A TRICK OF THE TAIL

So, we return to Genesis, and we will be doing so a few more times before the journey is over. A Trick of the Tail is the first post-Gabriel album. Many had written the band off for dead. They had something to prove; and prove it, they did. After extensive auditions for a new lead singer, the band convinced Phil Collins that he was the man for the job. The rest is history.

Going into this I'll rank myself at level 2. I am pretty familiar with the album, but I am far from an expert, I know some tracks far better than others.

Track 1 - Dance on a Volcano

With a short quiet part in front of a quirky riff. The opener gets the listener's attention right away. The intro evolves into an odd-metered groove by the 35 second mark. But when Phil begins singing at the 1-minute point, the rhythm becomes very complex indeed. The more gentle riff fills the gaps between sections of the verses. They begin a new transition just after 2 minutes. There is a big power chord going into the bridge, interspersed with instrumental parts with complex rhythms. By 4:25 there is a frantic instrumental break, with great playing from all. There are some wacky sounds around 5:15 that sound like a fly buzzing. This occurs a few more times before the song comes to a close. Great prog!

Track 2 - Entangled

This one begins with quiet guitar & harpsichord, before Phil enters with gentle vocals. We are in a gently-rocking 6-8 time here. By 1:30 beautiful harmony vocals take center-stage. This song is very dreamy thus far. The accompaniment is all clean guitar & keyboards up until now? No drums or bass. Banks plays a fluttering keyboard solo starting around 4:30. There is a choir-like mellotron sound backing it up. This takes us clear up to the song's end. A peaceful, enjoyable song.

Track 3 - Squonk

This is one of the songs I am more familiar with. A "Squonk '' is a mythological creature said to reside in forests in Pennsylvania, that when cornered or frightened can reportedly dissolve itself with tears. The band have acknowledged that the song is influenced by Led Zeppelin's Kashmir in sound. Personally, I only feel its influence in Phil's drumbeat. There is a syncopated guitar riff over the drumbeat. Then Phil joins in with vocals. Banks seems to be supporting the melody on the verses while Rutherford has a simple bass line. The bass line does become more complex in some places, though, in the instrumental interludes, where Banks' keyboards take center stage. There is a bridge around 5:25. Then a more syncopated bass line leads us into a closing section that fades out. Excellent track

Track 4 - Mad Man Moon

This one begins with a gentle piano/keyboard part, over which Phil begins singing. There are nice mellotron chords behind the melody. A crescendo happens at around the 2-minute section, but the song remains very melodic. However, at 2:40 Banks' piano part becomes more rhythmic in nature, almost Spanish in its feel. By 3:30, he is showing his classical chops. At around 4:50 we go into an odd meter, with drums coming in. By 5:30, we return to the earlier feel, albeit with gentle rhythm section backing. If Hackett is on this, I haven't noticed yet. At 6:45 everything but keyboards drop out and it gets quieter up to the finish. It's a pretty song, but not my favorite.

Track 5 - Robbery, Assault and Battery.

Not too familiar with this one. I've read that it was intended to invoke the humor found on some earlier Genesis songs. It has a keyboard intro. Collins sings the song "in character" as he might have done in his role as the "Artful Dodger" in Oliver in his youth. The drum part has an almost disco high-hat backbeat to it. Odd meter for the keyboard solo that begins after 2:30. This is a very proggy instrumental break, but Hackett is conspicuous by his lack of lead guitar during it. There is another keyboard feature around 4:30. This song reminds me of the types of songs they did during the Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, & SEBTP era. However, Hackett seems to be snubbed. While I did hear guitar on it, there were no solos, despite ample opportunity for one. A great track that could have been even greater.

Track 6 - Ripples?

I DO know this one, and I like it quite a bit. It's interesting that the longest track on the album is essentially a ballad, at just over 8 minutes in length. Harpsichord and clean guitars (both 12 string acoustic and clean electric 6 string if my ears are not deceiving me) accompany Phil's vocals. There is a slight crescendo at 1:15 and the chorus begins without a rhythm section this time. It does sound like Phil's vocals are doubled in the chorus. We return for another gentle verse. This time, though, the chorus comes in stronger than before with drums and bass just after the 3-minute mark. The interplay between the guitars and keyboards is absolutely beautiful. At around 4:15, we begin an instrumental section and, lo and behold, we can hear some Hackett leads along with the keyboards. They sound as though they are recorded in reverse. The interlude has a slow and steady crescendo to it. The crescendo peaks around 6:40 and we go into another chorus. Banks and Hackett provide some nice flourishes. The song begins to fade out at around 7:30. There are a few nice bass fills along the way as it comes to an end.

Track 7 - A Trick of the Tail

The title track is very Beatlesque in nature, as one of its inspirations was Getting Better from Sgt. Pepper. Interestingly it is the shortest track on the album even though it is the title. The guitar & piano keep the rhythm while the bass follows the melody. The song is expertly arranged. I like the half-time feel of the second chorus that goes quickly double time into the bridge. I believe this song is a sign of the direction they would embrace more fully in the "trio" years. It is very radio-friendly (even though I don't think I've ever heard it on the radio). I love it.

Track 8 - Los Endos

I am also very familiar with this tour de force of prog. The quiet intro sets the stage for the explosion of energy that is about to be unleashed on us. The drums and bass are at a frenetic pace behind the sustained guitar & keyboards. We build to a peak at 1:45, and things calm down for a moment. But then the theme returns by 2:30. Phil is giving us a drumming workshop here. There are occasional places where the rhythm takes a breath, but then returns along the way. Starting at about 3:40 there are some musical references to earlier parts of the album, starting with the quirky Dance on a Volcano riff. Squonk is reprised next. As the track begins to wind down, though, Phil sings "There's an angel standing in the sun," from Supper's Ready as an homage to Peter Gabriel, although they are a bit buried in the mix; sort of an easter egg. Outside of that line, this is one of the greatest prog instrumentals ever.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Much like its successor, Wind & Wuthering, there is a lot of great material here. It is definitely a classic Genesis album. However, maybe it's because I'm a guitar player, I really feel like Hackett was marginalized on these 2 albums. I have read conjecture that Banks was annoyed that he felt Hackett had used his better compositions on his first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte (which I reviewed very early in the countdown). Interestingly, Collins and Rutherford participated on Voyage, while Banks did not. As I said it is only conjecture, and I certainly wasn't there myself. The real story here, though, is how seamlessly Collins' vocals replaced Gabriel's. Despite his reservations, Phil Collins was probably the only person on the planet who could have pulled it off. I do think I like it just a touch better than Wind & Wuthering, so I'll give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars, compared to W&Ws 4.25.

Clicking 4, but really 4.25!

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