WIND & WUTHERING

This was my first taste of Phil colins era Genesis. I was advised not to buy it at first because everyone with better taste knows that Phil Collins is not as good as Peter Gabriel-era...but I saw it in the shop while I was on a budget and it was hte only cd i could afford. And a completely don't regret buying it.

Eleventh Earl of Mar: A pounding electric guitar, backed up with synth starts the repeating riff that is often heard throughout this piece. Then Tony Banks picks up on the hammond. Phil Colins voice is very like Peters but he's more...GENTLE I guess you could say. As is often the case- the drum beat is complicated. ooooh- who's drumming NOW? It's still him :) Multitasking! If not recorded over. When the melody and the riff changes- its a beautiful transition. Tony melts the piano well into the sounds that the synth makes. After the third "Daddy- I'm waiting!" we have an improvisation from Hacketts guitar. Very cool but not all that proggy. More poppy- or 'comercialised' if you want to use that word instead. A tad to mainstream compared with the Gabriel-era Genesis before. But better than was came of Genesis in the 80s/ early 90s. :( THATS for sure. "Time to go to bed now..." I like the tune here. Piano and guitar stage-up. The lyrics are certainly not as god as Gabriels but there is some poetry there. A bit more mainstream but still romantic. In a way. A little poppy and happy-clappy but it is STILL prog at this point in history. He sings with the riff at 'I'm fighting..." "..are buring NOW!" at this point it is reminiscent of Firth of Fith because the drums crash and trun into a small catharsis- with the keyboard. After the last "you promised!...DADDY!" - and echoing guitar plays the riff heard at the start.

One for the Vine: This is gorgeous. A fantastic epic by the wonderful (yet often bratty at this time- so I hear) Tony Banks. A guitar moan accompanies a gentle piano which flows like water all the way through. They lyrics are extermely eerie- bizarre! On hearing snippets of them- one would think that it is a religious song about Christ- but on reading them one finds out that it is about someone who pretends to be a messiah in a world of ice :/ nice and weird. The melody is a strange one- yet it seems simple and the cordal progession constantly changes. Look out for the synth in the chorus. There is a complete change at "Folow me!"and it be comes a little happyclappy. Ah- the way the piano trills up and down and then slows. A flute/synth sings a sad solo after Phil sings. We hear the same guitar moan we heard at the start and then the most startling and fantastic percussion part. Like a malfunctioning robot! Then the drums, bass and piano imporve this- making you want to dance. "they leave me no chioce." A very cutsie riff plays at this point. Then we're led back to the beginning but the synths notes are more strong: "He observed one...and by the way he stood up and vanished into air." Weird lyrics. Like I said before. Then a final dancy apocalytic solo from guitar accompanied by synths and drums finishes main rock and roll-like part of this piece before we are led back to gentle Banks piano. A very sweet song.

Your Own Special Way: Oh dear... Well what can I say about this... this SONG? (!) The lyrics are pretty, the flute and guitar are pretty but the chorus is the most overly used, pop-song from the 70s, over-rated, ...how can i put this into words? This is no prog- this is a pop song and its FAR too easylistening for me. Dissappointment! I banged my dead against the wall and was rendered unconcious at this point. Romance is all very well but this song reminds me of blue-vien Cheez. Cliche! The only thing I can say is- look out for the twinking lullaby like keyboard solo before the last verse. Otherwise: avoid.

Wot Gorilla?: This is a little instrumental which starts off with twinkly spooky effects then leads into a drums which go into a crescendo. Then the plucking guitarsand banging synth play a tune not unlike the 11th Earl of Mar. This develops into a whole new melody and it practically dances away. Later we hear it repeat the start and some pop-the-weasel effects sound out. Then it dies back to the twinkly effects at the start. Short and sweet- as opposed to the conventional LONG and sweet music of prog.

All in a Mouse's Night: This song is a treasure. If I ever have kids- I'm going to get them to sing this song. It's a drama and about a couple, a mouse and a cat! CUTE!! The keyboard and synth that features so strongly throughout this album has an appearance all the way through this song too. Strings at first then dancing keyboard. "Aaah" say the lovers. Veery cute. :) When the mouse talks the bass plays a cool riff. and the beat changes. "Suddenly" back to a dancing synthbut the melody is more frantic (dramatic irony- lovers are happy but mouse is being pursued) "Come on baby- let the poor thing go" back to the starting melody. Each character seems to have their own melody: romantic for the couple- sly for the mouse and cat. The cat takes over the couples melody. "But it's alll in a mouses night" Is the catch line- mice get eaten by cats everyday! Go figure. The guitar plays a slightly tragic melody which reminds one of peter gabriel-era genesis. Then the synth leads to a fade out.

Blood on the Roof-Tops: This is the masterpiece of the album. Classical (Bach?) style intro from Hacketts guitar. I really love him for this song. The solo goes from slow to fast then the melody begins. "English film..wednesday play" Collins sings. Then the synth and strings make their entrance. So melancholy- good for looking out of the window into the lights at other houses. Try that in the evening some time when listening to this song. BANG go the drums: "Lets get the news boy- I'lll go get some tea." Ah- life. This song is about everyday life. Make of it what you will. When I first heard it- the music and lyrics seems to suggest a tone of *Why do I bother?* but now I think its more optimistic than that. More like *Why do I bother with silly people's shortcomings?* Referring to politicains and whatnot. The drums dissappear and we're back to the acoustic but stringy verse. The way the synth crawls up to make it's grand entrance during the verse is superb. Listen for the final crashing of drums= the epitome of all the things the song says to us. "Seems Helen of Troy has found a new face again." Gotta love the Mythology input. The guitar and synth sadly fade-out.

Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers...: Almost as if it's connected to the Blood of the Rooftops- an instrumental with a very similar guitar. Synth/keyboard sings over the top of the guitar- eventually the guitar is joined by a distant piano- adding an echoing effect. Synth is good but the vibrato makes it sound like a 50s movie about aliens... ..DRUMROLL... ... ...In that Quiet Earth: Guitars pick up and an electric one goes solo. This piece has some good synth and guitar riffs in it but the drums crash a few times. Never loosing their main beat. Rather like fooling around constantly playing instruments- drums do a fill-in. Eventually this mess changes and the synth takes over with a thumping solo. This is passed on to a very impressive guitar. Same thing we hear in Earl of Mar again.

Afterglow: now all settles down and we're brought to a slowbeat and it's a tune that instantly suggests the be all and end all. Therefore the end of the album. :) The melody and lyrics are on the verge of being as cheesey as Your Own Special Way but what saves it? The changing of the melody I suppose.Lyrics are a *tad* more interesting. More passionate indeed. Still a lovesong but the chordal progression save it from being CHEEEZ. The fact that all the band members are joining in singing makes it a great ending- song for the album too.

All in all- I like the album. And i like the album cover! Not that it's relevant but there you go. This album has a dreadful song, two mediocres and the rest are perfect for the likes of me- with the two legends: One for the Vine and Blood on the Roof Tops. So not quintiessential for Genesis fans but certainly the better part of Collins-era Genesis.