FOXTROT

Like it or not, Genesis is one of the most important and iconic progressive rock bands ever to come around, despite having poor sales, media support and fan base back in the early and mid 70's, the period were they put out their most important and relevant albums, as long as progressive rock is concerned. One of those very important albums is Foxtrot. The second album with the talented drummer Phil Collins is widely regarded as Genesis best album, along with Selling England by the Pound, as one of progressive rock's best album ever and one of the most important and influential albums by this band.

Indeed, the importance of Foxtrot is incontestable. Countless bands (mostly of neo prog) have tried to recreate and mimic its atmosphere and, as some say, its somewhat intoxicating ability to amaze, but (most) just ended up being a poor copy of it. Even more bands have used Foxtrot as an influence to their works or noted or cited the album somehow as an homage to its great importance to the genre.

Unlike the importance of the album, however, is the music awestrucking? I mean, is it really good? I say it is not. Foxtrot, and the following Genesis albums for that matter, were unable to reach the same level as their past two albums had (Nursery Crime and Trespass) and this album is the one who failed the most in that part. That is because Foxtrot, like so many other albums around the world, have more hype and reputation than actual quality.

Because of that, Foxtrot grew into a big deception. I realized that other albums from the 70's itself were much more interesting and could still sound fresh, something that Foxtrot failed to do. When compared to the whole picture, when put in perspective with the other things around it, the album became, at least for me, increasingly less interesting. I also realized that a lot of people just judged and rated this album based on its reputation instead of what is behind the wonderful cover and inside the disc, something that contributed heavily with this review and made me rethink the way I looked and though about this kind of album, resulting in thorough reevaluations of the so called classics, causing major disappointments such as this one.

All in all, Foxtrot is an album that now leaves me cold. If it were not for its importance for progressive rock, it would be really forgettable and would have an ever smaller grade, but due to its incontrovertible importance I am forced to grant the album two stars.

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