WE CAN'T DANCE

After Invisible Touch, the general consenus amongst proggies was that Genesis could go no lower. Well, the band picked up the gauntlet and reunited to make this companion piece. They don't succeed in making it as bad as the last album, but this is still an awful album. Phil Collins took a break from his lucrative solo career in which he practically invented adult contemporary, much to the chagrin of music fans. He sold millions based on hits like "Su-s-sudio," an song that made me want to sl-s-slit my wrists. He also used a drum machine, which makes perfect sense for a former drummer. However, I guess the allure of Genesis millions spurred him away from his solo millions and he brought Tony and Mike back to beat the dead horse one last time.

Once again, no song is overtly enjoyable. Now the band added two long songs to try to fool the faithful into purchasing. "Driving the Last Spike" should be titled "Driving the Last Nail" because the band seals its coffin with this release. The lyrics here are suprisingly good for this stage in the band's career, but the music ruins the message. Fading Lights is beautiful in tone, but it's useless. These two "epics" pass like kidney stones. The rest of the songs mercifully pass quickly. The only redeeming quality is that Tony Banks decided to stop playing second fiddle to Collins and asserted some of his prior glory, though it doesn't match up to his classic keyboard work.

Here is the problem with not only this album but all of Genesis' later works: they write awful pop. Pop istelf is not bad. The Beatles were pop, and they are the greatest band in history. The problem here is that the songs lack focus or even catchiness. This album, along with Invisible Touch, show the final ragged breaths of a once mighty beast. This is a pitiful excuse for a swan song, but the recent reunion between Collins, Rutherford, and Banks promises to craft an album equally worthy of hate.

Grade: F (+)?