FOXTROT

Now, some of you know Genesis from the Phil Collins era, but they had much success before then, and really came into their own on the previos album, 'Trespass'. However, I am here to review my favorite Genesis album, 'Foxtrot'. Here we go, let's start off with 'Watcher of the Skies', which is a darker song. The song seems happy enough until you look at the lyrics for it. The album has many apocalyptic themes, (which we'll touch more on later), 'Watcher' is a catchy song. 'Time Table' is a shorter song, very nice, even a bit psychedelic at points. 'Get 'em Out by Friday' is perhaps my second favorite on this album. It's a song about the government running out of space to house people. Instead of just building more housing, they decide to shrink people. No person can be more than 4 feet tall. 'Can-Utility and the Coastliners' is about the legend of an old king, very pretty guitar. 'Horizons' is a very short instrumental piece played on guitar by the wonderful Steve Hackett. It's only a minute long, and provides an introduction to 'Supper's Ready'. Now on to one of the greatest songs composed. 'Supper's Ready' this song clocks in at 23:05. The song's plot is two lovers go through the apocalypse together. It starts off with him 'walking across the sitting-room, I turn the television' where he then sits and talks to his love. The second verse is where we see things start to change, with shrouded men walking across the garden with a cross held high. We here the 'chorus' again. 'And it's, 'Hello baby, your supper's waiting for you. Hey my baby, don't you know our love is true?' There is much more biblical imagery throughout. The song ends with a triumphant, 'Lord of Lord, King of Kings has returned to lead his children home, to take them to the new Jerusalem.' If you say '23 minutes is too long' this song keeps your attention, and has so many changes in it. So saying it's too long is a bad excuse, listen to it. You may not like it at first, but the song grows on you, and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout it's many changes. It truly has something for everyone, whether it's somber, exciting, quirky, triumphant, etc. It's got everything all in one with Gabriel's wild lyrical imagery of the apocalypse. I can not talk enough about this song, just go listen to it. It's what we call a 'suite'. It's essentially 7 songs in one with some themes tying it all together with some crazy transitions, lyrics, imagery, and a heavy dose of existentialism. 15/10 for this song alone, I cannot recommend it enough.