NURSERY CRYME

One of the all time classic albums. It may not have an alltime masterpiece song such as Supper's Ready from Foxtrot or Firth of Fifth from Selling England by the Pound, but the Fountain of Salmacis is pretty close, and there is not a weak song on the album. You start with a great song with the Musical Box, followed by the interlude of For Absent Friends into the darkly, humorous Return of the Giant Hogweed. Side 2 starts out with Seven Stones, IMHO a truly under appreciated song, that doesn't get near the credit it deserves. More humor with Harold the Barrel, and then another under appreciated song in Harlequin. However, the masterpiece of the album is the aforementioned Fountain of Salacis. This is the first classic line up Genesis album, with Phil Collins on drums and Steve Hackett replacing Ant Phillips on guitar. While Ant was a great musician, and Genesis' s previous album Trespass was a very good album, it was the addition of Hackett that turned Genesis into the greatest band of all times. Genesis survived the loss of Peter Gabriel, and still turned out a couple of great albums after his departure with Trick of the Tale and Wind and Wuthering, but Genesis IMHO did not survive as a great progressive rock band with the departure of Hackett. The interplay between Hackett and Tony Bank's keyboards on this and their subsequent albums together have never been surpassed. This, along with the subsequent Foxtrot and Selling England by the Pound are absolute requirements for any prog collection.