INVISIBLE TOUCH

A Genesis review so I might as well start with the one most proggers love to hate, Invisible Touch. With Gabriel and Hackett long gone, Genesis continues on a path more towards the middle of the musical spectrum. IT is heavy on the pop/rock and quite light on the prog. This is nothing new as this has been a decade long journey to prosperity. Some may call this selling out. Many forget when Gabriel left Genesis after 7 albums, they were financially still in the red. With Trick of the Tale and Wind and Wuthering, they prove that they are more than capable of carrying on although they are more musically oriented and the lyrics become more direct. After Hackett goes solo for good, Genesis?s sound changes again as they sorely miss his guitar. They accidentally have a hit with Follow You, Follow Me, which was a last minute addition to And Then There Were 3. Three more albums follow and a pattern has evolved where Genesis albums have ballads, mid-tempo rockers and nod or two back to their prog past. Each album has outsold the previous one, so to expect Genesis to change now was not going to happen. Invisible Touch didn't mess with the success. What IT did do was become their biggest selling album in their history. That is the history lesson and now on to the review.

IT starts with the title track, which is a light weight, catchy pop song. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight is a long 9 minute song (non prog), with a catchy chorus, and an interesting instrumental middle surrounded by pop/rock made interesting by a slow buildup of guitar and drums. Land of Confusion is a very good, political protest song which is not familiar territory but they pull it off well. In Too Deep is a ballad that was a minor hit and a forgettable song. The wheels fall off with Anything She Does, which I nominate as the worst thing this incredible band ever did. It?s an upbeat pop song that I always skip. The wheels get repaired and the car gets a paint job with the two part prog nod Domino. Clocking in at over 10 minutes and getting away from pop, this track is where old time fans may feel at ease if they can get this far. Throwing It All Away is another ballad but executed much better that ITD. The album closes with instrumental The Brazilian, which I love. Constant drum fills by Phil, build-up keys by Tony and a very nice slow cooking guitar solo by Mike help create a sinister mood and make this my favorite song on the album.

When Invisible Touch came out, a local newspaper reviewed it saying that it was an excellent album except for the two pretentious pieces of garbage, Domino and The Brazilian. They are my two favorites on this album of big production, shiny synths, electric percussion, huge hooks, and hit singles. IT is a product of its time, but not a bad as most old time Genesis fans paint it, or as good as the charts say either. I admit I had this in very heavy rotation at the time and if I reveiwed it back in the day, I would have given it a strong 4, almost 5 star rating. Time hasn't been so good to some of the tracks and now I give it a weak 4 star rating.