THUD

Kevin Gilbert might have turned Genesis around and heralded a third era for that band. He was due to audition for the band he held in such high esteem, but sadly he died in tragic circumstances in 1996. Listening to this 1995 album and the posthumously released 'Shaming of the True' in 2000, you realise what a loss he was. Its difficult not to get angry when you realise how talented he was - at least he left behind a legacy of fantastic music. 'When You Give Your Love To Me' is a heartfelt song, a acoustically driven ballad which includes the line "I'm sick of angry, lesbian, militant, feminists" which serves to remind us that there is a sense of irony present throughout. "Goodness Gracious" is more uptempo but still seems angry - it complains that "The baby boomers had it all, and wasted everything" and that there is "No sex that isn't dangerous" as well as "We're the clean-up crew for parties we were too young to attend". Track three "Joytown" is a future echo of "City of the Sun" from 'The Shaming of the True'. Its a place where "Lennon never has to sing a Paul McCartney song" and "No one sells his roommates stuff so he can get a fix". His voice seems to break theatrically in places as Gilbert despairs of the place. "Waiting" is next up and is a pretty catchy song, its tone is still heavy on the darker side of things and while he is "Waiting for love to come" he is also "Waiting for you to run". Next up is "Tea For One" - an upbeat disco reggae stomper- actually its not that at all, just checking if you are keeping up. It is in fact a moody song with some killer hooks, its a memorable late night track for discerning listeners. Kevin Gilbert writes some fantastic lyrics and this song is full of them. Lyrics are as important as the music to me - and in this area Gilbert excells. "Shadow Self" follows on and is pretty Gabriel-like, I'd love to hear THAT version. Two minutes in and the song really comes to life - its my favourite on the album. "The Tears of Audrey" with its "From now on I'm through with love, from now on I will not love again" lays its heart firmly on its sleeve. Its basically a sad song - its also haunting and beautiful. "Shrug (because of me and you)" and "All fall down" fit in nicely with the rest of the album but don't seem so memorable to me. "Song for a Dead Friend" opens with melacholy piano and just grips your soul - its very moving. It manages to capture the emotions of pain and loss and encapsulates something lost. Ultimately we lost Gilbert himself, and listening to this will test whether you have a heart or not.