Genesis

Duke

Genesis set the course for Chartsville

Review Score:

(6/10)
Duke (1980) saw the now-hardened trio of Collins, Rutherford and Banks modernising their sound (most notably Phil Collins's thundering drum sound, Banks's 'wall-of-sound' keyboards and more chart-friendly songwriting). The band's phenomenal chart success with Follow You, Follow Me must have brought home to them just how more profitable a commercialised direction would be. Misunderstanding, for instance, contains very little of the original Genesis progressive template, but provided a welcome boost to the Genesis coffers in the form of a hit single. Highlights include the opening burst of behind the Lines, with Mike Rutherford doing a splendid job on the guitar (not an easy task taking over from Steve Hackett), Duke's Travels and Heathaze provide some good moments, Man of our Time is pretty chunky tune in the mode of Deep in the Motherlode, but once again the sound picture threatemns to collapse under Phil Collins's artillery barrage drums.
Duke is in many way the last officially progressive album Genesis ever made; with the 80s came serious chart success on the backs of Abacab and Invisible Touch, with massive radio coverage, huge tours, entire brass sections, etc. and the our indestructible trio finally enjoying some real income after 12 years of critical worship but chart obscurity (solo projects were up and running, too). The band's fan based trebled, of course, its ranks swelling with young couples, and executives with money to spend on 'quality' music for their car stereos. And Genesis duly provided it - the sales figures speak for themselves - but theirs was a fare no longer as palatable to the fan base frequently referred to as 'spotty 18 year-olds in fishing hats' who could spend hours arguing about the hidden meanings in Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. So Duke can be seen an attempt to straddle that fine line between commercial success and artistic innovation. For Genesis novices I would recommend first going to Trick of the Tail or Wind & Wuthering. You might also like to try Foxtrot, a good early Genesis record with Peter Gabriel giving it large on vocals.

More Reviews: