DUKE

An affirmative predecessor to And Then There Were Three Duke only just fails to capture the magic of A Trick Of The Tail and Wind & Wuthering. The Pop influence has definetly began to drift in on songs like Duchess and Man Of Our Times but ultimately chart-botherer Turn It On Again still sounds ridiculously out of place. Progressive Rock still seems to be where Genesis' talents lie on Duke, pieces like Behind The Lines, with its lengthy synth opening, the short melancholic Guide Vocal (almost reminiscent of Ripples), or the largely instrumental, nine minute long, Duke's Travels coming off as the album's strongest moments. As for the more commercial sounding tracks Misunderstanding, a jaunty piano led sing-a-long, takes first prize. Some of the songs, the epic ballad Heathaze primarily, are a little too forgettable to be considered excellent although there is nothing terrible here. Perhaps more Art Rock than Prog Duke can be described as the last truly great Genesis studio album.