DEFECTOR

Steve's albums are not really consistent : brilliant, average, excellent. This is my opinion about his first three albums till "Defector".

This one holds several good tracks but the awful "Time To Get Out" is rather disappointing. If ever he left "Genesis" for their new commercial approach, I wonder where is the difference with such a poor track.

At this time of his career, I guess that Steve was looking for some directions and wasn't maybe aware of the best one to follow. "Jacuzzi" sounds as an Oldfield piece of music (but features some pleasant mellotron). If you would except the poor intro, it is not bad after all.

"Two Vamps As Guests" brings us back in the old days ("Horizons") and is a subtle piece. I guess that we have to thank him for this delicate moment. There are some fine melodies as well available on "Defector". "Hammer In The Sand" for instance. A mix of an almost classical piece with some enjoyable and aerial keyboards. Very emotional.

This album holds no true great songs. No masterpiece, for sure. Even if "The Steppes" and "Slogans" are good tracks, they don't reach the level of the great "Star Of Sirius", "Shadow Of The Hierophant" from "Voyage" or "Clocks" and "Spectral Mornings".

Instead, another poor one with "The Show" (really unbearable). On par with some poor "Genesis" production from the eighties (yes, that poor). Synthetic, repetitive. Press next to avoid this nightmare!

All songs are short formatted. As the album. Three stars is really the maximum I can rate this work but five out of ten is probably closer to my feelings. The closing "Sentimental Institution" is another very weak song.