ABACAB

Genesis' "Abacab" was their first "true" pop album. It contains elements from the previous "Duke" album, released the previous year, only even more commercialised in the overall sound. The synths sounds cheap and dated too and the overall mood on this album is very straightforward. However, there are a couple of excellent tracks here. The powerful title track is great, and "Dodo/Lurker" is the best cut on the album. Both clocking in at well over 7 minutes, these tracks are excellent and the nearest Genesis ever came "progressive" at that time (1981). The other tracks aren't that good. "Who Dunnit" is perhaps their most hated song, but I kinda liked it. It get's old pretty fast though. "No Reply At All" OK, but a bit boring. Most of the other tracks are good, with Phil Collins' "Man On A Corner" being a standout.

Prog-era-Genesis fans will hate this one. Don't get me wrong, Im a hardcore 70's Genesis fan too, but I still like this album for some reason. I would still recommend it only to die-hard Genesis fans though. 3/5