...AND THEN THERE WERE THREE...

...And Then There Were Three is the first record Genesis made that indicated a more commercial approach to their music. Sure there had been attempts at commercialism before, but this recording had a new sound to it, that none of Genesis previous efforts had. Many conservative Prog. rock fans believe this album signaled the end of Genesis as a prog. rock group. The album is pretty different and more commercial, but still contains some of the most beautiful songs Genesis has ever written IMO. Down on the Motherlode and Burning Rope, stand out as the most beautiful ones. All songs on this album are really good prog. rock/ pop songs except Follow Me, Follow You which I find to be pure commercial Pop and not worth listening to if you´re anything like me.

The songs are not progressive in the vein previous Genesis material were. Which means the prog. Rock elements are more subtle and incorporated into the songs. There are no 3-4 minute soloes on this one. This was actually the first Genesis album I owned. I bought it second hand for 1$ ( it was a little damaged and smelled of smoke as the LP had been through a fire). The best dollar I ever spend. I had heard Land of confusion and other hits from the 80´s Genesis, and never thought much of the band. But I was lucky one night that they played Firth of Fifth ( As I later found out the song was called) on the radio late at night, and I caught interest in Genesis instantly.

At the time I didn´t know about the bands history or discography for that matter, and I accidently stumbled over ...And Then There Were Three in the aforementioned LP format. I came home and put on the LP. Accidently on side B and Down on the motherlode came to me with it´s wave of keyboards and intelligent lyrics. I found it beautiful and intriguing. Later on, after listening to ...And Then There Were Three for hundreds of times Burning Rope is my favorite.

The most funny thing is, after listening to every album from Genesis, reading biographies and being a fan for the last 10 years, it is actually the Peter Gabriel period that most excites me. But ...And Then There Were Three will always mean a lot to me. It is a unique album, both for its time and if you listen to it today. It is highly recommendable both for prog. rock fans and rock/pop fans. Almost a 5 star rating from me.