...AND THEN THERE WERE THREE...

The departure of Steve Hackett led to the title, his distinctive guitar sound being instantly missed. Genesis however were clearly conscious of this, and the songs are generally shorter in structure, with Tony Banks tending to dominate the relatively few instrumental passages.

"Burning Rope" is the most progressive track, with echoes of the Genesis of old and superb lead guitar from Rutherford. The track has a power and majesty which is not immediately apparent, but which shines through with successive hearings. The final track, "Follow You, Follow me", was a surprise hit single. The song is admittedly very lightweight and commercial, but it still retains a certain creditability in Genesis terms and it makes for a very pleasant ending to the album.

There are many other highlights, such as "Snowman", "The lady lies", "Many too Many" and "Undertow". When compared with what went before, these are pretty straightforward songs, with little real prog to them. Seen in that context, they are highly accomplished pieces of music, well crafted, and competently performed.

As long as you're not looking for a "traditional" Genesis album, "And then there were three" has a feel of quality to it from start to finish, and indeed is thoroughly enjoyable. This was probably the last Genesis album where band members had a reasonably equal influence, before Phil Collins dominance began to come to the fore.

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