The last great Genesis album...

Review Score: (10/10)
It's probably a bit too much to say that it went downhill for Genesis after this album, but there were enough signs in this production (the second after Peter Gabriel's departure from the band) indicating the direction they'd later take. Still, this is a SOLID album, one of mythical proportions that one can easily fall short of describing appropriately.

There's some classic ballads that Genesis would become famous for later on ("Your Own Special Way" and "Afterglow") as well as the power prog-rock tracks (most of the rest of the album), running side by side in a non-accidental way, giving both longtime fans of the band and followers of their more commercial work (to come in the early and mid-eighties), something to hold on to. I'd argue, though, that there's far more musical treats in this album for the hardcore Genesis fan. The impeccable solo lines by Banks and Hackett (who would depart from the band after this production to focus on his solo work), alongside the grandieuse drumming by maestro Phil Collins (his singing wasn't too bad either) make this a very well rounded production that stands comfortably among the best prog rock albums of a musical period that was close to becoming "dormant" in 1976, but just to be revisited several years after by bands such as Marillion, IQ and Arena.

In sum, a classic prog album that has stood the test of time for almost two decades now, and a must in any serious collection with ambitions to cover the prog-rock genre.

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