FOXTROT

GENESIS-FOXTROT ***** Genesis their fourth record is one of those legendary Seventies albums the whole progressive rock scene is build on. My fellow reviewers have written so much about it that I would like to focus on "Supper's ready" in order to express my musical appetite and, very important, my emotions! In "Lover leap" (part 1) Peter Gabriel starts to sing "Walking across the sitting-room, I turn the television off ... ", accompanied by beautiful interplay from the twanging 6 - and 12-string acoustic guitars, played by Mke Rutherford, Steve Hackett and Tony Banks. In "The guaranteed eternal sanctuary man" (part 2) the climate becomes dramatic featuring a powerful organ sound, a howling electric guitar and strong vocals: "He's the guaranteed eternal sanctuary man. Look, look into my mouth he cries". In "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and their band of merry men" (part 3) bombastic organ, agressive guitar, sparkling flute and emotional vocals colours a very compelling climate. In the end Peter Gabriel sings "Today's a day to celebrate, the foe have met their fate. The order for rejoicing and dancing has come from our warlord". The contrast between his cheerful vocals and the gruesome lyrics is obvious, it gives the music a captivating, cynical overtone. In "How dare I be so beautiful?" (part 4) the music is build upon Tony his soaring, slightly psychedelic organ and Peter's almost whispering voice. It evokes a kind of 'silence before the storm'. Peter sings "We watch in reverence, as Narcissus is turned to a flower." Then a short silence to continue with the famous question "A flower?". In "Willow farm" (part 5) the music sounds ebullient and Peter continues his singing with "If you go down to a willow farm, to look for butterflies, flutterboys, gutterflies .. " (splendid 'Newspeak' from the creative Peter Gabriel!). This part features many exciting musical ideas and a pumping Rickenbacker double-neck bass guitar by Mike Rutherford. In the end the climate turns into mellow with Peter's delicate flute-play and lush twanging acoustic guitars. In "Apocalypse in 9/8 (part 6) there's a sudden change of atmosphere: menacing with a propulsive rhythm and powerful, dramatic vocals (the legendary words "With the guards of Magog, swarming around ..."). After "You'd better not compromise. It won't be easy" Tony Banks starts his famous organ solo that starts classical and gradually turns into psychedelic, MINDBLOWING!! Then Peter sings "Six, six, six .. " (the Anti- Christ!) and soon majestic Mellotron waves can be heard after "In blood, he's writing the lyrics of a brand new tune" and "And it's .. . hey, babe, with your guardian eyes so blue ..", what a compelling blend of music and lyrics! In "As sure as eggs is eggs (aching men's feet)" (part 7) there's a flowing continuation from part 6 and contains the grand finale with a howling electric guitar and powerful organ. In the end he sings "This is the supper of the mighty one. Lord of Lords, King of Kings, has returned to lead his children home, to take them to the new Jerusalem" (this is a metaphore for the victory from Good over Evil) and the music fades away.

IN MY OPINION THIS IS 'THE EPIC OF ALL EPICS'!

This review is dedicated to the Canadian Genesis-imitation band The Musical Box. I would like to thank them on behalf of many Dutch progheads for visiting The Netherlands and making dreams come true by performing an exact copie of the "Selling .. " and "The lamb .." tour. IT WAS OVERWHELMING!!