SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND

This album was the first album in which GENESIS began to have problems to record an album. They took sometime to rest and to compose the songs. I have read an interview done in 1982 where Banks/Collins/Rutherford said that this was a difficult album. There were some conflicts in the band, but it is amazing that this album had a high quality. "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" is one of my favourite songs of this album. "I know what I like" is funny, and it also was released as a single, but I prefer the live version released in "Seconds Out".Maybe it is one of the most played songs in GENESIS` tours since 1973 (and like "Roundabout" from YES, an "obligatory" song). "Firth of Fifth" has a very good piano by Banks and lead guitar by Hackett."More Fool Me" is a ballad sung by the sometimes underrated Collins. "The Battle of Epping Forest" is humorous in places ("there`s no one left alive/ it must be a draw") but it is too long, but it is also a good example of storytelling. "After the Ordeal" is a very good instrumental song, mainly composed by Hackett, playing several guitars, one of them a classical guitar. This song shows his style for his future solo albums. The inclusion of this song in this album caused some frictions in the band, and I think that Hackett started to think that he could live as a solo artist, as his music wasn`t always received with enthusiasm by the rest of the band. "The Cinema Show" is the best song of this album, with very good keyboard solos and atmospheres by Banks and very good drums by Collins. "Aisle of Plenty" is brief, and it also reprises some parts of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight". This album is very good, but not as strong as "Foxtrot".