A TRICK OF THE TAIL

I bought this album when it first came out, but never owned it on CD until recently, so the time has come to re-assess this album.

I remember on first hearing that Phil Collins sounded very much like Gabriel, but on reflection this was probably because I was more familiar with Phil's voice than I realised, as he had sung on a number of previous Genesis tracks.

"Dance On A Volcano" is probably the most prog track on the album, being 7 beats to the bar. Nice guitar riff with keyboard harmony and great instrumental ending.

"Entangled" is possibly my favourite track and is a lovely acoustic song with excellent harmony vocals on the chorus. The song ends with a keyboard & mellotron workout which builds up to a dramatic climax.

"Squonk" was rumoured to be about Peter Gabriel when the album first appeared, but is actually about a mythical creature which had already featured in a Steely Dan song (look up Squonk in Wikepedia). A good guitar-driven number.

"Mad Man Moon" is a Tony Banks song, similar in construction to "One From The Vine" on this album's successor. As with this song, it has an excellent instrumental middle section.

"Robbery, Assault and Battery" is probably the weakest song here, being a "comedy" number in a similar vein to "All in a mouse's night". Only partially redeemed by a good ending.

"Ripples" is another beautiful, mainly acoustic, number about women losing their beauty as they get older. Hackett shines on this one with a great (backwards?) guitar solo.

The title track is reminiscent of Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles with its staccato piano and psychedelic ending.

"Los Endos" finishes the album off in style, being basically a Brazilian-style resume of parts of "Dance On A Volcano" and "Squonk". This song is even better on Seconds Out.

Overall, an excellent 4 star album which proved Genesis could survive without Mr Gabriel. With hindsight, there are signs of the later, more pop-orientated band but things only really went downhill when Hackett left.