NURSERY CRYME

Although most Genesis fans like to put The Lamb or Foxtrot as their second best album, I like to put this down as my second favorite album from Genesis. Something about Nursery Cryme sticks out more and makes it better than the previous two I mentioned. Maybe it's the heaviness of the music, something that appeals to me, a big metal fan. Maybe it's because it has the most rock in it than any other album. Or it could be Steve Hackett, with his innovative double-tapping techniques and unusually sounding guitar (at the time) that is filled with distortion. What the hell am I saying, it's all of these qualities! Every song on here is great (even Harold the Barrel!), and the fact that they made this in 1971 is amazing in itself. It sounds so ahead of its time. Honestly, was anybody close to doing songs in the early seventies that were about the human race dying out from a plant? Okay, maybe Black Sabbath came close, but even they couldn't stand up to the virtuosity of each Genesis band member. The ending of Return of the Giant Hogweed is probably the heaviest material they've ever done, with the distorted guitar and the mellotron (I presume) hitting low, heavy sounding chords. After listening to that, I wouldn't be surprised if someone said this album is heavy metal. They would make an even better case by pointing to the Musical Box and the Fountain of Salmacis. Even the lighter songs on this album are great. I enjoyed For Absent Friends and I thought Harlequin was pleasant, too. Seven Stones had a great mellotron opening, and the rest of the song is also great, too. Harold the Barrel may seem stupid to some people, but I even enjoyed that tune, and I thought it was very catchy. Overall, this is their second best album, with Return of the Giant Hogweed being the best song IMO and Harold the Barrel being the weakest song (but it is still a great song). If you are a very big metal fan, you would like this album, even if you didn't like other Genesis material. However, this should also be recommended for every single prog fan in the universe and for people who would like to expand their musical horizons.