FOXTROT

Another review of Foxtrot. Oh well, this should be relatively short. My main reason for writing this it to express my love for Nursery Cryme and wonder why it is not more highly rated than Foxtrot. I guess this is a minority opinion though. Foxtrot is excellent for sure, but I have never really been able to get into Suppers Ready, considered to be the quintessential Genesis song by many. Why do others love it so much? It meanders and drags on to me, and I want to cut a good 4-5 minutes off of it. The song starts epically and finishes strong, but boredom overtakes me at other times as I listen.

So, but two excellent songs start things off on side one. And Can-utility is awesome, one of Genesis's best. Overall, I'd give this side an edge over Nursery Cryme's side one because the later has Return of the Giant Hogweed which suffers upon repeat listening - I just can't quite find satisfaction here as it seems a little clunky and boorish for Genesis. But now, moving on to a comparison of both albums side 2's - Side 2 of Nursery Cryme starts off with IMHO one of Genesis's most underrated songs, Seven Stones, and that's just the beginning. Harold the Barrel, is ingenious and both comical and laced with emotion. Harlequin is a little gem, and the grand finale, The Fountain of Salmacis is a masterpiece that doesn't suffer from seeming a bit too long compared to Suppers Ready. So given a choice - I'd much rather listen to side 2 of Nursery Cryme than side 2 of Foxtrot. And that, folks, is enough to tip the scale in favor of Nursery Cryme as an album overall. It doesn't win out by much, but here's my summary - Seven Stones gets a huge thumbs up compared to how I feel about Suppers Ready which is brilliant at times but flawed in terms of structure. In a nutshell, Seven Stones is the unheralded clincher.