A Foxtrot review

- from Sounds, 30.09.72.

Have you got a copy of the new album yet? Mike Rutherford inquired meekly as Genesis prepared to go onstage at the Marquee last week. Well I did have the album, and momentarily I found it impossible to reconcile his almost apologetic demeanour with what must surely become one of the major works of the year.

'Foxtrot' (Charisma CAS 1058) shows us the Genesis that we've seen all too often on stage and been longing for on record. This time they're ... well they've almost achieved the perfect album on their first outing with producer David Hitchcock.

There are occasions when the overall sound does lack the required vitality and other occasions where Genesis are trying just that little bit too hard, but these moments are sporadic indeed,and by and large the album is a showcase for the genius of this young experimental band, which manifests itself in numerous different ways.

The music covers vast areas of time and space - it's well over 20 minutes a side and builds and recedes on a vertical plane rather than a horizontal one, sometimes slipping away to the simplicity of an acoustic 12-string, or Pete Gabriel's flute, other times incorporating Tony Banks' thick, throaty organ, Steve Hackett's electric guitar and Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins going flat out to keep the rhythm there.

New dimensions of Genesis are shown in the group's writing which is largely couched in Peter Gabriel's wildly flamboyant little allegories; but when it comes to lyrical flow, they fit the bill beautifully.

'Watcher Of The Skies', already a stage favourite, opens and closes with Banks' funeral organ lamenting the passing of Earth and beholding the skies above. "This is the end of man's long union with the Earth" sings Peter Gabriel.

'Time Table' presents a paradox in that it is born simply on Tony Banks' piano, although structurally it is one of the more complex Genesis songs and has the same wistful theme, this time a retrospective mindflight back to the days of yore.

'Get 'Em Out By Friday', on the other hand, deals with a far more immediate problem of tenant eviction, in which Peter Gabriel assumes the identities of the unfortunate tenants, the property owner and his "winkler", closing with the immortal memo "With land in your hand you'll be happy on earth then invest in the church for your heaven", and offering other precious little gems like "It is my sad duty to inform you of a 4 ft. restriction on humanoid height". All good stuff.

Side one closes with 'Can-Utility And The Coastliners', a strange allusion to King Canute which, although Genesis have worked it into their stage repertoire, I don't find the most exciting aspect of the album by any means.

Aside from a short Steve Hackett introduction, side two is set aside to one composition called 'Supper's Ready' which incorporates seven separate movements. And "separate" is the operative word for each sub-section is quite divorced from its adjacent piece and one wonders how 'Supper's Ready' begins to embrace the overall concept like a giant umbrella.

Sufficient to say that it is difficult to follow Peter Gabriel's thought patterns at the most logical times and the whys and wherefors of his words are best left unchallenged. More iunlike characters meander in and out of the story at intervals, and whilst a couple of the sequences are little more than interludes or linking passages, there are three particularly strong numbers in their own right - 'Willow Farm' which taxes the imagination more than Maggie's farm ever did, 'The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man' which heads rather obliquely in the direction of Bowie and seems to be about a supersonic space age farmer.

Finally 'Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-starring The Delicious Talents of Gabble Rachet)' - and sort that one out if you can.

Lyrically and musically 'Foxtrot' comes across as a total mind trip, with imagination and musical ideas being allowed to run wild and in turn strech the imagination of the listener. Genesis have taken a lot of chances, but these days they have the full courage of their convictions to back them up. They're in a territory all of their own and picking up supporters all the way - I hope that this outstanding album receives the patient, repeated listening that it deserves.

Typed up by Thomas Holter, from GENESIS MAGAZINE No: 26, January 1983.

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