A TRICK OF THE TAIL

A year of change was in store for Genesis in 1976. With the departure of former frontman Peter Gabriel, the band was without a lead vocalist and down to only four remaining members. After auditioning possible replacements for Peter, the band decided on using drummer Phil Collins as the new lead vocalist. Collins would continue to be the band's drummer, with former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford becoming the band's live drummer. Collins too would play drums onstage leading to a thunderous two drum attack that worked in the band's favor. A Trick of the Tail was the first album that this new lineup recorded together and it is my favorite out of their entire body of work.In my opinion, it is as essential as Foxtrot or Selling England By the Pound.

The album itself begins with the superb "Dance on a Volcano". As usual, Steve Hackett's guitar work weaves in and around the song and leaps about with Tony Banks's keyboard work. The song moves at a frantic pace with Collins's vocals keeping pace. Collins is spot on with the vocals, his voice sounding more pure and clear rather than Gabriel's gritty singing. Ending with a swirling instrumental flurry, we are led off to the quiet and dreamlike "Entangled". An acoustic number featuring no drums, Collins has the voice of an angel here, in stark contrast to the dark lyrics about mental illness. This is my favorite song off the entire album. Banks closes the song with a beautiful mellotron solo, ending this lovely, grim little tune. Another rocker, similar to "Dance on a Volcano" comes in next. "Squonk" is a pounding, bass heavy tune with lyrics telling of a tale to hunt a mythical creature known as the Squonk.

The listener is treated next to the gorgeous and lush "Mad Man Moon". Starting with the mellotron that we know and love, we are treated to a quiet ballad with more top notch vocal work from Collins. The middle of the song is filled with some triumphant instrumental work before we once again reach the beginning mellotron lines. Song number six is "Robbery, Assault, and Battery" a song about a criminal who always gets away, no matter what. Personally, this is a controversial song for me, not because of the lyrical content, but because of one little detail. To start, this is a good song, it has some fantastic drumming by Collins, jazzy bass playing by Mike Rutherford, and Banks's usual virtuoso keyboard playing. The only problem is the keyboard solo near the middle of the song. Comparing it to the version found later on the live album "Seconds Out" the solo is played much too quickly when in reality it is a fantastic little detail to the song. The live version has the solo being played slower and much more drawn out with a great contrast to the drumming. Whatever, that is my only complaint for the album.

Moving on, we hear the grandeur of "Ripples". Another acoustic based number, this song is accompanied by beautiful grand piano chords and echoing bass. One of the defining moments of the album is the middle of the song where we hear rolling piano notes and one of Hackett's most emotional guitar solos. This is the sound of the ripples becoming waves and crashing before the listener.

After this, we come up to the title track "A Trick of the Tail". This could easily have been a single release with it being the poppiest track on the entire album. Even though it sounds like it could have been an outtake on the later Duke or Abacab albums, it still has the feel of a classic Genesis song and is actually my second favorite on the album. The closer here is the incredible Los Endos. Opening with a shimmering guitar riff and galloping drums the song kicks into a heavy twisting hard rock guitar riff before kicking into reprises of the main melodies from previous songs Squonk and Dance on a Volcano. Being the only instrumental it is one explosive conclusion to the album, and if one listens closely to the end of the song, they can hear Phil Collins whisper a lyric from Supper's Ready. I won't reveal it to you, you decide what he's saying for yourself. Pick this one up. Even if you are skeptical of Collins era Genesis, this one will not disappoint you. Whether you are a jazz fusion, symphonic, or psychedelic prog fan, this has it all. Or as I said up above, you decide for yourself where this album fits, both musically and personally.