FOXTROT

Then two things happened. First, I put the year, 1972, in context, with others of that time, including Thick as a Brick, Close to the Edge, Octopus and Per Un Amico. In terms of musicianship, creativity, and legacy, Foxtrot runs neck-and-neck with all of these.

Second, I saw some of this music performed live, and that's when I realized how great some of this music really is, and by extension, how the production of this album hurts it in places. For example, Watcher of the Skies never really hit me until I'd seen/heard it performed by later Genesis or by others. It's a killer song, even if it doesn't always sound great on this album. For another example, I never realized how much versatility went into creating songs like Can-Utility and Supper's Ready. Multiple band members are working the bass pedals and 12-strings at different points, and it's hard to fully appreciate the adventurousness of it all--at least for me--until you've seen it live.

And that ending, from Apocalypse through Eggs? Spine-tingling! As good as it gets for me, and my best definition of epic. Gabriel blows his chords, Hackett lets it rip, and that vintage, brassy, slightly-out-of-tune mellotron--here the sketchy production actually improves the overall effect--all combine to take me to the new Jerusalem.

Creative, unique, timeless--a progressive rock masterpiece after all!

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