Genesis

And Then There Were Three

Genesis WIth It's Wind Knocked Out

Review Score:

(6/10)
Anyone who thinks Peter Gabriel's departure from Genesis was a major blow should listen to And Then There Were Three. While not a terrible album, it fails to capture what is great about the band and leaves the listener craving more substantial music. The central problem is that Steve Hackett's departure left a huge, gaping hole in the bands' sound, a hole that Tony Banks' keyboards could not fill. In addition, they were left without a real direction other than to try writing short pop songs. These songs took the form of little ditties about forgettable subjects like "poor little Nemo" and the monsters in his dreams (Scenes from a Night's Dream), or a message to "go west, young man" (Deep in the Motherlode). Throughout them all, the sound of massed sythesizers quickly becomes tiresome. There is clearly an effort to patch over the absence of a good guitarist as Mike Rutherford was in the process of learning how to play lead at the time. The album is not without it's high points, however. Many too Many is one of my favorite Genesis songs, and Follow You Follow Me really isn't a bad tune either (although I'm obligated to hate it as a fan of the progressive Genesis). Luckily for the band it became a hit and possibly saved their careers. If it wasn't for Follow You Follow Me, this album would certainly have ended up in the discount bins in short order as it fails to appeal to fans of the progressive Genesis. By alienating these fans without attracting new ones, And Then There Were Three could have been a death knell for the band. The Undertow is a good song too. Tony Banks based his first solo album on the lyrics in this one. While I'm not sure it's brilliant enough to write a cycle of songs around, The Undertow does have that classic Genesis feel. When I heard Vancouver and The Day the Lights Went Out on the latest box set I was flabbergasted. Why were they left off this album? They were two of the best songs recorded during the And Then There Were Three sessions. The rest of the material is pleasant enough and has some good melodies but is ultimately forgettable. Most of the songs are interchangable and wear thin with repeat listenings.

You've got to be very into Genesis in order to love this album. If you are, you will certainly find some songs that you like; but at the end of the day, you will be hearing the sound of a band that's been slugged in the solar plexus and is gasping for air.

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