A TRICK OF THE TAIL

When Gabriel left Genesis, Phil Collins expressed that he was not a strong enough singer to be a lead vocalist. He forgot to mention he was also not a strong enough writer to compose lyrics and music. Unfortunately Tony, Steve, and Mike ignored this fact and persisted with mediocre results.

Most certainly the strongest album of Collin's era Genesis. The album takes a more mellow, ethereal feel with strong jazz influences. And turns out some great tunes like "Dance On A Volcano" and "Squonk", but overall the magic of Gabriel is just missing. All tracks have left their epic feel imparted on them by Gabriel. Phil's voice is much less dynamic and without the raw emotive power that used to drive Genesis. That former aggressive Genesis sound is gone unable to be supported by Collin's bland vocals singing sub par lyrics, longing to be the metaphorical gems of Gabriel but failing miserably.

A solid purchase especially if you can pick up a used copy for cheap. Most songs are good for the occasional listen, some need to be put down. This would have been much more interesting as the instrumental album it almost was, but even with Phil Collins' at the helm it still retains a certain enjoyability.