DUKE

Suprisingly solid pop/prog effort from the 3 remaining members of Genesis. 1980 saw the beginning of Genesis' pop era, which was led blindly by Phil Collins. This album acts as the bridge between the progressive and the pop sides of Genesis. There are progressive influences in certain songs, and genuinely pop stylings put into one tight recording. Phil Collins' drum work is solid and his vocal work is among the best of his Genesis reign. Mike Rutherford plays solid bass lines and tight guitar lines. And Tony Banks holds them all together with soft and touchy synths, and mighty piano work.

Examples of their final progressive touches are the final two tracks, Duke's Travels and Duke's End, which are both mainly instrumental works, with Tony Banks harking back to his earlier works, playing a sprawling and extensive keyboard solo. Some consider this to be the final progressive song from Genesis (Domino being one of the only other ones from this era). This is the crowning achievement of the album. But for this masterpiece, the rest of the album is filled with pop sensibilities and hooks. Misunderstanding is a dreadful track, with a repetetive and boring riff, and rather dry vocals from Collins. Turn it on Again is the most adventurous pop track of the album, with a catchy riff, and some great drum and bass work.

Overall, this is where Progressive Genesis fans end their journey. In later albums, you'll find no real satisfaction. This is a very solid work, IMO. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend it to everybody. Only Genesis fans should dabble in this work. For me, I give it a 3.5/5.