"The old days are gone/And they're better left alone/But I still miss you/I keep it to myself"
(from Taking It All Too Hard, 'Genesis')

Well the old days may be seen to be gone, but they linger. While Genesis may have, for themselves at the very least, shaken off the last vestiges of the progressive movement, with the attendant myths, murk and lush production, there still lingers the edge of the heritage.

'Genesis' forms a new direction again for the band, after their unsubtle U-turn from the music of the seventies to the music of the eighties. A string of hits and an international acclaim that places them solidly into the league of the mega mega band, they now turn their attention not only to the production of their work, but also to the development of their writing. The stark reality of Abacab and the open hearted pourings of both Duke and Collins' solo work are tempered here with an inkling of the obtuse. They allude rather than comment, they paint tissue canvasses with words that convey all of the feeling but little of the real meaning. To have reached this level is a great achievement.

'Mama' opens the album with a statement of intent. The fierce drive of Phil Collins' vocal attack is breathless in its sheer power while the apparent musical ramblings conclude in conjunction at exactly the right moment - order from chaos indeed. (The video showed to promote 'Mama' though seemed somewhat out of place and added yet another dimension to the track which, if you read it, holds about as much literary content as a phone directory...)

The Beatlish 'That's All' with almost C&W overtones makes up where 'Mama' fails. It's a 100% solid gold tearjerker. Wonderful way of putting things down in a song - forget the transient reality of the situation and strip it down to the bare bones of emotion. Musically this is absolutely intriguing. Tony Banks develops the initial theme over and over, a subtle change each time, to create a woven pattern of sound. His piano work here is placed against the solid, masterful bass and guitar work, which is itself overlayed by Phil Collins' inspired vocals.

To strip down the individual efforts the band have offered here is impossible. They now work as a well oiled machine. After twelve albums together they have hit the climax, or perhaps just another peak, in their advance.

'Illegal Alien' is the strangest, and strongest, track on the album. Tony Banks takes up the Synclavier and provides the perfect foil for the wailing guitar and rumbling bass of Rutherford. Banks earmarks this track simply through the multitrack work he puts in - almost a different style with each overlay he adds. The synth is his visual sweeping style, while the almost sequencer-sounding rhythm is tight and contains a Motown type feel, such is its backbeat. The repeated vocal line of "It's no fun, being an illegal alien..." while looking clumsy on paper, flows out of Phil Collins majestically. The intense feeling of the track is furthered by the very compressed drums that clatter away in the background. This is going to be dynamite live! (This is also, I imagine, where they got the steamy central American imagery for the video film for 'Mama' - could they be hinting at some sort of concept here?)

'A Home By The Sea' is a compilation of a clever piece of keyboard work and a delicate vocal. The symmetry on the stereo separation coupled to the natural dynamics of Collins' vocals provides a neat and effective 'call and reply' style of track construction. This is quite a step on for Genesis and the only question I would pose is how on earth they got such a powerful track from such gentle components.

'Another Home By The Sea' is the instrumental which follows the first track. With a chord and musical structure similar in some ways to 'Duchess' the rolling gait of the tune slips through a mesh of fine keyboards (Emulator ?) and emerges as probably the most memorable melody they've put on record.

So, to conclude then, here is another peak in the Genesis range. Can they topple here? With such a powerful and emotional album as this it seems unlikely, contrary to the popular grapevine. Forget the rumours and listen.