DUKE

This was my brother's favorite Genesis album, so I rode on his enthusiasm into the concert to see this tour. The album is good, just not as great, as intricately detailed and full of quirky/unexpected moments as 70s Genesis.

It starts off fairly promising with 1. "Behind the Lines" (5:30) (7/10)and the powerful drum play of Phil. It's kind of like a Broadway overture in that it introduces several of the themes from later songs. (BTW: in case you didn't know, this is a concept album.) But when things calm down for vocals all of the power comes apart and the new "pop" Genesis rears its head.

2. "Duchess" (6:25) (9/10) is definitely one of the highlights of the album for me with its (then) experimental electronic percussion leading into the album's best vocal section. It all kind of goes down hill from there.

4. "Man of our Times" (5:36) (6/10) has some incredible chord structures from Tony Banks but that's about it.

5. "Misunderstanding" (3:15) (8/10) I have to admit is a rather catchy pop tune.

6. "Heathaze" (5:01) (8/10) gives us Phil's singing at his best: tender delicate singing--and nicely accompanied by Tony's electric piano.

7. "Turn It On Again" (3:44) (8/10) is yet another nice pop tune--and a concert favorite. The following four songs are throw-aways, but the final two, the (mostly) instrumental

11. "Duke's Travels" (8:39) (9/10) and 12. "Duke's End" (2:07) (9/10) are quite nice.

The overall effect of the 55 minute album definitely makes me feel like I just listened to the recording of a Broadway show. The music is okay--though I find the mix of the tracks a bit quiet and muddy. Phil's singing keeps getting more confident and central to the music and his drumming is still outstanding but the movement towards a pop audience has become apparent. A good album that stands up fairly well over time but it is not consistent with its quality, shows a definite decline in the complexity of the music, and lacks as many high points as four star albums.