A TRICK OF THE TAIL

Once Peter Gabriel departed the group and left many critics to predict the demise of the band, Collins, Rutherford, Banks and Hackett all brought together an album that could prove the general public wrong and prove that they could indeed still make an awesome album (the irony of the statement is that Genesis pretty much went to pot after Duke). Without Gabriel to hold the band back, the band soared to new heights, pinnacles that had never been touched on before and never would again, by Genesis.

There isn't a single complaint from me on the songwriting. Everything is melodic without being unreasonbly catchy, it's well thought out, and the songs differ enough to keep interest. Probably the best piece of writing on the album is the piano interlude to 'Mad Mad Moon.'

The instruments come together in a fantastic fashion. What makes this harmony so beautiful is that if one was to isolate all the instruments of the song, you wouldn't be able to recognize a song. All the instruments are exploited at the same level, and it just ties the music together. Phil Collins' drumming doesn't stand out, even though he does a virtuoso job on it.

Dance On A Volcano-Many people liken this one to 'The Cinema Show,' and I honestly don't know why. Maybe they share one or two riffs and a basic form, but they sound completely different. Dance On A Volcano is much faster and much more layered than The Cinema Show; the word I'm searching for is intense.

Entangled-Hackett's twelve string is the impetus to this song, starting from a very beautiful ballad and working its way into a moving keyboard solo. To a newcomer to the album, I can quite easily understand how one could get bored of Entangled right after listening to something as fast paced as Dance On A Volcano. Give it some time. This is a jewel on the album.

Squonk-Many people chastise this for being a loose, silly song, and I really don't understand why. Squonk has always appealed to me (to the point of it becoming my favourite Genesis tune) as a well thought out tune. The aura conveyed is very deep, and it feels like the guitar is stretching all over the place to cover everything. The bass adds to that. Collins' distorted and intense vocals help move the song along and add to the intensity of the tune. His drumming, while not as complex as on other tracks, is still notable for how well it adds to the tune. My recommendation-listen to this song while driving around downtown Chicago around sunset. Then you'll love it.

Mad Mad Moon-Mad Mad Moon feels a lot more mystical and like Genesis' pre-Lamb era work. The mellotron is used here better than on most other songs I've heard it used on. The piano interlude, as noted above, really pulls this song into the 5 star category.

Robbery, Assault & Battery-This one I don't mind labelling as silly. Because it is. The lyrics pretty much define it as. But this song has one of the best Genesis instrumentals of their entire catalogue. The pulsing keyboards, the flowing guitar work-it all comes together.

Ripples-Back to the likening of Entangled, Ripples starts out slow and gradually builds up, but I feel that Ripples always feels like the strongest piece on the album, maybe it's the instrumental interlude that always gets me.

A Trick Of The Tail-Semi silly, but still conveys an idea and is defintely a great tune. It always reminded me of a Beatles' song for some reason, but it's just another well thought out, fantastic number.

Los Endos-I'm always blown away every time I hear this song-it just reeks energy. The chords at the beginning builds the song up and then truly masterful drum work leads the song into a much harder repitition of those chords. The song is easily much more intense than Dance On A Volcano, and everyone is probably pounding the crap out of their instruments by now. It's here that Collins' drumming hits its peak. The fantastic movements convey such a great, atmospheric and floating aura that it has to be heard to be believed. The farewell to Gabriel in the Squonk reprise at the very end is a nice touch.

'Wind And Wuthering' kind of closed up the truly great era of Genesis, although they did come back with 'Duke' and then fall into a deep, dark hole with 'Abacab' (Essentially, any Genesis album with Steve Hackett is worth a look). 'A Trick Of The Tail' is easily Genesis' best.