SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND

An absolute masterpiece, the best progrock album I have ever heard, and candidate for my best pop/rock album in any genre. Not only absolutely essential, but also probably the best starting point for newcomers to progressive Genesis.

1. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (8:01) What an opener. Genesis weaves a magic spell in this song, using intelligent texts full of wordplay (like "queen of May-be" and "Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout" - Green Shield stamps having been used extensively in English shops), beautiful melodies and stunning vocal and instrumental performances. Of particular interest is the shift from ballad to energetic rock upon the invitation 'to join the dance', with appropriate changes in instrumentation. 10/10

2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (4:06) The single taken from the album. I don't understand the negative comments many have on this track. It is not a msterpiece, but quite likeable, and certainly not too poppy. 7.5/10

3. Firth Of Fifth (9:34) This song of the sea has to be heard to be believed. One of the absolute progrrock classics. For almost ten minutes, we get drawn into a fantastic world, alternating between Peter Gabriels magnificent vocals,Tony Banks' keyboard virtuosity and Steve Hackett pulling off an amazing guitar solo in the middle section. 10/10

4. More Fool Me (3:09) The only blemish on this record. I have no problem with Phils singing (in fact, I think A trick of the tail is the second-best Genesis album), but the song itself is mediocre at best. Even though some argue that it provides a good rest point between the epic songs before and after, I still think it is totally out of place. 5/10

5. The Battle Of Epping Forest (11:43) Good, but not great. Whenever Genesis exceeds the 8 minutes mark, you hope for a fantastic result, and you often are right. This is one of the occasions where it does not work. The melodies are not remarkable, neither is the instrumentation. 7.5/10

6. After The Ordeal (4:12) This is an excellent example of what does constitue a good rest point between two epic tracks. A deceivingly simple instrumental that is still rewarding in its own right. 8/10

7. The Cinema Show (11:06)/8. Aisle Of Plenty (1:31) I consider these two to be one song actually. Having listened to two absolute masterpieces on side 1, it is amazing to find out that the closing track is even better. The musical introduction with the dominating keyboard is perhaps the finest Genesis have ever produced. This modern day Romeo and Juliet story, interweaved with the story about the wise old Father Tiresias, relies anyway more on the instrumental magic of the group than on the vocals by Peter Gabriel, which are just a bit less convincing than usual. Cinema show flows over fluently in the short Aisle of plenty, and although the tracks are listed separately on the album, they make a satisfying combination. 10/10

There are very few records that can boast to have three songs which I rank as masterpieces (10/10). In spite of More fool me, this disc truely deserve five stars.