And Then There Were Three: Genesis

It is an excellent album, one that I still love listening to with that wall of sound.

It was not, btw, the final Henschel album.

I like it quite a bit.  I think about half of the songs are spectacular; but the other half are fairly forgettable.  There's very little middle ground for me.   The ones I love are Down and Out, Undertow, Ballad of Big, Burning Rope, Deep in the Motherlode, and The Lady Lies.  Snowbound is ok.  The others not so much.

Definitely a transitional album, as you say.  It sounds a lot like Wind and Wuthering, but without the winding song structures - even the long tracks are fairly straightforward verse/chorus/middle 8 songs.  It sounds closer to Wind than to Duke, though, with its dense keyboard atmosphere.  I think Phil didn't really find his true voice until Duke; on ...Three he still sounds a little thin and buried in the mix.

Conclusion - I return to this album more than most Genesis albums, but just for those 6 or so songs I really enjoy.

lazland wrote: It is an excellent album, one that I still love listening to with that wall of sound. It was not, btw, the final Henschel album.

Forgot about Duke, Laz. Thanks for the correction.

SteveG wrote: What's your take on this so called "transitional" album by Genesis. It's one of my favs and I think it gets a bad rap by Genesis fans. It was one of the last they did with producer David Hentschel and I almost consider him part of the band for the great production work he did on this album.

All above posts cover my feelings on the album.....I enjoy that one and spin it regularly.

lazland wrote: It is an excellent album, one that I still love listening to with that wall of sound. It was not, btw, the final Henschel album.

richardh wrote: lazland wrote: It is an excellent album, one that I still love listening to with that wall of sound. It was not, btw, the final Henschel album. That is a key element for me. Its an album that has that intensity and an impressive tightness in everything presented. Not a hair out of place. I can understand why some may find it claustrophobic compared to earlier Genesis albums. Nothing really 'flies' in the old traditional style of prog. Genesis took note of trends and crafted a modern (for its time) prog record that could be played on the radio. Crossover prog is not a bad description as previously mentioned.

Yes Richard, I couldn't agree more with Laz on his 'Wall of Sound' description. I just gave the album another spin and the production really nails everything together. Superb.

^There's nothing wrong with being 'that guy'. I appreciate honest opinions.

Blacksword wrote: An excellent album. Certainly up there in my top five Genesis albums. It was the first Genesis I heard end to end, and although I wasn't keen on Snowbound and Follow you follow me, I have grown to like them. As for Down & Out, Undertow, Burning Rope and Motherlode they are some of the best songs they ever wrote imo. Solid 4.5 stars. 5 if you ask me when I'm on a real nostalgia trip..

Edited by Rick Robson - October 22 2014 at 15:56

Solid 4 star album. Just because the songs were shorter, doesn't necessarily mean they weren't Prog. The band condensed longer form potential (what we like, and a strong trait of what generally defines Prog) into catchy shorter pieces doesn't mean that it screams 'sell-out'.... I love this album for sure. Such energy.........