THREE FRIENDS

Well, this album has always been a sore spot for me in GGs other wise flawless streak of albums from ATT to Interview (maybe Interview was a tad weaker, but still good to me!) To put it straight, it just seem like they tried to take to much of symphonic approach instead of the madcap GGness that I normally love. Prologue sounds like it would be at home on an ELP album. Schooldays is the highpoint of the album and also one of my favorite GG songs. Working All Day seems like a fairly straight-forward rocker with little to distinguish it as GG work. Peel the Paint is the other high water mater mark, with some really excellent guitar work as others have mentioned. The last two tracks blend together both literally and figuratively in their bland Yes and Genesis cloned sound. Overall, I was a bit disappointed. 3 stars, only this high because of Schooldays and Peel the Paint, which are essential GG songs.

Edit: In retrospect I have since changed my mind. I actually enjoy this album now, quite a lot. There's a certain subtlety to it that can only be appreciated with repeated exposure. Plus, I really enjoy the concept as well. I'd waffle no between 4 and 4.5 stars, but for this review, I will change it to 4.