WIND & WUTHERING

The last really essential Genesis album is also the last with Hackett, and that's no coincidence. It was always good for the band (at least for the fans!) to have several songwriters, and after this LP Genesis never again attained the level of creativity heard here. Like many classic prog bands, Genesis seemed to be searching for a new sound as the 70s drew to a close and they were confronted with the popularity and immediacy of "New Wave." The results, while generally "good" music, simply lacked the staying power and resonance of their classic material.

The first two tracks on the record are longer songs in the old epic style, with imaginative lyrical themes, and lots of musical changes. Great stuff. "Your Own Special Way," though pretty, seems to be a blatant attempt at a "hit," and has the feel of a Phil Collins solo vehicle -- too predictable by half. "Wot Gorilla" is a powerful instrumental in the "Los Endos" vein, and "All in a Mouse's Night," if a trifle whimsical in its subject matter, is nonetheless classic Genesis. Hackett's "Blood on the Rooftops" has a sad, nostalgic beauty (which the guitarist would bring to such lofty heights in his forthcoming solo career), and then the next two tracks offer an excellent instrumental segue into the closing "Afterglow," which, if a little maudlin, is still an effective, anthemic song that brings the proceedings to a majestic end.

Overall, "Wind and Wuthering" is an excellent album which, while maybe not quite as good as its predecessor ("A Trick of the Tail" is, in my opinion, the best of the post-Gabriel discs), is nevertheless well worth listening to (loud!) again -- and again!