WE CAN'T DANCE

"We Can't Dance" is the fourteenth studio album of Genesis and that was released in 1991. It was the band's final studio album featuring the vocalist and drummer Phil Collins, who would leave Genesis in 1996, to focus himself on his solo musical career. It was also Genesis' first studio album in five years, following the international success of their previous studio album "Invisible Touch", in 1986. The reception of the album by the critics wasn't great, commenting that it sounds a bit too much different. However, they praised the album for returning to a less pop oriented direction.

"We Can't Dance" has twelve tracks. All songs were written by Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins. The first track "No Son Of Mine" was the first single taken from this album. Lyrically, it tells the story of a boy who runs way from his abusive home and that later return to see his violent father. Musically, is a great and remarkable song, with great feeling and clearly influenced by Phil Collins. The second track "Jesus He Knows Me" was the fourth song from the album released as a single. The lyrics are a satire of the televangelism. Musically, it's clearly a song written to be a big hit single. It's clearly the type of songs made by Phil Collins. This is a good song but it never was a favourite of mine. The third track "Driving The Last Spike" is a song whose lyrics are about the railroad workers of the 19th century who died constructing the railroads. Musically, it represents one of the best and more progressive songs on the album. It's a song with some moments with superb musical work by Banks, Rutherford and Collins. The fourth track "I Can't Dance" is the title track and was one more song chosen to be released as a single. This one was the second single from the album. This is another song influenced by the Phil Collins solo musical style and which was clearly written as a commercial pop musical exit. Despite being also a good song it hasn't anything truly new and exciting to offer. The fifth track "Never A Time" was also released as the fifth single of the album. This is another song also written to be a great big hit. It's a pop song which tune isn't particularly strong and appellative. This is a good song but that should have been recorded in the right place where it belongs, a Phil Collins' album. The sixth track "Dreaming While You Sleep" is another excellent song on the album. It's' a song with good and nice musical work by Banks, Rutherford and Collins. This is a very tasteful song to hear with some progressive lines. However, we can't really say that we are in presence of a truly progressive song. The seventh track "Tell Me Why" was another song on the album, also issued as a single. It's a light pop song with nice and catchy melody. Despite that, it's very similar to many other songs written by them in the 80's and I can't see anything really special on it. The eighth track "Living Forever" was the song released as the B side of their single "No Son Of Mine". This is another of my favourite songs on the album and other where I can see some progressive lines. It's true that we are in presence of a song with a funky tune but it has some great keyboard work by Tony Banks, in the same line and style of "Home By The Sea". The ninth track "Hold On My Heart" was the third single taken from the album. This is one more song that never should be part of a Genesis' album. It's a good song but it really belongs to a Phil Collins' solo work. The tenth track "Way Of The World" was the song chosen to be the B side of their single "Hold On My Heart". It was quite very similar to "Tell Me Why". We are in presence of more of the same. This is another pop song with the Phil Collins' mark. It's another good and nice song but without anything special on it. The eleventh track "Since I Lost You" is another mellow ballad with a pop tune and represents also one of the weakest musical points on the album. This is another song with nothing special and remarkable on it. This is a tepid song being instantly forgettable. The twelfth and last track "Fading Lights" is the lengthiest song on the album and is, in my humble opinion, the best and most progressive song on it. This is a song with a great musical atmosphere and with a truly remarkable work by all band's members. It deserves special mention the magnificent keyboard performance of Tony Banks. It's also remarkable the vocal performance of Phil Collins, one of his best. It's also excellent the use of electronic drums by him. This is a perfect way to close this last album with him, a decent farewell of a great prog artist.

Conclusion: This is somehow a different Genesis' album, when we are comparing it with all their albums from the 80's. But, this isn't, in my humble opinion, a very well balanced album too. It oscillates between two different types of songs, the more pop oriented songs, which are the majority, and some songs with some more complexity and some few progressive lines. The best songs on the album are "No Son Of Mine", "Driving The Last Spike", "Dreaming While You Sleep", "Living Forever" and "Fading Lights". The most progressive songs are "Driving The Last Spike", "Dreaming While You Sleeping" and especially the magnificent, astonishing and tremendous track "Fading Lights". I'm not truly sure that "We Can't Dance" is the best Genesis' album since the 80's, but I'm sincerely convinced that it's perhaps their less pop oriented album and that is also the album with more progressive lines. But, I'm going to rate it with 3 stars too.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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