A TRICK OF THE TAIL

To me, Trick of the tail is the best progressive Genesis album without Gabriel although "Wind and wuthering" comes close. At the same time, it is not my favourite one (This honour holding "And then there were three").

Gabriel may be missed behind the compositional pen but I don't miss him on vocals. Collins was a competent singer in 1976 before he got to control his vocal better and offer some treats. Instrumental parts on this album are among best ones Genesis offered, no pressure to deliver vocals all the time. Banks swapped classical piano and Hammond to more contemporary synths and electric piano. Unfortunately, Hackett starts to be less audible and present in the mix and often as a supporting tandem to keyboards.

"Dance on a volcano" is a particularly strong number due to its strong rhythmic structure. The instrumental ferocious section is mind-blowing and I regret that they rarely played the composition in its entirety but switched to the inferior "Los endos". "Entangled" is the best ballad on the album, genuine, heart-broken with calming Collins harmonies. Then come reflective synths that sound solemn at the same time. "Squonk" is more upbeat albeit still slow evolving around a nice melody. Banks shows good accompanying synths and organ chords but the song is a bit too static and the rescuing instrumental section with excellent chord structure comes a bit too late and could have been longer. "Mad man moon" is one of the best Genesis tracks overall and is one of Banks' masterpieces, certainly the best he wrote with the band after Gabriel left. The composition is developed and structured in an outstanding way offering two dream-like melodies in the beginning and a first-rate chorus with Collins' tender voice. Then we can witness the masterful run of piano, synths that equals or beats any other progressive keyboardist compositional skills. Banks strength is also when different keyboard instrument join forces, create textures. The addition of the band brings us back to the band's previous years. "Robbery, assault and battery" has been criticized for a disco-friendly beat and not a typical elegant Genesis melody but the chorus is pretty good with its dynamics and the middle section led by incredible keys, bass and drums. The chorus melody at 4:35 is so well done and creates the emotional peak of the song. "Ripples" is the third ballad on the album, looks too long with 8 minutes but we quite accessible instrumental part in the middle led by a quite subdued guitar. "Trick of the tail" is the first utterly pop song by Genesis and I believe that first forgettable song since their first album up to that point. Not good enough to be a popular radio song and too bad for a prog song. "Los endos" was meant to be the "finale" of the album as it also contains motives from previous songs. I like the fusion drumming and furious bass playing. When the song reaches the 4-minute mark, it becomes less contributing but some people may like its symphonic character.

This is an excellent album by Genesis.