After the magificence of 'Selling Englad by the Pound', with its perfect conceptual conceit, GENESIS fell apart while making this ill-advised, sprawling effort. Not content with charting the demise of the British Empire, here the group went on to explote death, eternity, well everything. And they simply were not up to the task.

Part of the problem was the way it was put together. Usually PETER GABRIEL'S worst excesses were hidden by the band, but here they are obvious. This is what you get if you let the man do what he wants, ubfettered by group control. Fortunately for us all, he realised this himself and never tried anthing like this in his solo career. If this album is the triumph others claim, why did he not do something similar again?

And all this after such a promising start. The first two tracks are wonderful: the mellotron moment in 'Fly on a Windshield' and the following commentary is superb. But although what follows makes an interesting collection of good and atrocious ('The Cage', 'Carpet Crawlers' good, 'Back in NYC', the whole second disc atrocious), it simply does not come together as a concept. And I so wanted it to. I still do, 30 years later. If someone could unlock the secret of this album I'd be grateful. (Send me a message from my website at www.russellkirkpatrick.com ...)

And that second disc! Oh dear. It's not their best work musically; GENESIS' most die-hard fans don't claim it is. So it stands or falls on the clarity and power of its concept. And, ladies and gentlement, it falls. Come on, what are we really learning about ourselves here? How can we empathise with the central character? Isn't this just a 'Hogweed' or 'Salamacis'-like romp through classical myth? Out of control. Needs pruning. Needs focus.

Borrow this album and give it a listen. That way you'll save yourself some cash. Harsh? Yes. But this miss sits in the midst of a collection of genre-defining hits, and so its flaws stand out all the brighter.