DUKE

After the departure of Peter Gabriel, Genesis debated between the progressive-symphonic rock and the each time increasing synth and keyboards pop that logically was growing with Phil Collins ahead.

Strangely, and this is another reason why music is such a magical thing, those two apparently not matchable waves came together and fitted perfectly exactly at the beginning of the golden pop decade: 1980.

Genesis put it all together as never done before and after into an album: "Duke".

An outstanding display of inspiration, great songwriting and marvelous interpretation.

And right there relays the magnificent of "Duke": although it's a conceptual album, that's not its most remarkable aspect. What makes this one an unforgettable album are the songs.

This is an incredible collection of songs forming a story of a common man called Duke that, immerse in the day by day loneliness of modern life, finds himself some kind of rendition and an easy escape or way out in T.V.'s fantasies, and falls in love with a glamor-kind actress.

The songs have their own thematic and argument, their own melody and rhythm changes without repetition ; they are individual pieces that fit perfectly and, putting them all together, give shape to the concept, the idea of the album.

In terms of songwriting this is by far the best Collin's (drums and voice) - Mike Rutherford (bass and guitar) - Tony Banks (keyboards) work ever, excluding the Peter Gabriel era of course.

From beginning to end, the songs remain with quality and beauty but also sophistication in instrumentation and arrangements.

It would be really pointless to name some of the songs because the musical level remains equal through all the record.

But it's impossible not to name the irresistible rhythm of "Turn It On Again" (by far one of the greatest and most memorable chorus on a song: "...I, I, get so lonely when she's not there!..."), the toughness and at the same time sweetness (the tempo is rough but kind because he's talking about the woman he loves) of "Duchess" with a stunning vocal interpretation by Collins, the semi-funk section of "Misunderstanding" proving their songwriting diversity, the strong "Cul-de-sac" in the artistic line of "Duchess" but with a fantastic unmatchable rhythm (this could be the definition of a perfect pop song) and the awesome ballads.

In this field this album is unreachable."Alone Tonight", "Heathaze" and "Please Don't Ask" are, simply, unbelievable. The deepness of the melodies, the impeccable instrumentation, the passionate vocal performance, the arrangements; everything is perfect.

But the most sincere advice is that this album must be listened from head to tail and therefor enjoyed in its entirely.

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