WIND & WUTHERING

I've written this review not to heap praise on this fine album; I'm just chiming in to put in my two cents in defense of a cut that so many have damned: Your Own Special Way. Not only does it mesh with the rest of the album, it's simply classic Genesis. The Rutherford/Hackett trademark 12-string sound on the intro, Phil's plaintive vocals (his best on the album, along with the classic closing track), Banks keys remain' atmospheric and avoid bombast (which overwhelms the folksy Genesis sound far too often for my taste), - it's a fantastic Genesis love song (C'mon, if More Fool Me were taken off the Selling album and placed on Wind, wouldn't there still be the same backlash?).

If there's one track that is out of place, it's the Wot Gorilla? jam that follow YOSW, which starts out great and then we're bombarded with a blast of Banks....if they'd have avoided featuring his synths in the mix, the album (and particularly the Gorilla? track) would have been a whack more interesting (maybe we could actually HEAR Hackett....buried in the mix as usual, though the remasters help). A great idea and, at times, a groovy listen, but it's typical of the Banks whitewash of a potentially fab Genesis track.

Yeah, YOSW was a forewarning of the future Genesis modus operendi....yeah, it IS a bit melodramatic (not quite sappy, but close), but it certainly fits the vibe of the entire album....yeah, Phil's sings in that same voice that just wouldn't go away in the 80s, but it fits in so well with the whole album that none of that matters....even those background "aaaaaahs" sound great.

Oh, almost forgot, WandW is my fave post-Peter record (Trick was just a little too bouncy) and is a must for any Genesis fan. Listen carefully for Hackett - he's all over this record in the most refined, understated way. Again, the remaster is the disc to seek.... for me, it was like hearing the record for the first time. Damn those old Atco cassettes!

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