Saturday, May 19, 2007

Mini album review: Genesis


Genesis - Wind and Wuthering

Being a fan of the Progressive Rock genre, I, like many others, am a fan of the 70's Genesis. I was not old enough to know them back then (I was born in 1972 actually), but in the late 80's, a friend of mine introduced me to Genesis, which was my first step into the prog world. And like all prog fans who like Genesis, their best period was when Peter Gabriel was their lead singer. That's the way we identify that period: the Gabriel-era. But for me, it was not the Gabriel-era, it was the Hackett-era...

Yes, in reality, Genesis really turned away from prog when Steve Hackett left the band, not when Gabriel did - although I do agree that a major piece was lost when Gabriel left... but for me, and if you would listen to that album carefully, it was Wind and Wuthering that was the last of Genesis' glorious prog album library. It does not sound like Foxtrot for sure, but nonetheless is an excellent progressive rock album.

So if your Genesis prog collection stopped at The Lamb, Gabriel's last effort with the band, maybe you should take a peek at W&W, and even Trick of the Tail (although I prefer W&W). Or you might have heard it before, but put it aside because you were too used to Gabriel's voice, or for other reasons. Try it again, you might enjoy it ;-)

My rating: ****½

EDIT: they now have released the special version of this album, which now includes a DVD-Audio disk, with a 5.1 remastered mix of the entire album. Wow, now it sounds even better than ever!!!

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