SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND

The moment in the 'Moonlight Knight' when the mellotron voices resets the main chord change (c# minor, g# minor, A maj7) is the pinnacle of the song for me.The band is strong here,and Gabriel sings his lyrics with ballz :)

'I know what I like' is a fun song...Phil Collins once said: 'I'm playing like Ringo on this one...' :)) It's nothing special as a song,but it had the most commercial success because of it's pop kind of sound... Later,Collins developed it during his era by throwing in a tambourine solo...it kept the audience entertained

'Firth of fifth' - the top 5 Genesis song, it's so clever and so well put together... Banks' piano intro has become legendary by now :) and the way they deliver it again later with the whole playing....Genesis at their best - genius! Hackett's solo is breathtaking,it has a smart production,and it takes us back to the closing verse of the song. Collins plays his best,especially on the solo...

...But then he takes the mic :)) - 'More fool me'... It's the necessary contrast on the album.Very different then the other tracks. Collins reveals himself as a ballad singer with tender approach to his music and lyrics then Gabriel.

'The battle of Epping Forest' - nice epic, a story for itself... Gabriel already had numbers like this: Giant Hogweed,Get 'em out by Friday... in which he uses dialogues and storytelling... This one I like the best...I can really see the cavalry at the opening of the song...the lyrics are faithfully depicted in every part of the song. The song is in a funny form,but it's the result of 'respecting the lyrics'.

'After the ordeal' - I always looked this track as and intermezzo...like a instrumental track in a musical to give the actors time to change costumes :)

'The cinema show' - beautiful,storytelling,sensible,mellow,smart....this song is a gem! The guitars at the beginning reminded me on a harpsichord...It's another pastoral mood deliverd by the 12 string acoustic guitars...the song develops later,and it has a long instrumental section in which the spotlight is on Banks...

'Aisle of plenty' - is a short reprise of the first track...it's a logical closure,and while the 'main chords' are played in the fade out,Gabriel tosses prices of all kinds of food-like he's criticizing his own homeland...

One of the smartest albums of all time! Essential at minimum!

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