DUKE

I've always viewed Duke as the last "acceptable" Genesis album before the pop sound completely overwhelmed them. Like their previous work, ...And Then There Were Three, Duke sees a mix of prog and pop tunes, with perhaps the latter being more dominant.

The prog in this album is mostly concentrated in the Duke Suite. which is a collection of pop songs with a strong progressive flavor (or is it the other way around?) The opening 'Behind the Lines' is classic symphonic Genesis tune with a great repeating motif. 'Duchess' 'Guide Vocal' are probably the only weak points of the suite. 'Turn It On Again' is one of the band's more commercially successful songs despite having some odd time signature changes, including the alternating 6/4 and 7/4 of the verses. The suite wraps up with the great 'Duke's Travels' and 'Duke's End' which further showcase Bank's melodic and technical prowess on the keyboard.

Unfortunately the rest of the songs aren't nearly up to par, and are mostly simple pop, though 'Misunderstanding' is rather catchy in parts.

Overall, I would say this is a stronger effort than ...And Then There Were Three, if only for the majestic Duke Suite. Unfortunately, after this album they will completely eliminate the prog influence that made them so great.

4/10