Search - Genesis :: Selling England By The Pound

The best choice for newcomers to Gabriel-era Genesis

woburnmusicfan | Woburn, MA United States | 07/06/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This isn't my favorite Genesis album, but it's probably the best one to try if you're new to the Peter Gabriel era of Genesis. It's more immediately accessible than the others, which take several listens to get used to. The album contains two songs that make the short list of Genesis' all-time best, "Firth of Fifth" and "I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe)", the production is pretty good, guitarist Steve Hackett plays some of his best solos, especially on "Firth of Fifth", and Tony Banks had just bought his first synthesizer, which provides ear candy throughout. Banks has made a career out of finding endless ways to make keyboard solos out of arpeggios -- "Firth of Fifth" is his best ever. "I Know What I Like" was Genesis' first notable single; the lyrics were inspired by a painting Gabriel saw at an exhibition, which became the album's cover. "More Fool Me" is a ballad notable only because it featured a rare lead vocal by the drummer, a fellow named Phil Collins. The second half of the album consists of two 12-minute songs sandwiched around a pleasant instrumental, "After the Ordeal". "The Battle of Epping Forest" relates the most twee gangland war on record; both Banks and Michael Rutherford admit in Armando Gallo's "I Know What I Like" book that while the music and lyrics to the song are both strong, the two just don't fit well together. "The Cinema Show" consists of two segments; the second half is a fantastic instrumental in 7/8 time spotlighting Banks' synth, the first half is...an acquired taste. The best way to tell a TRUE Genesis fan is to see if they can sit through the first half of "Cinema Show"; I've met some fair-weather fans who hit the wall during the acoustic instrumental between the two choruses. The song uses the dual 12-string acoustic guitar sound that was a staple of early Genesis, coupled with a lyric on gender issues that name-drops the Greek mythological figure Tiresias, history's first sex change. "Cinema Show" ends with "Aisle of Plenty", a brief reprise of the melody from "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", the first of many times when Genesis would reprise the first song of an album at its end. As on most progressive rock albums of the 70s, the lyrics on "Selling England" can get a little silly; if you can get through the first 20 seconds of the album, you've weathered the worst of it.(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)"