INVISIBLE TOUCH

Well here it is, the dominant commercial piece of the entire Genesis catalog, or as some people like to say nowadays, the Phil Collins era. Realizing that they could craft pop masterworks upon the top ten success of "That's All" back in 1983/84, and on the heels of Collins' Grammy-winning, now Diamond-certified solo effort No Jacket Required, Genesis was primed to make their most "pop" album yet. Well, I know most people have a distaste for this album, but I don't find it all that bad. It's not very good, but it's still not the worst thing that could have ever come out. At least I found it very hit-or-miss. I can still give three stars on the benefit of the doubt.

We open with the poppy title track, which is a miss; I find the song very annoying after a while. You realize that Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford don't seem to be in this thing that much except for a ride on this song. Just wait, though, their influences will be back later on the album. "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" is a decent song, but sometimes feeling like a half-hearted attempt for some semblance to prog-era music on the shoulders of an instrumental fill. My favorite track on this album has to be one of their first American political songs (with a great music video) in "Land of Confusion." I do find Rutherford's guitar and Collins' catchy drum opening as solid drivers for the number. It's not "Duke's Travels" or "Home by the Sea" for the 80s output, but it's still my favorite on this album. The last number is "In Too Deep," a love song which I'm a sucker for when I feel like. "Anything She Does" counts as a miss, and the horn section seems to take away from it instead of adding to it. Then comes "Domino," where you can hear the Tony Banks influence, and the other pseudo-throwback on Invisible Touch. This song stands about average too, simply because it's too slick. "Throwing it All Away" was the second of five Billboard top ten hits on here, and it sounds more like a Collins' solo track with Rutherford and Banks playing on it; I'm curious as to who really wrote what sometimes. The end of the album is nice, as "The Brazillian" may be the best closer to a Genesis album since "Afterglow" closed out Wind & Wuthering. All three contribute to the instrumental and do a solid job.

Nearly everyone has said that this, hands down, is the slickest Genesis album there is. Indeed it is no prog work, but it's better than most stuff of the 1980s, even if it's only AS good as what former prog greats put out during the decade. Wonder why this album sold so much?