...AND THEN THERE WERE THREE...

Not a favourite album with many fans this was the first album post Hackett, and his absence shows itself throughout the record. Gone is the mystery, atmosphere and beauty of the earlier 'classic' albums, replaced here with more straightforward prog tinged rock songs. The tracks are shorter, and are more inclined to follow the standard verse chorus verse pattern. Not what fans of the band were expecting at all. Nevertheless, the music here is actually very enjoyable, and I have always thought the record more than a decent effort in the Genesis catalogue. 'Down And Out' starts off with a synth note, and builds into a mid paced song, quite aggressive vocally, with Mike Rutherford's guitar working away nicely in the background. His duties now extend to lead guitar as well as bass, and he actually does a very creditable job. Although I prefer Duke as an album to this one, Rutherford's guitar work is better on this record, at least to my ears. 'Undertow' is a slower track with a strong melody and good drums and percussion. Collins is in fine form throughout this album, as is Tony Banks; in fact, his keyboards are the dominant force on the record. 'Ballad Of Big' is another good song, with an eerie, trembly keyboard opening leading into another mid paced piece, with catchy chorus. Again, strong percussion here. 'Snowbound' is a quiet, gentle, melodic song, with nice chords from Rutherford and a lovely chorus, backed by Bank's wash of keyboards. Very nice. 'Burning Rope' ends what was the old side one of the vinyl. Many rate this the best track on the album, but I think it is just average, though it does have a nice guitar solo from Mike in the middle, where he tries, I think, to emulate Hackett a bit. 'Deep In The Motherlode' is one of the highlights here for me. Starting off abruptly with keyboards and drums, and a good bass line, it has some fine effects on it. I like the lyrics on this one too. The middle section is slower, and is backed by atmospheric keyboards, before the guitar screams in and the song picks up to mid pace again. Wonderful stuff this one, with Phil's drums adding a nice touch as the song fades. 'Many Too Many' is a lovely short track, with excellent piano work from Tony, and a well sung melody from Phil. As the song ends Mike supplies some simple but effective guitar. Very good. 'Scenes From A Night's Dream' has fantasy lyrics about, well, a night's dream, and Phil sings this one well, with again good percussion backing the dominant keyboards. 'Say It's Alright Joe' is another highlight. Nice piano again, and good low key guitar chords from Mike back a memorably melody, especially in the chorus, which is very powerful indeed. Superb. 'The Lady Lies' is another tour de force for Tony, with lyrics that could have come off A Trick Of The Tail. A catchy mid paced track, I love the piano work here. Finally comes my least favourite, the poppish 'Follow You Follow Me' which was, of course, a minor hit for the band. This track is the least Genesis like song on here, though, for some strange reason, I can actually imagine Peter Gabriel singing this one, almost as if it were a continuation of 'I Know What I like', though it isn't. All in all an album that deserves higher ratings than it usually gets. Although the sound has changed with the departure of Hackett, this album, and the next, were still decent efforts. It was Abacab that started the decline for me.