FOXTROT

As I wrote before, in some other reviews, Genesis was my first love, and still is. In my humble opinion, Genesis is with Pink Floyd and Yes, the three best progressive bands who ever existed, and they are also the most influential groups in the universe of the progressive rock music.

'Foxtrot' is the fourth studio album of Genesis and was released in 1972. For me, it's the second best album from the band, after their fifth studio album 'Selling England By The Pound' released in 1973. 'Foxtrot' belongs to the golden musical era of the group, which started with their third studio album 'Nursery Crime' released in 1971, continued with 'Foxtrot' and 'Selling England By The Pound' and ended with their sixth studio album 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' released in 1974. These four studio albums are the only ones that have the best line up of the group, which are, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins.

'Foxtrot' was the band's album, which quickly reached the big moment in the musical career of the group. It was the first album from the band to enter to the UK Top 20, reaching the 12th position, and this was only the starting point of a long and very successful chart career of Genesis. The album also reached the 8th position in the Italian charts and Italy has become a country with a big Genesis fan base. 'Foxtrot' represents the turning point in Genesis history. It became the album that finally solidified their musical career and reputation as great songwriters and performers.

The line up on the album is Peter Gabriel (lead vocals, flute, oboe, bass drum and tambourine), Steve Hackett (electric guitar and 6 and 12 string guitars), Tony Banks (backing vocals, organ, acoustic and electric pianos, mellotron and 12 string guitar), Mike Rutherford (backing vocals, bass guitar, bass pedals, cello and 12 string guitar) and Phil Collins (backing vocals, drums and percussion).

The cover artwork for the album was created by the London based magazine Time Out. It has happened before, with the art covers of their two previous studio albums, 'Trespass' and 'Nursery Crime'.

'Foxtrot' has six tracks. All the tracks were written by all band members. The first track 'Watcher Of The Skies' is one of the most popular and beloved songs by their fans, and one of the most played live by the band. Even Hackett, plays often this song on his live concerts. This is a great opener to the album and gives a very sense of majesty and power, to the beginning of the album. The second track 'Time Table' is a very beautiful and graceful song, which brings calm, after the great intensity of 'Watcher Of The Skies'. It's a song about the medieval times, with a catchy tune, a nice piano intro and fairly intense chorus. The third track 'Get'Em Out By Friday' is a very good song, in the form of a mini rock opera, with great musicality and singing, showing Gabriel's amazing vocals versatility and the fantastic skills of Banks on the keyboards. The fourth track 'Can- Utility And The Coastliners' is another song with very beautiful vocals by Gabriel, and a great finale by Banks and Hackett, which makes the song very dramatic and melodic. It has some lovely bass pedals and mellotron musical sections, and it also features one of the few guitar solos on the album. The fifth track 'Horizons' is the smallest track on the album. It starts with the central idea of a track made in the baroque style, and is a typical Hackett's classical guitar track. It's absolutely superb. This piece is influenced by the central idea of the 'Prelude Of The First Cello Suite' by the baroque composer J. S. Bach, of whom Hackett is a great fan. The sixth track 'Supper's Ready' is divided into seven parts: 'Lover's Leap', 'The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man', 'Ikhnaton And Itsacon And Their Band Of Merry Men', 'How Dare I Be So Beautiful?', 'Willow Farm', 'Apocalypse In 9/8 (co-Starring The Delicious Talents Of Gabble Ratchet)' and 'As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)'. It's the lengthiest track on the album, it's probably the most known and beloved song by the fans, and is also their most progressive track. This is a great track, full of amazing musicianship and lyrics, and is one of the most representatives of the progressive music. It stands as a true testament to how unique and creative Genesis was during the early 70's.

Conclusion: 'Foxtrot' is, in my humble opinion, a much more mature album than their preceding work, 'Nursery Crime' and is less balanced than 'Selling England By The Pound' is, which is by far, my favourite Genesis album. Some of us may say that Genesis made more significant albums than 'Foxtrot' like 'Selling England By The Pound' and 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway', but 'Foxtrot' was basically the reason why Gabriel started dressing up on stage, in strange masks and costumes. By the other hand, 'Foxtrot' is the album that contains one of the songs that people still talk about with a certain reverence and which inspired many other bands to write long suites, even today.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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