SMALLCREEP'S DAY

I'm everything but a Genesis fan so it may seem strange that I like this one very much. If it wasn't for the vocals one could easily think that it's Genesis, but it's probably the absence of Phil Collins that makes it very appealing to me.

Of course I like the B side more than the A (I have it on vimyl, of course). The A side is just question of some disconnected songs, some of them nice, but none is a masterpiece.

"Moonshine" is a song that makes clear that this is a sort of lost Genesis album on which Noel McCalla sings midway between Gabriel and Collins. I like his voice, anyway. I think it's one of the best things of the album, really an added value. The song itself is good but non- essential, better in the slow chorus than in the uptime parts.

"Time and Time Again" is a sweet pop song in Collins' style, but also here McCalla transforms an average pop song into something special.

"Romani" is the song that I like less. After a symphonic intro it turns to be a missing Peter Gabriel's song. Not a bad song but it's only Genesis of the 80s.

"Every Road" is a missing Phil Collins song, instead. A sort of follow-up to Time and Time Again. Is it possible that Maike Rutherford is not able to make something "personal"? Just wait for the B side. By now this is another poppy sweet song with good vocals and the acoustic guitar reminiding more of Anthony Phillips than of Steve Hackett.

If I like less Romani, I'm used to skip "Overnight Job", so I suspect that a true Genesis fan would like it. Also this song is improved by the vocals, anyway.

Now the suite. It could have been a full concept album and it's a pity that Mike Rutherford has limited his effort to 20 minutes. An extended version of this epic to cover both the sides would have make of this album a masterpiece. The seven parts of it are strictly connected, the story is consistent and moving. It has good lyrics, too and make the A side appear like a collection of fillers. I remember myself listening to it for the first time on tape and playing continuosly the second half of the suite before going to purchase the album. "At The End Of The Day" deserves a remark, but all the suite can be intended as a single long song. Surely Marillion have been influenced by it when they composed Misplaced Childhood. 30 years after is still an album that I like to listen and I find that it's not so dependent by the time of release like other albums from the 80s are. It's full of the typical Genesis sound, not of the boring 80s fairlights and even if I usually don't like Genesis much, this is an album I would never get rid of.

The A side is a 3-stars collection of songs, the B side is a masterpiece so 4-stars.