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Genesis - Wind & Wuthering CD (album) cover

WIND & WUTHERING

Genesis

 

Symphonic Prog

4.11 | 2232 ratings

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Cesar Inca
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Following the splendorous artistic achievement comprised in the "A Trick of the Tail" material was the task on the shoulders of "Wind & Wuthering", and well. this one didn't get to match it but it sure came really close. The prevalence of instrumental passages remained and the melancholic density was even increased to good effect, but generally speaking, the group of musical ideas doesn't feel as compact and consistently even as in the prior effort. But all in all, and this must be set clear from the beginning, here we have yet another Genesis gem before their gradual progression into not-prog territory. But let's check the repertoire now. 'Eleventh Earl of Mar' kicks off the album with an explosion of melodic colors wrapped in characteristic symphonic bombast, creating the same effect that the intro theme of 'Dance on a Volcano' did in the "Trick" album. The song develops an elegant path that fluidly segues the rocky sections and the eerie interlude, in a very Genesis fashion. Next comes 'One for the Vine', which is a typical Banks-ian symphonic epic: predominant slow tempo; featured piano, mellotron and synth in the main motifs; proper colors and ornaments on lead guitars; an up-tempo interlude; a bizarre storyline with existential connotations. Being the longest track in the album, it contains enough diversity and clever arrangements to ensure the listener that they won't literally feel the duration time, but only the moods that go displaying successively all the way through to the ending piano theme. 'Your Own Specialway' has been described by Hackett himself as one of the most beautiful songs that Rutherford ever wrote, and I agreed one year after I first listened to this album. At first I felt it just corny and superficial, but after a number of listens I happened to appreciate it as what it is, a very inspired candid ballad, full with moving softness and straightforwardly sentimental. 'Wot Gorilla?' is a decent instrumental that shows how well can melodic prog fit over a jazz-rock rhythmic pattern (perhaps it would have made a decent Camel track for their Sinclair-era, as well). The only thing that bothers me from this number is to learn that it replaced a primal version of' Please Don't Touch' in the rehearsal sessions for this album, as we all know, the aforementioned leftover is a lot punchier and more dynamic, but well. 'Wot Gorilla?' happens to be very good in its own terms. 'All in a Mouse's Night' kicks off the album's second half: I find the keyboard section a bit overblown for this one, and although the standardized splendor of symph prog is well reflected here, it fails to be deep and exciting as 'Robbery, Assault & Battery' was (I apologize for the many comparisons to the "A Trick of the Tail" album). But then come the three peaks in the album. The prog ballad 'Blood on the Rooftops' contains the most beautiful classical guitar passages that Hackett ever created in Genesis' history: this time, Banks' multi-keyboards (piano, mellotron, synthesizers) behave perfectly, being but not feeling like abundant, just creating the proper orchestral textures and moods for the Hackett's guitar. The dual instrumental 'Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers.'/'. In that Quiet Earth' is the other tremendous gem of the album. The former's dreamy atmosphere anticipates the exhibition of melodic elegance and punch of the latter: in fact, 'Quiet Earth' shows how melodic prog can bear a real dense feel without getting abstruse or uncomfortable. 'Afterglow' is the segued ballad that closes down the album. I really appreciate its clever simplicity, but I wish that the closing section had been more substantial (perhaps a guitar lead, or a more meticulous keyboard orchestration, but that angelic chorale somewhat sounds a bit corny to me). "Wind & Wuthering" is an excellent item in Genesis' discography, and of course, a must in any good prog collection. It fails to match the consistent energy of "Trick", and so, it can't be labeled as a masterpiece, but it sure is a most impressive musical opus.
Cesar Inca | 4/5 |

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