A TRICK OF THE TAIL

Genesis

Symphonic Prog

4.28 | 2950 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

1. "Dance On A Volcano" (5:53) Great opening--especially the second section. Genesis is not dead!  Not sure what the song is about, but it works for me! (8.75/10)

2. "Entangled" (6:28) IMO, one of Genesis's greatest songs--top five! Tony's eerie solo, the 12-strings and bass pedals are awesome. Steve's mixed way too quietly! (10/10)

3. "Squonk" (6:27)  Great opening guitar hook, good vocals with really weak lyrics (Is this the pre-history to "A Trick of the Tail"?). The song really never goes anywhere. (It was pretty boring--a letdown--in concert.) (8.5/10)

4. "Mad Man Moon" (7:35)  Beautiful song, sensitive, melodic, varied and rich. One of Tony Banks's most majestic. (13.5/15)

5. "Robbery, Assault & Battery" (6:15) Genesis had a habit of laying down some really interesting, really beautiful music and then, IMO, ruining it with either horrible lyrics or over-dramatic presentation. This is one of those songs. 8/10 musically + 2/10 lyrics and presentation = average of (7/10)

 6. "Ripples" (8:03) A song I can never seem to hear too often or too much. I was always disappointed Hackett's guitar was mixed so far in the background and so thin. (13.5/15)

7. "A Trick Of The Tail" (4:34) is actually a very cute, bouncy song. Theatric and mythic with a modern moral. A nice change of pace. Tight presentation; no fluff or excess. (9.5/10)

8. "Los Endos" (5:46) An awesome overture/finale of this new adventure in Genesis world. (Great concert closer teamed with "Dance on a Volcano" and with Chester and Phil pounding away together in the background.) (9.5/10)

"Trick" is not a bad album. In fact, it is a rather good album. Why they mixed Hackett so quietly into the mix, I'll never know, but I love hearing the drums, basses, and keys.

I really get the argument that this album may mark the beginning of the Neo Prog era--that the "classic" prog era was over. There is just something 'different' about this and its counterpart "Voyage of the Acolyte."

B+/4.5; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music despite the fact that it holds a much dearer place in my heart.

BrufordFreak | 5/5 | 2010-9-16

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