INVISIBLE TOUCH

Like 90125 by fellow giant Yes, Invisible Touch has been endlessly cited as a horrible album that immediately induces suffering, both physical and mental, in listeners. And, as is the case with Yes's 80's work, the reason that this is so disliked is probably because fans of these bands became that from listening to a different style of music- and, when they hear said band turn their approach around almost 180 degrees, bad things will happen to their perceptions of the band and the album. However, I am not a deep-rooted "golden era" Genesis fan, and I approached this album as one that won't be a classic, but may hold some enjoyable material, and for under 3 dollars, I couldn't resist.

The title track is hated by many, many people on this site, but as is the case with most songs along this line (Owner of a Lonely Heart, Heat of the Moment, etc.) I find it to be actually pretty good, even if it's horribly (and I mean HORRIBLY) dated by today's standards. After that is the nearly nine minute "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", a song which, again, I actually enjoy- I'd say that this is the best song on the album, as it evokes a pleasant night-like atmosphere- even if the lyrics aren't so great ("I'm coming down, coming down like a monkey"?!?!). Next is Land of Confusion, which is a pretty adequate song, not bad, not great, lyrics are nice. After that is In Too Deep, and though I always try to see music in a positive light, to me, this song is simply horrible. It is a generic, dated, uninteresting light pop song- where it tries to be tender and beautiful, it comes off and lightweight and empty. Fortunately, it is followed by one of the better songs- the extremely catchy Anything She Does. Yes, it's yet another song about love, but it's an enjoyable listen, even if, like everything else here, it sounds atrociously dated. After that is Domino, which has been passed off as 80's Genesis's attempt at a "prog epic"- however, this is not prog at all- this is merely two pop songs sandwiched together. However, these are good pop songs, fun to listen to, but it does drag, being an almost eleven minute pop song- well, two songs, but I digress. After that is Throwing it All Away, and all I have to say about this song is; see In Too Deep. Then is The Brazilian, the song many reviewers credit with "saving" the album. In my opinion, it's an okay instrumental, but not the best song. So, of the eight songs, 2 are horrible, 4 are merely okay, and 2 are good. While I am tempted to give this 3 stars, I feel confident that it only deserves 2, because Genesis has much, MUCH better than this, albums that transcend "prog classic" and become absolute legends. My advice is, if you see this album for under 5 dollars (and if you visit used record stores, chances are you will; Genesis DID sell 150 million albums, after all, and this is one of the more popular ones), then get it. Recommended to fans of eighties pop who already have all of Genesis's 70-77 albums.