’Duke’ By Genesis

I think all the albums up to and including Genesis had at least something to recommend them. And I think Duke is the best of their trio albums by a pretty wide margin. ATTW3 shows a band floundering, clearly burned out on the old style of music they had been making (the overlong and repetitious “Burning Rope” the best/worst example) and unsure on where to go from there. It just sounds like a mishmash of styles, like an pverproduced demo tape. It has its moments, but doesn't hold together well as a proper album.

Duke on the other hand is a solid album. Yes, it’s more song-oriented, but what songs! I’d say the sappy love ballads (“Please Don’t Ask” and “Alone Again”) are the only throwaways, the rest of the album is first-rate. More of a stripped-down and “modern” feel, but there’s still just enough prog/fusion influence to keep my interest through to the end.