ABACAB

This album is the demarcation between the end of the early post-Gabriel Genesis sound, heavy on mellotron and with lots of acoustic instrumentation, and the beginning of the 80's funky, poppy, harder-edged electric sound. Collins' voice becomes harder to match the music. Unfortunately, the approach to this sound is blase almost throughout. I hated No Reply at All initially -- couldn't get past the horns -- but now I regard it as one of the better tracks. At least it moves! Mike's quirky, funky bass line is amazingly difficult to play -- Mike Gordon of Phish didn't even try when the band covered this song during their Hall of Fame presentation of Genesis' induction. Abacab and Dodo are also worthwhile listens; Abacab especially with it's expressive guitar solo over the most minimalist bassline ever (one note repeated over and over!) and accented by funky, almost as minimalist keyboard chord patterns. The rest of it is boring (Man on the Corner) or cringeworthy (Who Dunnit), sometimes both in the same song (Keep It Dark). In my opinion this may be the worst album of the Phil Collins era, with only Invisible Touch as a rival.