DUKE

This album...what should I say? The last album to feature their epic sweep slightly or just a bad attempt at Supertramp? The latter. Now I understand that Phil Collins had gone through a painful divorce. I also understand that a lot of his heart and soul went into the songs and the lyrics he wrote. That probably why I hate it. I hate his heart and I hate his soul. Turn It On Again is a nice little pop song in 13/8 I suppose...but the rest feels grotesque...I just kindof hate him and this album reminds me of Face Value. I also hate some of the keyboard sounds so much... But Mike Rutherford plays bass and guitar very well...the riff to Turn It On is quite great and I suppose from a technical point of view some of what Collins sings is good..but it just feels very floppy: "It's driving me mad, just another way of passing the day" and I'm generally just given a picture of a sad old bald drummer watching his television and gawking at some women he fancies. Misunderstanding might also be the worst attempt at a pop single I've ever heard...his pain was real but his talent clearly wasn't.

Dammit this isn't really a prog album lets face it...its just one of those AOR albums made for US radio that have those horrible lubly jubly textures....

I might one day buy it though as I view the 13/8 single as slightly a guilty pleasure...and just to say I have all of their albums... but I'd never listen to it.