WE CAN'T DANCE

Genesis

Symphonic Prog

2.66 | 1349 ratings

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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

. . . but we can still hack it when we want to

The last album with Phil Collins, and really the last true Genesis album. They went out in tremendous style with the magnificent closing track "Fading lights". It is so frustrating to realise that right at the end the band were still able to make stunning prog music, well up to the standard of their early work.

The album as a whole is a bit up and down. Some of the tracks such as "Jesus he knows me" and "Hold on my heart" were clearly written with the singles market in mind, but there are some excellent classic Genesis pieces too.

"Driving the last spike" and "Dreaming while you sleep" are both wonderful tracks, although it would have been nice to see the instrumental breaks embellished on each. Both tell stories, "Driving the last spike" relating to the building of the American railroads, and the often high human cost. "Dreaming while you sleep" is a disturbing tale of a hit and run driver, who is haunted by the memory of what he has done, "the miles between will somehow put it right". These tracks are in the true tradition of Genesis; melodic, thought provoking, and highly polished.

"No son of mine" is more Phil Collins influenced, but is a remarkably moving song, sung with great feeling. Once again it tells a tale of sorts, this time about a prodigal son who returns to see his violent father. "I can't dance" fits in well with the Genesis tradition of including a satirical track, and was a huge hit single to boot. While it is slightly funky, it has an adequate rock basis.

There are a few filler tracks, the album probably being about 20 minutes too long. As a whole though, Genesis finished on a high, returning in part to what they did best. In the end, they produced an album to please (some of!) those who were waiting for them to revisit their roots and come up with some more quality prog.

Easy Livin | 4/5 | 2004-5-9

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