...AND THEN THERE WERE THREE...

Many people call it the end of the old GENESIS, and I can't disagree on that. Here they go for shorter songs, but I still can't call this album a sellout. Yes, it does have "Follow You, Follow Me" (which I felt is the album's low-point), their first exploration in to '80s pop (although this is from 1978), and it sounds like it fits better on their self-entitled album from 1983, but to me, most of the rest of the album is actually quite bearable. Steve HACKETT is gone, to pursue his solo career, so he wasn't around telling them to be more progressive. I have to admit I do like many of the songs here like "Burning Rope", "The Lady Lies", "Snowman", and "Say, Is it Alright, Joe". Addmited none of the album reaches the heights of the GABRIEL-era matieral. It doesn't even reach the heights of "Wind & Wuthering" (nothing like "Eleventh Earl of Mar" or "One For the Vine" here). The Mellotron has all-but vanished (a little is buried on "Many too Many", but that's it). Tony BANKS started to use more polyphonic synths in place of the Mellotron, and this was also the first album he used his Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano (something he'll use much more extensively on Duke). And since HACKETT is gone, it forced Mike RUTHEFORD to play regular guitar as well as bass. Yes, this album is a disappointment compared to what has came before, but it's to me a worthwhile album.