FOXTROT

OK, so none of my levels fully apply, so I'm going to say 1.5. I've never heard the whole album, but I know most of it quite well. I know Watcher of the Skies, Can-Utility & the Coastliners, and Supper's Ready very well. I think I've heard Get 'Em Out by Friday, but I'm not certain. So that leaves Time Table and Horizons as unknowns to me. The three that I know well, I REALLY love. So let me hear it in its entirety finally.

Track 1 - Watcher of the Skies

I consider this to be 100% quintessential classic Genesis. A great album opener! Gotta love the mellotron at the beginning. A brief aside?It has been noted that they bought this mellotron from King Crimson, so a historic instrument, indeed. At around 1:50 the rest of the band starts playing a staccato rhythm that eventually takes over the mellotron. At 2:19, Gabriel joins in on vocals over the rhythm. The second verse is a bit quieter than the first. An instrumental section follows, then another louder verse in harmony with Phil. Then another solo verse. I love the different dynamic levels. Rutherford is killing it on the bass! Every verse is slightly different from the last. There is a nice instrumental break around 6:25. Phil plays some great drum fills. And then the big finish. Great song!

Track 2 - Time Table

This one begins with a piano part from Tony. It is much more laid back than the opener. The vocals and the rhythm section are more relaxed here, at least for the first minute, as things pick up a bit, before easing back down. So far, I think it's a good song, but not a great one. It's got a moderate tempo. The flute that joins in to the verse at around 2:50 is a nice touch. It has a bit of the flavor of a modern classical art song. Pretty good.

Track 3 - Get 'Em Out by Friday

I like the intro on this one, then the changes of rhythm. I love the rhythm at the start of the vocals. This is cool prog. Lots of interesting changes. I love the quirkiness of this one. At around 4 minutes, Steve Hackett takes a guitar solo, followed by an organ feature. The dynamic levels drop severely at 4:45. I think Phil sings some lead lines around 6:30. Nice big sound on the finish. I need to listen to this one more often as it's a great one!

Track 4 - Can Utility and the Coastliners

I know this one quite well. Another bit of classic Genesis. I love the 12-string guitar at the beginning and Gabriel's vocal range is on display here. The instrumentalists are so good at weaving melody lines in and out of each other. I love the syncopated rhythm that begins around 1:50. Mellotron returns in this instrumental break. It feels like it's in an odd meter, but I think it's actually in 4. Gabriel returns with vocals and the dynamic level begins to build. I love the organ part at around 4:10. Another vocal part happens around 5 minutes. The ending seems like it was on the verge of losing control, but it never did! Brillant song!

Track 5 - Horizons

OK, I have heard Hackett play this, of all things, on a documentary about the short-lived band he had with Steve Howe in the mid 80's, GTR. I saw them on the tour that they did, and Howe & Hackett opened the show by taking turns playing solo acoustic pieces, so I bet I heard it live but didn't know enough about Hackett to know what I was hearing at the time. When I heard him play it, I thought he was playing Bach.

Track 6 - Supper's Ready

Here comes the BIG DADDY of all Genesis songs. At 23 minutes long it is the longest song Genesis ever recorded. And what a song it is. It's an epic suite in seven sections, as follows:

a. "Lover's Leap" (Banks, Gabriel, Hackett)

b. "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man" (Banks, Gabriel)

c. "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men" (Rutherford, Gabriel)

d. "How Dare I Be So Beautiful?" (Banks, Gabriel)

e. "Willow Farm" (Gabriel)

f. "Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)" (Banks, Rutherford, Gabriel, Collins, Hackett)

g. "As Sure as Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)" (Banks, Gabriel)

For a full description of what's happening, see the Wikipedia page about the song.

Gabriel starts singing right from the get-go along with arpeggiated clean guitars. I love the melody he spins. The second verse has harmonies in falsetto. Things begin to transition to a new part at around 2 minutes. I like Banks' understated keyboard solo in this section. Vocals return at around 3:50. Things begin to crescendo around 4:15 and the rhythm changes. The rhythm abruptly stops at 5:28. There are sustained notes on keyboards, and faint sounds of children playing. Then Gabriel plays the melody on his flute. Then there are some more rhythmic vocal lines leading to a much more energetic part at around 6:33 on the words "Waiting for Battle!" Hackett takes a solo around 7:30. At just after 8 minutes we find Mr. Hackett playing right-hand tapping lines a full 6 years before Eddie Van Halen got all the credit for it, and Hackett has it in harmonies, no less! I love how Banks then plays the lines on an organ in the next section as the vocals return. Then the dynamic level drops to almost nothing at around 9:35. Gabriel comes in very quietly at around 9:50. I love the line about Narcissus being turned into a flower, echoed by a spoken "a flower?" at 11:00. Then the Rhythm returns as a sort of swing/dance part. There is a reference to the Musical Box from the previous album Nursery Cryme. Great wordplay from Gabriel with humorous bits from Phil Collins thrown in. A whistle blows at just before 12:30, and then we get a quicker tempo, driven by eighth note rhythms on the piano. Gabriel and Collins trade vocals in fun ways here. But at 13 minutes, the swing beat returns. Things go quiet again at around 13:40. A melody begins to emerge at around 14:30 or so with very quiet flute parts. We have a crescendo into a new rhythmic part at around 15:35. This is the beginning of the section known as Apocalypse in 9-8. Banks plays fantastic organ lines over Collins' complex drum parts, while Rutherford keeps it grounded on the bass. Killer drum fill at 18:30-ish. Vocals return at 18:50 with "666 is no longer alone!" Great rhythm under mellotron lines at around 19:40. I love the tubular bells at 20:00 as the final section begins with lyrics that harken back to the beginning of the song. Hackett plays a nice lead countermelody over the vocals. Gabriel's voice is ragged by the end of the song, in the best way, as though he did the whole song in one take. Hackett has great harmonized guitar lines, and there is even a British siren effect as the song reaches conclusion. This is a Genesis masterpiece.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

A phenomenal album! The only song that didn't quite live up to the others is Time Table, and it isn't bad. Watcher of the Skies and Supper's ready are incredible bookends for the album. This album definitely deserves its top 10 ranking in the poll. I'll give it 5 out of 5 stars!

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