FOXTROT

This album has been called everything from the greatest progressive recording ever to the most overrated. It has also been compared to God and to Dream Theater, and everything in between. Although what has needed to be said about this piece has most likely already been said, I hope I can interest you with my own personal vision on this album.

To be blunt, straight up, in your face, and most importantly to tell it like it is, I can start by saying that this is easily not the best thing in the Genesis archives. The big plus to Foxtrot is that it is incredibly consistent, with none of Phil Collins's vocal experimentations. The downside is, ironically enough, the fact that it is almost too consistent sounding. Scratch out "Supper's Ready" and then you can analyze and tell that all of the songs are very similar sounding, and they all contain an almost illegal amount of mellotron.

"Watcher Of The Skies" opens up the album, and I feel that it really does serve it's purpose here. As the album opener, and nothing more. The intro to the song is a nice intro to the whole album, in which it builds slowly in speed and tempo, and the musicians join in one at a time until the eventual climax. "Time Table" is next in line, and the ballad that everyone raves about. Not so great, but it gets the job done as a nice and short, however cliché and non-prog, ballad. The rowdy and exploding, yet melodic and atmospheric, "Get 'Em Out By Friday" is Peter Gabriel's ode to the government and corporation pigs that go for the cash and nothing more. As you may have guessed from my previous statements, it alternated between some ballad-ish flutes and some bombastic guitars. One of the best 8 minutes Genesis has ever given us! "Can-Utility and The Coastliners" just screams overrated to me. It tells the tale of an almost God- like king who wished to regress the sea, and if that isn't the cheesiest thing I have ever somebody pinch me. Everybody and their brother has a song along these lines. The music is okay, but still nothing spectacular. And now what is left to be said about the album's epic, "Supper's Ready"? Not much, as it has all been covered sixty times over, but here goes. It's half and half to me. A lot of excellent parts, but you have to wade through the bad parts to get there, almost overdosing on mellotron on the way there. I honestly think it's not worth the listen if you aren't into keyboard driven musical atmospheres.

The best word to sum it all up? There is none. It certainly is an excellent album standing alone, but when it is looked at in comparison to the amazing catalogue it comes from, mediocrity is a perfect fit for this album. The one thing that may strike big with a lot of people is that every song on here is a different gear. Ballads, epics, everything but the kitchen sink. They sound relatively the same, but it all comes with the territory.

3 stars, buy some other early Genesis first!