Genesis’ fourth studio album, Foxtrot, mostly follows the general style of the band’s previous album Nursery Cryme. Foxtrot continues to hone the band’s very distinctive vision of symphonic prog, combining pastoral moments of beauty with accomplished ensemble playing and slightly odd, often humorous, details.
The album’s opening ”Watcher Of The Skies” starts with an iconic Mellotron intro (the contraption was bought from King Crimson, who still had two of the pieces left after the sale) and then kicks off in earnest with rhythm section Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins chiming in with their rather intricate playing (the tricky arrangement was inspired by a Yes show the band saw, according to Collins). Collins has always been Genesis’ most skilled instrumentalist, but Rutherford really shines on Foxtrot too. His bass playing throughout the album is really tasty sounding and most importantly he and Collins play fabulously together.
”Timetable”, which follows ”Watcher Of The Skies”, is a somewhat disjointed, romantically and nostalgically tranquil song, dreaming of more chivalrous times. It’s not bad music by any means, and on many other Genesis albums it might show itself in a better light, but in this company it is helplessly relegated to the role of a pleasant filler.
”Get ’em Out By Friday” puts the album back on track in earnest. It’s a nicely rocking piece at times, but also a multi-faceted mini-epic with a lot of different phases (the song is ”only” a little over 8 minutes long).
The lyrics are a fun mix of sci-fi and social criticism, and vocalist Peter Gabriel changes his vocal style on the fly depending on which character in the story he is interpreting. Gabriel also does a great job on the album. His original, somewhat immature, rough voice with a hint of soul, which is quite unusual for prog, is extremely charismatic and fascinating to listen to. While avoiding being as alienatingly strange as, say, the voices of contemporaries Peter Hammill (Van der Graaf Generator) or Roger Chapman (Family) can be at their most extreme. It is no wonder that numerous neo-prog vocalists have taken him as a role model (of course, Gabriel’s theatricality on live stages also contributed to this). It is Peter Gabriel’s vocals that put several of the songs on the album in the classic category with their originality. Not to underestimate the great work of the main composer Tony Banks on the music of the album.
Next up is the five-minute ”Can-Utility and the Coastliners” which is one of the great forgotten gems of not only Genesis, but of ”big” prog bands in general. The song that is usually always neglected when talking about Genesis classics. It’s an absolutely gorgeous, melodic and touching song, in which Gabriel sings like an angel, at times living up to his name, and at other times bursting into emotional raptures. The trio of Rutherford, Banks and Steve Hackett also get to dig out their 12-string guitars for the first time on the album, with a strumming that nicely evokes the more pastoral feel of the previous couple of albums. This time, though, the acoustic guitars are enhanced by the work of a rhythm section playing very strongly in the background and Tony Banks’ stunning mellotron textures. Rutherford gets to play some really tasty sounding bass lines and one almost bass solo moment.
”Can-Utility” is followed by Steve Hackett’s solo acoustic guitar piece ”Horizons”. At a minute and a half, it remains a rather insignificant guitar piece, even though it is quite beautiful, but at least it serves as an intro of sorts for the next wit that comes next. The thing that always sticks with me about ”Horizon” is the feeling that Steve Hackett stomped his feet in the studio saying ”Steve Howe got to play acoustic solos in Yes and so do I!”. Genesis still tended to be a follower of Yes and King Crimson in many ways in those days.
The album culminates with the legendary ”Supper’s Ready” which is one of progressive rock’s most beloved works. If Foxtrot hadn’t already convinced the listener, this 23 minute spectacle probably will. Unlike, say, Yes’s symphonically coherent ’Close To The Edge’ from the same year, ’Supper’s Ready’ is anything but coherent. In fact, ”Supper’s Ready” consists of 7 separate tracks that are simply stitched together in the arrangement phase. Somehow, the band has managed to make it work and the result is a charming psychedelic odyssey through various strange moments (both musical and lyrical).
In ”Supper’s Ready”, you’ll encounter montypythonic humour, romantic moments and the beast of the apocalypse. The most memorable moment of the song is the section ”Apocalypse 9/8” which rocks really great in the time signature of its name. One of the greatest moments of 70’s symphonic prog. Tony Banks’ keyboard solo (which Banks says was meant to be a parody of Keith Emerson’s driving style! It’s easy to imagine that this can’t get any better, but things explode to the next level with Peter Gabriel’s dramatically powerful singing:
666 is no longer alone,
He’s getting out the marrow in your back bone,
And the seven trumpets blowing sweet rock and roll,
Gonna blow right down inside your soul.
Absolutely stunning. Finally, the ringing of the tubular bells and Gabriel’s very passionate vocal performance bring the album to a cathartic and beautiful conclusion. The surreal dream/nightmare is over. All is perhaps well.
Foxtrot is not only Genesis’ best album, but also one of the finest albums of 70s symphonic prog.
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI
Tracks:
- ”Watcher of the Skies” 7:21
- ”Time Table” 4:47
- ”Get ’Em Out by Friday” 8:35
- ”Can-Utility and the Coastliners” 5:45
- ”Horizons” 1:39
- ”Supper’s Ready” 22:57
a. ”Lover’s Leap”
b. ”The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man”
c. ”Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men”
d. ”How Dare I Be So Beautiful?”
e. ”Willow Farm”
f. ”Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)”
g. ”As Sure as Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men’s Feet)”
Duration: 51 minutes
Band:
Tony Banks: organ, mellotron, piano, electric piano, 12-string guitar, backing vocals Phil Collins: drums, vocals, percussion Peter Gabriel: vocals, flute, percussion, oboe Steve Hackett: electric guitar, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar Mike Rutherford: bass, bass pedals, 12-string guitar, cello, backing vocals
Label: Charisma
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