The last really essential Genesis album is also the last with Hackett, and that's no coincidence. It was always good for the band (at least for the fans!) to have several songwriters, and after this LP Genesis never again attained the level of creativity heard here.
Like many classic prog bands, Genesis seemed to be searching for a new sound as the 70s drew to a close and they were confronted with the popularity and immediacy of "New Wave." The results, while generally "good" music, simply lacked the staying power and resonance of their classic material. The first two tracks on the record are longer songs in the old epic style, with imaginative lyrical themes, and lots of musical changes.
Great stuff. "Your Own Special Way," though pretty, seems to be a blatant attempt at a "hit," and has the feel of a Phil Collins solo vehicle -- too predictable by half. "Wot Gorilla" is a powerful instrumental in the "Los Endos" vein, and "All in a Mouse's Night," if a trifle whimsical in its subject matter, is nonetheless classic Genesis.
Hackett's "Blood on the Rooftops" has a sad, nostalgic beauty (which the guitarist would bring to such lofty heights in his forthcoming solo career), and then the next two tracks offer an excellent instrumental segue into the closing "Afterglow," which, if a little maudlin, is still an effective, anthemic song that brings the proceedings to a majestic end. Overall, "Wind and Wuthering" is an excellent album which, while maybe not quite as good as its predecessor ("A Trick of the Tail" is, in my opinion, the best of the post-Gabriel discs), is nevertheless well worth listening to (loud!) again -- and again!
Posted Tuesday, December 30, 2003, 02:00 EST |
If there was one number absent this would've been another real gem but Your Own Special Way has simply no business on such album. Not that this is a bad song in itself - it would settle fine on any Celine Dion record - but here Mr Rutherford [%*!#]ed up and because of internal stife (and individual credits and royalties) it seems Mr Banks let this one on the record to counter the sheer mass of Hackett material.
Special Way is probably 20 percent of the reason Hackett left (this is my personal reading but if you think about it...
..).
The rest of the album is normal but slightly lesser quality than TOT Tail. One For The Vine is one of those quest as White Mountain or Mad Man Moon. Eleventh Earl Of Mar is correct but Mouse's Night is sub-par to Robbery , Harold The Barrel , Battle Of Epping Forest Get Them Out By Friday .
The three Hackett tracks on side two are the cornerstone of this album: Blood On Rooftop is one of the best English nostalgia and Slumber and Earth are simply delightful instrumental. Although still a classic album, when you look at it retrospectively, this album is really the start of lesserthings to come!!
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