enjoy the changes between the sedate stanzas and the wishful, bright ones (2:05) in which Steve Hackett's guitar that just plays a nice counterpoint in the stanzas' background is applied as well - with the Mellotron strings, of course, which are used here the first time on this record (or probably the second, if the sounds at the end of the opener are Mellotron strings). A late-romanticism-piano bridge with etherial cymbal sounds leads into Peter Gabriel's flute solo which is merely backed by a piano and the bass guitar which creates quite a classical feeling like, for example, in a symphony. Afterwards, the grand piano guides the band in a typical upbeat progressive rock instrumental part with odd rhythms and many keyboards swirling around. The following guitar solo uses the melody of the flute solo again, and both - something which astonished me very much - were written neither by Hackett or Gabriel, but by Tony Banks. So, Hackett didn't invent the part of the solo, but interpreted it; and this is a thing in which he succeeded very well. Still there are many parts which sound much like Hackett, but anyway: this solo is marvellous and probably Hackett's best moment ever. And as repeating the solo one more time is probably the only thing that one can do to make it better, Hackett does it exactly the same way; especially live this must be a great experience with full sound volume and subwoofers. A last stanza then segues into the outroduction, a piano motif taken from the introductory piano solo and working as some kind of 'frame' or bookend of the piece.

More Fool Me, the second Genesis track where Phil Collins sings, in fact falls off a bit. But this is not due to the composition, but to the production. Actually, this song is made for being played live. Everytime I listen to this one live, for example on the bonus disc of the live box set, I can't help but calling this an outstanding ballad. Imagine you are sitting in a big concert, for example by the Rolling Stones in the early 1970s, and the band starts off with fast, groovy rock pieces and bright stage illumination, the guitarist plays the electric guitar. Then the band leaves the stage, and only the singer and the guitarist are staying (with the latter switching to the acoustic guitar), the light gets dim. Then they both play a ballad, in my Stones example probably No Expectations. And this change from bombastic grandeur or powerful rock to acoustic ballad-style intimacy is - at least to me - emotionally touching and a great feeling (as far as I know, Genesis played Firth of Fifth before More Fool Me in 1973). But, goodness knows why, this only works when you are sitting (or standing) in a concert hall listening to a band live: not only the music, but also the mood and the atmosphere count and help the song become really good. The studio version therefore pales severely in contrast to the live version due to small details: Collins produces some bad sniveling tones somewhere in the piece, there are vocal overdubs at the most inadequate places and in the chorus Collins pants the word "way", maybe in order to sound emotional, but I am bothered by that. Probably it's really the ambition to make the song sound grand, but in the end it is rather too grand, nearly oversize: the reduced arrangement with Collins on lead vocals and Rutherford on the backing vocal works out much finer, although in my opinion the song itself is well composed. To all those who think that Mike Rutherford is a bad guitarist: he's a bad lead guitarist, but a damn fine fingerpicker.

The Battle Of Epping Forest is the real let-down to me - and unfortunately with nearly 12 minutes the longest piece on this record. A short summary of the writing process the way I reconstruct it: Peter Gabriel writes 795 words about a newspaper article and makes the band put them into music. The bad and sad thing is that this number of 795 is not a rhetorical exaggeration of mine, but the real number of words that my word processing program has counted one minute ago. Even sadder is that the words aren't really bad: they are the typical Gabriel opera dialogues with many rhymes and puns. But turning them into music requires at least 20 minutes of composition. Now the 12 minutes are full of lyrics, the music is unmemorable and lacks the fresh freewheelingness of, for example, Get 'em out by Friday or The Return of the Giant Hogweed. However; there are at least some highlights in the track, but frankly I do not often make it attaining to them because I skip that track after the introduction that with the Mellotron flutes and a nice march rhythm actually is relatively tasteful. Where are these passages which I call highlights now? Ironically, the first kind of highlight is at the places where Gabriel stops singing: the part from 4:04 with the clavinet and Hammond organ arpeggios is very well done, just like the ARP synthesizer melody which the persevering listener may enjoy several times after the Here come the cavalry parts. The second kind of highlight are the parts which always remind me of Jethro Tull and which just consist of 12 string guitar strumming and vocals (like 5:28). But unfortunately, these passages are quite rare, but if they come they won't leave your ears fast: a portion with earworm qualities. I see the rest of the track, including the exerted guitar solo in the end, as rather dull.

After The Ordeal is Steve Hackett's more or less solo track whose structure I actually like very much although it itself is 'only' good and not great, simply because it is short; I am also quite sure that the piece wasn't meant to be great, but rather beautiful. And in achieving this aim the band, or Steve Hackett, has succeeded really well. The first part is completely acoustic and classically influenced and played solely on the acoustic guitar and the piano whilst the second part features the whole band and is essentially an instrumental slow pop/rock song with the electric guitar taking over the lead. The first, joyful part would also fit well on Hackett's Spectral Mornings with delicate melodies and strong influences of classical guitar music, probably Rodrigo or Tarrega; that could also be why Hackett uses a nylon string guitar here. The second part with the slow rhythm, the Hammond organ, two wishful electric guitars and counterpointing flute melodies sounds like a mixture of Focus, Sky and maybe even Procol Harum, but mainly the first two mentioned bands. I always wonder if the track with its title has been placed after The Battle of Epping Forest deliberately; this would give this innocuous and beautiful track quite a cynical tongue-in-cheek meaning.

The Cinema Show is the third classic progressive rock piece on this record and the striking thing for me are especially the keyboard sounds used here. The first, sung part of this epic is completely keyboard-free: several acoustic guitars with several numbers of strings again create this Victorian feel of the album's opener, this time with a strong tension and a close-mesh blanket of different sounds and tones from which Gabriel's lyrics enshroud the listener cosily; when one regards the content of the lyrics, my incidental carpet comparison also gets another dimension because in fact the whole piece deals with romance and sex, employing the archetypal couple Romeo and Juliet. Here, Gabriel's and Collins's vocals harmonize beautifully with each other and the whole first part until 2:00 could be one of Genesis's best 'musifications' of warmth and intimacy. From the third minute on the whole band enters, especially Hackett's swirling guitar melodies are worth to notice. Afterwards, flute and oboe melodies - again only accompanied by acoustic guitars and sparingly used cymbals - return to the Victorian Trespass feeling of the beginning, later also adding wordless vocalizations by Gabriel and Collins, temporarily also in two voices (I don't know if this is by chance, but the melody is quite similar to the beginning of Crosby Stills Nash & Young's Our House). Another stanza follows, reprised instrumentally afterwards by the ARP synthesizer which halfway in the piece leads us into the instrumental part which is the same perfect progressive rock like the instrumental part of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight. Here the several keyboards come into the foreground: the warm sound of the ARP Pro Soloist, Hammond organs and Mellotrons; especially the melody at 6:59 is of extraordinary beauty, and even more beautiful when repeated with great Mellotron choirs afterwards.

The final melody of this nearly five minutes long keyboard solo transforms to the chords of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight and with that to the beginning of Aisle of Plenty which is the bookend or the counterpart to the album's opener: musically very similar to the first stanzas, albeit replacing the piano and several acoustic guitars with Hammond organ arpeggi and one single nylon string acoustic guitar. After this "sixth stanza" of the opener the band takes over one chord progression from this song and Gabriel chants food advertisements until the fade-out over this symphonic background with his voice treated electrically: quite an ironic way of ending this album, but it fits the sociocritical contents of the moonlit knight's lyrics well. And it's an ending which cleverly placates me after some dull minutes, or - to express it more critically - which tricks me into thinking that the album is better than I thought it to be when I was listening it.

All in all I will give a weak 4 star rating for an album with three of the most important progressive rock songs, but also an example where prog is overdone, or where less would simply have been more. In fact, this record is quite long with over 50 minutes and throwing out The Battle of Epping Forest and replacing it by Twilight Alehouse, the b-side of the I Know What I Like single, this could have become an uncanny masterpiece of progressive rock music. But now, this is 'only' an album with three real masterpieces on it - and let down by pieces which simply cannot catch up with side one of "Foxtrot". Nonetheless this record is a highly recommendable and nearly necessary experience for the progressive rock listener.

Like I said earlier, there are three standouts. The opening, Dancing With the Moonlit Night, is breathtaking and epic, and while it's not one of my favorite Genesis songs, it's still very enjoyable. Then there's Firth of Fifth, with an outstanding piano intro, and beautiful composition. Then there's The Cinema Show. It's gorgeous guitar work and comforting vocals caught my attention and I instantly fell in love with it. The only problem is, all three of these songs sound thirty times better live and seem more passionate as well.

Now, as for the rest of the songs. Frankly, I can't stand them. Go ahead and throw your tomatos and carrot juice. I just can't stand them. I Know What I Like is a laughable attempt at a pop song that's tedious and annoying, More Fool Me is just kind of...dull, The Battle Of Epping Forest is both dull and insanely long, two things which never go together well, After the Ordeal has some mediocre guitar work but ends up being forgettable, and finally, Aisle of Plenty is just the ending to The Cinema Show, so you can't even judge it by itself.

The only problem with giving such a highly-acclaimed album such a low score is that I can't guarantee you'll dislike it as much as I did. In fact, I'd be pretty surprised if you agree with me. So, I'd suggest you try it out for yourself and if you like it enough, buy it. If not, well, join the minority.

SEBTP is one of these albums which unfortunately uses up its best work right off the bat. I do not like anything on the album more than the first half of the Moonlit Knight. It is all Gabriel's doing, it's pure poetry; challenging word play great singing and which ebbs and flows with the dark lilting support. The Knight is able to keep it up almost all the way through. By the end though, it gets a little drawn out.

After the Knight is I Know What I Like, one of the very limited selections of early Genesis' songs I've actually heard on the radio. It isn't their most interesting work, but it is one of the easier tracks to get into. It gets a little goofy at times, which Genesis is prone to do. Things take a turn for the classical in short order though on Firth of Fifth. Tony Banks plays one of the most memorable intros. Firth then proceeds to change many times over, sometimes loud, sometimes soft, sometimes jazzy, sometimes rocking. It's a great track even if it doesn't manage to always live up the ear grabbing intro.

More Fool Me is another nice little short piece. The interplay of acoustic guitar and Gabriel's vocals make it a worthwhile listen. It also serves as the calm before the storm. The aforementioned storm of course is The Battle of Epping forest. This is the elephant in the room when it comes to SEBTP. For some it totally breaks things for others it makes the whole sh-bang. I am kind of indifferent. There are parts I like and parts I don't. For starters it really doesn't know when to end. For another kind of goofy piece a la I Know What, it really shouldn't last this long. On the other hand, it's pretty funny in a Benny the Bouncer sort of way and has some excellent instrumental portions.

Following the extraordinary ruckus is After the Ordeal. This is the only total instrumental on Selling England by the Pound. It begins with a classical sort of feel again with the nylon guitar and organ. Just over halfway through it gets more demure with soft drums and a wailing guitar in the distance. As it's closing up shop the keyboards make another brief appearance. All in all, an excellent if short track which leads into the curious Cinema Show. Gabriel is pretty annoying to begin with. Much to all of our good fortune it doesn't remain annoying for long. At nearly 12 minutes that would probably kill the album. Instead, the very good vocal portion morphs into an extended instrumental, which as it turns out is even better. As Cinema Show drifts into the Isle of Plenty the Moonlit Knight's theme makes a return to close the album on a welcome full circle.

Genesis isn't so much my cup of tea, but Selling England by the Pound aside from some inconsistencies is a excellent album. Is it essential? Not to me. Four out of Five.

Amazingly majestic, profound, complex, beautiful, "Selling England By The Pound" is one of the best progressive albums ever made.

After the supreme masterpiece "Foxtrot", Genesis was still able to maintain the same levels as their previous album, thanks to "Selling England By The Pound", not only one of the best progressive albums ever made, but even one of the best albums generally speaking of the 70s (heck, maybe one of the best of all time). Amazingly majestic, profound, complex, beautiful.

The album starts with "Dancing With The Moonlight Knight", one of the best prog songs of all time. It starts very mellow, but then it explodes into a triumphant and glorious piece of music, epic and unbeatable. After, when the song is almost over, the theme changes, one of the greatest song closers ever. "I Know what I like" never really got me, I never really enjoyed listening to it. The chorus is kind of lame, and the general structure of the song isn't very great. My least favorite one from this album. "Firth of Fifth" starts with a beautiful and virtuous piano part, followed by the song's main theme, were Gabriel and co. really demonstrate how good they can be. It's a very melancholy song, especially the main theme, even though the great arrangements and solos in the middle of the song are very cheerful and happy sounding. "More Fool Me" is a beautiful brief ballad with Phil Collins on vocals. It really is a great interlude, a pause between all the long and complex songs. " The Battle Of Epping Forest" is the longest song of the album, and possibly it is the best song in an artistic point of view. It has many themes ( It could easily be a suite), and it shows the bands incredible talent in songwriting and performing as a group. Gabriel's vocals are unusual and original, absolutely an essential song for those who don't like to listen to entire albums all at once ( I personally don't understand them, I find it necessary to listen to an album all the way through and in order.) "After the Ordeal" is the only instrumental piece , a brief and cheerful piece that stands between the two really long songs of the album. " The Cinema Show", despite having many memorable moments, is one of my least favorite songs of the album. Maybe starts to be too complex for my tastes, and you can find some excessive instrumentations. Hwever, it's a really good song, and the intro played with guitar is beautiful. "Aisle Of Plenty" is the shortest song, it's experimental and interesting. Actually, it might be one of the best closers of all time.

What an album, so mind blowing, so great, I still can't believe such an album exists.

The deciding factor? Close to the Edge does not have anything equivalent to Epping Forest or More Fool Me. They are nothing for Genesis to be ashamed of by any means, but they are just not top-notch. That's my only nitpick with Selling England--the rest is good enough for greatest of all time status.

Part of the genius of this album is that it can be appreciated on so many levels. Any music listener will be immediately drawn in by the bouncy, infectious intro to Firth of Fifth, and any guitar rocker will dig Hackett's work in Firth and Dancing with the Moonlit Knight. The next level--the intense listening through progressive ears--also rewards, particularly the 7/8 jam on Cinema Show and delicate beauty of the 12-strings and keys throughout. The final level--seeing this stuff performed live (alas, I've only seen this through tributes)--rewards even further. Seeing the Cinema Show done live was one of my greatest musical experiences--I almost soiled myself!

Alternatingly delicate, poignant, creative and powerful, Selling England by the Pound is a masterpiece of progressive rock, and one I will treasure for the ages.

All the qualities that come to mark the 'progressive decade' of Genesis are present and correct, so to speak, on this disc.

My personal love affair with Genesis began with this album - the wintery English countryside that I live in was the perfect setting for the sound of two twelve-string guitars chiming away together. To this day the middle of the Cinema Show creates that picture again and again. That's the beauty of this music. It allows you the chance to build your own pictures.

'Dancing With a Moonlight Knight' conjures up a mystical, distant England. The opening a capella vocal sounds almost medieval. . The lyrical references are straight out of early 70's popular culture, The Wimpy Hamburger, Green Shield stamps et al, however set against the music it doesn't date, and what is intended as social commentary becomes a whimsical journey - and whether or not you identify with the archaic cultural references or not, it's equally effective. Peter Gabriel effectively future-proofed his lyrics. And set in the context of the album with the Lear-esqe 'I Know What I Like', it can come to mean anything.

'The Battle Of Epping Forest', similarly, becomes almost like a Nursery Rhyme. The East-End gang wars long since having vacated memory of the general public, these peculiarly named characters that populate the song exist outside of the very thing that influenced them. That whimsical take on the then popular culture survives, long after the culture has ceased to be. Brilliant.

Musically, Selling England by the Pound is about the best thing that Genesis did. As a whole piece, and indeed, thought was given into making it play as a single piece, even though the songs aren't linked by anything other than the atmosphere that they create, it ebbs and flows in an entirely unique way. The brilliant ensemble playing at the conclusion of 'Moonlit Knight' may well be the most tricksy thing the band ever attempted. And the contrast between the sections are stark and jarring, and entirely satisfying.

'Firth Of Fifth', a hoary old favourite has all the melodrama of a classical masterwork, and the guitar solo may still be the highlight of Steve Hackett's career.

If you're reading this, and you've yet to hear this record, you're missing some of the most brilliant modern music that has been written. It captures an essence of time as well as existing outside of it, and I would be very surprised if this record is not still being written about and enjoyed another 40 years from now.

There is no other way of putting it. It is a masterpiece, and you simply have to hear it.

The album starts off with "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight", as song that, while it starts on the slow side, once it gets going, it has one of the coolest riffs in prog. The album then continues with the laughably absurd, but enjoyable "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe).

The third track, which is one of the high points of the album (and of prog in general) is "Firth of Fifth". All I can say to this song is "wow". The song begins with an excellent piano intro (although it sounds a bit like a bad sitcom intro). The verses have impressive singing by Gabriel, and excellent organ/mellotron work from Tony Banks. After a flute solo by Gabriel, the listener is spun into a frenzied keyboard solo by Banks, followed by one of the best guitar solos ever in prog. Tony Banks once negatively described the song as "too King Crimson-y", and I agree with this statement. However, I think the comparison to King Crimson should be a positive one (it sounds a lot like KING CRIMSON's "Epitaph"), as the epic Crimson-eqsue mellotron sounds gives the solo an extra edge to it.

The next three songs aren't necessarily bad songs, but I kind of feel that they are lacking and pretty unmemorable. AMong these songs is the weakest of the album, "Battle of Epping Forest". While again, not a terrible song, I find that it drags on way too much and is overall kind of boring.

The audience is then shown "The Cinema Show", another must-listen for progressive rock fans. The first half of the song is what we come to expect from Genesis- a nice acoustic song with some allusions to times of yore- and is overall pretty harmless and reminds me a lot of "The Musical Box" off "Nursery Crime". Had "The Cinema Show" been just those first 6 mins, then "The Musical Box" would easily be the stronger song. However, the second half we are greeted to one of the best synth solos in prog. Seriously, "wow" is all I can say again. It's not easy for a keyboardist to hold a 5 minute keyboard solo, but Banks does it in spades. I can't even begin to describe it- you will just have to listen to it and experience yourself.

Overall, this is a very good album, but I wouldn't put it as the top prog album of all time (top 10...hmmm maybe). If you are a prog fan, do yourself a favor and listen to it- you won't be disappointed. If you can't listen to the whole album, then just listen to "Firth of Fifth" and "The Cinema Show".

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight - 10/10 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - 10/10 Firth Of Fifth - 10/10 More Fool Me - 10/10 The Battle Of Epping Forest - 10/10 After The Ordeal - 10/10 The Cinema Show - 10/10 Aisle Of Plenty - 10/10

MY CONCLUSION? of course another perfect 10 album, totally vital and essential for any fan of music in general..a masterpiece..

Review #966. On "Selling England By The Pound" Genesis prove themselves to be creative visionaries. The entire musical arrangement is tighter and structured with instrumental breaks that are virtuoso on their own merits. There seems to be a stronger cohesion and unification of melodic musical ideas, with each member having a chance to shine as never before. Banks in particular flourishes on classical piano pieces and lengthy synthesizer breaks. There are no lengthy epics but there are long songs clocking around 10 minutes, such as "The Cinema Show", The Battle of Epping Forest" and "Firth of Fifth" that have become classic Genesis tracks, highly memorable due to lengthy instrumental passages, odd time signatures, key changes and mood shifts along with quirky thematic content.

The magical and most loved lineup of Genesis is here: Peter Gabriel, a tour de force on lead vocals, flute, oboe; Phil Collins, magnificent on drums, percussion, and vocals (he takes the lead vocals on "More Fool Me" signifying his eventual ability to be the Genesis front man on Gabriel's departure); Steve Hackett, a master of lead guitar, acoustics, vocals and electric coral sitar (on "I Know What I like"); Mike Rutherford, extraordinary on bass guitar, bass pedals, rhythm guitar, and cello (on "Dancing With The Moonlight Knight"); and the incomparable Tony Banks, on vocals, piano, keyboards, and acoustic guitar (on "The Cinema Show"). Together they are perhaps the definitive Genesis, never to be surpassed for sheer musical excellence and creativity. Every track is fresh, ferociously original and first class.

The lyrics of "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" typify the high strangeness of the album; "Off we go with, You play the hobbyhorse, I'll play the fool, We'll tease the bull, ringing round & loud, loud & round, Follow on, With a twist of the world we go." It features extreme time sig changes and theatrical vocals; Genesis takes the storytelling qualities of previous albums and gives it a vibrant injection of polished instrumental prowess.

The single from the album came in the unlikely form of a song about a lawnmower. That's right the mundane act of mowing a lawn became part of the staple radio diet, "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". The drone of the lawnmower makes an appearance at the end of the track and it is very effective in making a statement that lawnmowing is part of the English past time, maintaining a healthy lawn is the key. The lyrics are pure whimsy; "When the sun beats down and I lie on the bench, I can always hear them talk, Me, I'm just a lawnmower, you can tell me by the way I walk." The theme is therefore that the inanimate object of the mower is speaking about it's existence, it's life on a farm and it's life in a suburban backyard; "Keep them mowing blades sharp." The track ends on Gabriel's fluttering flute solo and an odd jazz rock beat, but radio stations adored playing this as it was such a curiosity.

"Cinema Show" features a bombastic refrain and some incredible passages of synth and jazz drumming. It has a catchy melody that grabs hold and creates an ethereal atmosphere. Rutherford and Hackett's acoustic guitars begin the piece and the natural progression to fully loaded synthesizer dominates. It has become one of the Genesis masterpieces that are quintessential to the group's long career. Gabriel's infatuation over T. S. Eliot is apparent in the lyrics; "I will make my bed, She said, but turned to go, Can she be late for her cinema show? Romeo locks his basement flat, And scurries up the stair." The Shakespeare references are a nice touch and give the track a mediaeval historical relevance. In the reunion tour the song made an appearance to an enraptured crowd, as did many other songs from the album such as "Firth of Fifth".

In the virtuosic "Firth of Fifth", the piano intro signifies England's greener fields, a similar feel to Emerson Lake & Palmer's "The Gates of Kiev" from "Pictures of an Exhibition". The tempo is a strong rhythm full of grandeur and majestic Hammond; a religious cathedral like atmosphere ensues. Gabriel is at his theatrical best; "Urge the sailors on, till lured by the sirens' cry", and the medieval theme of beautiful sirens luring sailors is mimicked with alluring music. The interlude of synth and guitar embellishments with augmented keys are very emotive. There are tranquil melodies in one of the most celebrated passages of music generated from Genesis. The melody is played live on the DVD "Genesis in Rome" without lyrics and is as powerful and majestic as ever. "Now as the river dissolves in sea, So Neptune has claimed another soul. And so with gods and men" the lyrics continue, presenting a typical mythological theme. The melancholy piano is accompanied by an up tempo synth with a sombre guitar and these tend to blend together to build a solid block of sound. It is a mesmirising track and certainly a definitive Genesis classic.

The epitome of the progressive side of the band is captured in the way the tracks vary so diversely from track to track. There is even a Collins ballad, his first lead vocal for the group, in the song "More Fool Me". Perhaps this prophesises the impact of Collins upon the group in the 1980s and indeed his solo career that was replete with power ballads.

"The Battle Of Epping Forest" is an 11 minute 43 seconds romp through the tale of two rival gangs and the violence of the slaughter is sent up rather than taken seriously. Yet the darkness of the battle royale is embedded in the lyrics; "In with a left hook is the bethnal green butcher, But he's countered on the right by Mick's chain-gang fight, And liquid len, with his smashed bottle men, Is lobbing Bob the Nob across the gob. With his kisser in a mess, Bob seems under stress, But Jones the Jug hits Len right in the mug, And Harold Demure, who's still not quite sure, Fires acorns from out of his sling, here come the cavalry!" It is all over done with a lot of theatrical Gabrielisms but it works as a memorable lyrical sketch of fired up nonsense.

"After The Ordeal" and "Aisle of Plenty" are less memorable but still pack a wallop as part of the overall soundscape. The album ends with the reprise of musical motifs that began the album, a kind of cycle of musical ideas, returning to the past.

Overall "Selling England By The Pound" stands the test of time as a bonafide Genesis masterpeice, undoubtedly among the best the band would create. It is hailed as a treasure among the prog community today, specifically for the three showpieces "Dancing With The Moonlight Knight", "Firth of Fifth" and "The Cinema Show". The single released in 1974 certainly didn't do any harm either as it peaked at #21 in the UK, spending 7 weeks in the charts. The album is quite simply a masterpiece with Genesis at the peak of their powers before they crash landed in the 80s. The album is one of my favourite prog albums due to the consistency of quality and I will always revere "Firth of Fifth" especially due to that amazing instrumental break where Banks takes off into full flight on keyboards. The album is an example of how music can sound when all the elements are balanced perfectly; when everything was working right, Genesis were untouchable.

I don't like Selling England by The Pound. And this is not just some kind of foreword intended to create the suspense before an "I love it!" statement. I seriously and with all honesty am not emotionally enthralled by the album. Having said that, I contradictorily give it a four star rating. Even more contradictorily, I wholeheartedly believe that "Selling?" deserves more than four stars. Now, how is, that I say and do such dissimilar things? The answer lies within the review.

First things first. Selling England by the Pound is one of the five best albums in progressive rock history. There. That's what everyone would like to hear. This however doesn't change the fact, that it is still modestly overrated for a variety of reasons. Technically, the band have reached their peak during the recording session of "Selling?" But, with great musicianship great melodies should come. They did not. The album's main flaw is that somehow the band steadily manages to avoid memorable tunes. I'm not speaking of catchy, that's not the point. The agenda of music, even progressive rock, is to be centred around a set of notes that are arranged in a way that at least a few people will find alluring, fascinating and absorbing (synonyms courtesy of MS Office Word ;) ). Alternatively, it can be something new added to music, apart from melody itself, or, in some cases, it can be a kind of charisma, which added and stirred up causes a potentially dull song to become The Tune. I am able to find these characteristics in Genesis' preceding and subsequent albums. You know, the feeling you get, when Phil drums out the Morse-code-style beats invocating at the threshold of Watcher of the Skies. And on this album? Not a single nerve strung. The technical mastery of instruments has overshadowed the decency of the flesh of music: the melody. And I, admittedly, am a person who enjoys a well-weaved melody. Let's do a test. Try to hum the intro to Firth of Fifth without sounding silly. What did that just show us? Chiefly, that the piano overture is a masterpiece, which cannot be brought down to a simple structure of melody and chords. And apart from this, that Genesis nearly utterly omitted the melodic part of song-writing. "After the Ordeal" and some of the solos in "Firth of Fifth" are notable exceptions (also add I Know What I like, but only for the simplistic organ riff). Funny, this blasphemy is approximately 4 reviews worth of words, but only gives me rights to cut short one single star from the overall rating. The album is in fact so strong and exhilarating, that with the obvious fault I have named, it still manages to be totally amazing.

And now, If you are a die-hard fanatic of Genesis you may skip reading, because you probably know all those things. Then again, if you're not, you can simply read Gatot's review, which, I believe, is thoroughly comprehensible and more emotionally stable.

The smell and sound of symphonic prog. The core of 'symphonic' itself, the very root of bombastic and over-the-top, Selling England by the Pound. A feast full of sounds, variety of which is simply indescribable. Peter Gabriel's ability of vocal mimicry is put to the highest test. Banks and Hackett amaze us with soloing, which is now put to the very front of songs. That is the main change in comparison with the previous albums. The synth and guitar melodies are no longer an addition to Gabriel's amazing lyrical escapades. They have become more confident and, let's say, standalone. Most songs feature a kind of partnership between the sung and the instrumental parts. In previous albums instrumentals were sometimes still a wee bit of a filler, an interlude to Peter's singing. However Hackett and Banks had tried to make their music visible, it was still Gabriel, who was put in front. Now the roles have changed a bit, in favour of teamwork. And most notably, Peter Gabriel has finally learned to play the flute. And what's more, he uses his skills to perform the one and only true melody of the album. Enter: the flute solo in "Firth of Fifth". Apart from that, Tony Banks uses (but not overuses) his grand piano a bit more than ever and with positive results. The sound of his synth used for soloing sounds a bit cheesy and awkward at times, though. And that's a huge let down.

What is amazing about the album is that each song has it's different, unique structure (starting a capella, voice and guitar only, a pop song structure, an epic structure, a march at the beginning, an instrumental, a coda, a piano overture? simply name it, you'll can be sure it's there). There is even Phil Collins taking up vocal duties on More Fool Me, and boy, he couldn't have sung it higher!

As for one major disappointment ? sometimes parts of the songs are made for the sake of putting a solo in the middle of it. And believe me, it shows. A few spins and you'll be skipping through some of the tunes to get to "your favourite part".

Best song: Dancing with the Moonlit Knight. Worst song: (not falls below 'good' level, so naming one would be despising it because of it's structure ... but The Cinema Show really get's kind of boring until it finally gets to the middle part).

I was in high school when started listening to Genesis and this album was the first one. I wasn't very thrilled with it partly because I didn't like Gabriel's voice and partly because it was my first touch with Genesis. After two months I gave it new chance and it blew me away, I was amazed and couldn't understand how I missed it.

First of all we have five impressive musicians: Peter Gabriel with his heavenly voice, Steve Hackett highly original guitar player who never exaggerates, Tony Banks extraordinary keyboard player, Mike Rutherford with his effective bass lines and amazing Phil Collins who never sounds as an ordinary drummer. Songwriting on this album is great as it was on "Foxtrot" but here we have more tight sound and kind of a pastoral feel through the whole album and that's what makes it even better than the last one.

This album shows what I like most about music: melodies from another world, inventive arrangements, incredible musicianship, great production clean and sophisticated sound and as I said before kind of a pastoral feel. My favorites are "Dancing with the Moonlight Knight", "Firth of Fifth", "The Cinema Show", but there is really no weak point (except maybe "More Fool Me" which doesn't fit well into album but it has it's qualities).

Well, what more can I say? Nothing! I can only give 5 stars to this album, everything else would be sacrilege. This is a true masterpiece of progressive rock and music in general also or at least that's how I see it.

The album starts with Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, one of the finest songs on the album. The song starts with Peter Gabriel singing a capella, until he is joined by some accoustic guitar and keyboard melodies. Around two minutes in, the song becomes more intense, and later segues into some tapping done on the electric guitar by Hackett. Although the last two minutes of the song could've been trimmed down a bit, it's still amazing. Afterward comes Genesis's first radio single, I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe). This song is pretty poppy, yet features some great drumming from Phil Collins. While not a highlight of the album, it doesn't really drag it down either. It's neither great nor terrible by any means. Then comes the classic Firth of Fifth. This song clearly is the gem of the album, and in its entirety does not drag at all. The guitar solo around the six minute mark to the eight minute mark is simply sublime. More Fool Me is pretty bad and uninspired, but I've come to tolerate it. The Battle of Epping Forest is another story song by Genesis, and like the others it has many vocals, which are used to help serve the story. I find this weaker than Get Em Out By Friday and The Fountain of Salmacis, which are similar in that they tell a story with multiple characters. That said, this song is still great, though a little too long. After the Ordeal is a great instrumental with nice guitar work by Hackett. The Cinema Show is another classic. At 10 minutes this song has no real filler. Even the keyboard solo, which is roughly 4 minutes long, does not drag at all. This is the second best song of the album, right after Firth of Fifth. The album then closes with Aisle of Plenty, which features some melodies from the opening Dancing with the Moonlit Knight.

I'd say that Foxtrot and Nursery Cryme are superior, but this album still is fantastic. Without More Fool Me and the Battle of Epping Forest it may well be nearly perfect, too.

1. "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" (8:01) starts boldly with Gabe's acapella voice before becoming supported by delicate and beautifully interwoven piano and guitars. The 2:09 "Follow on" section, to me, weakens the song but provides the attention-grabbing transition to the album's first sequence of absolutely brilliant instrumental leads, support and interplay. An 'awesome' song in the true sense of the term, for there are here some amazingly bold/daring musical twists, turns, transitions, tricks and trials. The band is so tight! However, the reason for the slowed down "it's over" fadeout section that begins at the 5:48 mark is a mystery to me. (8/10)

2. "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" (4:06) I love this song--the music, the humor, the theatrics. A short classic that happened to get some "pop" attention. (10/10)


3. "Firth Of Fifth" (9:34) The poor recording/engineering of this album comes out some more in this song. Its live versions--even without Gabe's flute--are usually quite a bit superior. However, it is quite a masterful achievement of songwriting and melody-making. Far superior to "Dance" and "Battle." (BUT: The best guitar solo of all-time? I don't know . . . ) (10/10
)

4. "More Fool Me" (3:09) Phil's gentle voice. I think I like it better big and bold--even cocky. (5/10)


5. "The Battle Of Epping Forest" (11:43) Don't like it, never did. Maybe another example of one of those nice musical achievements that were ruined by lyrics or over-done theatrics. (5/10)

6. "After The Ordeal" (4:12) I love the idea of this song more than the actual presentation. Something sounds just too tinny about Tony's piano, while Steve's classical guitar is beautiful. Then the transition to electric blues guitar solo allows a different form of expression to come through. ("Free Bird!") (7/10)


7. "The Cinema Show" (11:06) Another supreme achievement of progressive music--one that stands up so well over time. (10/10)

8. "Aisle Of Plenty" (1:31) the beautiful, awesome finale of "Cinema Show." I can only rate it as I would "Cinema Show" for I do always consider them as one. (10/10)

Three long 10/10's--27 minutes out of 53. Does this a masterpiece make? I'm not so sure. "Epping Forest" always leaves a bad taste for me when I think of this album. The Lamb is still the best--of Genesis and prog. Close to the Edge and even Fragile are better than Selling England.

I think the main problem with the album is that the band just didn't know when to call it quits on a lot of their longer tracks. The first song is a fine example: "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" is positively enrapturing for its first 6 minutes and then, for no discernible reason, trails off into a sedate keyboard solo for the final 2. Similarly, "The Battle of Epping Forest" simply can't carry its runtime. The narrative of the song should be engrossing but the band simply keeps going and going and going, with very little change in the sound or structure of the song, until the listener is practically asleep by the 7th minute. Even "The Cinema Show" falls victim to such indulgences-a song that is charming and witty for the first half becomes a total slog for the second half thanks to yet another long, meandering keyboard solo.

I don't have a problem with musicians showing off their chops when it adds something to the song, but on Selling England these solos do the exact opposite-they take away power and listenability from songs that are otherwise quite wonderful.

Thankfully, the whole album doesn't fall prey to such dalliances. The one song that earns its extended run time is the magnificent "Firth of Fifth" largely because, while it too has a long keyboard solo, it manages to keep its sense of fun and grandeur even through the instrumental segments. It's consistency of tone, operatic lyrics and beautiful musicianship make it one of Genesis' very finest songs, if not their best song period. Likewise, "I Know What I Like(In Your Wardrobe)" is a charming little tune with some very inspired percussion from Phil Collins, "More Fool Me" is a sweet, tender ballad that doesn't come off as hokey, "After the Ordeal" is grand-but-concise palate cleanser between the album's two opuses, and "Aisle of Plenty", even considering its length, serves as a nice way to tie up the album and bring all of its themes full circle.

Overall, I simply wish that Genesis had taken more of a "show not tell" attitude to this album so that I could award it 4 or 5 stars. If even 10 minutes worth of keyboard showmanship had been slashed from the album's total runtime this album may have earned its place as the highest rated on PA. As it stands, it serves as a fine totem for prog enthusiasts but may prove to be too obtuse for those not willing to handle its pedantic, winding instrumental hedge-mazes.

Genesis is the only band I know who has two masterpieces (The Yes also be so in my opinion): Your albums "Foxtrot" and "Selling England By Pound" turned it into one of the greatest progressive rock bands of all times.

It is undeniable that say "Selling England ..." is a masterpiece.To beginning to end, their 8 songs have a rock never seen before.Simply perfect! Even though I like their later albums with Genesis, I think this signifies the culmination of the band.

The first song, "Dancing with the moonlight knight," begins with a simple capella of Peter Gabriel, but this will grow until reaching its powerful chorus, which then passes into a guitar solo and even after the chorus is sung again the music starts to decrease, it still retains its beauty. "I know what I like (in your wardrobe)," for that is more accessible, and is still quite entertaining. "Firth of Fifth" is one of the best-loved songs from Genesis-including me. Your introduction, a beautiful piano solo by Tony banks (more present than ever in this album), evolves into a complex and compelling music, especially the memorable guitar solo. "More fool me" is a small music voice-and-acoustic guitar by Phil collins. "The battle of epping forest" is the largest and weirdest of album.Peter gabriel sings falsetto makes, among other things typical of him, yet the music is very good. "After the ordeal" is a very good instrumental song, which I learned to like. "The cinema show" ... what is that song music.and which music! The first 5 minutes are guided by the voice of Gabriel, but the other five minutes they show us the best keyboard solo of all time! Thank you, Banks! The last track, "Aisle of plenty" is a kind of reprise of "Dancing with the moonlight knight," but it's still good.

Conclusion: Like many, I think this album is a masterpiece of prog-rock, I do not doubt it!

(10/10)

-Dancing with the moonlight knight -I know what like (in your wardrobe) Firth of Fifth- -More fool me -The battle of epping forest -After the ordeal -The cinema show -Aisle of plenty

Average-10

5 stars for sure!

The good stuff on the other hand, is brilliant and easily essential. Of course people always talk about the lead in Firth of Fifth, and for good reason. The whole song is great, the structure and the motions it moves through are all perfect, and it comes out as my favorite on the album. Of course Dancing With the Moonlit Knight, and the Cinema Show are the other two greats. DWTMK, has one of the first finger tapping solos of all time, and it's a very good solo. What's left is good. I Know What I Like is simply a radio tune, enjoyable and passable. After the Ordeal is a beautiful instrumental, Genesis always new how to pull off instrumental segments. Aisle of Plenty is almost like a "Her Majesty" type of song, which ends the album in a very surreal feeling, and plays it's part mostly as the end of the Cinema Show.

Of course every prog collection needs this one, but it just feels like a four star album now that I have more to compare it to. However, when your getting into prog this is one of the first albums you gotta pick up.

According to this site, Selling England by the Pound is the number one Prog album of all time. It appears to wrestle for first place alongside Yes's, Close to the Edge, and Jethro Tull's, Thick as a Brick. And despite having two rather mediocre tracks, being I Know What I Like, and More Fool Me, it excels in its longer tracks, highlights being, Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, Firth of Fifth, and The Cinema Show. Although their previous release, Foxtrot, contained no weak tracks, the quality of the good tracks on Selling England by the Pound more than makes up for these weaker interludes to the real masterpieces.

Musical originality and diversity helps the album reach its revered status. Steve Hackett uses tapping on Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, a guitar technique that wouldn't be fully explored for many years to come. The music gets very complex, with odd rhythms and the use of experimentation with complex time signatures. Firth of Fifth begins with a short classical piano piece. Genesis use their signature harmonised acoustic guitar arpeggios to great effect.

A masterpiece.

From the opening lines of Dancing to the closing of Aisle this was different to any other music I had heard to this time (OK, my source for new music would have been largely AM radio (no FM in Oz then).

There is really nothing new to add to the previous reviews about this album. This is about as good as it gets for the genre.

4.8 Stars - More Fool Me lowers the score slightly but the ballad does allow the senses to recover from what has just passed (peaking with the guitar solo on Fifth of Firth) in readiness to what is just about to follow.

An interesting minor point...SEPTP has 53:22 minutes of music. This is more than some CDs of today and much more than many contemporary vinyl recordings which were typically around 40 minutes. Close To the Edge (Yes) has only 37:56 minutes.

1. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - "Can you tell me where my country lies?" Only Peter Gabriel's famous dialogue could open this album. Don't let the chitter chatter dialogue fool you, this song rocks incredibly hard, both in prog and rock aspects. Gabriel's angelic vocals set the tone for a quasi laid back opener. Jazzy interludes progress the song towards an explosion of organ stylings courtesy of Banks, progressing to the even more jazzy guitar harmonics of one Mr. Steve Hackett, not afraid to tap and mix in a little arpeggio here and there. Don't forget about Phil, either, consistent as always. Gotta love the sitar effect as well. After another jazz interlude, the song winds down with a nice harp melody, closing out the song with the familiar soothing qualities found on within Genesis.

2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - "Me? I'm just a lawnmower. You can tell me by the way I walk." A filler track? Yes and no. Yes because it is much shorter in length than many other songs, but no because it is not filler, it is a short but sweet style composition, full of rich harmonies on keys and great lyrics, compliments of the mind of PG. A very fun song, and pleasant on the ears.

3. Firth of Fifth - "The mountain cuts off the town from view, like a cancer growth is removed by skill." Oh boy, the first of the great trio. Banks...wow what have you created? Only one of the most memorable keyboard intros the world has ever known. Banks dominates this song with his powerful organ keys and the traditional yet tedious bass riffs of Rutherford. This is the full appreciation of Tony Banks, as he has proven that he can conquer the keyboard in any styling. After great vocals by PG in another angelic type dialogue, we are rewarded with the beautiful stylings of PG's dynamic flute playing, rare but always appreciated. This is followed by rich and colorful keys and complex guitar riffs. Firth of Fifth winds down with a long arrangement "solo" from Hackett, leading into the reprisal of the beginning lyrical section. Although it is hard to describe in words, this is truly one of Genesis' finest moments with the original lineup.

4. More Fool Me - "Too long have I laid alone, I know not which way to turn." A great filler track featuring Phil on vocals and acoustic riffage. A great filler track, beautiful in both sound and meaning.

5. The Battle of Epping Forest - "And Harold Demille, who's still not quite sure, fires acorns from out of his sling!" The second of the Great Trio. Where to begin? This almost twelve minute epic is straight from the mind of PG, telling the tale of mobsters in a Robin Hood type fantasy world. As like the rest of the album, the keys dominate the song, featuring great melodies including the organ, and old standby, with ragtime elements thrown in the mix. PG always makes me chuckle with his humorous characters, like Bob the Knob. Although this song is great and stands out, this is my least favorite song of the Trio, but nonetheless does not fail to entertain. The end of the song is the only real complex guitar part, and ends the song on the right foot, never slowing the song down for a minute.

6. After the Ordeal - A fitting name following such an epic song. Banks and Hackett play simultaneously in this very soothing interlude track, featuring acoustic stylings by both respectively. Very fitting for what is to come.

7. The Cinema Show - " 'I will make my bed with her to tonight', he cried. Can he fail armed with his chocolate surprise?" My favorite Genesis track ever, and the epitome of classic Genesis. Soothing from start to finish, the dialogue of Romeo and Juliet ensue to reassure the title. The band works together to create an amazing introduction; acoustic genius from Hackett and Rutherford, the always intriguing Banks working the keys to the maximum, and Phil jazzing up the song with his freakish rhythm and stamina, not to mention the lovable lyrics only PG could conceive. Following the lyrical output and approaching the climax, the song takes a turn into the atmospheric tones of Tony Banks, overflowing your speakers with harmony after harmony of luscious mellotron and Hammond organ melodies. At this point, it is impossible to concentrate on anything else besides the pure ecstasy flowing from your speakers. After almost 6 minutes of incredible melodies and dazzling drumming, the songs winds down in Genesis styling. It is over, and you have just witnessed one of, if not the, best masterpieces of contemporary music, not only progressive, but in any style. A true awe inspiring piece.

8. Aisle of Plenty - "Thankful for her fine fair discount, Tess cooperates." The end of the greatest progressive album ever created. Small talk dialogue and low tone organ harmonies fade out in 1:32 outro, leaving you breathless and wanting more.

SEBTP crosses all boundaries in terms of musicianship and sheer lyrical genius. It was, is and always will be one of my favorite albums of all time, not just as a prog rock album, but throughout all genres of music. It is the apex of music for me, and satisfies everything I am looking for in music. The best of the best.

I have attempted to get familiar with this album several times, always with the same result: I can say that I like each of the songs, except a filler like "More Feel Me". At least I perceive it as a filler, as well as the closer Aisle of Plenty.

When I hear "Can you tell me where my country lies...." it gives me an empotion. It's a great start for the album, very promising. The whole song proceeds well and very progressive but it's like there's something missing.

"I Know What I Like" it's not a bad song. Even if it's Collins' stuff, it's pre-80s. I really liked the cover made by Fish on Suites. So why I don't like the original? What's wrong with me (or with that song)?.

"Firth Of Fifth" is the essence of prog music. I can't say anything bad of this song, and all the good has already been said by hudreds of reviewers, so let's jump this one.

I have a personal story with "The Battle Of Epping Forest" I know that somebody thinks to it as the weakest track of the album, but it's one that makes something for me.

"After the Ordeal" has a good guitar/piano intro, but it's when I start to be tired of the album. I own some Hackett's albums. The first I have bought is "Cured" that I liked. I should like After the Ordeal, but it's like it's leading nowhere. I don't see a reason for this track, specially when the electric guitar starts playing that melody that seems to be partially borrowed by Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird.

So when "The Cinema Show" comes, I'm almost ready to pick the album off of my "stereo" (I still have a stereo for my vinyls). It's not a bad song if I start with that, but at this point of the album I don't have energies to go ahead. Another band that makes me the same effect are Dire Straits. I can like each single song but I've never been able to listen to a whole album except the debut.

What can I say? I am probably ill, my mind may be not progressive enough, but I can't give more than 3 stars to this album. Please forgive me for this eresy. I think "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" is light years better than SEBTP. My opinion of course, and due to the high number of high ratings, my average one won't be vey influent, I think.

This is one of the highest and most rated album on PA. It is an icon of the progressive movement in general and point of reference. But what about me? What does this album do for me? Actually, very little. I've owned it for years, and I have a very good quality vinyl, but I had to pull myself together to listen to it some times the past few weeks.

When I bought it some years ago my expectations were high...- I mean - this album is presented as the ultimate symphonic prog album. In reality it turned out to be a mixed bag with some of the best of genesis like the eight exciting minutes of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight and almost ten minutes of amazing melodic Firth Of Fifth. This could have been a perfect side one for a record - but no! - Genesis had to put two poppy songs on it. I Know What I Like is a commercial affair and More Fool Me doesn't sound that good because of it's place on the vinyl record (a record is supposed to have 20 minutes a side).

Side two then. The Battle Of Epping Fores and The Cinema Show are both good progressive rock epics of more then ten minutes of length. However, the commercial sound begins to sneak in the back-door in these epics and it seems Genesis is forgotten it can rock (like on Nursery Cryme). The concept of the songs has become to important and I really don't have a good word for all the strange voices of Gabriel on The Battle of Epping Fores. These songs have some quality in it, but they just fail to amuse me. After The Ordeal sounds like a middle section of a good epic, but it has no epic around it. A bit strange.

Conclusion. Now, don't take me wrong. This album has some amazing moments that rightly deserve the status of representative of the progressive ideals. But I find the thought of commercial (slightly cheesy & romantic) albums like this one leading in our charts a bit disturbing. This albums just isn't as brave as many other genre defining masterpieces. This album doesn't do much for me and it's too long, which was especially a problem on the vinyls. I prefer my albums of 40 minutes in length. Well.. Three stars.

"It lies with this, by Genesis; for our top chart spot, they traded in their lot..."

Until quite recently (2010) this was the album with the highest rating on this website. I find it to be very high quality in places, but lacking the cohesion and consistency of other pseudo- concept albums. It deals with themes of England, working life, history and love, with plenty of variation in dynamics and instruments. Watery organs provide chords for furious guitar licks, while 12-string melodies intertwine across sweet mellotron sounds. The dissapointment for me is Banks' synth patches, which often lack the energy or attack needed for ceratin passages; they are generally uncool and plodding (this is no coincidence; he is probably the only prog keyboard player not to be using moogs). Gabriel's lyrics are poetic throughout and beautifully sung, although half of the puns are not funny or clever and it seems that entire verses are constructed around them. Regardless, this is one of Genesis's better albums and remains a must-have due to two songs alone.

'Dancing with the Moonlit Knight' is a wonderful, exhilarating journey; it has a great structure that keeps you interested all through it. The fast riffing parts are progressive yet catchy, and help Peter's story to unfold. 'Firth of Fifth' is the other gem. It is a majestic, keyboard-led epic with contrasting sections of varying weight and significance, until the Crimson-esque guitar solo appears. This is Hackett's only chance to shine on the album really (yet his guitar still has a rather weak, tinny sound to it). The main themes are reprised to good effect.

The single about the lawnmower is rather silly but a nice song nonetheless, while 'More Fool Me' is forgettable and 'After the Ordeal' drags on but gets nowhere. 'Aisle of Plenty' is merely a reprise of the opener's main theme but has a point, which is to bookend the album, unlike these other short songs. 'Epping Forest' has odd time signatures, but they are only that way to fit around Gabriel's awkward lyrics with loads of syllables to fit in, and these lyrics go on for days [it seems]. 'The Cinema Show' is a better song but I fail to see how the synth solo is linked in any way to the first half; it's all good music anyway, apart from the tones used.

So, more of a mixed bag than I expected for such a praised album. The unnecessary nature of some of these tunes is emphasised by the fact that if they were removed, the album would still be of sufficient length, and would have better flow and no filler. Consider the end result to be the product of a band that was disintegrating due to their inability to agree with each other and make creative, progressive decisions. With that in mind, some of the fantastic music here is an achievement for it's writers. It should have been called 'Padding out England by the Pound'......

The album starts with "Dancing with the moonlight knight" which contains the a cappella introduction of Gabriel,beautiful harmony, powerful Collins drums and bright dialogue between Hackett guitar and Banks synthetisor. This announces one of the most important album in rock history. after, comes the hit song "I know what I like (In your wardrobe)" with Rutherford sitar riff and Gabriel theatrical voice. It's pleasent but not as good as the prvious and the next tracks: "Firth of fifth". It starts with a bright Bank's piano solo, then Gabriel sings few lyrics before playing a flute theme. Then Banks replays the intro on keyboards, during Rutherford and Collins dynamic sections, before the best Hackett guitar solo ever. It sounds really great. After Gabriel sings a final chorus with Banks piano conclusion. After, there is "More fool me" wich includes Collins vocals and accoustics guitars. It's pleasent but it's the weakest song of the album. It concludes side A.

Side B starts with "The battle of Epping Forest" the longest track or the album and the wordiest Genesis song. It shows Gabriel hability to sing as many characters, the solid rythm section Collins-Rutherford, and the final Hackett solo. It's one of the most theatrical song ever. Then comes the instrumental "After the ordeal" which includes another Hackett solo. After, comes an epic song "Cinema show" which begins as a love song with Hackett accoustic guitar and Gabriel vocal harmony and finish as an instrumental track with jazz inspired Collins drums and Banks sensible synth solo. It's really brillant and some fans consider it as best Genesis Song. "Aisle of plenty" is a reprise of "Moonlight knight" harmony and concludes the album.

Genesis with this album confirmed his Prog Star statute reached with "Nursery Cryme" and "Foxtrot" and announce another masterpiece "The lamb lies down on Broadway". "Selling England by the Pound" inspired another artists such as Marillion, Camel and Supertramp.

There is one area where this is an improvement over Foxtrot: the sound and production. Much better than any previous album, The Lamb will also sound good but Trick will be an improvement even over it. "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight"(ha! get it?) has a theme which gets reprised at the end of the album. This song doesn't really start to pick up until the Mellotron choir comes in. The organ work and drumming is great. Hackett does some of his best guitar playing with Genesis on this album, including this song. Nice synth playing over halfway. Love the organ going back and forth in the stereo spectrum before the last section comes in. Nice guitar and other sounds in this section. Gabriel's vocals are good here but this is no "Musical Box".

"I Know What I Like" is a good catchy pop/rock song, but not much more; Genesis never sold out: they *always* had a pop side to them. I was never big on the piano intro to "Firth Of Fifth", always thought it went on too long. The main vocal part of the song is great however. Nice phased guitar at one point. The long instrumental section is one of the best things Genesis ever did. Nice flute solo, followed by good synth and organ. "More Fool Me" is pure filler; what a waste of recording tape. "The Battle Of Epping Forest" is too long for it's own good. I've always loved the beginning though, with the drums mixed low and the flute. Never liked the main song too much, always felt it just drags on. Some of the organ work is pretty good. I like the synth and handclaps near the end.

"After The Ordeal" is a great instrumental, I especially like the guitar soloing in the last half after it changes. The flute and synth is a nice touch as well. I never really liked the beginning of "Cinema Show". Must be one of the few times Peter and Phil sing in harmony. Gets a lot better when the rhythm section enters. The 'nah nah' part is pretty good. Approxiamately 5:55 begins one of the greatest instrumental sections in the history of Genesis. Absolutely fantastic, although it does sound like they are trying to compete with Yes and ELP here; nothing on their earlier albums sounded like this. Reprises "Dancing" at the very end. "Aisle Of Plenty"(ha! get it?) reprises "Dancing" as well. Has some cool overdubbed Peters floating in and out of the mix.

I cannot believe this album is so popular when, to my ears at least, both Foxtrot and The Lamb are clearly superior. This was actually my first Gabriel-era Genesis album; I can understand why so many would like it at first. After hearing Foxtrot and Trick over the years, my appreciation for SEPTB has dropped considerably. "I Know" and "More Fool Me" are in no way, shape or form "prog". "Battle" would have been better if it was half it's current length. The most frustrating thing about this album is that it actually contains some of the bands best musical moments(Dancing, Firth, Cinema). Overall, I feel this deserves a 3.5 but I'm going to round it down to 3 stars.

"I Know What I Like (In My Wardrobe)" and "After the Ordeal" are pretty standard Genesis fair, fair-to-middling tunes which clutter any number of their albums. 'More Fool Me' is a foreboding omen of later Genesis albums (sans Peter Gabriel) that have Phill Collins singing moony pop love songs, although the triteness of Collins sentimental journeys was still several albms away, and the song retains its homely appeal.

But the rambling wreck of "The Battle of Epping Forest" (which wastes almost 12 minutes and accounts for 20% of the total album time) is the only deterent in rating this album higher. The eccentric (some would say inane) composition represents the depressing trend that continued on 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway', wherein the second half of the album is marred by excessive nooodling about to no end in particular, with any good musical idea abbreviated as if Peter Gabriel were an absent-minded bee flitting about from flower to flower and forgetting the nectar. As another reviewer noted previously, if had been the length of the equally silly "Harold the Barrel" (at under 3 minutes), it would have been a forgivable flight of fancy, an eccentricity that those who enjoy Peter Gabriel would find acceptable. Unfortunately, it is a giant pink elephant squatting on an otherwise superior album.

Here we see every member of the band's classic lineup at the height of their powers, both instrumentally and in terms of songwriting. Banks and Hackett stand out particularly well (particularly on "Firth of Fifth," the best song in a collection of exceptional ones).

I've heard a few people dismiss the shorter tracks on this album as "filler." In my mind, nothing can be further from the truth. While the album's four lengthy epics do indeed command the listener's attention (and deservedly so), these shorter pieces are not only absolutely essential to the "flow" of the album - most significantly "Aisle of Plenty," which brings the album to a satisfying close thematically, revisiting (and deflating) the quixotic dream first presented in "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight." It makes the album feel cohesive, well-structured, and symmetrical. They also (with the exception of the aforementioned "Aisle of Plenty") hold up very well as standalone pieces.

I could go on longer, but there are really no superlatives I can use that haven't been used already. To such a deservedly acknowledged classic like this, I have nothing to add.

"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" starts the album off kind of bland, but eventually enters a very powerful rock-oriented riff accompanied by a shreddy-turned-melodic guitar solo that really sets a nice atmosphere for the center of the track that reverts back into the rock riff. There is a short motif that recurs in this track often and it is one of the best that Genesis have worked with. There is slight dissonance at the end that works well, but I still consider this track to be unimportant.

"I Know What I Like" is an absolute prog classic and one of the best in the Genesis catalog. It's playful but not goofy, and features a nice sitar-sounding effect that seems unique for Genesis. The chorus is iconic and the bass line during is supremely funky and dance-able. This whole song is very fun, but it is unfortunately a little bit on the short side.

"Firth of Fifth" is another classic and has been covered multiple times by various bands in different genres. I've personally never cared for it, though it is a nice song with a beautiful piano intro. There is a softer passage near the middle featuring a flute solo that I feel is the best part of the track, along with the fantastic Steve Hackett guitar solo that takes up most of the second half of the track.

"More Fool Me" is a short and beautiful folk song that is very pleasant to listen to, but is ultimately insignificant, though I personally would never skip over it. I think Genesis has always had a knack for writing folky acoustic ballads like this.

"The Battle of Epping Forest" is another classic Genesis track. I always notice the fantastic bass playing first, but the song as a whole I always find forgettable. There is a ragtime-influenced ditty that appears not far from the beginning and again later in the song that I find kind of random.

"After the Ordeal" is a very pleasant instrumental track with some beautiful and strong guitar and keys playing. It's very mellow and serves as a great interlude after the random hodgepodge of the previous track.

"The Cinema Show" is one of the best tracks on this album and includes some fantastic light melodies that make me imagine a music box. The second half of the song especially follows a nice groove enhanced by soaring mellotron that recalls "Watcher of the Skies", which is always a good thing. The second half of the track also features some fantastic solos on the keys.

"Aisle of Plenty" is a basically purposeless end-cap for the album that recalls the main motif used on the first track.

Though I like this album more than the previous two, I still find most of the music here to be forgettable besides "I Know What I Like" and "The Cinema Show". I also like that this album overall seems more serious than the previous two, which I always considered to be too goofy and quirky for their own good. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm apparently just not a fan of Genesis' brand of symphonic prog, but this album stands out a little bit more than others in their early catalog and is definitely worthy of an occasional listen.

This album isn't all bad, or else it'd get my 1 star rating. "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" and "The Cinema Show" are both amazing songs, and amongst the bands strongest. But the rest of the songs range from good but nothing special to downright awful. Although "Firth of Fifth" is touted as one of the bands greatest outputs, it doesn't work for me aside from the intro. Then you have "More Fool Me", which isn't prog and is terrible in every way. Also, "Battle of Epping Forest", which seems like someone took all the average parts of a good album and glued it together very poorly. "I Know What I Like" is an okay, catchy pop song. Nothing more, nothing less. The other two songs are pretty much filler.

So really, I think this is a very underwhelming album. It doesn't possess the true Genesis feel for me and I wonder where the perfection of the albums past went. To me this is the poorest Gabriel-era output aside from the debut. They say not to judge a book by it's cover, but for Genesis I think it fits.

I have to confess that the first time I ever heard Genesis was here, in this webpage. For which I'm deeply grateful. And the first song I ever heard was "The Cinema Show" it was there when this, my own genesis begun.

Can't you tell me where I should start? In the medieval opening, a pitiful minstrel evocation demanding ears, a lean conscience to contemplates the horror, the disgrace surrounding. Playing with every texture, gracefully orchestrated for every musician to express their skills, "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight".

The theatrical joyous so distinctive from Gabriel, already explored in the band previous works, is welcomed via "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". The lyrics and music both sarcastically color the scene, somehow painted in the cover of the album.

Banks then shows his classical influence opening "Firth of Fifth" full of complexity in rhythm, chords progressions, even when lyrical simple, the symphonic here is clear since beginning to end.

"More Fool Me" is the more spare song, an equally plain and friendly yet beautiful song from Collins who also sings lead. It's the calm spot in the middle of the road.

Then the stirring, the theatrical the skill the fight returns with a martial flute and drums and marching steps. "The Battle of Epping Forest" in full of superb ingenious lyrics telling the story of two gangs in a fight. With so many tempo changes, a playful story, magisterial instrumentation, pure musical gambling. The drum textures from Collins, the guitar arpeggios from Hackett, the musical keyboard bridges from Banks, the rhythmical bass from Rutherford and Gabriel's lyrics turns this song epic.

"After the Ordeal" came as another musical bridge, a lament afterwards the battle. Hackett tearfully cries trough his instruments. Easily this song could brings the closure, although it's more like an ethereal window opened for the next part. Artistically a beauty, this piece stands alone.

Then, my reason for listening; "The Cinema Show". So complex, so rich, so full of meanings and musical sections denoting every part of this modern myth. Crossing the pentagram with a vast twitter starting with a calm piano intro, lyrical earthly yet with some romantic references. Keep in pace clam, soft still reflecting about the mythical essence of sexes' war and social empowering, finely decorated with a vocal harmony bridge the tempo moves forward to an instrumental section in crescendo more and more vertiginous every time. There are pauses, many chivalrous yields within musicians. The fierce between both forces almost explodes with violence and then the material world brings some peace al the rhythm of the guitar softly stroking those chords that leads to the final piece. "Aisle of Plenty" returns in style like "Dancing..." all stepped over the guitar chords closure from "The Cinema..." The theatrical monologue fades and the lights in the stage turn off.

I love the medieval theme, especially with the mythological opener "Dancing With The Moonlight Knight". The flute and oboe tickles are wonderful. In fact, all of the performances are as tight and polished as ever. Everything is great. A personal favourite is "Firth Of Fifth" with Bank's classically inspired piano and Hacket's amazing guitar work.

The centerpiece of side two is definitely "Cinema Show", although the most eccentric "The Battle Of Epping Forest" is at least musically, quite superb. All I can say is, just give it plenty of listens.

This should be in your progressive rock collection! 5 stars.

After listening to some jazz at middle school until that point I've developed some liking for music that kind of explores the usual musical ideas like playing in irregular time signatures, you name it...one popular example is a standard jazz song 'Take Five' playing in 5/4 which was covered by so many jazz musicians with their own style of improvisation. Letting only the main riff intact while they start disassembling the original and making their own musical interpretation~

Okay and so how is this related to me reviewing this album? Okay, let me explain about the musical style this legendary band has. Genesis combines the musical styles of Rock bands listed above with technical music like Jazz and Classical, forming another genre of it's own, Art Rock or Progressive Rock...in other words. Think about it at some Rock music with technical elements, it's hard to explain...just look up some of their music on Youtube.

I first came upon this band by listening to a CD of their MP3 collection, mainly starting up with their compilation albums. Later I tried my hands on listening this record, at the first listen I can't really get to it and I don't understand the music at all. My first impression is "What is this? The music is really strange! I've never heard anything like this before."

The next moment I found myself getting really addicted to the album for a reason I dunno myself, the music just starts appealing to me even more and more. And as for now, I could say it's a brilliant masterpiece of Rock music. Totally innovative and far beyond it's time, this is the music that will never gets old to me. The production quality is finest, the sound is crystal clear and deep...I hardly believe this is a record that came on the early 70's with this level of quality.

About the music itself, I should say that I really enjoy Peter Gabriel's vocals on this one along with Steve Hackett guitar plays and Mike Rutherford basslines that complement all the instruments perfectly, he's truly a monster at bass..just listen to the track "Los Endos" at the Wind and Wuthering album and you'll know what I mean.

Phil Collins also did a good job while performing the track "More Fool Me" it's a calm and relaxing song though at the same time it's really touching for the heart along with brilliant drumming throughout the album that impresses me until this day. Tony Banks also gave me a really rewarding experience while listening to his Keyboard and Synthesizer plays, one of the most memorable tracks featuring him are the opening piano sections on "Fifth and Firth" and the synth solo at "The Cinema Show".

The rest of the tracks like "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight", "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)", and "Battle of Epping Forest" is highly dominated by Peter Gabriel with his damn excellent vocal sound with unique and strong character...really subtle and soft but at the same time he delivers a powerful singing that greatly impacts the feelings of every listeners. Steve Hackett shines in almost every song in this album with his masterful guitar plays, this maestro knows how to arrange unique melodies for his guitar work I was fully astonished by his level of creativity, his musical presence brightly shines on the track "After the Ordeal" which features his acoustic and electric guitar solo plays.

With such incredible line up and musicality, there's still an impressive addition of masterful songwriting in the lyrics. The album is totally solid as a whole, with musical arrangements that would appeal to many kinds people especially the fans of rock music. Please give this an album a listen while you have some time to spend, this album had completely changed my perspective about music and broadening my horizons when I listened to it like magic and I will be eternally grateful for that.

It begins with Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, a very good starter song and sets the tone for the rest of the album but a good song on it's own merit, as well. I know what I like was one of the two inevitable pop songs on the album, with More Fool Me, but as pop songs go it isn't the worst. Firth of Fifth is an interesting one. Loved by Hackett fans but for me it's just a very good song. Battle of Epping Forest is lyrically clever and has some nice melodies but as epics go doesn't quite compare to what's coming soon enough. After the Ordeal was the biggest surprise for me on the album. A very short song in between the two epics but it's an immensely good one, there couldn't be any better a set up for Cinema Show which words alone cannot describe. One of the best ever.

Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - 17/20, I know what I like - 14/20, Firth of Fifth - 17/20, More Fool Me - 14/20, Battle of Epping Forest - 17/20, After the Ordeal 20/20, Cinema Show - 21/20, Aisle of Plenty - 17/20.

Overall album score: 90%.

This is not only one of the best prog rock albums ever, it is a brilliant masterpiece for any genre.

Genesis at the peak of their inspiration with the original lineup in top form.

It is also absolutely necessary to take a view on every and each one piece of the track list.

By itself "Firth of fifth" may be the greatest symphonic/progressive piece ever written. Peter Gabriel makes you fly with a moving, glorious chorus but everything is totally perfect here: from the delicate and beautiful piano intro to the mind blowing instrumental landscape in the middle; worths its weight in gold.

Also the beginning is of course sublime mostly because "Dancing with the moonlit knight" manages to create a perfect mixture between the most illusive dreaming melody and sketches of hard rock/heavy metal.

Now "I know what I like (in your wardrobe)" is one of the keys that leads us to the conclusion why this is the greatest statement Genesis gave, you've got an outstanding flawless pop tune -God, what a chorus!...- and, as expected, the best Phil Collins of all.

Talking about Collins, he seriously shines on the fragile ballad "More fool me"; so far, genius and crucial figure.

But is well-known that Gabriel was the mentor and most thoughtful head, and spreads his biggest delusions of grandeur on "The battle of epping forest", an insane trip inflected by unpredictable rhythm changes in which the fact of a non-existent structure becomes its best attribute because Gabriel accurately guesses with every twist he makes; in conclusion it's really a whole experience to ride this orgasmic roller coaster, a musical adventure in which it's fantastic to get into.

Well, anyone who thinks that music with symphonic aspirations is cold should hear "After the ordeal": Genesis sets a warm, extremely carefully texture climax.

And we get to the end where "The cinema show" and "Aisle of plenty" must be reviewed as a unity but wisely divided: the first one is another sparkling inspired suite that finishes with a beautiful piano sequence that the second captures and turns it into a glorious end, only for 1 and a half minute.

Genesis (not just Gabriel and Collins -although they seem more close than ever, specially on vocals- but Steve Hackett, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford as well) mold, this way, a complete timeless masterpiece.

This is one of my two favorite Genesis albums, the other being Foxtrot. Hell, maybe one of my all time favorite albums in general!

Yes, it's a little patchy and uneven, but nevertheless my all time favorite Genesis tracks are on it, and that makes it a great album.

The best Genesis tracks ever being "Dancing with the moonlit knight", "Firth of fifth" and "Cinema show", and are the reason I am giving this album a 5 star rating. Those 3 songs are absolutely worth having the album. They are one of Progressive Rocks finest achievements, ever. Enough said.

I've never been keen on "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" It's a little too commercial and quirky for me.

"More Fool Me" dont get me going either. Just a plain folk-song sung by Collins. I believe he made his singing debut with this song. Never been a fan of his voice though.

"The Battle Of Epping Forest" is better, and reminds me of the great song "Return of the Giant hogweed" from Nurcery Cryme. It's playful in the same manor, and the lyrics are toungue in cheek.

"After The Ordeal" is another folky song that doesn't particulary appeal to me, though it's decent enough. Sounds more like a filler than a serious attemt on making a song. Nice piano and guitar though.

"Aisle Of Plenty" is just an extention of the theme from "Dancing with the moonlit Knight", and a nice way to finnish of the album. Love Tony Banks Mellotron 8choir sound here.

5 stars, mainly because of "Dancing with the moonlit knight", "Firth of fifth" and "Cinema show" and a classic in the Prog rock collection.

Juxtaposing icons of modern British life (as of 1973) with medieval and fantastic imagery on the title track and in The Battle of Epping Forest (which I've grown to like more and more over the years), Peter Gabriel's lyrics are at their finest on this album, which features some of the most clever wordplay and even cleverer allusions and imagery of his tenure with the band. Musically, the rest of the band blend past with present with all the adeptness prog audiences had come to expect from them, tracks such as Firth of Fifth and The Cinema Show presenting some of their greatest instrumental workouts ever. Even the two more commercial songs on the album are a joy - Phil Collins' vocal performance on More Fool Me might be romantic and sappy, but it's a nice refresher after Fifth of Fifth, and I Know What I Like is too silly and self- parodying to dislike.

This album was my very first Genesis purchase, and I've kept a close hold on it ever since; it turned me on to the band, and nothing they've done before and since has ever quite displaced it from my affections. I think it's easily the best thing to come out of the group's pastoral/Peter Gabriel era.

The real problem with this album is, of course, "More Fool Me", a very dull, and definitely not progressive, song, with incredibly weak singing by Phil Collins. Considering his later career, I suppose he is the main songwriter behind it (all songs are credited to the group). He should have stuck to the drums!

One more song that warrants some discussion is "The Battle ot Epping Forest", one of Peter Gabriel's social commentary songs. As much as I - usually - share his views, sometimes the music seems less important. Still it's a good song, even if it drags on a little to long. The lyrics, about a gang war, are indeed witty.

The rest of the album is immensely beautiful symphonic prog, with one of the best prog groups at the height of their powers, at the time when prog rock peaked. And the real masterpiece is, what else, "Firth of Fifth". Still, after these 35+ years, I get the goose-bumps when I hear that organ, or that piano, or that flute, or that electric guitar... or Gabriel's singing, for that matter!

Peter Gabriel began to sing. Can you tell me where my country lies? ... And I hear there ... ... That voice, that day, I do not ever forget ...

"Paper late!" cried a voice in the crowd.

The keyboards of Tony Banks in Firth Of Fifth enormous complexity of a fashion designer and executive. The wait of the last verse ... The sands of time ... Were eroded by The river of constant change ... Before listening to the voice of Phil Collins in lulling More Fool Me ...

The sands of time were eroded by? The river of constant change... Before listening to the voice of Phil Collins in lulling More Fool Me ...

And then the battle. The battle of words and music. A true story set to music. A history of the past. Guys in leather jackets. Motorcycles. Botte. Guerrilla. The Battle Of Epping Forest.

That's why we're in the Battle of Epping Forest, it's the Battle of Epping Forest, right outside your door.

And then the guitars. Chimes. Until you feel a sublime music. Immense. An island in the story. An island. After The Ordeal.

There was magic in that Juliet came home from work and household chores in a hurry. After there was the cinema show. Romeo And Juliet running to win. Tie and chocolate.

An hour had passed. And Peter Gabriel found himself scrambled eggs on the plate. Response to Supper's Ready.

Now I do not know what happened to Gimme. Who knows where it is? But I would like to thank him. Without him I would not have discovered this album. And life would have lost something.

Thank you, gimme.

What? Uh, thanks fellas, but I've already had breakfast.

Wow. I've owned Selling England by the Pound for twelve years now, and I still love listening to it. I've probably listened to it a few hundred times. Maybe not as much as some people, but enough, that hopefully, I'm qualified to review it. I'll try, anyway.

Time is the true test of an album's merit. Anything that keeps you coming back after repeated listens, must be pretty good. Anything that keeps you wanting to hear it again and again, after a few hundred, must be exceptional. Selling England is exceptional.

The album grabs you right away. Peter Gabriel's acapella introduces "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", a song that bounces from unsettling calm, to furious excitement, and back and forth again, until it turns into a pulsating ring, that eventually fades away. Then, the low-timbre drone of "I Know What I like (In Your Wardrobe)" enters. Gabriel fires some strange spoken-word vocals at us, and it suddenly transforms into a springy pop-inspired melody, with quirky vocal harmony from Gabriel and Phil Collins, before it's bookended with similar spoken-word vocals, and the same deep drone.

After a mesmerizing piano intro, the album's best track, "Firth of Fifth", announces itself. Voice, guitar, organ, and drums, all blast out at once. The bridge resurrects the swirling piano, which gradually develops into a powerful intensity. The whole thing culminates in a unique mix of joy and ferocity. "Firth of Fifth" is worth the purchase of this album, all by itself. But there's still so much more:

Collins takes the lead on "More Fool Me", but the song belongs to Mike Rutherford's acoustic guitar. Mixing only guitar and vocals, it makes for a crucial break from the barrage of sounds Selling England has had so far. And not a moment too soon, as "The Battle of Epping Forest" rolls in, with the combination of marching drums and flute. Just as it fades, Collins' frantic hi-hat and snare attack, with an assault of beats. Still, Gabriel holds his own, with whimsical voices and bizarre lyrics. Introducing us, to the likes of; Bob the Nob, Mick the Prick, Jones the Jug, Sweetmeal Sam, and Liquid Len. After 12 minutes, the constant battery could be enough to knock you out. Fortunately, a melancholy instrumental, "After the Ordeal" enters, in perfect contrast to "Epping Forest". Sounding like something from one of Steve Hackett's solo endeavors, the song acts as the perfect transition from one epic to another.

One of the smartest tracks on Selling England, "The Cinema Show" weaves around in every direction. Even at this point, the album never stops moving. After a lengthy instrumental passage, led by Tony Banks' synth, "Cinema Show" transforms into "Aisle of Plenty", a short piece, which reprises the opening theme from "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight". Despite the common melody, however, the overlapping sounds that conclude the album, couldn't seem further from the lone voice that introduced it.

Selling England by the Pound is exceptional. In fact, there is nothing I've ever heard, that quite compares. Emotionally intense, brilliantly constructed, continuously engaging, and most of all enduring, Genesis has created a true masterpiece.

You want my opinion? Have the scrambled Eggs.

Anyway, for the review...

Dancing with the moonlit knight (5/5): One of the most memorable tracks of Genesis, I'd have to say. The perfect prog song length in my opinon (7-10 Mins). Long enough to show enough different musical ideas and revisit them, without overdoing it. Epic lyrics, Really superb guitar work, song structure, basiclly anything about this is perfect, maybe the outro of the song is a bit too long, but that realy doesn't matter.

I Know What I Like (4/5): Sort of a hit song, yet it offers a very unique sound. Haven't heard anything like that. Very accessible, yet still interesting. I'd like to give the song 5/5 but musically it doesn't offer that much.. Very fun track, though not perfect, deffinetly not a filler.

Firth of Fifth(6/5): Yep, 6. One of the best prog rock songs of all time. In my opinion, the best. The beautiful piano intro, the sudden transition to the verse was done perfectly, and felt very natural. The lyrics are amazing, and are very powerful. Excites me every time, not to mention witnessing it being performed live. The flute melody, later beautifully revisited and reinterpreted guitar solo are one of the most pleaseny, yet unique melodies out there. And the Synth part playing the piano intro, with the whole band this time is realy bombastic, slightly reminding Progressive metal. All in all, a real gem of Progressive music.

The Battle of Epping Forest (5/5): Starts with a beautiful flute-drums intro, reseambeling march music, the song cuts off to a very energetic part. Cool synth and drum lines are present. Perfectly placed guitar touches. Peter Gabriel's unique voice is the only one that can realy nail this song at this level. The rhythm of each part is Great. A great use of different odd time signatures throughout the entire song. This song has alot of different sections on it. Ill just sum up by saying each of them is fantastic and unique, and the short instrumental parts are also amazing. Big emphasis on the song's Rhythm.

After The Ordeal (5/5): In this song, the guitar is really prominent, the touches of the other instruments in here such as the drums and the flute are well placed, are very important, and should NOT be neglected. However, I will focus on the guitar playing in the song. The song is really divided into 2 parts, the first, sounding like some neo-classical music. Very impressive guitar playing. Really unique. Yet again, I don't think I ever heard another prog rock reseambeling this masterpiece. The second part of the song is a slow and beautiful electric guitar melody. Later, Harmonized gutiars enter, and wer'e at the hauntingly beautiful outro.

The Cinema Show (4.5/5): Yet another Great track. I won't go through the entire song, because it's a long one with many sections, I'll just say that yet again, all of the sections are really great, the song flows very well, and keeps us interested till the end. Great playing, etc... However, I have to say, this song, compared to the others has some inferior melodies. Though it is perfectly constructed. and still has a few good melodies, some of them fell a little weak. Still a very good track

Aisle of Plenty: I won't really review this track. It's basically one and a half minute of the same music in Dancing With the Moonlit Knight, just with different lyrics. It's a great way to finish the album, but it's not much of a song, but more like a closing track.

All in all, almost 5 stars (I'd say it comes to about 4.8). It really doens't get any better then this. If you're just getting into prog, or trying to get someone else into it. This is probably the right album. Relatively accesible to a prog album, and still gives us 100% uncompromising musical awesomeness.

It is widely perceived as a true prog-rock classic, though I think that all of the best sides of medieval prog-rock are emphasized on "Thick as a Brick." Like "Selling England", "Thick as a Brick" is entertaining, but, unlike Genesis' effort, it's also explosive on occasions. I like explosive, particularly in the beginning of the second part of the album. "Selling England" is an album that was not designed to be insane or explosive or captivating ambient-wise, which is the thing that makes the whole album sound so sterile. It sounds a lot like a carefully crafted effort that gives a vibe that the musicians did not feel completely free to express themselves musically. They sound a lot like conservative traditionalists to some extent. Yes, on the other hand, stitched bits of music together and got the adrenaline-inciting and heart-stopping 18-minute 'Close to the Edge.' And it worked! As for Genesis, I didn't see anything but a significant progress from "Foxtrot." I didn't hear anything groundbreaking. All of those symph prog extremes, as it seems, had been reached, so why bother going further if you can't?

The tracks are, basically, stories, not adventures, but musically they do sound like adventures. Those are good stories, with some good music set to them. And you know what? I think the music on the record is just as good as that on "Tubular Bells." It just flows better and Peter Gabriel's vocals are present and very listenable. That makes the overall experience somewhat better. But you know what else? Compared to the classic Yes records, none of these tracks bloat with crazy, delicious ideas and none of them are emotionally extremely resonant. That combo of the two aspects is not present anywhere on "Selling England." The entire effort sounds pretty restricted, finicky, compared to the obviously moving-cum-dynamic stuff on "Nursery Cryme." However, sometimes I say: "Well, gee, some fives are better than others." But you know what else? None of those eight tracks deserve a five. Yes are more creative and they all together shout better than Gabriel, though Gabriel has a better sense of melody. To sum up, Genesis do not have a whole lot on Yes with 'Selling England'. All Genesis were doing was duplicating the melodic and production values of their rivaling prog-rock bands and re-configuring them within a medieval context, but they were aptly doing so, and I have to give them that.

Any flaws? No! Well, aside from not being mind-blowing and the weakness of the final track, there is none. This is by far the group's most consistent record in my opinion. "Nursery Cryme" has 'Musical Box', 'For Absent Friends', 'Harlequin', etc., though it took me quite a while to get those. "Selling England by the Pound" has no extremely poignant material, but it does not have a lot of shortcomings either.

In my case, the instant sellers were "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" and "I Know What I Like." Didn't care for the rest until a year had passed. I fell under the spell of the praise the album had got in the past, sucked it up, and heard the rest. The result was a fairly pleasant experience. It still is.

Any particular favorites? Depends on the mood. But, in general, it used to be "After the Ordeal" (I don't think Steve Hackett's guitar work on "Firth of Fifth" could ever match up to what he has on this track), then "Cinema Show" (for its elaborate keyboard work and faster rhythm than that of 'Apocalypse in 9/8' on "Supper's Ready"), then "Firth of Fifth" (also for the elaborate keyboard work both melody- and harmony- wise), then "Cinema Show" again. "The Battle of Epping Forest" took over for a while. It is somewhat diverse, funny, and fun to sing along with Peter Gabriel. But the most important thing about the song (one of the things that makes quality prog what it is) is the presence of delicious melodies. Period.

"Cinema Show" turned out to be the winner of all my favorites on the album. It has a dual identity, and when it turns its dark cheek to me, I can't help but move my body in accord with the rhythm established by Tony Banks and the rhythm section. During the last two minutes of the track Banks and Phil Collins get it on and close the deal in an honorable fashion.

One more thing to note: I found out that some people seem to have a problem with 'More Fool Me', yet they haven't quite clearly explained why. The important thing about the song is that I dig that little ditty. Penned by Phil Collins, it's a story of a young lad singing a song to a damsel before he goes to war, hoping that his relationship with the woman "will work out alright". (Hint: 9 times out of 10 it will not. That's just something I figured out on my own, and Peter Gabriel did not have to get that message across to me. Yes, I'm actually that smart.) I found that the key to appreciating the song is not the meaning of the lyrics but the music itself. The introductory chords taste like something better than licorice, Collins' voice is hard to pin down, and the song is just bloating with outstanding vocal melodies. Bra--vo!

"Why do most of the tracks have the same rating?" Some fours are worse than others, and some are better. They are not mind-blowing, but they don't have loose nuts and bolts either. How about that? "Why? Why not this album? Why don't you think it's mind-blowing?" I think I have heard better stuff and started digging it before I heard this one. This little guy of Genesis' will never beat the insane Yes mammoths or the aggressive and/or dramatic King Crimson works. But that doesn't mean that the praise this album gets to this day is unjustified. This is white man's music (with some elements of black music) at its best, if not absolute best.

Ratings/comments (if you have to ask):

'Dancing with the Moonlit Knight' - ****

'I Know What I Like' - ****

'Firth of Fifth' - **** (but I think it will never beat King Crimson's like-sounding 'Epitaph'.)

'More Fool Me' - ****

'Battle of Epping Forest' - ****

'After the Ordeal' - ****

'Cinema Show' - ****

'Aisle of Plenty' - ***

Stamp: "I like it."

To start with, there is a sensation of loss that this piece of art exudes in almost every composition. You had that feeling we were not able to realize at the time -being only twenty-year-olds- that something was disappearing or changing for the worse in any case. We are aware of that now, once the show has ended, but we could not be aware of it when we were listening to Dancing to the Moonlit Knight or The Cinema Show. We use to think the songs dealt with something past, but it was present. We were just flooded with the avalanche of wonderful music that made us dream of different worlds, different lives, a would-be feeling that some call the nostalgia of the future.

But let's not get too deep if we can help it. Selling England by the Pound is a masterpiece that flows from the beginning to the end without significant flaws, even if there's a pardonable one in the likes of More Fool Me, a piece which coul have perfectly stayed out of this disc without dismembering it. But it doesn't bother, either. The rest of the songs compensate abundantly for it.

I find the balance of arrangenments is perfect in this record. It is difficullt to find a more perfect equilibrium of instruments in the albums of the era. Not only the perfect interplay of those five talented musicians but the apllication of the right dose in the right tone, tempo and rhythm make the music hardly beatable.

And yet, sometimes it's more what it is not said than what it is. The way the first piece (Dancing...) ends give you time and space to think about it. The instrumental parts of Firth of Fifth and The Cinema Show are some of the best music ever written, no matter the style or time it was written. The magnificence that a presumible commercial piece as I Know What I Like presents tells you that the band is not to make things cheap or easy and whatever the purpose is, they are going to make it great and endurable.

And that could be a good adjective for an all-time masterpiece. An endurable work of art. One in which time does not want to pass but to stay

Thank you, Genesis, for that infinite source of pleasure and enjoyment. Ibnacio

Every record of Genesis from Trespass till Foxtrot had melodic passages and some (hard)rockpassages; some tension building and the outburst. The atmospheres in most of the records took me some time to appreciate, because it was sometimes difficult to understand the musicians ideas after the dynamic structures.

On this record things are different. The first song "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" still has the dynamic structure which I came to love and is therefor the best song on the record and a perfect opening track. Most of the other tracks however are sounding too much pop-like (like in crossover prog and good comparible with Supertramp) or miss the (hard)rock part. Therefor this record becomes a bit unbalanced and too symphonic for my ears as a fan of eclectic and avant-garde prog.

I would have liked some more tension; deeper atmospheres; some greater outbursts; some more dissonance; some more avant-garde. Another way to succeed is sounding natural like in the better folkmusic beside psychedelic folk.

This meal could have used some salt and pepper.

Production-wise the album sounds amazing, too. For the first (and last) time, Steve Hackett's guitar playing is just as prominent in the mix as Tony Banks' keyboards. Hackett cuts loose with sweep-picking and tapping on "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" and takes his finest guitar solo in Genesis' discography on "Firth of Fifth," which positively screams.

Lyrically, Gabriel examines the changing landscape of England and laments that its authentic culture and history is being forgotten in the wake of globalization and modernization. This concept is somehow fully explored without infringing on the music's ability to resonate and stretch out.

Genesis may have had more ambitious individual songs and concepts elsewhere in their career, but the classic quintet line-up was never more balanced and functional as a unit than on Selling England by the Pound. And to me, that makes it the group's greatest album.

Firstly, all I can say is what an album this is is. Considering that this is my first review on the site, I decided that it'd probably be best to start with the album that got me into the genre in the first place (thanks dad). I can truly and justifiably see why this is such a revered and cherished instalment in the Genesis, and in fact the entire genre's, catalogue. And yes, it's just as good as Close to the Edge. Each track is a gem and a shining composition which reflects the virtuosity and talents of each member. That and the fact that this album may indicate to us that they are all, most likely, completely insane. Of course, this is not a flawless album, "More Fool Me" ruptures the pace and flow. Though it is a nice and soothing ballad, it doesn't exactly live up to the brilliance of the other tracks. "Firth of Fifth" is perhaps the album's highlight, a soaring piano introduction form the legendary Tony Banks, followed by a soaring guitar solo from Steve Hackett, possibly his best ever. The flute solo also clearly displays the talents of the legendary Peter Gabriel superbly. "After the Ordeal" is an excellent instrumental addition for the band whilst "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" is one of there all time classics. Despite tackling some, difficult concepts, the brilliant thing about this album is that it never takes itself seriously, it has a Python-esque humour to it, absurdist theatre combined with real and distressing topics. All in all, a masterpiece of an album, not just one of Genesis' or even Prog's greatest albums, but one of the greatest albums ever made. A true masterpiece and a magnificent blend of virtuosity and songwriting. No true Prog fan is complete without this.

The album starts with the fantastic 'Dancing With the Moonlit Knight.' (10/10) The song starts off slow and gradually builds into a fast-paced prog fest before ending in a rather beautiful manner. This is easily the rocker of the album and features one of the best instrumental sections.

'I Know What I like (In Your Wardrobe) (7/10) is a poppier song with a rather fun vibe and a very catchy chorus.

I'm not sure I can conjure a sufficient adjective to describe how incredible 'Firth of Fifth' (10/10) is. The opening piano is incredible, the flute and guitar solos are haunting, and the middle reprise is pure synth bliss. This is the only song that can make me feel both uneasy and filled with joy in its duration. Firth of Fifth is an emotional roller-coaster of beautiful melodic prog.

'More Fool Me' (3/10) is another song with lead vocals by Collins. The vocals are fine, but the song is simply uninteresting.

'The Battle of Epping Forest' (7/10) at first glance would seem like an amazing song. Unfortunately, though there are many good parts, the song is too lyrically dense and overly long. This is also Gabriel at his most exorbitant, which may take a certain listening requirement to get through.

'After the Ordeal' (7/10) is a slightly medieval sounding instrumental. Hackett is absolutely fantastic on this song.

The album concludes with the amazing 'The Cinema Show.' (10/10) It starts with a beautiful acoustic intro and just builds from there until the midway point, which marks the beginning of perhaps the greatest keyboard solo ever. Banks really let loose on this one and has created an atmospheric and melodic masterpiece. With that said, this is probably my favorite Genesis song.

Though Selling England By the Pound has a few noticeable flaws, they all fit into the overall paradigm of the album. This, along with Foxtrot, is Genesis at their best, and is a must have for prog fans.

9/10

1. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight-i love that lyrics, true Genesis style. This song has something from the cover art inside. What a great introduction to the album! 2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (4:06) 3. Firth Of Fifth-I sometimes call it "the little Supper's Ready" 4. More Fool Me-a relax song between two masterpieces 5. The Battle Of Epping Forest- my personal favorite from the album 6. After The Ordeal-a relax song between two masterpieces 7. The Cinema Show has the atmosphere of sweet 1920's in our country. I don't know why. Of course the lyrics are about something absolutely different, but atmosphere is what I like the most about Genesis 'songs 8. Aisle Of Plenty -I love it. The ending of an album as it should be.

One of these albums that I love as a whole. It doesn't contain a really weak song, 5/5

A feeling that I don't experience too often, on the other hand, is of a favourite band or artist gently sliding off, not holding my interest quite as much as before though still faithfully enthralling me whenever I listen to their albums. I have had this with Rush and later on, with Genesis. There was a time when I thought they were the greatest prog rock band of all times and fell head over heels in hopeless adoration of their classics. Now...I still love their Gabriel era albums as well as some of the Collins-fronted ones. But my admiration is more tempered and moderated.

I like to explore what I have not heard before in music...just because it's the time trusted way for me to find myself more music to like, than to run a genre into the ground and have to suffer by-the-numbers me toos gladly. Maybe it's just that in the process of these explorations, I find myself in a place from where Genesis doesn't sound quite as inviting as it did. Still, when it's the band that, along with Yes, got me into prog proper, the heart yearns to learn to love them all over again, especially this album.

It was in fact the glorious track Firth of Fifth that got me into Genesis and into prog. When I hear Banks's incredible intro, I still recall those wondrous moments when I discovered what was to me a new, ambitious and daring approach to rock music. On repeated listening, I have grown a tad dissatisfied with the structure. The repetition of basically two themes on different lead melodic instruments seems a bit too convenient to me. I wish I hadn't come to realize this (though I don't see how I wouldn't have, eventually) because it kills the magic of this track to some extent for me. All is forgiven, though, when Steve Hackett's cathartic solo begins. It is by far my favourite guitar solo and it's going to be hard to shake it off that perch (or do I, yet again, speak too soon?).

Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, on the other hand, has stood up much more strongly to my scrutiny. Its construction is just a thing of beauty, has some beautiful guitar arpeggios from Hackett and interesting lyrics from Peter Gabriel. In the meantime, Hackett shows off tapping a good five years before Van Halen would be claimed to have 'invented' it and Banks plays some menacing organ.

Cannot quite say the same about Cinema Show. It is very orderly and sounds beautiful but now sounds a bit distant to me. It feels a bit like watching Bjorn Borg to this tennis watcher: hard not to appreciate but equally hard to gush in admiration at. It seems to engage my mind more than my heart.

That's just it. As I listen to this album again while drafting this review, I feel it is oddly neat and symmetrical for a Genesis album. Their trademark humour and wit is a bit hard to find on this album. Banks already preparing the ground for the eventual take over of the band, perhaps?

I don't know but this feeling grows stronger when I listen to Battle of Epping Forest. I did not like this track quite so much all this while for some reason. Maybe because it is rather unlike the rest of the album (which at that time, I held up as an ideal of prog perfection). Now, it offers me exactly what I was missing a bit on the album. Genesis seem to have tons of fun on this track. It grooves and gallops (man, oh, man, do Collins and Rutherford lay a hot groove right there!) and is a rollicking ride. It evokes the very qualities that make Genesis appealing even though they are not always as pathbreaking musically as some of their other illustrious contemporaries. You just cannot imagine Yes writing Battle of Epping Forest and Jon Anderson feeling comfortable attempting to sing it. This is a Peter Gabriel special.

On Epping Forest and I Know What Like, Gabriel infuses much needed liveliness into the album. And there is of course the Moonlight Knight still shining bright, five years since I first heard this album, still every bit as enchanting as I found it the first time around. There's also More Fool Me to give you a nasty foretaste of the Collins-fronted years.

In what now appears to me to be an attempt to pursue aesthetic perfection, Genesis lose out a wee bit on their trademark quirk. It is the Wish You Were Here of their discography. 'Non fans' to a man seem to love WYWH more than any other Pink Floyd album and yet, that album feels a bit distant to me. I can appreciate and all that, but I cannot seem to fall in love with those songs by the band I love to death.

Likewise, SEBTP is a surefire bet if you want to get into Genesis because it is the most aligned with general notions of prog, symphonic prog to be more specific. But, if you happen to turn into a Genesis fan thereafter, then come back to me after five years and tell me that it's still your favourite Genesis album.

Four stars.

The album's beginning and concept overall reminds me a bit of "The Final Cut". Dancing with The Moonlit Knight enters with very beautiful piano only to be cut up a bit by Gabriel's strained voice and vocal patterns. Around 2.35 the song becomes fast-paced and very "Yes"-like; this goes on for a while. This really showcases Genesis' ability to rock out while maintaining a classical structure. Around 6.00 - There is a very melodic, slow and beautiful piece; very psychedelic, very baroque.

This movement continues for about two minutes and seeps into some dark, weirdness called "I Know What I Like", that eventually becomes a very upbeat, bouncy and very English tune. This has a bit of a modern Genesis feel to me.

Firth of Fifth is third song and it begins with a classic piano composition before entering into a descending rhythm that eventually carries itself out into a very monotone Gabriel vocal. Although parts of FoF are beautiful as something Yes would do (parts of 'Survival'), the flute piece is very moving and is, in my opinion, the best part of the song. The part that comes in around 16:49 is almost like an electric circus sound (imo) and very cool. A soaring, clear guitar solo eventually comes in carries the song into another realm of incredible. Firth is the best song on the album. It is an epic unto itself.

More Fool Me is sort of mix of beautiful and sleep-inducing until around 23:12 when a strumming guitar picks up the tempo for a bit, but overall the song just doesn't "do it" for me.

The Battle of Epping Forest starts like an Elf Battle Hymn (or something) and goes into a disjointed, driving chaos peppered with Gabriel's strains. Although the music is fantastic and changes up several times (similar to Yes), I just can't get into because of the vocal pattern and performance. This song is way to choppy for my taste as well.

After The Ordeal is probably the most baroque piece of music on the album and is very pastoral. It eventually picks up implementing all the musicians' talents. I really like the song and consider it the second best track on the album. It is an instrumental, so it truly allows the music to shine and it does. The music is tight, melodic, and out of this world. Spectacular.

Cinema Show is probably the best track to showcase Gabriel. Peter can sing if he wants to and this song is good example. Less strain, less monotone more singing, I feel like he really feels the emotion in this one. Super track.

The album ends with Aisle of Plenty. More lovely music, a mixture of gentle Gabriel and strained Gabriel. The music truly carries it into a celestial realm. Peter doesn't fall too flat on this one and it comes through pretty strong.

This album is very up and down, and each song seems to begin gently. A lot of beautiful, baroque music and Gabriel's voice either peppers the song or lessens its impact, imo. Genesis was so tight musically here that it is just a pleasure to listen to them, but Peter's voice is give or take. And the content and lyrics aren't as strong as the aforementioned "The Final Cut" (Floyd).

One instrumental flight succeeds the other. Renewed piano with legato-playing ends up in a sizable synthesizer solo. Where goes the division between solo and instrumental section? Well, a solo is basically meant to reach a climax, a maximum level, prior to that a build-up and logically a continuation into a verse, chorus or whatever. An instr. sect., irrespective of its worth, just takes the song from one point to the other. Let's choose the last alternative in this current example. If you prefer a real solo listen to 'Down and Out'(one of Banks most expedient). The guitar joins in at the end till it is unleashed. If guitar mastery isn't present here, where else can you find it? The space that was lacking on previous record is a retroactive offering from the soaring goddess in the stratosphere. It's even more delectable on live-album Seconds Out, now with a mightier sound picture. No one is able to play this but Steve Hackett, but you already knew about this of course. It has little to do with rapidity rather thoughtfulness. It is really outsized but you'll love every single second. The melodies on Firth float forward at a tranquil and serene pace. Just like the vessel on the glassy surface of water. What's striking is the lack of an actual chorus, but maybe it's not imperative here. The melodies, the high pedestal they are placed on are a good excuse to avoid all kinds of standardization of how a song should be. The lyrical side is divided; there are poetical pearls like Inland Sea/Symphony Waterfall/Madrigal. There are expressions that could've been more becoming elsewhere, and none of the band members denies this.

Why isn't first song simply the title track of the album? None the less as the title is mentioned in the wide song, just like on the following double-Lp. Maybe just a curio but still?Selling England is just as dance-friendly as Foxtrot was. The a cappella intro can only be created by a vocalist(about the same situation as on contemporary 'Topographic Oceans'). The unifaun is the equivalence on land to the mermaid in the sea, half creature, half fable. A bedtime saga from your loudspeakers. It's melting melodic, mellifluous, with a mild scent of wood-anemone carried to your nostrils by a puff of wind from a miniature world. If you settled down musically in the sixties, you will in all likelihood maintain that the Moodies are more than a shade here. All youngsters like you and me have no inkling of such things, for us the world was created through the Pentateuch and the musical revelation started with the arrival of Genesis. Anyhow, band Genesis is much more refined and intricate than their cousins in Moody Blues, although there are references in the melody structure and the overall romanticism. For some fans 'Moonlit Knight' is the synopsis and epitome of the whole genre art rock. It is as sacrosanct for the progrocker as the grey hymn-book for an unmarried deaconess. If 'Firth of Fifth' belonged to Tony Banks, than two fifths are conducting the crescendos and diminuendos of 'Dancing', Messrs. P. Gabriel and S. Hackett. They may not be the only contributors but they rightly steal the attention.

Stephen Hackett makes his third appearance on an album with matt yellowy cover. All good things are three?If his role chiefly was to fill in the empty spaces left by his forerunner on the first two records, Hackett is now ripe to enter the best room with the other writers. On 'Moonlit Knight' he follows out what the lead singer begun. The guitar playing throughout the composition is orchestrated rather than arranged. It could just as well have been first violin in a lost symphony arisen from the last trembling moments of the 18th century. The technique, execution and treatment are like taken from the large-scale musical unit. There are different variations in the backing; an alert and energetic rhythm guitar, chords from the organ-loft. A quickly disappearing synthesizer makes its first ever display. It's interesting to compare this newly purchased keyboard with the piano on 'Broadway Melody of 1974'. It ends in a similar way, a single tone fades out and leaves the guitar free to continue its own path. It, the synth, is let in again for a new 10-second visit, although they are both using the same stepping-stones, the guitar is more muscular. The vocals re-enter with a passion just as captivating as the guitar, they dovetail and co-operate with great success. The lyric isn't following a straight line from A to Z, the words are rather disconnected like the various gems in a jewel-case. They find each other on their heiress who's wearing them and gild her withdrawn exhilaration.

With this composition as key and a few selected from the double, you are bound to feel sorry that the outward going duo didn't have the same chances as remaining trio to create together. It feels limited, and it is limited. They were merely scratching the surface. The closing section is the outcome of five musicians just slowing down the pace, speaking to each other through their respective instruments; Gabriel is shifting from oboe to flute. If the flute occasionally feels held back then the oboe is almost invisible. Perhaps it wasn't intended to stick out but its amorous sentiment brings the moon closer to earth. I Know What I Like(In Your Wardrobe) started its life at an art exhibition(lyrically). Gabriel saw a painting soft like feminine pulchritude. The artistry behind this particular work caught the attention of the beholder and was to bedeck the cover of Selling England. Not without a few alterations though. Its originator, Betty Swanwick, had reason for being proud and contented with her one and only work in the field of record cover art. It affords validity to Selling England. It is one with its belonging music. If you didn't know their mutual relation, you would soon find out by pure instinct. The idea isn't new, painters and composers have influenced each other during centuries.

The album entertains with two brand new instruments, both are present here in the second title. The electric sitar, attributed to Mike Rutherford, is Genesis first and last flirt with this craft of Indian descent. Can you detect any other string instruments than the bass and the topic here? That's the same as an empty handed Steve Hackett isn't it? Why isn't Hackett credited here when he played it live? There ought to be a reason?The performance is quite basic but not less effective(the bass is far more versatile). Its tones are repetitive but lay a foundation in form of a magic carpet. A synthesizer gives tint to the chorus, but the flute in the end section climbs higher on Jacob's ladder. The cuckoo/blackbird doesn't need electrified reinforcement. The added percussion beside Collins drum kit is more than a spice on 'Wardrobe', it contributes to place the song in the elite division. The song features the most breath-taking rhythms on the recording. Don't forget about Gabriel's skill in this area, in addition to full-time percussionist Collins. Here we find another duo constellation the world could've benefited from(partly we did). Not only a sing-along tune for the handclapping audience, also it's a superb album cut fully comparable to longer titles. It's get-at-able but not less musically competitive. The sales were prompted by the radio friendly and substantially cut single track. The most logical and consistent single from the five-piece era. You may get the impression that it's deliberately made for this purpose, but that's not necessarily the whole truth. The chorus is worth repeating, simply because it's good enough. After many a lunar months, you still haven't grown tired of it. You won't tomorrow either. There's a festival atmosphere reigning over the song. Something to be used when you pass your examination at the music institute of advanced studies!

Together with 'Money' in the year of '73, it must be regarded as a most effective tune, with an eye to diffusing the progressive word to the ignorant masses. Note that the lyrics to the first two songs this time are overseen by the lead vocalist. More Fool Me was recorded in the same manner as it was written. The skeleton form was kept untouched. Side A on the Lp is working overtime, we're close to the 30 min. mark. Time-wise there's no need for anything further but this stripped-down terminus works as something of a bonus song. 12-string and vocals are the only ingredients in More Fool Me, Phil Collins does his second appearance as responsible singer. Occasionally it feels like the song isn't written in Collins natural vocal mode, but that would be very strange. Possibly it could've worked better as a duet with Gabriel, at least on the choruses. A little more distinct and full. Both 'Star of Sirius' and 'Which Way the Wind Blows' are more convincing from Phil, before he became a singer in earnest. The lyrics have a colloquial touch to them, as expected from this constellation. The 'Man-Woman' theme started not here, but is resuscitated years later on Collins solo album Face Value. M.F.M. is the anti-Selling England track. It's expressively done in a certain way 'cause the album yearned for it. Not on account of the tune itself, but for the sake of balance. Regarding the instrumentation, there are quite a few noticeable things. The 12-string, the omnipresent instrument since Trespass, is credited to M. Rutherford and keyboardist Banks(!?). You will find it anywhere, except in the hands of the highest ranked guitar player. Why isn't Hackett playing 12-string? And as debated before, the sitar? The answer is obvious, it's about distribution policy rather than who's most qualified for the mission. Can you imagine Gabriel/Collins taking over any of the keyboard duties? The principle is very much the same.

Is the 12-string some kind of self playing instrument? Just push the button and out comes the sound? Four musicians in Genesis have wielded the instrument(on record); Phillips, Hackett, Rutherford, Banks. Do they sound the selfsame? Yes if Dave Gilmour, Fripp and Steve Howe are cast in the same mould on electric so why not? The difference may seem less apparent but the logic is the same. If you put a 12-string and a nylon in their respective racks which one do you forward to Phillips/Hackett? If you don't have the answer that means you're limited in your professorship. Ant and Mike invented it, Stephen inherited it. Hackett belongs to the six-string school, both on el.- and acoustic. Phillips has strength, attack and blood-relationship with the many string guitar. Hackett saves his grace for the other mentioned objects. Listen to the unique and chivalrous The Geese & the Ghost, but assuredly even to the just as dignified Bay of Kings. But what about Selling England and its absence of the two highly prominent figures? Does it really work? Well, it has to. Once again, had Anthony P. been here he would've played 12-string, with Michael, with possible addition of Anthony B. Ant is still a co-founder and principle writer. And Rutherford himself on 12-string? He is not a supernumerary, mind you. He's a strong writer and creator and handles the instrument enough well to be titled a true 12-string player. His style is closer to Hackett's(or vice versa), the latter simply adapted to what the band required. Still Hackett must be the best player regardless of the number of strings.

You can't be accused if you're ignorant of exactly where Banks is to be found on the 12-string map(by and large a part of Cinema Show). He's discernable on the lawnmower-mellotron that sweeps mechanically along the painted blades of grass, but the autumn colored 12-string undoubtedly carries an image of hidden executant. You don't get the impression that the often mentioned instrument is used for speedy or advanced playing, rather to create sonorous- tones or chords. Maybe it's within this texture the secret lies. To compensate the loss of components the electrified- and 6-string acoustic are allowed to take both one and two strides forward. They fulfill this task with honour. Or, to round off this detour, Hackett's brilliant performance on the both cost him the others. The Hammond(a brand not an instrument) takes a step back as the synth makes it entrance. Its role is now stuck to chord playing in the manner of the mellotron, a little more varied but it's never overacting(more kilos per tone to carry for the poor roadies). The synthesizer is present on almost every track albeit in different roles. Sparsely and extraordinarily timely on Moonlit Knight and Epping Forest, freehanded on Firth and uninhibited on Cinema Show. The latter is possibly the longest uninterrupted instrumental flight ever in this context(from a respectable act). The title it belongs to, The Cinema Show, could just as well been split in two halves. There is no kinship between part 1 and 2. Let's start with part1, it does not lack qualities in any way, and the song is frequently mentioned as a favorite among fans. It's possible to find angles though. There are references to Lover's Leap. There are strong references to Lover's Leap. They are so strong, it's not really standing on its own feet.

So what? Didn't Strauss repeat himself with his recurring 3/4 time signature? Have you ever danced a waltz in 6/8? A certain amount of repetition isn't just excusable, it's also defensible. If you didn't recognize your favorite music, it wouldn't be your favorite music. Still I would have preferred the olden Twilight Alehouse or Hackett's solo piece 'Hierophant'. Cinema Show bifurcates and in comes a synth section of majestic length. Once again a comparison to S.R., the Hammond solo on Apocalypse was composed as a part of the music. On C.S. it's the opposite role, instrument first, and then composition. Hadn't the synth been here, the music wouldn't have been here. It doesn't mean that it's less interesting, but the point of departure is colossally different. Not everybody in the band voted for the inclusion of 'part 2'. This is not a disparagement of an instrument or band member, if any owns the right to 'overstep' the limit it's the no. 1 ranked composer. The equal distribution of royalty money can easily be renegotiated. My favorite constituents; the minor portions of oboe/flute, the same spread as in Moonlit Knight. Small perhaps but jolly good. Unlike let's say 'Dark Side' there are no guest musicians on Selling England. Genesis has chosen a working method which excludes a helping hand from the outside. The answer may be found in the dissatisfaction with the string arr. on the very first album. Every tone produced by an outsider means one less for the permanent member. There is enough competition already. On solo albums you'll find the talents of female vocalists like S. Oldfield, R. Crawford, V. McCauliffe and K. Bush. All highly successful, whether in the role of lead-, co-, or backing vocalist. What about an angelic voice in the band? Cinema could've reached new heights with a Julia involved, the queen of maybe could've graced a tune herself! This was never to happen as we know, the "underpaid" Clare Torry found no challenger in Genesis.

It's unclear if 'After the Ordeal' is referring to preceding song(track 5) but could well have been. This lovely half-short song largely written by Hackett, wasn't on everybody's list of wishes in the group either. If it happens to be on yours; your decipherment of the wordless tune is as virtuous as the white cygnet on a hazy mere. The instrumental from the guitarist is from a land where fantasy isn't a falsehood. The unusual line-up with 6-string/piano is all to be found during first half. The guitar is very resonant and played with one-string touch throughout. The piano, on the other hand, does ~10 tones during the same space of time. This is a very generous attitude towards another instrument, not all composers would've offered such a gift. Second half is not less generous, one electric guitar but piano, organ plus synth! Now accompanied by the rhythm section. One can rightly ask oneself, where are the compositions that ended up on Hackett's Voyage album? This is two years ahead but these two records constitute an indivisible bond. The Acolyte goes hand in hand with the likewise highly instrumental Selling England, and its related pastoral contents. The pair could've been a confluence of significance. All material wasn't around here but quality wise it's hard to deny earlier mentioned 'Hierophant'; originality, exclusiveness and coherence. The almost operatic master voice from Miss Oldfield isn't really transferable, but could possibly stand the test of a male voice. It's understandable that we're dealing with Hackett's favorite Genesis album. It's just as understandable, from a vocalist's point of view, that the lack of continuous song parts is less attractive.

Selling England led to The Lamb, it was the logical development. The lyrics/melodies gushed like spring-cool water. There is no supremo in a democratic band, the theme must be variegated. Aisle of Plenty is the tiny little postlude that concludes the album. Seen through the opera glasses from the balcony, the spectators are overcome by the scenery of the record and exultantly calling for extra numbers. Aisle solidifies the sacredness of the album, takes it back to the starting point. A posy of roses will be thrown towards the stage, and a lady of personage is eagerly awaiting an additional air! Britannia herself, impersonated by the front figure, turns the show into an experience for the eye just as much as the ear. The Drury Lane atmosphere is not less vibrant than a Dionysian amphitheatre under the bright firmament. The solo synth faded out, and its emasculation in sound was compensated by a spring soft six-string acoustic. Aisle of Plenty is the moving good bye to an Alice in Wonderland excursion. Where the poem meets the super sensual everyday occurrence. Maybe in form of an omnivorous giant rabbit, or if you draw the winning ticket, one more melodramatic song. Your hole in the ground isn't further away than a listening to your Genesis album from the second half of the 20th century, released on the Charisma label. Every album has a supreme moment, and here it is found in form of the opener of side B(it sounds better than track five, gives more identity). While countless neo-prog bands of the eighties/nineties have copied Selling England ad absurdum, you won't really find 'Epping Forest', or even a tentative try, on any of their often derivative recordings. It has escaped a plan less redecoration, mainly because its path is too abstruse and impassable. Well, all bands have influences, if you're still a child at heart you may detect chord progressions from 'Maiden Maiden Dear' on previous record Foxtrot.

The lead instrument on 'Battle' is the human voice, the lyrics are as sparkling as a newly opened bottle of champagne. The intro creeps slowly upon you; a goose-step in staccato sounding tempo. A court-jester is turning cartwheels in front of your inner eye. One can call 'Epping' a more refined 'Get 'em out by Friday'. The backing track is undoubtedly more active here, but still severely kept within the song structure. There's no need for a solo in a song if the solo itself doesn't stake out its own way. Gabriel's puns though, consume half a dictionary. It's rompish, agile and astute. The text includes many dramatis personae. A flashy and animated language, the dialects are a stark contrast to the phraseology utilized by Vaughn Williams and his generation of up-and-coming Charterhouse students. It's a boyish and juvenile settlement, the domination over lucrative land. A little less gravity involved than in today's headlines, here it will do with a toffee-apple after the pease-pudding, handed over by the grand-mother of the archenemy. As the lyric writer takes on a large no. of characters you can't really expect two performances in a row to sound the same. If the studio version is a free form interpretation of what's going on during the ferocious battle, then the live gigs reached even higher dimensions. A bootleg version(on cassette) outclassed, despite its limitations, the enclosed studio. In fact it outclassed all Genesis vocal recordings on the whole.

There are other things of value, the relaxed calypso sounding piano is an audio highlight on the album, and the sporadic entries of the synth are irredeemable. The rhythm section is tight and self-confident as expected after enough time spent together. If ever an echo effect had the ability to enhance, then you've come to the right place. We're talking 'bout the el. guitar section between fourth and fifth min., a high point in the song. Rutherford can't brag with the like, but he's ruling the roost on his 12-string, of which there's a healthy dose. The solo concludes the story, the guitar becomes an appropriate appendix or postlude. It has the same function as the opening piano on Firth. Maybe prominent composer Ralph Vaughn Williams is pleased in his heavens, his successors and later school mates are worthy of his full attention. After the album tour and Gabriel's departure it was laid to rest, Epping Forest. Quite logically, even if Collins was(or became) the no.1 choice as successor his voice is not of Gabriel's range. On the other hand, Phil soon found other stuff to sing. The drummer Collins has by now reached a top ranked position. Not only is he possessed of technical prowess, but his adaptability is an asset in a pure jazz- or a most straight forward beat band, or why not in the cream of progressive rock? If Foxtrot marked the termination of the scholastic period, then 'Selling' is a full-time employment at the chamber of commerce. The climbing up the international charts via a smooth and fluent technique - composition - and performance. By now calculated by the fledging young gentleman.

Compared to Foxtrot, 'by the Pound' is 'longer, more, and more often'. That's not incomprehensible, as the players develop their abilities. With a many-headed body of writers, with a normal release rate of only one album a year, it's of great weight to seize the opportunity. The running-time of this product is placed in the upper echelons, to encompass as much as possible of what was around at the time. It was pointed out in the seventies that the sound-quality of a Long-player is affected if it exceeds 35-40 minutes. So what if it touches the 55 min. mark? 'Selling England' is time-wise placed in no-man's land, somewhere in between the traditional Lp and an unlimited cd. How would it have resounded reduced to 37, 5? That's an essential question. Yes chose the double-size to solve this dilemma, Genesis didn't. With the addition of the Alehouse B-side, the forgotten and lately assembled 'Déjà Vu'(Gabriel/Hackett) and some extra studio time, it ought to have been a trifle to reach the glorious heights of The Lamb prematurely. More Yes, the sister band repeated a side-long track as on their previous album(multiplied by four!), Genesis shunned. If you're a thoroughgoing believer in the backing vocals performed by the entire band then you've noticed that they are missing. No matter if you can't sing lead, everybody can add his voice to a group with fivish members. The variation wins over the unnatural duplication. The least talented singer becomes equal with the highest ranked.

'Dusk' is a phenomenally fine example in that respect, but there's no Dusk on 'Selling England'. Instead we see a renewed Dawn of Phil Collins, the good ol' Nursery Cryme days are here. Enter Collins, exit the others. They did never really come back. 'Selling England' is the starting point for the newcomer who wants to explore the quintet period. It's hard to resist its warm and inviting opening vocals and velvety touch. Foxtrot is harsher, The Lamb requires a lot of attention, but 'by the Pound' has an immediate presence with its cascade of concinnity. So finally, how do you mark and judge this recording properly? Aren't five stars obvious? It definitely is, let's act on the trad. Lp length and you are in possession of a top five album. If a vinyl consists of the required amount of material(quality/quantity) then you can overlook one or two addenda. You don't deduct points from the trimly ballet-dancer if she offers you an extra pirouette. You will accept her cloud light steps without expression of sorrow.

From the beginning of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" to the sad chords of "Aisle of Planty", you will pass through many feelings.

There is a song (More fool me) that the people think is "filler". Let me tell you're wrong. This is one of the most beautiful folk songs ever. The voice of Phill Colins and the chords are really nice.

As i said, the first song is Dancing with the Moonlit Knight. The intro by Peter Gabriel, singing a capalla, is one of the most wonderful things ever recorded.

I've got nothing more to say

10/10

Highly Recommended! A great album to start off with if you've never listened to Genesis before (or at least Genesis with Peter Gabriel as lead singer).

The album starts with Peter a cappela, singing the intro to Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, followed slowly by keyboards, guitar and bass. The song builds until it gallops hectically through the middle until the slow denoument as the instruments tinkle away into the intro to the next song, I Know What I Like, the groups first single hit. Next we have the absolutely brilliant Firth of Fifth which features some of the best work ever by Tony Banks on piano and Steve Hackett on guitar. The album would be worth three stars if this was the only song on it...it's that good!

Side one closes out with Collins' second lead vocal in Genesis with the plaintive More Fool Me. Side two starts out with the gang war song the Battle of Epping Forest where, like last album, Gabriel tries to stuff too many lyrics in the spaces of the music...but it's still an excellent piece. After the Ordeal is the next song which leads to the climax of the album - The Cinema Show. This is one of the three best songs in the Genesis collection in my opinion. It is near perfection, especially when ending with Aisle of Plenty, which reprises Dancing With the Moonlit Knight's melody.

All in all, a must have for any prog fan, especially a symphonic prog fan. Five stars.

Here is the track listing:

1. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight- this opener begins with Peter spewing out "Can you tell me where my country lies" aca pella , then we hear that Hackett riff I don't know how to put it into words, then all of a sudden it explodes and becomes a high energy song with great solos, two-hand tapping from Steve, great bass playing and drumming. It's just a song with lots of energy it ends like classical music with a flute solo from Peter (Oh my !!! I can listen to that outro forever!!!!) and overall a fantastic piece, I love it, it's one of my all time fave songs ever!!!!. 10/10

2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)-After Moonlit Knight we get the lawnmower man song, I love it, it's just quirky Genesis fun along the lines of Harold The Barrel. I just love how original it is. 10/10

3. Firth Of Fifth- This is yet again another great classic song from not just Genesis but Prog Rock in general. The piano intro to the flute from Peter to the guitar solo from Steve Hackett(Oh my!!! that solo is so great). You can really hear what he is doing with the guitar. Just about everything on this song is pin point and crisp. Phil Collins shows you that he is one of Prog Rock greatest drummers(just listen to his drumming on this song!!!!). The song and its solo is iconic and full of emotion, it's just awesome. 10/10

4. More Fool Me- This is a piece played by Steve or Mike on guitar with Phil singing lead vocals and if you pay attention closely Pete is in the background doing background vocals(how awesome is that!!!). I just wish Genesis did more songs with Phil on lead vocals and Peter on backing vocals when he was in the band. This song is just a lovely acoustic piece that I can't find anything wrong with. 10/10

5. The Battle Of Epping Forest- This is one big epic that to some bring this album down a notch but personally I enjoy it a lot. Pete's commentary is just funny and creative. The lyrics were a handful for the guys in the band to handle but to me that's what the song special(can you imagine this song without them??). Anyway, this song is about the Battle of Epping Forest(hence the title). I love Steve Hackett's solo on this song(one of his best while in Genesis!!!). Overall this song, though it sounds somewhat uneven at times is still very good in my opinion. 9.5/10

6. After The Ordeal- This is a short and sweet instrumental that no one really ever talks about. Steve soars on this piece with his guitar. Tony Banks never wanted this piece to make it to the recording (I wonder why that is??). Any way, I love how it fades away, it's actually quite lush!!! 10/10

7. The Cinema Show- This one is probably the best song on the album. I love everything about from the intro to the flute played by Peter Gabriel to the soulful guitar playing of Steve Hackett. The first half is a song sung by Pete about Romeo and Juliet and medieval England I believe or something like that(I l really don't care if it is, I still love the song) "Once a man, like the sea I raged, Once a woman, like the earth I gave" I love that line and it brings chills down my spine. Then in the second half the song explodes and becomes jazzy and heavenly. Those synth solos from Tony are just wonderous.This is one of Genesis highlights in their entire career. I mean the second half of this song is just divine and heavenly. I can't really put it into words to be quite honest, you are going to have to listen to it for yourself to get what I'm trying to say here. I love it, It maybe my favorite piece by the band(up there with The Musical Box, Supper's Ready, Moonlit Knight). It ends the way Dancing with The Moonlit Knight begins and it leads to the Aisle of Plenty 10/10

8. Aisle Of Plenty- This short piece is just as good as anything else on the album, it reprises Dancing with The Moonlit Knight and gives it a story book ending. 10/10

To me this is Genesis in all their glory with Peter Gabriel and hands down one of Prog Rock's greatest albums ever made. It is a masterpiece and really my favorite Genesis album. I don't think it can get any better. The album gets a 79.5/80 which translates to darn near perfection. It is definitely a 5 star album in my opinion. Genesis at their best as a unit. Peace out!!!!!!

One of this album's largest flaws is that the songs do not click. Each of the songs sound like they should be on the same album, but they are very badly ordered. It is like a family of people that look, sound and act very similar but will not stop quarrelling. But the thing that loses me the most about this album is the boring lyrical content. It pains me to say this, but I am not interested in the complex political statements that are portrayed throughout this album. At all. I find many of the lyrics, despite the fact that they are very well written, to be painfully boring and very pretentious. Usually I can forgive an album for having lyrics that I find boring, but the lyrical content on this album is heavily emphasised.

Side one of this album begins with "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight". This song is probably one of the more famous classic Genesis tunes. The first thing I wish to say about this track is that I really can't stand the opening. After a few listens it really begins to grate upon me. But thankfully the track begins to pick up very soon afterwards and we have an incredible song. The chorus has tremendous strength, and the last three or so minutes are incredibly beautiful.*****

"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" is very misplaced in this album. It is rather insensitive to both the tracks next to it, particularly the incredibly atmospheric ending of "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight". Despite this it is a decent track.***

"Firth Of Fifth" is a good track, and perhaps the most acclaimed Genesis song from their whole discography. The piano intro is very beautiful, and the guitar solo is also very nice. But this song seems to have several gaping holes. Even after several listens, I still wait for something to happen in many places. The lyrics fail to intrigue me also.***

I actually really like "More Fool Me", and consider it to be the most well placed track on the whole album. It is a nice song that compliments the rest of the album wonderfully. I love Phil Collins' voice in this track.***

Side two opens with "The Battle Of Epping Forest". Strangely enough, this is one of my favourite tracks on the album. The lyrics of this song were inspired by a news story that Peter Gabriel heard about two rival gangs' territorial battles. The song is highly cinematic, and Peter Gabriel's different voices always put me in a good mood.****

"After The Ordeal" is an instrumental interlude that I find very boring. This track is everything that I don't like in classical music.**

"The Cinema Show" is an excellent track, and it revives the album a little from the disappointment of many of the previous tracks. What I like about this song is that the lyrics are sincere and really create an atmosphere that the music can easily support, rather than an attempt at a political statement.*****

I guess I am a little bias toward Genesis in general, as I have little interest in their lyrical content. I have a greater interest in abstract spirituality than political lyricism and poetry, and so I find the album to be more pretentious than captivating. That being said, I love their music, and I do enjoy this album.

3.5 stars.

So why only four stars? It comes down to a couple of things for me - firstly, "The Battle of Epping Forest" has some dodgy, weak moments - notably Peter Gabriel's more spoken-word sections (not the "reverend" bit, but the sections preceding "Here comes the cavalry..."). Add to it the not-terrible but not-fantastic "More Fool Me". So there are these downers - but that wouldn't necessarily in and of itself chop off a star for me.

The bigger issue, as I see it, is that there seems to be a certain lack of energy at certain points. I think this most specifically applies to "The Cinema Show". The rendering on "Seconds Out" just blows this version away - much more power, enthusiasm and sheer majesty during the ending keyboard solo (and yes, I will say that I kind of missed the oboe/flute passages on that live version that were present here, although Steve Hackett's guitar tweets during that section are a very nice substitute). Live versions of "I Know What I Like" and "Firth of Fifth" also often had a bit more "oomph" to them.

There's no question that this is a highly worthy album. It's intricate, at times beautiful, and a very enjoyable listening experience. "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" is a fun, energetic romp with distinctly wry take on British society and a gorgeous ending section. Hackett's solo on "Fifth" may be his single finest moment in Genesis (or maybe his career) - just incredible feeling emanating from those strings, while Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins provide the perfect foundation with bass/guitar and drums to let the solo truly soar. "After the Ordeal" is a pleasant instrumental fitting nicely with the overall feel of the album. "Aisle of Plenty" reprises "Dancing"'s musical themes but with a weird take on being in a supermarket, presented with odd vocal overlays and a nifty drum roll at its peak. And "I Know What I Like" features sitar and extensive percussion - impossible to replicate live, but rather neat-sounding in this context (even if the protagonist is a bit of an underachiever).

All that having been said - I sometimes wish there was just a bit more muscle here. So, that's why I give it four well-earned stars.

Going on through the album, "The Battle Of Epping Forest" tells an 11-minute story with whimsical English references (as with other tracks) which is personally one of my favourites, and could be ideal for you if you liked tracks from earlier albums such as "Get 'Em Out By Friday" from Foxtrot, or the whole "Nursery Cryme" format of individual stories in each song. "After The Ordeal" is a more minimalist piece for guitar and piano, but still upholds symphonic elements and is overall very relaxing and a nice break.

"The Cinema Show" then begins with haunting 12-string harmonies, and includes a long instrumental part - also one of the more relaxing pieces of the album, though a little weaker than previous tracks. This segues into a familiar tune as heard at the beginning of the album on "Moonlit Knight" which becomes "Aisle Of Plenty" with more humorous references, adding a unique flavour to the album which is otherwise unheard in any other Genesis album, making it quite special. It brings the album home quite well, although they could probably do better knowing the excellent musicianships behind the album.

A. A brilliant and consistent piece of work, essential to any-one's prog rock collection.

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight - ***** I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - **** Firth Of Fifth - ***** More Fool Me - ***** (just) The Battle Of Epping Forest - ***** After The Ordeal - **** The Cinema Show - **** Aisle Of Plenty - ****

Looking back at the Genesis recordings prior to Selling England, Gabriel's unabashed take no prisoners lyrics dominated. He hit us over the head with Fang, the Giant Hogweed, the Knife, the Watcher, real estate developers, public suicides, and so on. Often the subject was dark. Not everybody enjoys that viewpoint, at least not at the industrial strength so often found in Gabriel's lyrics and performances. It did make Genesis stand out from many of their contemporaries in the prog tidal wave of the time.

Selling England largely gave the world a break from that dark approach. In Epping Forest we found much to enjoy in a deadly gang skirmish. In Cinema Show we chuckled at the universality of first date jitters and opportunities. Towards the end of that tune, in an extended instrumental break, we even find what I recall to be the first Genesis jazz material. In I Know What I Like we recognized that some of us do indeed lack the motivation to move up the economic ladder (and cannot spend meager disposable income on recorded music).

Still, Gabriel did not forego his fascination with the dark completely. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight opens, a frantic spin across a challenging night on the moor until it ends in a far calmer and more charming place in early morning light. Firth of Fifth, with lyrics as strident and commanding as any by Gabriel in Genesis, is my favorite in this collection, a wonderful concoction of melodic themes and variations that perfectly demonstrates why prog mattered then, and still does. Firth was composed for the Foxtrot album, and benefits considerably from the synthesizers added to Tony Banks' arsenal after Foxtrot.

After the Ordeal, an instrumental, is another great example of melodic themes and variations. In the 21st century we have all but forgotten that Peter Gabriel was once a woodwinds player; this along with Firth and Cinema Show are places where his woodwinds make terrific contributions.

After Selling England, the next and final studio album with Gabriel, the story of Rael, was a study of dark absurdity and abandoned the gentle good humor lyrical viewpoint dominating Selling England.

Five stars is justified for Selling England. Few other bands have delivered so strong and steady a product.

On my phone: Dancing, Firth, Epping Forest, and After the Ordeal. I will probably add Cinema/Aisle as a single track in the near future.

You all know this very well, and I am going to give my personal considerations about: Foxtrot beats it only because its more even, on each song, and it's more versatile. But this only bears minor flaws.

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight - 9/10

Absolute classic. Perfect playing by the whole band.

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - 8/10

The only great short song on here. Nice sitar or whatever that may be.

Firth Of Fifth - 10/10

Nothing new to add. Complete experience.

More Fool Me - 7/10

Short acoustic song sung by Collins. Nothing special.

The Battle Of Epping Forest - 9/10

Another terrific long song.

After The Ordeal - 8/10

An overlooked and forgotten tune, I like it a lot, the band showcases their skills without Gabriel, as it is an instrumental.

The Cinema Show - 9/10

Genesis adventure: Acoustic, piano, Mellotron, electric...

Aisle Of Plenty - 6/10

This is not exactly a song, just a reprise of the beginning of the album.

As you could see, these are the flaws. The composing and performance is as awesome as before, but the songs are too long, and the short ones are fairly weak, making a changing experience.

Instead of rocking out like they did on the previous album, they decided to go back to the pastoral and eccentric tone of Nursery Cryme. This was a welcome change as it allowed them to focus on their songwriting and not worry about trying to make a statement again. But by doing this, they had made another musical statement.

The concept is rather vague but it's there. It is about the current state of Britain in the year 1973. All the references and play-on-words are all very British. It may seem that because of this, the album doesn't have a very wide appeal. However, this is not the case. This album is loved by music fans all over the world. I won't review the album track-by-track but I will go over what I think are highlights. These songs alone are worth buying the album for.

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight: This song starts a cappella and then the instruments slowly build. A great opening with Peter's voice. The piano, lead guitar, bass, and drums are all fantastic. After about 6 minutes, it goes into a pastoral bit with 12 string guitars that sound a little like a ballet. I'm not saying that this part is bad though, far from it, but it is an interesting section. Still very nice sounding, the song ends as gracefully as it began. Overall one of the best album openers I have ever heard.

Firth Of Fifth: Another great opening but this time with only piano. Tony Banks plays a melodic intro which is repeated again at the end of the song. Again the piano, drumming, and synth leads are all great, but the major drawing point to this song is the incredible guitar solo by Steve Hackett in the mid-section. Every note he plays feels like it's coming from somewhere in his soul; and when the chorus returns and the song concludes with the piano motif, it is an overwhelming moment.

The Cinema Show: Great chorus and lyrics in the first half of the song. The lyrics tell something along the lines of a modern day Romeo and Juliet. But I'm not here to talk about the lyrics. I'm here to talk about the second half of the song. This rhythm part sums up what Genesis were all about. Symphonic rock with a classical influence. Tony's synth leads carry the song, Mike's bass playing complements the track, and Phil's drumming is top notch. I don't know why Phil Collins isn't more recognized as a drummer. This is an exceptional groove.

Then the album comes to a close with a reprise of Moonlit Knight's intro and some references to British supermarkets. Overall one of the legendary albums of prog, and one that any prog fan or music listener should have in their collection. Essential.

I think I can illustrate this best when looking at their previous album, Foxtrot. Now there was an album, all meat and no filler, every song was it's own separate identity, serving it's own purpose and acting as their own jaw-dropping masterpiece (admittedly Supper's Ready should count for about 5 or 6 jaw-dropping masterpiece songs but that's beside the point.) Even the weaker songs (Time Table and Get 'em Out By Friday) were only comparatively slightly weaker and still stood strong on their own and here's my problem with Selling England by the Pound, only half of the songs stand strong on their own.

Most people would say (and they'd be right) that this isn't the point of Selling England and that it's better flowing. Many would also say (and they'd be wrong) that due to that this is the stronger album. Nevertheless I don't want to sit here saying, "I'm giving this album only four stars because it's not as good as Foxtrot" what I want to instead is, "I'm giving this album only four stars because only half of the songs on this album are of masterpiece quality"

It's no surprise what the three masterpiece songs are, many reviewers who have both loved and hated the album, those who (like me) think the album has it's ups and downs and those who think it's one continuous flowing masterpiece nevertheless seem to single out the same three songs. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show showcase Genesis at their absolute best and these three songs have remained fan favorites to this day and are used as examples as old-Genesis at their height, and they should be.

Three other songs however, I know What I like, More Fool Me and After the Ordeal come across as, well, filler. I know What I like is a blatant attempt (and a somewhat successful one at that) at a pop song. More Fool Me feels out of place / subpar in quality and After the Ordeal is pleasant enough but ultimately forgettable and most remember it as that song that leads into Cinema Show.

There are still two songs I haven't mentioned and I have my reasons for each, I don't recognize Aisle of Plenty as it's own song and as a result I classify it as 'that songs that has it's own name but is really just a conclusion to Cinema Show (and the album). In the same way I don't really consider Horizons as anything but 'the lovely intro into Supper's Ready' but while Horizons can stand on it's two feet, Aisle of Plenty feels tacked on and wouldn't be much of anything had it not been preceded by such a mammoth song.

The Battle of Epping Forest on the other hand I simply have trouble placing. After listening to the album countless times I'm still not sure if this is a strong or weak point on the album. On the one hand, it has some of Gabriel's best vocal work EVER, some wonderful tolkienesque qualities to it and some really interesting music that admittedly does get overshadowed by the vocals. I do see the point that the song is a bit too long, a bit too busy ect. ect. But I also think it's one of Genesis' most interesting, ingenious and unique songs (which for them is no small feat). I don't think it has the same instant love that listeners feel towards the big three, but I enjoy the song just as much, but I recognize that it is by no means flawless.

So where does this leave me? Well, as I said, this is a mixed bag in terms of quality but is Genesis' best flowing record, has some of their best music and is arguably their best album for the sake of THE ALBUM. I still can't give this more then four stars however, I think every prog fan ever should have this record (or at least hear this record) and in that sense yes it is essential, but it's not a masterpiece and it is by no means a flawless (or even consistent) record.

4/5 stars

From the opening moments of 'Dancing with the Moonlit Knight' to the closing refrain used in 'Aisle of Plenty' there honestly isn't a dull second, and along the way they've created at least 4 essential masterpiece tracks. *That* moment in 'Firth of Fifth' when Steve's guitar soars for just that little bit longer, and the spine tingling bit in 'Cinema Show' when the Choir and Bass Pedals kick in really send shivers down your spine.

Lately I've gotten in to the more heavier side of prog via the likes of Opeth and Anathema, but every now and then I come back to the absolute best - nothing can match the euphoria of this album, and it truly is one of the few works that deserve the title of masterpiece.

I totally love this album. Genesis-wise I would say that this and Foxtrot are Peter Gabriel's biggest ever accomplishments, but not far behind is Phil Collins' self titled effort. In fact, I sort of hold them in the same opinion. Maybe this one a little more because it is simply more progressive and holds more water in my mind and especially on this review for a site dedicated to prog.

It starts out with an opener that was stuck in my head for at the very least a week: 'Dancing With the Moonlit Knight', a socially conscious epic with fantastic lyrics and vocals from Gabriel. It uses it's healthy eight minutes wisely, having two sections of magnificent melodic shredding from Hackett. And as a man who has a enthusiasm for the skins, I give huge kudos to Collins on the magnificent powerful drumming. 'Firth of Fifth' is another even longer epic stretching a minute longer. It has a beautiful keyboard opening from Banks, although it sort of lacks on the vocals front because Gabriel seemed to lose his steam from 'I Know What I Like in Your Wardrobe', a heavy, almost funky ballad that preceded it. 'More Fool Me', although strained at times, has Collins waltzing slowly with an acoustic guitar for a good three minutes. It is so great just in it's simplicity, and gets bashed way too much. 'Battle of Epping Forest' is a eleven minute long medieval battle song with prog rock injected into it. I doubt I'm the first one to say that is sounds straight out of a Tolkien tale. It is pretty great in itself. 'After the Ordeal' is a soft rock instrumental, sort of a breather after the songs before to let more air in for the next songs. It's cool as a jam song, maybe not so much as a contender for the other tracks. 'The Cinema Show' is pretty bland, with repetitive snare rolls and some pretty annoying synth at times. The closer, 'Aisle of Plenty' picks up where the a Capella opening of 'Dancing With the Moonlit Knight' left off, maybe with less gusto as before, but actually pretty atmospheric as a whole.

So in general, a fantastic effort from the early Genesis. Although I'd be stretching to say that it's essential, I would suggest going to pick it up when you have a chance, you won't be disappointed.

Go give it a listen.

There was also, for me, a concept problem with this album in the era when it was released. At the time, I was a student at one of England's elite universities, where it was possible (and I'm being truthful) to encounter people who believed the working class should take an intelligence test before they were permitted to vote. Genesis themselves were a product of England's elite public school system, and their T.S. Eliot-inspired song concepts are laden with a disdainful and sneering vision of the common masses. This probably doesn't come across to either non-British or younger fans. It's social history, but my own perspective on this album's concept has always been one of deep suspicion.

Verdict: Brilliant in places but questionable throughout.

Over all, I fond this album as the essence of nostalgia and melacholy, and it appeals to me on so many levels. Off course you must not forget that I am a Swedish 15-year old who doesn't really bother with the meaning of the lyrics, but the music is so fantastic. The production is superb, the material phenomenal and it gets to me. It makes me feel and inspires me. It simply is incredibly good and truly a masterpiece.

I'm here to talk about a discovery I made while reading about the history of the album that I think enhances the album even more: namely, the trifecta of songs that open and close the album, "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", "The Cinema Show", and "Aisle of Plenty" were originally conceived as a "Supper's Ready"-like suite. This explains something I had always wondered about with the opening track: it seems to build up tension for a resolution that never comes. Instead, it quietly fades out to lead into the rather flippant "I Know What I Like". The lead-in was meant to segue right into the opening of "The Cinema Show", but the band decided they didn't want their new suite compared to "Supper's Ready" and split it up to book-end the album.

Anyway, I've stitched it back together and I think the band made a mistake. I think the combined suite is even better than "Supper's Ready" and makes a fantastic conclusion to the album. I suggest the following running order:

1. Firth of Fifth 2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) 3. More Fool Me 4. The Battle of Epping Forest 5. After the Ordeal 6. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight 7. The Cinema Show 8. Aisle of Plenty

This leaves the album still bookended with some of its best songs but also adds a resonance to the band's first lost suite (the second was on Duke) that I feel it's missing while bookending the album. Give it a try and see what you think. I personally think it makes a classic album even better.

Word of God says that this album was written at a time when there was a fear among the still small, dedicated base of the group over whether or not they would sell out to the dirty Americans and their new-world ways. As such, here is the album equivalent of a communitarian revival.

This is of course a caricature. This album has indeed a very English folk charm, but it is at this point a distillation of Gabriel's songwriting wonder, combined with the musicianship of Tony, Steve, Mike and Phil. For this album doesn't have the resonance of say, Dark Side, whose sparse lyrics were bordering on tautology at times.

No, this is isn't a broadly appealing piece - as noted by many reviews of the time. What it is is a brilliantly woven series of tableaux. Beginning with the opening track which transitions from a charming folk ballad to an explosive electric number so seamlessly it's almost offensive. It then peaks, sustains and gently glides back to earth - a complexity of texture that will seem familiar over the next 54 minutes.

Following with the almost successful single I Know What I Like, a delicious digestible piece that was quite rare at the time for Gabriel's Angels. Firth of Fifth needs no introductions - it is a wonderful Banksian work brought to impossible heights by Hackett. More Fool Me is meh, but then again it was written by Phil and Mike on the porch, so I wont be too hard. Battle of Epping Forest is a bit harder to swallow. While the lyrics are not bad, it's not greatly executed, very wordy without having the musical chops to sustain itself. But Tony thinks so too, so I don't feel alone.

Returning on the mode of the first piece, After The Ordeal. While shorter, it is also pleasant. The true second standout moment of the album is The Cinema Show. A truly magnificent work, from its gentle start to its finish on the leitmotiv of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight. Essentially instrumental, it serves a great ending ot the album (Aisle Of Plenty is more of an epilogue).

Phil's drumming brings the whole enterprise to a nice chug, while Hackett in bursts and Banks pretty much whenever manage to show tremendous skill. One reproach you could make it is quite a pretentious number. But I guess, to me, the pretentiousness of The Lamb crushes everything else. All and all, it is a really great album, and definitely one to hang over the chimney. A+

If you'd enjoy it more if it was on a slower boil, try Foxtrot. If you'd like it more if it had more material and was less idiosyncratic, try A Trick Of The Tail.

It was entirely by chance I discovered 'Selling England By The Pound', and I owe it all to a friend of mine at university who was obsessed with Gabriel era Genesis and would play Genesis at all hours of the day! Through him I discovered this classic, as well as the other early Genesis albums. It was this record which turned me from a heavy metal listener into a classic 70's prog-rock fan, and I'm not sure anything else would have succeeded in doing that. I was mesmerized and entranced by the music on here, and to this day I still hold it in the highest respect.

In this album we find Genesis at their absolute peak both creatively and musically. Everyone is in superb form throughout; it is truly majestic to behold and listen to these utterly timeless songs. Simply put this album has some absolutely gorgeous musical compositions and hugely memorable moments, both vocally and instrumentally, throughout the entire running. The mood shifts around from song to song, from the upbeat opener 'Dancing With The Moonlit Knight' through to the reflective 'Firth Of Fifth' and onto the melancholic 'The Cinema Show'. Over the fifty minute running you are taken through an emotional journey.

Everyone is given plenty of room to shine on this record. Peter Gabriel leaves enough space for everyone to play their part, something which was sorely missing on their follow-up. Here we find Peter Gabriel in phenomenal form, perhaps the finest vocals he has ever laid down. Steve Hackett delights us with his beautiful and soaring guitar lines. Tony Banks is perfect in here, restrained when needed and bombastic at the right moments. Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins are equally important to this music, driving the songs forward with powerful bass and drums. I've often thought Phil Collins doesn't get the respect he deserves in regards to his drumming capabilities. Sure he may have divided opinion when he stepped up to replace Gabriel at the microphone, but behind the drum-kit he is an absolute powerhouse and so creative.

I consider 'Selling England By The Pound' to have the two greatest Genesis songs ever written, 'Firth Of Fifth' and 'The Cinema Show' (with the third being the legendary 'Suppers Ready' from 'Foxtrot'). With all that said there is no other rating possible other than 5-stars. A perfect album for any lover of music, progressive or otherwise! This is an absolute essential album that deserves a place in any music collection.

In the first place, I must say that this is my first review on Progarchives. In the second place, I decided that "Selling England By The Pound" would be my first choice. This wasn't by chance, because it was my first purchase and I bought it in 1975. Unfortunately, I have no longer my first vinyl copy, because I offered it to my then girlfriend, in 1977. Today, I think that probably my noble act had only the effect of lose the first record of my musical collection, an album so important to me that would become a real mark in my future taste by progressive music. Now, I'm sincerely convinced that my noble act probably failed to bring one more soul to our beloved progressive universe.

So, this is the album and the band, which brought me to the universe of progressive music. So, Genesis was my first love, and even today I still listen to their music, still thinking that they're probably my greatest music love.

And what an album I choose to rate in the first place! In my humble opinion, this is the best Genesis studio album and it's also one of the best albums ever made. It belongs to a very rare type of albums of which very few can belong. It's also interesting to note that this is an album consistently positioned in the first four places in the Top Prog Rock Music Albums List of Progarchives for so long, which is an honour for me to have the same opinion. Ok, I know that this is one of the albums most reviewed on Progarchives, but I also need to give my opinion about it, urgently.

The line up of "Selling England By The Pound" is undoubtedly the best of the band with Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins. This was their fifth studio work and was released in 1973. It was also their biggest seller to date, reaching number 3 in England, where it remained on the charts for 21 weeks, and number 70 in America, who went gold in 1990.

All songs were written and composed by all band members. The album combined a collection of short stories, fables, and fairy tales, retaining the ambient and the yearning of the ancient medieval England. It contains several pieces of music that would become central to Genesis live performances, even for the band members and ex-band members, when they performed on live concerts a solo, or on new versions of the original songs, like Steve Hackett usually do.

"Selling England By The Pound" has eight tracks. The first track "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" is a song that begins with Peter Gabriel's voice very calm and that progressively gets louder and more upbeat. The final result is a very powerful song. The second track "I know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" was the first charting single by the band. It's a very funny song with some characteristics of a pop song. This is also a great song. The third track "Firth Of Fifth" is one of the best songs from the band and one of the most representative progressive songs of the group. Despite the song be credited to the band, it's essentially a Tony Banks' song. The fourth track "More Fool Me" is a ballad and is the simpler song on the album. It's made only with vocals and acoustic guitars. Curiously, it's the second song sung by Phil Collins in the band, until that date. The first was "For Absent Friends" from their third studio album "Nursery Crime". The fifth track "The Battle Of Epping Forest" is one of the two longest tracks on the album, and has a great vocal work by Gabriel, changing voices for different characters. It has also very different musical changes throughout the entire track. The sixth track "After The Ordeal" is an instrumental track clearly made with Steve Hackett's hand. The song has something that reminds us the medieval times and is a very simple and beautiful ballad. The seventh track "The Cinema Show" is the other long track on the album and that became as the great epic track of the album and one of their best tracks ever. The eighth track contains the final song from the album "Aisle Of Plenty". It's the shortest song on the album, and it's a reprise of the opening track "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight".

Conclusion: "Selling England By The Pound" is a perfect concept album with wonderful lyrics, powerful symphonic music and great vocal work. It remains to me as one of the most solid albums in progressive history. It also remains to me as my favourite album from them, despite their previous studio album "Foxtrot" was maybe a more emotional album and their next studio album "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" was maybe a far more ambitious album. Sincerely after all those years have passed, I still prefer listen to "Selling England By The Pound". My favourite song on the album is "Firth Of Fifth", which is also one of my favourite songs from the band and one of the best and most progressive songs made by them. In my humble opinion, the two tracks, "Firth Of Fifth" and "The Cinema Show" are clearly the two best tracks on the album and two of the best songs ever made. As a final conclusion, we can say that "Selling England By The Pound" belongs to a very rare class of albums.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Looking at the tracklist, you'll notice that the band decided to ditch the format used by Foxtrot - having one epic song dwarf most of the record - in favor of splitting the album up into four mini-epics, with more concise tracks to fill in the gaps. As much as I loved Foxtrot I can't help but admit that this format was the right move for the band. Having short accessible tracks to separate each complex behemoth really contributes to how easily digestible Selling England can be, as it offers a nice breather between each main event. Plus, hey, those short songs are pretty great too! "More Fool Me" is easily my favorite ballad from the Peter Gabriel era of Genesis, even though it was actually sung and penned by drummer-turned-singer and future (disputed) "most hated man in pop" Phil Collins. "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" is probably the trippiest song on the album with a strange psychedelic feel, and yet it was also significant for being the band's first real taste of commercial success single-wise. Finally (excluding "Aisle of Plenty," which is just a reprise of the opener), we've got the stunning guitar work Steve Hackett brings on "After the Ordeal." Playing out as sort of an aftermath to "Battle of Epping Forest," it could be seen as the logical conclusion of the promise heard in "Horizons" from the prior album. The classical guitar work has been further, the solemn atmosphere more effective, and this time Tony Banks even joins in with his own piano parts!

But let's be real, the longer tracks are what this album's all about. "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" might be one of the best openers in progressive rock history (and Genesis already has a fair share of those - look at "Musical Box" or "Watcher of the Skies"). Gabriel's voice is crucial here, as he provides much-needed humanity to the majestic and bombastic instrumental bits. It's important to note that the album's overarching theme is the loss of British culture to Americanization, which is delivered very effectively in the opening lines of "...Moonlit Knight":

"Can you tell me where my country lies?" Said the uni faun to his true love's eyes "It lies with me!" cried the Queen of Maybe For her merchandise, he traded in his prize

Of course, it all becomes even more effective once we're treated to a much faster section in the middle with rapid-fire tapping from Hackett. The song in general goes through so many different moods and cycles but somehow never loses compositional or lyrical focus, which is something that becomes apparent with the rest of the longer tracks on the album. With that in mind, "Firth of Fifth" is primarily dominated by two people: Banks and Hackett. The former gets an incredible piano intro with heavy classical leanings and crazy time shifts, and the latter gets one of the most emotional guitar solos in rock history. The solo is also an example to aspiring musicians that virtuosity isn't everything in guitar playing; just ask David Gilmour. It's also worth noting that Mike Rutherford pulls out some nice bass lines here, especially on the soft break in the middle of the song.

Still, nothing can really prepare the listener for the other two epics, which are probably the most complex and long-winded pieces on the entire album. "The Battle of Epping Forest" is an incredibly wacky and whimsical take on? well, gang violence. Turns out that Peter Gabriel heard about some fight between two gangs in the east end of London, but didn't really know any details outside of that. So what did he do? Create his own characters and scenarios to fill in the blanks! And when you read/hear the lyrics, which are practically a damn novella, it really shows what an imaginative lyricist and storyteller Gabriel was in his Genesis days. It helps, too, that the music is still top notch. It does get incredibly busy and possibly overbearing at times, but the real treat is the band's knack for using their music to aid the visuals Gabriel creates in his lyrics . I also have to mention that this song has my favorite drum performance of all time; it baffles me how Phil Collins can keep such a comfortable and catchy groove out of a 7/4 time signature, as well as how he weaves in and out of the other instruments with such ease. Then there's "The Cinema Show" which is essentially a tale of two songs: one is a beautiful folk-rock ballad, and the other is the highly complex instrumental piece that follows. Think of it as a precursor to the "Home/Second Home by the Sea" suite we got years later on the self titled album, just pulled off with more imagination and finesse. The real thing to listen for on this song is the incredible vocal interplay between Gabriel and Collins; it really doesn't surprise that Collins would eventually be the next vocalist to take center-stage for Genesis.

Pulling the entire experience together is the production work of John Burns, which is a sizeable leap forward from the sound quality found on previous Genesis efforts. There's much more room for the atmosphere to breathe here, and the more rock-oriented moments don't sound as muddy or one-dimensional as before. In the end, I'm still not entirely sure whether I prefer Selling England by the Pound or Foxtrot, as both albums represent the very best that Genesis has to offer. But in saying that, I can at least say that no future Genesis record was ever able to top this one? not even The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. This one is truly top-shelf progressive rock music. Hell, just top-shelf music in general.

Dancing With the Moonlit Knight (8:01) - ★★★★★

I gotta say, Genesis really nails it when it comes to opening up their albums... well, most of the time anyway. But this is just beautiful, the acoustic intro with Gabriel's singing sets the mood for this album just perfectly, I love how this song slowly builds up to blow into one of Genesis' fastest and heaviest tracks ever, Phil drums his heart out here and Hackett is just as good with his guitar work. The lyrics are a social commentary on contemporary England and have a lot of references to stuff like Wimpey Burgers, the "Land of hope and glory" hynn and other english staples, it's among my favorite lyrical content from Peter.

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (4:06) - ★★★★☆

The first hit single for Genesis and the poppiest track from the Peter Gabriel years of the band. The lawn mower sound Banks' mellotron makes at the beginning of this track is pretty unique, Mike's bassline here is funky as hell, especially during the chorus, which is extremely catchy. Easily one of the better pop songs Genesis did, it's hummable, but still musically complex, and the lyrics are a humorous look at a young groundsman's lack of an ambition in life, being perfectly happy with his job with his lawn mower.

Firth of Fifth (9:35) - ★★★★★

My personal favorite song off this album and one of my all-time favorite Genesis songs, largely written by Tony Banks no less. Every single one of these guys shines on in this song, Banks does it in the intro, Gabriel dellivers one of his finest vocal performances and plays his flute beautifully in the interlude, Phil does some awesome drumming at the 4:30 mark, Rutherford's bass in the "chorus" is one of his best performances and Steve Hackett's guitar solo here is arguably his most memorable ever. Well, Banks himself hates the lyrics to this song, and I can't say I totally disagree with him, the title in itself is a pretty bad pun on Firth of Forth and the lyrics do have some stupid lines such as "Like a cancer growth is removed by skill", but I still like the whole imagery Banks creates with his lyrics here, even if the actual words are kinda nonsensical.

More Fool Me (3:09) - ★★☆☆☆

Another acoustic number with Phil Collins on the lead vocals, and considering it worked very well last time with For Absent Friends, why not? Problem is, this song is nowhere nearly as good as For Absent Friends. Phil's vocals are pretty good, but the actual song is very repetitive and feels completely out of place in this album, even when it comes to lyrics, this time written by Mike Rutherford, just your typical break-up lyrics and yadda yadda, this isn't interesting in the slightest and should be a B-Side of some sort.

The Battle of Epping Forest (11:43) - ★★★☆☆

This one is a track that you might either love or hate, Genesis themselves kinda cringe when talking about it because... well, it's kind of a mess, really. The lyrics are about a gang war in the Epping Forest region of London, hence the song title, and once again Peter Gabriel incarnates different characters with his voice and delivers a pretty good theatrical performance... however, he never shuts up and I thought this got grating after a while. There aren't any instrumental passages in this song, instead most of the instruments feel like they're trying to overshadow each other, and Gabriel's voice is also in this struggle, which is a pretty good idea for a song about a conflict, but it could have been a lot better. I also think the story Gabriel tries to tell here is very hard to follow, even he got lost while writing it, go figure.

After the Ordeal (4:12) - ★★★★☆

A somewhat calming Steve Hackett instrumental track, and a very well-placed one since it comes after the whole chaotic mess of The Battle of Epping Forest. Hackett and Banks dominate the first half with lots of good guitar and piano work, but my favorite part is when the drums kick in and Hackett starts doing a guitar solo, which I also find to be among his best, Gabriel comes in with his flute during the end section for extra beauty, pretty good instrumental number overall.

The Cinema Show (10:41) - ★★★★★

Another of my favorite Genesis songs, Tony and Mike wrote this one and the lyrics are a mixture of The Waste Land by T.S Elliot and Romeo and Juliet. The 12-string intro reminds me a bit of Anthony Phillips' playing on Trespass and Peter and Phil dual-singing in it is fantastic, Steve's guitar work and Mike's melodic bass during the mid section are great, the chorus is very hummable and Gabriel's flute strikes back here as well. But my favorite moment has to be the closing section, Phil emulates Bill Bruford on his drumming, Banks performs one of my favorite keyboard solos of all time.

Aisle of Plenty (1:31) - ★★★★☆

Well... there isn't much to say about this other than the fact that it's just Dancing WIth the Moonlit Knight's intro reprised with Gabriel delivering more bad british puns. It's... something, I always consider this to be just an ending to The Cinema Show, considering that one segues into this as if it was.

Despite some drawbacks here and there, Selling England by the Pound has some of the finest material Genesis has ever made, and this more than makes up for weaker stuff like More Fool Me and The Battle of Epping Forest. This is Steve Hackett's favorite Genesis album and it's easy to see why, it's the one in which he contributed the most and there's lots of great guitar solos from him, for a guitarist, this album is certainly a must-listen, but I also like how Gabriel's flute is much more present here than before, it's a fantastic record without a doubt.

It's perhaps appropriate that the album begins with only Peter Gabriel's voice, as he was increasingly becoming what the larger world thought of when "Genesis" came to mind (if it ever did). It's easy to imagine why, since he was not only the voice of the band but the look as well.

It's easy to draw attention when you're wearing fox's head and your wife's red dress up on a stage where everybody else is sitting down noodling.

But it's also a little misleading, as Selling England by the Pound has some of the band's most memorable instrumental passages and moments during which Gabriel is noticeably absent. The highlight, and perhaps most influential single passage, is the instrumental mid-section of "Firth of Fifth." While it does feature Gabriel on flute, that's merely prelude to the up-tempo Tony Banks synth solo and, most notably, Steve Hackett's soaring guitar solo, the paradigm of solos to come based on space, restraint, and musicality rather than fleet fingers and surgical shredding. Then there's the back half of "Cinema Show," which not only jettisons Gabriel but Hackett as well, reducing things to a Banks/Rutherford/Collins three-way (which would lead we all know where down the road). Hell, even ol' Phil himself debuts as a lead vocalist on the palette cleansing "More Fool Me."

Having said that, the album would lose a lot of its aggressive Englishness without Gabriel's delivery and the lyrics themselves. The album has a very pastoral vibe, aside from the epic tale of a London gang turf war, "The Battle of Epping Forest." That track divides fans ? some hate it, some love it. I'm in the latter group, although the band apparently never much cared for it, feeling it was too stuffed with wordplay to be effective. Maybe, but it's certainly fun to sit down and work through.

I've lived with Selling England By the Pound in a lot of formats. My brother, Sluggo,* had it on a good ole' fashioned LP, from which he made me a cassette tape many many years ago. I've blown through at least two, if not three, versions on CD. Over all those years, it's remained one of my favorite musical experiences ever. In a real sense, the "hey, this kicks ass!" reaction I had way back when set me on the road to prog geekdom.

It's aged bloody well over 40 years and spawned too many imitators. A masterpiece, a milestone, and essential listening.

* Not his real name, relax. Our parents weren't cruel

This is a flawed album. There's no doubt about it. At first, it sweeps you off your feet, bringing you into a twisted-yet-idyllic English fantasy, with standout instrumental performances. It seems almost like the perfect symphonic prog album...until you've heard it a few dozen times and the shtick begins to wear thin. "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" is the opener, and for the first 2 minutes or so, I can really believe why this is deemed a prog classic. Peter Gabriel is a fantastic writer. The lyrics are brilliant, witty, and the imagery is so immersive. And the way it builds from a moving a capella to its erupting chorus is fantastic. That's how you start an album. But then when the uptempo solo section starts, it starts to lose a bit of its effect. I can't help but feel how awkward the whole section is. It may be because of the production quality, which is a notable step down from "Foxtrot", but Steve Hackett's guitar solo, while well-played, sounds very cheesy. That isn't even getting into Tony Banks' synth solo later on. The tone that he uses wouldn't sound out of place on a second-rate fusion album from the late 70's, but it completely kills the Victorian mood when used here. Following a minimalistic 2-minute coda that firmly plants the listener back on English soil, "I Know What I Like" brings four more minutes of clever lyrics, but forgettable melodies.

If this was any of the other reviews that have been posted so far, it would be right around now that I'd start to hype up the album's legendary, 11/10 veritable masterpiece third track, "Firth of Fifth". And if I was writing this a few months ago, I'd continue to do so. But after hearing the song for the n-dozenth time, it really started to fall apart and now I realize that, with the rest of the album, it has its own inconsistencies. The piano intro, of course, is brilliant and it always will be. Picturesque, majestic, eloquent, like a lakeside chalet with May-time flowers blooming all around, this stately piano piece will always stand as a testament to how brilliant Genesis were at incorporating time signature changes into their music while still retaining musicality. Not a lot of other bands were capable of doing this without sounding contrived; only Yes really springs to mind and I might argue that Genesis were even better at it. Of course, what follows one of the smoothest passages of music the band laid down is one of the most awkward, flopping all over itself. The verses.

The organ accompaniment is bland and uninspired, and really has very little to do with the rest of the musical motifs of the song. And the lyrics, compared to the clever ones we heard earlier, are frankly awful. It's not just the fact that they're meaningless that I have a problem with. After all, most of my favourite lyrics don't necessarily have any meaning at all, such as those by Jon Anderson or the ones Peter Sinfield wrote for early King Crimson. However, what separates the lyrics of "Firth of Fifth" from those heard in, say, "In The Wake of Poseidon" or "Starship Trooper" is that Jon Anderson, what he lacks in clarity, makes up for in delivery. It's so incredibly clear that, even if he doesn't necessarily know what he means when he sings a line like "And I heard a million voices singing, Acting to the story that they had heard about", he can deliver it so powerfully that we can belive it has profound depth. Peter Gabriel, in this song, though, sounds bored singing the lines (which I believe were written by Tony Banks). And Peter Sinfield, while he was working with Crimson, at least, was a poet above all. He has a brilliant sense of selecting words that not only create vivid imagery, but flow together in a way that sounds fluid, while the words Gabriel has been made to sing here sound very forced, stumbling over each other, with unpleasant syllables fighting each other and nattering aggressively.

But what the verses lack, the instrumental sections make up for. Peter Gabriel's flute solo, Tony Banks' revisitation of his opening solo with the whole band behind him and Steve Hackett's defining solo as a guitarist are all among the strongest instrumental performances in the entire Genesis catalogue. Unfortunately, though, the otherworldly mood created by Hackett's breathtaking performance is completely shattered by the unforgivable mistake to end the song with another verse. "Firth of Fifth" had the potential to stand as a masterpiece, even with the first few verses, but this ending more or less seals the deal; this is a good track, no more, no less.

Moving on, "More Fool Me" is not nearly as bad as many would have you think. It's an inoffensive love/breakup song that actually leaves you aching a little if you really focus on it. Phil Collins sings quite well here. And then after a shaky side one, side two opens with the bloated, stinking behemoth of "The Battle of Epping Forest". The beached whale of the album, I won't say much more about this one than this: imagine "Harold The Barrel" on repeat for 12 minutes straight, only without the endearing qualities or catchy melodies. Fortunately side two is vastly improved by "After The Ordeal", which shows off the talents of both Banks and Hackett and "The Cinema Show", which I have grown to appreciate as the true jewel of this album.

The first half of "Cinema Show" brings back more of that strong Gabriel lyricism as well as some delectable guitar harmonies. A lengthy synth solo closes up the second half. Even though it's the most replayable song on the album, I still wouldn't consider it a masterpiece, though, as it leaves me a little cold emotionally and Banks' solo at the end overstays its welcome a tad. "Aisle of Plenty" revisits a motif established in "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" and bookends the whole affair quite well with more clever lyrics.

So all in all we have an album with very shaky, inconsistent quality that makes a great introduction, but has very limited replay-ability. I can't call this album much more than a good introduction to Genesis. Along with "Nursery Cryme", this is Genesis 101, and will hopefully keep new fans reeled in for as long as it takes to get to material with more staying power, like "Trespass", because this one won't be perfect forever. It pains me a little to give this album such a low rating, since it really is one of the most influential symphonic releases around. Of course, I would actually recommend any of the countless neo-prog spin-offs that plagiarized "Selling England" over the original. If you want to hear what this blueprint can sound like when it's propelled by actual instrumental firepower, put on some IQ. As it stands, I'll give a rating of 3 stars. Good (at times), but certainly not essential.

Selling England is a typically British product. The release portrays a progressive rock band in its creative peak. Steve Hackett, the band's guitarist explains: "This has always been my favourite Genesis album. It runs the gamut from Scottish plainsong to Elgar, Mozart and heavy rock with tricky time changes ? all in the first track, with very clever drumming that links all the disparate ideas. I'm proud of my own guitar and writing contributions to this album too. Together we were a powerful combination here. I feel this was Genesis at its strongest.". Although it presents a wide variety of styles, all are taken from somewhere inside the British Isles, whether it's a majestic piece like "Frith Of The Fifth", the comedic "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" or the folk-inspired "More Fool Me". Every musician contributes to the mighty whole, adding small details, one at a time. Those sum up and create a beautiful whole with a factor, that only Genesis was capable of creating. "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight", the album opener encourages all of the fantastic qualities of the album and so it could easily be considered as a highlight of the work, being dynamic, diverse, and skillful.

Genesis are probably the most renowned progressive rock band. And that is for a reason! Selling England By The Pound is often regarded as the band's best album. This is a great place to get into progressive rock or symphonic rock in particular. Five stars!

Overall Track rating: "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" - 9/10 "I know what I like (In your Wardrobe)" - 8/10 "Firth of Fifth" - 10/10 "More Fool Me - 6/10 "The Battle of Epping Forest" - 8.5/10 "After the Ordeal" - 7.5/10 "Cinema Show" - 10/10

Coming off of mainstream success from their critically acclaimed album "Foxtrot", Genesis embarked on a tour supporting the album, and once it was finished, got right back to recording a new album, pressed by their record label. This new album "Selling England by the Pound", a title derived from the slogan of the UK Labour Party at the time, says away from Genesis's folk rock roots, and deals with the concept of the Americanization of British culture. Amazingly, they were able to top what seemed to be the best album they could conceivably create with this masterpiece of an album.

We start off with an amazing intro with Peter Gabriel's haunting voice. This track "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" (5/5) builds up amazingly, backed by keyboardist Tony Banks's mellotron. A transition into a set of choir (mellotron) and guitar, this track settles into a rocking groove perfectly to make way for a solo for guitarist Steve Hackett. With lyrics pertaining to the concept, with native English terms, the majority of this song is filled with very well written instrumental passages. This is as strong of an opening track as you can as for, and establishes a great tone for the rest of the album. The second song would be their most commercially successful to that point, as "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" (5/5) would be their first single to chart in the UK. Featuring a story about a groundsman content with his lower-class job, it continues to expand on the album's overall concept - the continuity on this album is great. A very infectious song (hence its commercial appeal) with the chorus and background synth, it is also the song used to enrage Richard Hammond on the automobile-themed TV show Top Gear, as he (somehow) hates the band. The following track is another prog classic, the epic "Firth of Fifth" (5/5) written by Banks. Starting off with a piano intro, it builds up fantastically with the help of Gabriel's vocals and a chord progression - never hitting a crescendo and staying tense. Banks dominates this track with the keyboards, and a converted piano part is played by Hackett on guitar, composing the beautiful solo at the end of the song (the best on the album). Closing off side one is a beautiful light song titled "More Fool Me" (5/5); notable for featuring drummer Phil Collins on vocals. Being a fan of the light acoustic song, the inclusion of one on this album just makes it better - as not only is it the second song to feature Collins on vocals (a position he would eventually become quite accustomed to) but it also closes out the hard-hitting first side very well, preparing the listener for another onslaught of great prog rock. So far, so great.

The second side starts off with the near-twelve minute "Battle of Epping Forest" (4/5), a song devised by Gabriel about a story about a battle between two rival English gangs. With a more humorous and light-hearted approach in the lyrics, we see the one flaw of the album here. Certainly a more serious approach would have earned this album perfect status in my opinion. Nevertheless, this is a very solid song, and has great melodies and instrumental passages to suffice such a long piece. Most notable is the interceding synth parts by Banks and the consistently tense atmosphere of the song. Next up is the instrumental "After the Ordeal" (5/5), which is an epic song of pure guitar shredding by Hackett. A glorified intercalary separating two ten minute plus tracks, this is the token instrumental track which serves to continue making this album one of the greatest of the genre. Another long song follows in the form of "The Cinema Show" (5/5), split into two parts - one with vocals by Collins and Gabriel, then followed by a near five minute keyboard solo by Banks. Another truly epic song, and with lyrics based on "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot, it is another great piece of prog, and as the song segues into the short one-minute closing song "Aisle of Plenty" (5/5) - a book-end reprise of the first song, the listener is greeted with the ultimate end of the journey which is this album. A brilliant masterpiece to say the least.

Considered to be Genesis's best prog rock album, and one of prog's best albums in general, "Selling England by the Pound" is by no means overhyped. From beginning to end, you will be entertained, shocked, and entranced by the music. Everything beautiful about prog can be summarized in this album, from the concept to the music itself. Featuring an instrumental, a short song, extended pieces, and intricate solos, this album is as complete as it really can get. This album hit #3 on the charts in the UK, and #70 in the US, prompting a well-received tour. This is about as good as Genesis gets before their music eventually spiraled off towards more of a commercial appeal, but we are left with this work of art. Definite recommendation to anyone who's a fan of prog or rock in general - and it will probably end up being one of the highest rated albums for me.

OVERALL: 4.87/5 (A+)

SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND is perhaps my favorite progressive rock album, and thusly, deserving of the highly-sought "five stars" rating. What matters here is that there's quality both emotionally and rationally here, or better, both on lyrics, melodies & what they make you feel and the structural quality of the album.

Needless to say, Peter Gabriel is a terrific songwriter and vocalist. Anyone who has listened to a few Genesis songs is able to notice that, as Gabriel manages to make lyrics that verges - or pretty much fits in - poetry.

Peter Collins, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett & Michael Rutherford are all accomplished musicians that deliver a superb performance on this album. I claim so because it's the type of album of which, uncommonly, all instruments are highlighted - every song has a section which one instrument or another awes you - and actively present in every song they're participating. If there's guitar, you will notice to details such as the strumming; if there's drumming, you will be awed at the complexity Collins plays to accompany the song.

Aside from Aisle of Plenty, each track is individually unique, which is an important factor to take note of. The songs are fresh, creative, and unconnected to each other, but with an unconscious connection among all of them (maybe its symphonic feel). That being said, the album is coherent.

Now to each individual song:

Dancing Out With the Moonlit Knight starts slow, calm, emotional, with a medievalesque feeling. Slowly, it builds up, and by the chorus, you already take note of the harmony among the instruments. Afterwards, Hackett's individual performance comes in with a rather lenghty solo. Now, what makes this solo particularly impressive is its creativity and uncanny playstyle and techniques employed, bringing a variety of inventive sounds and making it very enjoyable to sit through. Collins' speedy drumming is also noticeable, for as much as it is technical it is FITTING. The chorus kicks back in, followed by the second part of the solo, which now has a much, MUCH more jazzy feeling to it. I can easily portrait it as those "relaxed/laid-back yet still fast-paced jazz songs", with fast tempo but slow notes. Lastly, the song ends with a two-minutes long ambient outro, that personally reminds me of nature above everything else. The musician which is mostly highlighted here is, naturally, HACKETT.

I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe) is a relaxed tale of a... I honestly don't know. A lawnmower, as he presents himself in the end? Regardless of the lyrical value, the song is quite enjoyable, not much progressive but still delightful. Gabriel's British accent is very noticeable here, especially by the first and last verses. The song ends with a flute solo, well-fit for the song. I think GABRIEL (both for his vocals & flute solo) is deserving to be the highlighted man.

Fifth of Firth is terrific. Banks' intro is equally complex and beautiful. The song continues with a lyrical part, which is slow but still interesting to listen to. Here, once again, Gabriel's vocals are in a tone and style that is standard for many other songs of the album. After the lyrical part, a whopping four-minutes-long solo arrives - Banks returns with his intro arrangement, this time on the organ/keyboards (personally, I prefer the piano version over the aforementioned). Afterward, Banks arrives with a slow, melodic and acute solo that is smooth and emotional enough to soothe anyone's mind but still being thoroughly enjoyable. Thereafter, Gabriel returns to close the song. Undeniably, TONY BANKS is the highlighted musician in this song. His keyboard-ing is too awing.

TO SUMMARIZE, the keyboards are omnipresent in this song.

More Fool Me, as stated in Rolling Stones' 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time, is "a taste of poppier things to come" by Genesis. Certainly, a quality track when you're evaluating from a pop-ish standpoint, slow paced, with high octaves and a melancholic yet warm melody. I don't think there's someone else to be more highlighted than COLLINS here.

Battle of Epping Forest. Oh, Battle O' Epping Forest. Honestly, I don't know the consensus among Genesis' fans regarding this song, but from my perspective, it is an amusing song. It initiates with a military march, rapidly followed by the first main section - "Along the forest roads, there's hundreds of cars - luxury cars!" which introduces the tale of a clash between gangs over a "gangland boundary". I'm no lyrics man, but this song catches my attention like no other. Not only because the riffs are interesting to listen to, but because so are the lyrics. Gabriel is very sarcastic here, and his vocal style is HEAVILY accented and detailed with grimaces and impersonations. There are four main sections - the first two very resembling and dynamic, speedy but more much cheerful than a battle report would feel; the third being acoustic, as if it's a storyteller telling his story accompanied by a guitar; and the fourth being a Hackett-Banks outro. As said thus far, the lyricism here is amazingly poetic. Cheerfully sarcastic, and deceivingly complex - a casual listen will deem this song as simple, although it is anything BUT simple. Also, I must note the spacerockish solo Banks plays every time Gabriel announces "Here comes the cavalry!". GABRIEL's lyrical and vocals skills deems him as the highlighted mate of this song.

After the Ordeal is an instrumental piece. It has quality, but it never called my attention or fondness. Since I don't give many listens to it, I don't think I have enough information to say my opinion about it. It's not INHERENTLY uninteresting - just personally.

The Cinema Show is an epic piece that starts slow and a little unhopeful but proceeds to sound more cheerful and lovely after every verse. Lastly, the main melodic composition arrives and it's delightful to listen to. Gabriel showcases his skills again. "Once a man, like the sea I raged. Once a woman, like the earth I gave". Thereafter, Banks returns with a very distorted, very jazzy and very interesting solo; not akin, sonorously, to any other solos in the album. It has a fast tempo, it is set in 7/8 - as evidenced by the drums -, but it is generally slow played, with few notes, and accompanied inwardly by Collins. It goes building up, building up, building up... until eventually it morphs into a melody that is continued by the next track. BANKS is the highlighted man, although COLLINS also deserves an honorable mention.

Aisle of Plenty is the album outro. It returns to the first track's initial feeling, albeit a little more acoustic. The album begins and ends likewise, which in my opinion was a brilliant idea.

In general, those are my views on Selling England. I might not have expressed myself as well as I hoped to, but needlessly I have expressed myself sufficiently.

No doubt about it, this is their most musical album. The album is brilliant. Genesis had learned from their earlier travails how to stitch together quite different passages, and they apply that perfectly on this album. It flows so beautifully, and although it changes direction and feel very often, those transitions seem totally natural here. Every track works very well. Even the short Phil Collins acoustic number, "More Fool Me", the clear outlier (musically and otherwise) seems to fit naturally into this order. The Selling England theme - a guitar-based theme that first appears on the opener "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" and closes the album at the end of "Cinema Show/Aisle of Plenty" - seems to hold the album together emotionally and musically. This album contains some of Genesis best compositions, including the aformentioned "Dancing..", the quirky but very musical single "I know What I like", the wonderful "Firth of Fourth" (with lovely flute and then guitar solos), and "The Battle of Epping Forest" which sees Gabriel once again take up a number of different character roles in an English tale of a priest and warring gangs. Those are all amazing, and they showcase each member of Genesis (Tony Banks' wonderful piano solo at the beginning of Firth of Fourth, and brilliant playing in "Battle..", Steve Hackett's awesome fast guitar picking, etc). But the closer goes one step further. Not only is "The Cinema Show" a great song, but this was the tune that cemented the reputation of Phil Collins as a brilliant drummer. That Genesis (and particularly Collins) could play such beautiful music so effortlessly over such complex difficult time signatures (without most lay people ever noticing how complex and difficult they were) instantly woke up any musicians listening to this album. One of the early musical wonders of the world. I could go on here, but I think the other reviewers have probably said everything else there is to say. I give this album 9.7 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which (of course) translates to 5 PA stars. Absolutely essential.

Genesis eased off a little after the somewhat dark and intense Foxtrot album.This recording is substantially more relaxed and the immaculate production is warm and accessible.It is also a perfectly balanced album with each epic length tracks followed by a shorter song. The opening track, "Dancing With the Moonlit Night" is an absolute Classic starting as a plainsong and gradually building up instrumentally before the rousing chorus and instrumental break which showcases Steve Hackett's innovative finger-tapping technique.The closing section with arpeggiated guitar and mellotron evokes images of floating down a river.Lyrically it is a delight with Peter Gabriel's wonderfully puns and wordplay. The next track is pure pop and a top 30 hit to boot."I Know What I like" is a fun little tune that also helps dispel the notion that Genesis had a purely"Prog" period and a "Pop" period. The next track, "Firth Of Fifth"is for me the quintessential Genesis song,full of grandeur flawlessly structured, with a memorable Tony Banks piano intro and of course that achingly beautiful guitar solo by Steve Hackett.It is truly the best thing on this album. I know a lot of people dislike "More Fool Me"mainly because Phil Collins sings it and it is, well another simple pop song with just simple guitar accompaniment. I must admit I used to feel a bit the same. However after a few listens, it reveals itself to be a particularly poignant ode to love, loss and regret and it is quite beautiful. Side 2 opens with "The Battle Of Epping Forest".I have always loved the way it starts with a little march as if the song is about a real historic battle as opposed to what the song is actually about which is a modern day gang war.Musically it is Genesis at their most light hearted and playful.Again the wordplay and Gabriel's silly voices is what makes this song fun to listen to. At nearly twelve minutes it really is too long but I always end up listening to it all the way through because it is just so entertaining and genuinely amusing. "After the Ordeal" is a pleasant little Steve Hackett instrumental. It has a slightly Medieval feel which suits the mood of the album as a whole. "The Cinema Show"is the other great classic track essentially a two part track with with a vocal first half followed by an exuberant keyboard solo.Michael Rutherford's twelve string guitar playing during the vocal part is quite exquisite.The harmonised vocals by Gabriel and Collins just before the second chorus set against the acoustic guitars reminds me of Crosby Still and Nash. The final track "Aisle Of Plenty" revisits the opening track and brings the album to a logical conclusion with yet more puns.Tess Co-Op erates-pure genius.

I am not sure if I have added anything new next to the myriad of other reviews of this album.It is interesting how this album seems to continue to grow in stature year after year.

2nd Best Album of all time in the site, does it really stand out? This album could've easily been one of the most valued albums of all times if it wheren't for Rolling Stones magazine who gave this album a 0/10 because it offended them for some reason, don't trust them, even tho they issued their apologies later, it was already too late and then they gave "abacab" a 10/10... WHAT!?!?!

Anyhow, after "Land of Confusion" and "The Musical Box", this albums has the songs that made me stay with Genesis forever, i already like "The Musical Box" a lot, and it's still one of my favorites tracks, but "Firth of Fifth" and "The Cinema Show" blew my mind back in 2012, i entered college in 2013 and everyday i went on the train i listened to those songs over and over in repeat, they were and are still absolutely fantastic.

As always i review by song:

1.- Dancing with the Moonlit Knight 10/10 What a way to start an album, with the most epic voice solo ever done, so much that the world moved in 2016 when Peter Gabriel sang it again live after more than 30 years. This song is a complete experience, an staple of what Genesis is, from the amazing instrumental/solo part, to the delivery of the singing, to all the layers that are traveled here while the story is being unfolded, really hard to top... and then they finish the song with one of the pretiest performances done on instruments, recreating life.

2.- I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) 10/10 Is this the first pop Genesis song? Probably, is the one that has been used a lot by the band and very apreciated by people from all eras, that doesn't make it a bad song at all, it's really happy and well executed, it's not like the first song at all but it still deserves a 10/10 for being so well done, entertaining and timeless. "You can tell me by the way i walk!" "The only thing about me is the way that i walk!" What is with Genesis and walking?

3.- Firth of Fifth 10/10 Issued many times as the perfect prog song, and it's easy to see why, technical achievements, master play from everyone on the band, this is the song that probably united and used the band to it's maximum capabilities, so then you know that it's perfection, there's not another way to describe it, they toped the first song somehow! I play the piano and i'm still not good at this song, but i keep trying and it's really fun to play everytime, it contains one of the best solos of all time, but the whole song is a classical masterpiece.

4.- More Fool Me 8/10 A really mellow song, completely done by voice and guitar, it doesn't show much technicality on guitar, the voices are good and all but i'm not a big fan of this one, too simple.

5.- The Battle of Epping Forest 10/10 I have seen people recommending this song as one of the most epic ones ever made, atleast when people ask for those, and i don't think that this is the one, but the answers still guide well those who ask because of this album. As for the song itself, the direction taken here is still fantastic, the introduction it's magical, the song then gets a little standard but it quickly becomes interesting by the amount of changes done, in voices, piano and sound in general, it even has an odd-time signature singing. It sets different ambiences while telling the adventure, sometimes telling it like a nursery rhyme, and others like a drama, showing what Peter Gabriel theatrical experience can do, even do that was already shown with Supper's Ready one album earlier. This song reminds me to some songs on Foxtrot and "Robbery, Assault and Battery" from "A Trick of the Tail".

6.- After the Ordeal 10/10 An instrumental song that i love a lot, i have always been more about the instruments than lyrics, this song explains exactly what it tries to say without any lyrics, that shouldn't be a surprise, but sadly it is nowadays. I like how Tony Banks does the major part on the first half and then Steve Hackett does it in the next, they could've made a nice side group, it could still happen tho.

7.- The Cinema Show 10/10 5 years ago i never expected to review this song on a site, but i knew since then i would listen to this song my whole life, this is it, when it all completely started, this when i realized that music could be made this magical, making you feel different settings by cheer sound alone, and that was really astounding for me, i already love OSTs, but those are made specifically for different situations, while this one goes from peace, living life, enjoying life and finally the climax, in the most simple way to put it. This piano solo IS the best ever done, and in live renditions they mixed it with "Riding the Scree", in other live renditions it has a different set of drums (1978, dijon), all welcome additions, how can you perfect perfection?

8.- Aisle of Plenty 10/10 "Who Dunnit?" is not the biggest sh*tpost made by Genesis, this song deserves the 10/10 because it's a continuation of The Cinema Show, it's the first song made about a super-market ticket and... i don't know, after all this adventure with this album, the last song brings you back to earth happy anyways.

The complete score for this album is a 98/100, wich obviously translates to 5 stars, completely well deserved and i hope to see it someday on number 1! See you in the next review... the craziest one, see you in 1974.

Up until this point genesis were a really great prog rock band with already incredible albums such as Nursey Cryme & Foxtrot. But when they released ''Selling England By The Pound'' none of those albums were even close to the utter brilliance that is displayed here. One of the reasons on why this album is so great is how the album is presented. ''Dancing With The Moonlit Knight'', ''Firth Of Fifth, ''The Battle Of Epping Forest'' & ''The Cinema Show'' are like the main attractions in the album and the songs after them are like a pause between the other s gongs. It's gives the album a lot of dynamic and space. They're much more subtle and quiet in their approach.

Another reason why i enjoy this record so much is the damn instrumentation on this. Everyone here is at their peak. Tony Banks gorgeous and ethereal keyboard work gives the songs here so much beauty. Hackett's sometimes attacking riffs and solos but other times mellow guitar melodies creates a lot of dynamic in the music. Peter Gabriel's singing on this is also great, the occasional oboe and flute playing by him give the songs a lot of substance and shows that he dosen't have to overuse so it becomes overwhelming. And lets not forget the rhtym section here, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins.

This record has probably their greatest songs, i'm just scratching the surface really on this one.

More Fool Me. It's simply, boring and unimaginative love song. I can never understand how it was included in the album.

Another song is The battle of the epping forest. It has several great points, but some points are clearly made too hasty and idle. Despite this, TBOFTEF is very good song, but nothing compared to Firth of Fifth or Dancing with the moonlit knight.

Despite these slightly weak songs, Selling England By The Pound is my favourite prog album and maybe the best prog album ever. I give five stars of five.

I can't lie, friends; for some reason the entirety of SEBT just doesn't hold up to me as a "10/10" record compared to Foxtrot.

To begin, I'll admit I have a bias for Foxtrot. It's the perfect Gabriel-era Genesis album for me. A lot of people herald SEBT as the quintessential early Genesis record - and don't get me wrong, the music is absolutely amazing here - but somehow the SONGS don't fit and flow as a whole as well as Foxtrot does. With that said, the music is very, very strong here. Exemplary prog rock rock to the highest degree.

The main gripe I have with SEBT is the album flow. The first three songs are all excellent in their own right. The fourth track "More Fool Me" completely derails the flow this album had just built up. The thing is, it's not a bad song at all, it just feels very out of place for the loose theme the album had appeared to be painting.

Next we're treated to the mini epic "Battle of Epping Forest". Many people can't deal with with this track, but I personally love it. It has all the elements that I enjoy about early Genesis. Being that I consider Supper's Ready to be the apex Genesis prog epic, I enjoy my longer Gabriel pieces.

After The Ordeal is cool but feels unnecessary. Same with Aisle of Plenty. I feel the record would be leaps and bounds better without tracks 4, 6, and 8. Call me crazy!

This is absolutely essential 5 star listening for the music alone. The whole, bigger picture, however, is only slightly off...especially when compared to Foxtrot for me. Must have prog rock.

However, in the process, I think I've come to articulate my stance on Gabriel-era Genesis:

Trespass is stellar. Nursery Crime is even better. Foxtrot is absolutely perfect. SEBT has very strong material but the whole isn't as solid as Foxtrot, track-for-track for me. Lamb has some of the best music, some of it's even better than the music on all of the previous albums - but it's so diluted and drawn out that if it were condensed it'd truly give the previous records a true run for their money.

It's like they peaked with Foxtrot (IMHO), then continued to write better songs but those better songs never gelled to create an entire big picture that was as solid-gold (IMHO) as Foxtrot.

Supper's Ready is the apex Genesis prog piece IMHO. Battle of Epping Forest and Cinema show are fantastic extended pieces with some of the best music Genesis has ever written, but they still fall short of the total package on Foxtrot for me.

Tracks like Fly, Back in NYC, Slippermen, The Cage, etc. are also some of the best music Genesis has ever composed...but the total of the album is too diluted as I stated above. Lots of fat on that album.

I find it very interesting that most people's least fave track is Epping Forest, when that's the one that captures the most essence of what made Gabriel-era Genesis great, lol. How can you sit through a 22 minute epic in Supper's Ready, but not an 8.5 mini? I never got that lol.

To each their own! *dodges tomatoes* :P

TL;DR = SEBT is a top-tier progressive rock record that's slightly overvalued when deconstructed and compared to Foxtrot. Still a must-have record!

Is this the best work of Genesis? Is one of the insuperable peaks of prog? My answer, once again, is no. I Don't consider this Lp one of the absolute vertices of prog. I try to explain my position. I recognize that the first three songs of "Selling" are brilliant both individually and as a sequence in a way that has no equal in the Genesis discography ("Trespass" is surpassed, but not by much). In particular, the first and the third songs are among the absolute masterpieces of Genesis. Ok. But the rest of the Lp is just quite good, it's not at the height of the sequence of the first three songs. Here's to you the details.

The first, "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" (8:01) after a beginning where the voice of Gabriel sings a hymn, very English, enjoys a melody very inspired, and this, when it's joined to the arpeggios on the guitar of Hackett produce the best pathos in the music of Genesis. But the song is not only beautiful in the melodic part, because even the rock part has a very convincing, compelling, spontaneous progression (not forced as it often happens to Genesis), resulting perhaps the best part of the piece, which ends with a refined nuanced tail, always very beautiful thanks to Hackett's arpeggio (rating 8,5).

"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" (4:06) is a pop song with an excellent, tribal arrangement. It's not at the same height of the previous song but with its cheerful and carefree rhythm makes the album take off. The mood of the song is very captivating, worthy heir to the Beatles (rating 7,5). And here comes the peak: "Firth Of Fifth (9:34)". Introduction to Banks' piano, which surpasses himself in technique (he will not be able to reproduce this introduction live and he will cut it from the song), with odd rhythm changes worthy of a classical composer, then Gabriel's vocals announcing a dramatic rhythm, then melodic bridge, slowed down and then again dramatic verse, as long as the sequence of instrumental solos starts, which is the most sublime part of the song. Gabriel's pastoral flute begins, continues Banks on the synth, supported by Collins's percussion, causing a progression that culminates in Hackett's solo, perhaps his best in Genesis, which reaches moments of high epic ... then the singing returns, at the conclusion of the piece, which fades with the initial piano notes. Absolute masterpiece, I believe the best Genesis song (rating 9,5).

"More Fool Me (3:09)", sung by Collins, is a song made of California-style vocal harmonies, and little else, modeled on Crosby-Stills-Nash-Young tracks (rating 7). End of Side A.

"The Battle Of Epping Forest (11:43)" opens side B with a sustained rhythm. The song is very spoken (the text is too long) and this suffocates the instrumental pieces (Banks' keyboards, for once, represent the best sound of the piece). There are variations on the theme: verse, refrain, bridge, variation, return to the verse. It's a rock opera piece, after all this is an aspect always present in Genesis: their theatrical vocation, which often invalidates the musical moments. In this case, the best moments are the melodic moments of the refrain and the bridge with the background of Banks keyboards. However, the track is out of proportion, it is too foreign to the first side, too verbose, too long, to be considered a good song. There is too much meat in the fire, too much descriptive theatrical spirit (rating 6,5).

"After The Ordeal (4:12)", instrumental, is written by Hackett. Good composition, classic atmosphere, good progression by guitar solo... but anyway a true development and a memorable melody are missing (rating 7+).

Here's to you the final moment: "The Cinema Show / Aisle of Plenty). The first two minute of "Cinema Show" are heavenly, thanks to Hackett's guitar arpeggio, which has a ringing and evocative tone. The Gabriel-Hackett combination is almost always a winner. The song is dreamlike, delicate, soft, and in fact Gabriel's flute also arrives, which together with Collins' drums continues the piece in a very suggestive and delicate way. One notices, however, a lack of variation, of the development of the melody, and in fact the refrain does not arrive but, towards the six minutes, Banks's solo, accompanied by a great work of Collins on the' drums, which shows off his virtuosity. Banks's solo is the weakest part of the track, as it's not very inspired, but fruit of the trade. After the inspiration, the exercise of style arrived, the display of the technical expertise of Banks and Collins, only that the work of Collins, in the background, is really refined, worthy of the best jazz, while Banks's solo is didactic , pedantic, basically banal. This song is an excellent example of how the canons of progressive can sometimes worsen the result of an excellent melody and an excellent arrangement, bringing a song that could end in 5-6 minutes up to 10 minutes thanks to a solo end in itself. Rating 7,5/8.

The song ends with the voice of Gabriel who returns and remembers the melody of the beginning, just mentioned, and followed by a polyphonic singing accompanied by percussion. The idea of ​​the reprise of the first piece is good, only that it's executed too quickly (duration two minutes), as if they were in a hurry to finish, as if it were a conduit of Cinema Show. Thus ends, with a good but not performed piece at its best, this album, which, I repeat, could compete to be among the best in progressive history until the third song, then the average quality of the pieces unfortunately decreases considerably and not being a really bad piece, overall the second side is good but nothing more and therefore penalizes the overall result which (average quality: 7,71), in my opinion, does not reach the five stars, the absolute masterpieces of progressive, settling on a score of 8.5, which in my evaluation criteria corresponds to four stars.

It has everything that you could ask for in a masterpiece album - Superlative musicianship, imaginative lyrics, ambitious without being pretentious, and most of all consistently engaging throughout. Most other albums debated as the best in prog circles (Close to The Edge, In The Court of the Crimson King, Dark Side of the Moon, Hemispheres, etc.) have their moments to me, but do not consistently grab me the way SEBTP does.

SEBTP just seems to best strike that balance between ambition, length, and catchiness. I love every moment, every note. And that includes More Fool Me and Battle of Epping Forest, the two songs on the album that seem to be garner mixed opinions among previous reviewers. Not me...I find both songs to be highly enjoyable. Frankly, Peter Gabriel's opening acapella in Dancing With The Moonlit Knight just gives me chills. I put the album on and let the next hour just wash over me.

The bottom line - Selling England By The Pound is a transformative album that shows you all the best that prog rock has to offer. It is absolutely essential for any fan or prog rock.

The album is comprised of four long songs (ranging from eight minutes to nearly twelve), three single- length songs, and a reprise of the opening track. Two of the longer-form pieces, "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" and "The Battle of Epping Forest," are solid, serviceable tracks which fit well within the structure of the album - - but neither approaches "classic" status. Each lacks the structure of the group's best work, and neither has a standout melody. The same, however, cannot be said of the other two long songs. "The Cinema Show" consolidates all of the significant musical elements of their best prior work (e.g., "The Musical Box," "Watcher of the Skies," "Supper's Ready") and combines it with some of the group's best lyrics. The song begins by setting up a girl-boy romance, but drops it entirely in favor for a bit of Greek mythology (the sex-changing oracle Tiresias). The listener is left to decide whether there's any connection, and if so, what it might be.

As great as "The Cinema Show" is, the high point of Selling England by the Pound is the nine-and-a- half-minute "Firth of Fifth," which, like "Supper's Ready," is one of Genesis's masterpieces - - and, I would argue, one of the masterpieces of symphonic rock. It goes beyond simple consolidation of prior triumphs; I'd liken it more to extrapolating from prior triumphs. Although all five band members turn in great performances, the VIP is keyboardist Tony Banks who opens the song with the iconic piano solo - - and who was the song's primary composer and lyricist. Interestingly, Banks has been quoted as regarding the lyrics as dreadful; while they are a bit overdramatic (e.g., "Now, as the river dissolves in sea / So Neptune has claimed another soul"), I've heard far worse. Steve Hackett also deserves special praise for his guitar work on "Firth of Fifth," which some regard as his finest work with Genesis.

Among the shorter songs, the only standout is "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," although what a standout it is - - it's among the group's best singles, and certainly their best with singer Peter Gabriel, who left in 1974. It's as fun and catchy - - and as unprogressive - - as "Follow You Follow Me," "Turn It On Again," or "Paperlate," an serves as a reminder that Genesis sought pop-chart success well before Phil Collins took over for Gabriel.

It may be a bit unkind to call the remaining songs afterthoughts, but the nice-enough, yet nothing-special instrumental "After the Ordeal" is essentially a four-minute coda to "The Battle of Epping Forest," while the brief "Aisle of Plenty" ends the album by reprising parts of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight." And the Phil-Collins vehicle "More Fool Me" is proof that Collins's schlockyness predated "Separate Lives" by more than a decade.

Selling England by the Pound is one of just four albums which has been reviewed at least 4000 times on progarchives.com. Its average rating of 4.6/5 stars is the second-highest of all albums on the site regardless of subgenre. While I don't class it in the very top echelon of prog-rock albums, I will say that among Genesis's fifteen studio albums, Selling England by the Pound is matched in quality only by Foxtrot and A Trick of the Tail. Although it has some filler, it tends to be decent filler - - "More Fool Me" excepted. The inclusion of its three standards - - "I Know What I Like," "The Cinema Show," and most notably "Firth of Fifth" - - secures for Selling England by the Pound a place among the best symphonic-prog albums.

1. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight...do you know it? the voice, the rise, the progressive drift-declination with this diabolical synth solo, it goes from right to left; this group was avant-garde, it had planned to make its fans exercise... well when I talk about synth we are of course on Mellotron and Moog la crème; the flute arrives at the end finally we believe it, we are invaded, a bucolic arpeggio appears, sounds like Charisma Label, you know the cover with the welcoming alleys just before jumping into the world of Lewis CARROLL 2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) with a sinister intro, cold to the point that it sounds like another group; well Peter speaks and reassures us, bam a pad and off we go; a vocal madness with an aggressive pad, a burlesque or saucy nursery rhyme, a title which flows quickly with a more updated sound than that of the first 3 albums; at the time it must have been extravagant, this sound coming from nowhere, or from a wardrobe! 3. Firth of Fifth piano arpeggio intro, divine, crystalline, we feel the keyboard keys pressed; that's it, it's off, everything is in working order, the voice responding to the instruments and vice versa; plaintive break with Peter who dives back into the sounds of the 3 previous albums; Steve shows the tip of his nose, bam piano arpeggio again... latent space, breath, the flute, that's it, the melody, the cymbals that respond to it, the piano rise, since the time I've been saying that it's Tony is definitely calling the shots, holding the keyboards to the limit; the stamped GENESIS sound that only resembles itself; Phil's rolling and... one if not the most beautiful spleen solo from Steve who tears, tears, it goes up, enjoyable moment; prog is that, we stay on the orchestration and the voice no longer has any place, the melody is enough before the return of the chorus to regain a footing with reality; slap, musical sledgehammer and flowing arpeggio 4. More Fool Me for the nursery rhyme Charisma and the eternal question did they already know that Phil would take over the vocals at this precise moment? In any case he was the one in front here 5. The Battle of Epping Forest military intro, the climb, the keyboards again and again, at one point we hear a keyboard pecking at notes... I didn't know, hold a duck... bucolic atmosphere I tell you; picnic, no I'm kidding, but I loved singing it; good a dream theater afterwards with drawers; yes, I have no intention of giving you this title, I can only follow you in your daydreams, in your memories; the last 2 minutes with this solemn organ which puts the ears back, Peter who launches his voice, sung, phrased, spoken... a proto-rap...? no, I didn't say it, and the guitar which panics and which transcends the finale, yes you know it's there...pon pom! 6. After the Ordeal for me it's the 16 minute chained package; Well there arpeggios piano and guitar for an enchanting tune, an uncompromising hymn to progressive music, but how could they have thought of this moment when the guitar comes to cry its notes? My brother told me 'well it's an ordinary slow...' yes but not only that, the solo that every guitar player wanted to cover to see if the emotion would also come out of his own guitar; good keyboards (Mellotron or Moog or others) and flute as a digestive for 4 minutes of pure happiness 7. The Cinema Show ah these intros where the acoustic guitar does its job; Tony goes too, Peter arrives, distinctive voice, who narrates more than he sings, captivating the guy; the flute that goes well with the air, latency; moment when I realize that there is a little extra compared to the previous trilogy, here we get closer to the concept in addition to these orchestral wanderings; not simply like a magical 'Supper' but like a musical torrent releasing in waves ideas, memories, emotions to be made, to be ingested... yes everyone will find it beautiful, well I hope so but each in their own way, that's the strength of GENESIS; even during the nursery rhyme we are absorbed, bewitched by the sound, the air... well Tony come on, Phil go again for the central brek, 6 minutes and the journey takes another measure, the beauty becomes major and makes you lose connection with reality, what 3 minutes have passed and I didn't see, didn't notice... the prog slows down time, come on Tony let off steam for this dreamlike finale 8. Aisle of Plenty is over but no, we are ultimately dealing here with Peter who comes to remind us of his voice; the finale with the distant choirs, with this redundancy in the voices, simply art rock, brilliant like this cry of enjoyment, of solitude from Peter.

It's hard to believe that SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND came about as a result of just a three month stretch of time that followed the 'Foxtrot' tour with record label demands for more product. More often than not bands cave under the pressure and produce some sort of substandard product but in the case of GENESIS, the band seemed to work best under pressure with a threatening external force demanding the near impossible but despite it all GENESIS not only succeeded in crafting eight new tracks for a fifth album but also delivered one of the greatest prog masterpieces of all time and imho the pinnacle of this band's long and fruitful career. Despite erroneous misconceptions that GENESIS didn't experience true commercial success until the 80s, the band actually did experience a nice following during the proggiest days in its native England with both 'Nursery Cryme' and 'Foxtrot' hitting the top 40 album charts but SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND was truly their breakthrough album in the homeland and hit #3 (compare that to #70 in the US which was the first charting album.)

SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND continues the pastoral prog rock / folk sounds presented on the previous two albums and takes it all to higher grounds. The band was unfairly compared to contemporary prog bands like ELP, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd and as a result the GENESIS was determined to distance itself from the biggest bands of the era. Likewise, Phil Collins was heavily influenced by the time signature rich performances of the jazz-fusion outfit Mahavishnu Orchestra and was instrumental in bringing more complex elements to the band's sound which resulted in a multitude of prog elements finding their way into the compositional fortitude of the album. In addition to the off-kilter richness of time signature changes and Keith Emerson keyboard stabs, several tracks took on the true pomp and awe of prog rock excess with lengthy running times, the most notable being 'The Battle Of Epping Forest,' a tale of two rival gangs from the East side of London and 'The Cinema Show' which was divided into 2 sections and was inspired by the T.S. Eliot poem 'The Waste Land.'

The album succeeds on many levels but keeping things interesting is always a challenge however SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND offers a nice varying multitude of sounds. 'Firth Of Fifth' for example offers some stellar classical piano runs and was initially written by Banks for 'Foxtrot' but was rejected and after some embellishments became a more complex beast in many ways exemplifies the perfect sound mix of GENESIS with heavy organs completed with Gabriel's dramatic passionate vocal style along with the pastoral acoustic guitar passages that together would define GENESIS' sound for the remaining years with Gabriel as the frontman. Likewise 'After The Ordeal' was an instrumental Hackett piece that provided the perfect intermission between the two lengthy prog behemoths of the album. Not only are the tracks on SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND perfectly constructed but everything flows together int he perfect running order which takes the classic tracks into epic album terrain. The album ends with a perfect 'outro' of 'The Cinema Show' with 'Aisle Of Plenty' which gently ends the show in perfect English gentleman chivalry.

I've always considered GENESIS to be somewhat of a lazy band to be honest as they only seemed to innovate when they were pushed to do so. Take the debut for example which was not even decent pop music when it came out. It wasn't until prog was en vogue that the band became driven to create their first true masterful work 'Trespass,' however with the departure of Anthony Phillips and John Mayhew it took a good couple of albums and tours for GENESIS to reinvent themselves with the addition of Steve Hackett and Phil Collins. True the band crafted some classic tracks on 'Nursery Cryme' and 'Foxtrot' but overall those albums just don't sound cohesively brilliant to my ears as the band sounded a little out of sync with what they were trying to create. Well, on SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND imho they finally achieved that classic symphonic prog sound they had been veering towards since 'Trespass' only this time they nailed it on all fronts, on all tracks in every possible way. There is good reason SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND is considered one of the all time classic albums of prog as it not only captures the essence of the prog universe with catchy classically infused melodies but also implemented feistier complexities and on the lyrical side of the equation evoked the zeitgeist of the era as England was losing its eccentricities to the dominate American culture that took over the globe. What can i say? This album is truly GENESIS at the top of its game.

Dancing With The Moonlit Night | This has always been a strong opener, it has a brilliant vocal melody and well... all of the above.

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) | The attempt at a hit song on this masterpiece of an album. Of course Phil did say that even back then they were always attempting at writing songs that would make it on Billboards. This song is still very very prog and I feel like this is one of the catchiest songs in prog.

Firth of Fifth | The Piano Intro, the guitar solo, the poetic lyrics, everything about this song is of Genesis heaven. The atmosphere and unbelieveable structure of this song is just well... unbelievable.

More Fool Me | Another attempt at a song rock hit but this was much more of a hit song than 'I Know What I Like'. It is the weakest song on the album but I still love it.

The Battle Of Epping Forest | This is the considerable epic on the album and it fits on the album perfectly, the speed and upbeat tone with a bunch of interesting song structure change. Everything about this song is just... amazing... I can't describe how much I love this song.

After The Ordeal | This is the beautifully played instrumental that leads into probably the best song on the entire album.

Cinema Show | The shuffling drum beats, the odd times, the unbelieveable atmosphere, the beautiful intro, the lyrics and the concept of the song... this is probably in my top 3 favourite Genesis songs of all time.

Aisle Of Plenty | The Outro, really the last part of Cinema Show. I was very happy with this ending, it was slow and melodic, and lastly, it reprised Dancing With The Moonlit Knight. It was the best ending to a prog album.

So what are my overall thoughts? Perfection.

The opening Dancing With The Moonlit Knight?which consists of a biting contemplation about the ever-changing English culture?stands out as one of the best songs of the entire Genesis discography. After that, I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) never loses its composure despite being the first song fitted for the radio. Moreover, the beautiful piano introduction by Tony Banks and the stupendous guitar solo by Steve Hackett both render Firth of Fifth an exceptional masterpiece.

Perhaps the only dissonant bit of the Album is More Fool Me, a ballad sung by Phil Collins and maybe the first symptom of the ensuing Genesis development. Thereupon they attained a magnificent level with the long and dynamic The Battle of Epping Forest, the instrumental After The Ordeal, the 11-minute gem The Cinema Show (made out of Hackett and Bank´s superb craft), and?to seal the album?Aisle of Plenty, another instrumental piece.

Selling England By The Pound is a demonstration of the excellent state of the musicians that made it and one of the best progressive-music discs ever created.

After releasing the untouchable 'Foxtrot', one can hardly imagine a band surpassing such an achievement. For 'Selling England...' the band had obviously decided to explore further the sound that they were becoming recognized for. Lush, majestic soundscapes, unmistakable and dreamy guitar passages, mind-blowingly complex rhythm sections, all topped by the voice of Peter Gabriel and his witty, abstract and uncompromising lyrics. All these make 'Selling England by the Pound' a really difficult album to digest but one that is definitely worth it. Just thinking about all the bands that have ripped off this particular record in their works, gives us a sign that its influence is immense.

Touching upon the themes of English folk culture's disappearing identity under the increased influence of American culture, 'Selling...' is a very English, very adventurous, intriguing, and pleasing album. The listener will find some of the ever-lasting Genesis classic here, like the opening track 'Dancing with the Moonlit Knight', 'I Know What I Like', 'Firth of Fifth', 'The Battle of Epping Forest' and 'The Cinema Show', alongside the seemingly more negligible 'More Fool Me' or 'After the Ordeal' which are no less impressive.

However, the album is not as welcoming as it may seem; some will find the keyboards too dominant and opulent, some might say that there are passages making no sense, others will notice the expressive manner in which many of the lyrics are sung, which are essentially the things that make this album so charming, yet daring.

Flamboyant and grandiose, difficult to listen to, provocative and exuberant, odd yet so witty, 'Selling England by the Pound' is a classic album that has amazed generations and will most likely continue to because quality can hardly be unheeded.

The album starts with Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, which is a song that begins slow and quiet, but gradually builds up to something big and bold, and ends with a pretty flute section towards the end. The next song, I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) is a charming piece that is (I believe) based upon the album artwork. I Know What I Like also has a sort of a-capella section that Richard Hammond of Top Gear hates.

I will give Firth of Fifth its own section in this review solely because it is truly a masterpiece of Progressive Rock, and is a Genesis staple. Firth of Fifth begins with a beautiful and flowing Piano piece, which then melds into the first verse. As it goes along, the piece develops into a Flute solo, which goes into a keyboard solo, and then into (in my opinion) one of the best Guitar solos ever recorded. After that is done, we hear another couple of verses, and the song ends with another piano bit that goes with the beginning one.

More Fool Me features Collins on vocals (the first time he is the sole vocalist on a song) and Steve Hackett on Guitar. Its a sort of sad and short piece about a man who is going through a breakup with a woman he loved.

The Battle of Epping Forest is one of the longer tracks of the album (sitting at just over eleven and a half minutes). Epping Forest is a great song, filled with Keyboards and the voice of Peter Gabriel, and some great lyrics to go with it. The next song is After the Ordeal, which isn't much, but there is some really great Piano work (as usual) and also a good guitar solo.

The Cinema Show is another longer track (sitting at just over eleven minutes), but it is well worth the time. The Cinema Show contains arguably the most genius of Genesis lyrics. In the song, the lyrics mention the story of Tiresias (which I will not go into detail here, you can go read it yourself) in which the numbers 7 and 3 are significant. Part of the lyrics are " there is in fact more earth than sea." which is technically true. The earth is actually made up of 70% land and 30% sea. In the story of Tiresias, 7 represents the woman and 3 the man. Earlier in the song there is a bit about Romeo (a poor man) and Juliet (a rich woman) who are destined to fall in love. Because of Romeos love for Juliet, he feels like a "Weekend millionaire".

The finale song, Aisle of Plenty, which is basically a rant done by Gabriel filled with references to different English super market chains. It also mentions Eggs which are very important to Genesis lyrics (as you will find as you listen to their music).

So in conclusion Selling England by The Pound is a masterpiece of Progressive Rock, and one of the best Genesis albums out there. I really hop whoever reads this enjoys it. Please keep in mind that I may have gotten some stuff wrong, but this is my first review.

"Selling England..." has album art almost as uninspired as "Tresspass" and the later "Duke". Almost. But making up for that, is quality music, arguably their best.