...AND THEN THERE WERE THREE...

Although the departure of Peter Gabriel after "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" affected in part the musical and visual style of Genesis, making it more accessible, they still maintained a clear progressive vein. But the subsequent departure of the talented Steve Hackett after " Wind & Wuthering" was too much to sustain the group within the genre in which it was a reference. With no major intention of keeping or pigeonholing themselves in the progressive rock schemes, however wide and varied they may be, Genesis definitely moves away from the intricate and complex paths they proposed at the beginning of the 70s.

" ...And Then There Were Three..." is that album that makes the turn and breaks away from one style to begin to transform itself into another, neither better nor worse, simply another one, much more related to the commercial threads, of short and easily digestible songs. Where the evident protagonism in the vocal part of Phil Collins is accompanied by the shy guitars and keyboards of Mike Rutherford and Peter Banks respectively. For example: "Undertow", "Many too Many", "Say it's Alright Joe" and the very successful and radio-friendly "Follow You, Follow Me". Since shaking off the recent past is never a simple process, we find some of their original DNA in fragments of "Ballad of Big", "Burning Rope" and a little bit more in "Deep in the Motherlode", period. Just crumbs.

It is probable, although unprovable by the way, that if Genesis had started their musical adventure with this album, they would be qualified as a very successful pop rock band, which in fact they are; they would not be part of forums like this one; and the constant controversy between those who stayed with their first era and those who digested the change, would not exist. As a matter of personal taste, I'll stick with early Genesis.

2.5 stars.