DUKE

Duke is actually an improvement over the band's previous release and is for the most part, one of their most underrated releases. And Then There Were Three showed a rather sudden transition to shorter format songs. Duke follows this pattern, but at the same time hearkens back to their Wind and Wuthering period with pieces like Duke's Travels, Cul-de-Sac, and Behind the Lines. So it's sort of a hybrid of the new and old of Genesis.

There is slightly more radio-friendly fodder too, including Misunderstanding, Turn It On Again, Alone Tonight and Please Don't Ask. Lyrical subject matter is still interesting except for the aforementioned four songs.

Another interesting addition to the band's repertoire is the use of a drum machine on Duchess. One has to wonder why a band with one of the best prog/jazz drummers out there needs to resort to this. But when you give this song a listen, they make really good use of the drum machine as it plays more of a background role. Due to this experiment's success, the band would use the machine more often in the next few albums.

Overall, slightly better than And Then There Were Three, but far from reaching their former apex of works from the mid-1970s. Four stars seems quite deserving, making this an excellent addition to your symphonic prog collection.