SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND

So the reason why I think this is one of the greatest prog albums of all time is because of the soul musicianship of everyone in the group. Peter Gabriel has a unique voice as well as lyrics, Tony banks has an excellent taste of writing and synthesizer use, Phil Collins always has a varying fashion of drumming, Steve Hackett creats an incredible atmosphere without using too many notes, and Mike Rutherford always has a solid bassline and always drives the band. Although I barely know the story line of this album, I'm pretty sure I know the music by Its self! I'll start off track by track...

Dancing with the Moonlit Knight you can expect to be a great opener. It starts soft with piano and vocals, eventually closing with an awesome instrumental section (as well as Firth of Fifth and, The Cinema Show). This song has great use of melloton and acoustic guitars.

I Know What I Like I guess you could say is a lot more mainstream than any other of the songs on the album. Although there Isn't too much variety in this song, it has a great hook and lyrics. I Know What I Like is (or was) always a crowd favorite at concerts.

Firth of Fifth No joke, is one of Genesis' greatest songs. It has one of the greatest synthesizer and guitar solos in history. Not one aspect of this song is bad. The intro, verse, bridge, and instrumental sections are all masterpieces in themselves. The guitar solo I think is the best part of the song. I think between this album and Lamb Lies are Gabriels peak at lyrics and singing. Expect incredible things coming out of the headphones when you listen to this bad boy!

Now, I personally love More Fool Me. I think the range of vocals fit Phil's voice alot better than Peter's ever could (well I guess thats why he sang it?). But anyway, Its a kind of quiet song with pretty 12-string in the background with a great chorus. What I find interesting about this song is that I could hear this song on A Trick of the Tail more than on this album. Not saying because Phil sings on this song, but it just has kind of a sound that would fit Trick of the Tail more. Anyway, great song though.

Being the longest song on the track Battle of Epping Forest is probably the most adventerous. It took me about 10 listens to fully appreciate its uniqueness. This song is almost Jethro Tull'ish with the kind of quirky lyrics and acoustic guitars towards the middle. I love this song because of its awesome variation and organ & guitar interplay.

After the Ordeal stands out in an excellent way. It kind of reminds me of Medevel times towards the beginng with the classical guitar and piano. At about 2:14 Steve does an electric guitar melody that kind of reminds me of a guitar riff you would hear off of In the Court of the Crimson King. Anyways Its an awesome instrumental. It also has some of Peter's flute playing which I love.

Now what can I say about Cinema Show. It has the greatest instrumental section of all time in Genesis history. Its defenently the centerpiece of the album also featuring the greatest synth solo of all time. I also love the arpeggiated 12 string at the begginng. The instrumental section being in 7/8 creates a really driving feel for all other instruments especially the drums. The only thing I wish was different about the instrumental section is that it could be more driven and more on the edge like the Seconds Out version. It just seems very calm on the album. I guess that's what the band was striving for but I still can't get enough of this song.

And finally, Aisle of Plenty is brought in by the outro of Cinema show. At the beginning you might recall the guitar riff in Dancing with the Moonlit Knight. Its a short little song but guess what...its still great. Not totally sure what the lyrics are about but hey, Its Peter Gabriel!

I hope you enjoyed my first review! Keep it Prog!

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