ABACAB

Another very good album from the three remaining Genesis members, Tony BANKS, Mike RUTHERFORD and Phil COLLINS. This one a shorter collection of totally unrelated songs (as opposed to the band's previous effort, the Broadway musical, Duke). I liked this album pretty well, and even went to see the band on their American tour supporting it.

Welcome to the new world: thanks to Phil's work on Peter Gabriel's third eponymous album, we have THE GATED DRUM! (Which I hate. But history is history.) The songs of ABACAB seem much simpler. (More use of the A-B-A-C-A-B song form.) The band uses much less complex chord structures and much less subtleties or surprises within these songs than previous albums.

Favorite songs: "Dodo/Lurker" (7:32) (8/10); "ABACAB" (6:58) (8/10); "Man on the Corner" (4:27) (7/10) (perhaps my favorite theatric Phil Collins vocal of all-time--he really hits it hard and powerfully, even if it is a bit over the top), and the chorus of "Keep It Dark" (4:32) (7/10)

I don't like the three-chord rock, the use of pseudo-Reggae rhythms/riffs, the use of Phil's friends' horns, and, of course, the gated drums. Otherwise this is an okay record.