Tracks
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A great early Genesis album. While perhaps not as polished as Selling England by the Pound, it's still essential for any Genesis fan. Steve Hackett's guitar work is up-front and excellent (especially on The Musical Box), which I can't say for their subsequent album, Foxtrot. And throughout this album, you can see a band that is at its creative best.
Oh yeah, about The Musical Box: It's an amazingly powerful yet beautiful song. While the other tracks are all great in their own way, this song alone makes the album worthwhile. Perhaps it shouldn't have been the first track; it's customary to save the best for last to keep the listener engaged. Anyway, The Musical Box has great lyrics/singing, great guitar work, great keyboards, great bass, and great drumming. There's not a second of that track that I don't like; they put a lot of thought into every note and it shows. This track alone is worth five stars, but the rest of the album doesn't disappoint either..
As for the other tracks, they're pretty diverse. Genesis has always been a band that doesn't repeat itself, and this album highlights that positive quality. Just a few highlights (and of course if you listen to this album, your ranking of the tracks might be completely different, but this is my two cents):
'The Return of the Giant Hogweed' is a more gritty prog song, some SMALL parts of it are a bit forced/weird but overall the concept and power rival The Musical Box. It's also very unconventional, but not in a bad way.
'Harold the Barrel' is funny lyrically but it's not a joke-- it's well-done and catchy, and I love it.
'Harlequin' is a very mellow song written by Mike Rutherford. The man deserves more credit. Harlequin may be short, but it's a beautiful, classical-sounding song that shows the melodic, emotional side of Genesis. The 12-string guitar work from Rutherford is of course delicate and beautiful throughout.
'The Fountain of Salmacis' is in my opinion a very good closer to the album. It's a great place to hear more of Rutherford's masterful work, this time on bass. Of course, Steve Hackett also contributes some great guitar, and Tony Banks's organ takes many different forms throughout the several dynamic changes.
So, overall: If you're into Genesis, buy this. It's as good as any of their other albums; with Genesis you can't go wrong. The audio quality of this remastered version is also great, which is very important to me.
Oh yeah, about The Musical Box: It's an amazingly powerful yet beautiful song. While the other tracks are all great in their own way, this song alone makes the album worthwhile. Perhaps it shouldn't have been the first track; it's customary to save the best for last to keep the listener engaged. Anyway, The Musical Box has great lyrics/singing, great guitar work, great keyboards, great bass, and great drumming. There's not a second of that track that I don't like; they put a lot of thought into every note and it shows. This track alone is worth five stars, but the rest of the album doesn't disappoint either..
As for the other tracks, they're pretty diverse. Genesis has always been a band that doesn't repeat itself, and this album highlights that positive quality. Just a few highlights (and of course if you listen to this album, your ranking of the tracks might be completely different, but this is my two cents):
'The Return of the Giant Hogweed' is a more gritty prog song, some SMALL parts of it are a bit forced/weird but overall the concept and power rival The Musical Box. It's also very unconventional, but not in a bad way.
'Harold the Barrel' is funny lyrically but it's not a joke-- it's well-done and catchy, and I love it.
'Harlequin' is a very mellow song written by Mike Rutherford. The man deserves more credit. Harlequin may be short, but it's a beautiful, classical-sounding song that shows the melodic, emotional side of Genesis. The 12-string guitar work from Rutherford is of course delicate and beautiful throughout.
'The Fountain of Salmacis' is in my opinion a very good closer to the album. It's a great place to hear more of Rutherford's masterful work, this time on bass. Of course, Steve Hackett also contributes some great guitar, and Tony Banks's organ takes many different forms throughout the several dynamic changes.
So, overall: If you're into Genesis, buy this. It's as good as any of their other albums; with Genesis you can't go wrong. The audio quality of this remastered version is also great, which is very important to me.