Two Genesis albums

Of The PG era albums, I rate Trespass much higher than most.  I'm fond of all of them but except for Foxtrot, I listen to Trespass the most.  But the sweet spot for me is the Tony Banks Years, from ATOTT thru ATTW3.  W&W gets my vote here. 

jamesbaldwin wrote: HackettFan wrote: Whoa! What happened? My vote for Trespass had it tied up 24/24. Now Wind & Wuthering has run away with it all in a mouse's night. I agree with the other posts about the inconsistency of W&W, but in my case that was enough to turn me away from voting for it. Parts are exceptional, but I just can't vouch for it as an album through and through. I prefer Trespass... but <span style="line-height: 1.4;">W&W have Hackett in highlits.</span> I think Hackett was a bit wasted in Genesis production. His talent has too often been unproven for the overflows of Banks.

Certainly. I agree totally. W&W had Hackett writing and playing the magnificent Blood on the Rooftops. Eleventh Earl of Mar was magnificent in spite of the "Daddy!" line that would always make me wince. One For the Vine was great stuff from Tony. Unquiet Slumbers and In that Quiet Earth were excellent group efforts. The keyboard timbres were exquisite throughout and framed the elemental (wind and weathering/withering) mood of whole album.

However, Afteglow is the sort of sappy crap we hear from Collins' later solo career. All in a Mouses's Night is an attempt to tell a fanciful story like their older stuff, but without the poignant lyrical input from Peter Gabriel and his on edge and occasionally dark vocals, it's hard to take this track seriously. It's like it's a children's song (move over Tom and Jerry). Your Own Special Way I actually like, unlike many other people on PA, but it doesn't need to be and shouldn't be as long as it is. Cut it in half. That's about 13 minutes of waste thus far altogether. Wot Gorilla! was filler, and as we know now, took up the spot Hackett wanted for Please Don't Touch and precipitated his leaving. Maybe if Wot Gorilla were developed more, if the keyboard lead was extended, had a much needed guitar lead and in general follow the depth of development of In that Quiet Earth. As it is, including Wot Gorilla?, W&W has about 16 minutes of ill-conceived of material to my mind.

Trespass, however, is a precious gem straight through. It needed better recording quality, but I rest my case.





Edited by HackettFan - February 16 2019 at 10:55

Wind & Wuthering