DUKE

After "...And Then There Were Three...," Genesis come back in full force to produce this very solid album. People may be put off by the fact that this album produce a couple of hits (e.g. "Turn It On Again" and "Misunderstanding"). This album is an improvement over "...And Then..." The album flows together much better. On the previous, album there were a lot of good songs and ideas, but they weren't all executed very well, much like Yes's "Tormato."

This album has a lot of really outstanding tracks, namely the last two, "Duke's Travels/Ends." The live version on the Archives Vol. 2 set is worth checking out as well. All the tracks here, for the most part, segue into one another. Most other reviewers seem to not too keen on the first track, "Behind the LInes," but I think it is one of the best on the album, and certainly a very fitting opening. Other good tracks include "Duchess" and "Man of Our Times."

The rest of the songs are either just ok by me or not so good and too commercial. The obvious stabs at mainstream pop make this album less noteworthy. It's not that these tracks are particularly awful, they're just nowhere near as good as "Dance on a Volcano," for example. I even think some of the tracks on "Abacab" appeal to me more than those like "Alone Tonight" or "Misunderstanding."

This album is just good by my standards, but still better than the previous "misguided effort." Most Genesis fans are already going to own this, but for those looking to get into Genesis, this is not the place to start. Final verdict, three stars.