Review Summary: A huge step up from the flawed And There Were Three...
In late 70s, prog was being buried in mainstream press and public opinion. People wanted something new, something fresher. Young people were going crazy with the new wave of music coming along known as punk. Punk was made popular with Sex Pistols' 1977
Never Mind the Bollocks . Complex playing and instrumental virtuoso became unwanted and unappreciated. Short, rocking radio singles were favored over prog, and took prog's place on the poll as one of the most popular genres. Genesis at least tried to keep on going with the prog on
And There Were Three... , with just a little hint of pop, but managed successfully only to a certain degree.
Genesis ventured away from their well-known inner prog core, but maintained some of it to please older fans. Pop was mixed in to appeal to the younger generations, with a great risk of losing long time fans, but also meeting new ones. At the time it was released, and today, the album was met with dismay from Peter Gabriel era Genesis, who slandered the remaining members for selling out to the public. While this is sort of true, it does not affect the album in a particular bad way.
And Then There Were Three wasn't completely pathetic in any way, believe me, but when Steve Hackett chose to leave in 1977, he left a huge, unfilled ravine in their music. His tapping technique was gone, so was most guitars. Bassist Mike Rutherford occationally picked the guitar up and played it, but he isn't near as good, neither is his sound. In
Duke , however, they freshen up their sound and make it different, making it better through careful attention detail, clearer production and instrumental refocusing. Tony steer away from the organ and mellotron in exchange for a nice synth/piano sound, Mike plays the guitar more often, with a brighter shine and attitude and Phil is pounding the drums harder and more intensely.
The pop experimentation isn't as strong here as it will be on their next releases. This leaves space for ballads, instrumentals and rockers. There are several tracks here that is pop orientated. None of these are bad, some of them are actually pretty good. The opener "Behind the Lines" is spectacular, with a grand opening with great guitar and synth play. This is a moment where the trio blasts the listener, and leaves a good first impression. The end of the song flows effortlessly into the atmospheric intro of "Duchess", a fan favorite. The two-minute intro is a part that I just love. It's something that I would call proto-ambient. It sounds very futuristic, with great chords coming out of Tony Banks' piano.
11 Minutes has now passed. These minutes very actually supossed to be near 1/3 of a side long track (the Albert suite), but instead of splitting the album into two completely different parts (Rush's 2112 side 1 vs side 2), they split the suite up in six parts and throw one song in at a time. "Guide Vocal" is merely an interlude, with little instrumental play, but rather a song to connect the different suite songs and bring them together to a coherent piece. The suite stops here, and is interrupted with "Man of Our Times", an arena rocker with a powerful chorus and a pace the listener can relate to. This song is great, especially the first few times.
"Misunderstanding" is one of Genesis' most popular singles. Written by Phil Collins, the song is melancholic and catchy at the same time, and serves as a pop interludes, along with some of the other pop songs such as "Please Don't Ask" and "Alone Tonight". Side one is ended with the calm nature of "Heathaze", written by Tony, it's quite a touching song. It doesn't blow up, instead, it seamlessly flows very well with piano and some of Phil's best vocals on the album. Its chorus is also very catchy, without being cheesy and poppy. Definitely a highlight.
Side two opens with the popular "Turn It On Again". The song revives the Albert suite, being the fourth part of it. Reaching #8 on U.K. singles chart, it's one of Genesis' most popular songs. It's simply a catchy prog-pop song and manages to deliver a great deal of good music in its near four minutes running time. Rutherford's second contribution (Man of Our Times being the first) "Alone Tonight" is sadly the worst song the album, being a cheesy, poor pop song. "Cul-De-Sac" manages to spark the listener's interest again, being a punchy and one of the most upbeat songs on the album, it makes up for its weak predecessor.
As usual, the best is saved for the end. "Duke's Travels/Duke' End" is one of my personal favorite songs that Genesis have produced. The two first minutes are
filled with great synths from Tony. The song has some great drum fills by Collins and jumping bass lines from Mike. It builds up greater and greater. It's the only intrumental on the album. There are some lyrics in the song, but they're not sung, they're spoken out by Phil in a robotic manner. A sudden, short moment of near silence (except some synth sounds) breaks the song up, before it explodes into the final piece "Duke's End". This part is mere two minutes in length, and repeats the first two minutes of "Behind the Lines". Definitely the proggiest song, definitely the best.
In the end,
Duke's negative response from certain fans is unjustified, because even if they break off a brick or two from their musical foundation, the rest still stands and holds Genesis up. Being the last truly superb album, it serves as a very enjoyable album, filled with overall good songs.
Recommended tracks
Albert Suite (especially Duke's Travels/End)
Heathaze
Cul-De-Sac
