SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND

And it brought Genesis very far away, to the very top of prog excellence. Personally I prefer "Foxtrot" to this extraordinary effort, though the concept behind this one puts up a fight. Call it a tie in quality. Let's begin:

"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" is a very nice song which I think runs of steam in the end... and simply fizzles out. As it stands, it's not until you hear its initial melody reprised in the album's last track, that you understand this is more like a prologue to this british-centered opus. Yet, I find this song too long.

"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)": Hey, a pop song! Nice percussion, Phil. A simple, catchy tune.

"Firth of Fifth": whoa. The best Genesis song ever? Highly likely. What happens when you have a blistering piano opening, a majestic melody, a beautiful flute solo and an amazing keyboard solo, all in a row? You think "this is too good to be true, end this now before you ruin it!". Then Steve Hackett hits you in the head with one of the best guitar riffs in rock history, and afterwards the whole thing returns where it began, tying things up with a ribbon bow. Kneel before this prog anthem.

"More Fool Me": sweet, short one, foreshadowing Phil's ballads in the future, maybe. Very well placed after the Firth of Fifth monster, makes you catch breath before going on.

"The Battle of Epping Forest": a mini rock opera in the style of Foxtrot's "Get 'em out by Friday", with Peter assuming the roles of various characters. Hard to get into, but valuable in its ambition.

"After the Ordeal": Seems to be there to provide an epilogue to the battle in the previous song, but to me it's not a very special instrumental.

"The Cinema Show": The first half of the song is a very nice melody with myth-inspired lyrics, but it's not until the instrumental half of it kicks in that this song jumps to the status of "classic". Astounding drum work by Phil and one of the most emotional solos by Tony. And then it seamlessly segues into...

"Aisle of Plenty"... the reprise of the beginning of the first track, with lyrics filled with references to corporative Britain.

Two masterpieces in a row... what's in store for this band now? Well, a double album with a twisted story, of course!!! Bring on Rael!

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