Foxtrot (1972)

Artist: Genesis
Release Year: 1972

Rating: 9/10

Track Listing: 1) Watcher of the Skies; 2) Time Table; 3) Get 'Em Out By Friday; 4) Can-Utility and the Coastliners; 5) Horizons; 6) Supper's Ready.

Finally, all the pieces fall into place, and the resulting musical landscape is richer and more enthralling than ever before.  

The opening of "Watcher of the Skies" may not be a complex passage, but something about the atmosphere completely nails it this time around.  When those ominous Mellotron washes begin, it sounds exactly like the parting of dark clouds over some epic scene, and then that throbbing bass riff builds up the suspense even more, before Gabriel announces himself with the cry of "Watcher of the skies!  Watcher of all!"  The track is a great place to hear Phil Collins' skills, too, with his work on the second verse being my favorite part.  A true Genesis classic, this one.

There may not be anything strikingly novel about "Time Table", but it's still beautiful with its soft balladry and the gentle, pattering piano breaks - not to mention that the anguished "why...whyyy-yyyy?" in the chorus was the first moment that sold me on Gabriel's prowess as a frontman.  If that hadn't done it, however, then his exceptional performance on "Get 'Em Out By Friday" certainly would have.  To be able to portray a conflict between scummy landlords, a tyrannical government, and poor tenants, each with their own voices AND their own leitmotif, and still make it flow as well as this song does, takes a great deal of talent.  Mike Rutherford might be the unsung hero of this song, though: just listen to him at the beginning of the instrumental section, for example, or how he marks the emotional transition at the "announcement from Genetic Control".  "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is a little too uneven in its ups and downs to do much for me, but I admit the "crown him, crown him" refrain has something going for it, and it does retain the feel of the rest of the album.

Then, of course, the lovely acoustic passage "Horizons" sets the stage for the famous "Supper's Ready".  I suppose you could write at least one dissertation on that song, considering how much goes on in those twenty-three minutes.  Briefly, it's the story of a modern Book of Revelations, but with enough surrealism and divergence along the way to negate my usual complaints about religious retellings.  Yes, the song really deserves its praise-- the only complaint I have is that the acoustic beginning is a bit too slow for how simple and quasi-atmospheric it is.  Things soon pick up, though, when the Antichrist appears and leads us into the first rocking section, a battle between conquerors and victims, signaled by Hackett's guitar solo.  Then, a period of quiet mourning gives way to a humorous and bizarre "Willow Farm", possibly my favorite section, before "Apocalypse in 9/8" erupts into all kinds of the best progressive rock chaos, with Gabriel in top form as he describes the ravaging of the mortal Earth.  I actually really like Tony Banks' playing here: he provides enough structure to lead us through without taking over completely, and we're even able to appreciate Phil Collins' exemplary drumming in that time signature as if it's the most natural thing in the world.  Then there's the climactic return home, with Steve Hackett's blazing guitar depicting angelic choruses, and Peter Gabriel triumphantly announcing the "new Jerusalem", and it's clear that this was an emotional moment for him personally.  Not perfect, not the best prog song ever, but still-- what a ride.

So, yeah, for my money, this is the best Genesis album: hardly a second wasted, no annoying synthfests, no jarring segues into passages they didn't quite nail...just solid fantasy that remains gripping throughout.  I also have to say that I love Mike Rutherford's playing throughout this album.  From the grumbling opening of "Watcher of the Skies" to the furious bursts and punches in "Can-Utility", and of course the frantic sections of "Supper's Ready", he really is an unsung hero on this record.