Genesis - Wind and Wuthering

Genesis
Wind and Wuthering

Atco, 1976

Phil Collins - vocals, drums, percussion
Tony Banks - keyboards
Mike Rutherford - bass
Steve Hackett - guitars

1. Eleventh Earl of Mar
2. One for the Vine
3. Your Own Special Way
4.Wot Gorilla?
5. All in a Mouse's Night
6. Blood on the Rooftops
7. a. Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers
b. In that Quiet Earth
8. Afterglow

This album is an interesting one in the Genesis catalogue. As is clearly stated above, Peter Gabriel was not in the band when this album was recorded. However, I think people jump to conclusions when they say that Phil Collins ruined everything. His pop career did lead to a big decline in Genesis's music, but not while Steve Hackett was around to keep him in check. And this is certainly part of the prog period of Genesis.

The album opens with two "epics," taking up nearly a whole side of a record between the two of them. Eleventh Earl of Mar and One for the Vine kick this album off to a great start. Phil Collins does not have a bad voice at all (he only chose to use it for evil purposes during the 80s) and when the instrumental section on One for the Vine kicks in, you can't tell it apart from the Gabriel-era music of Genesis in the least. Wot Gorilla? is a fusiony-sounding instrumental, and while I've never heard any of the work Phil Collins did with the fusion band Brand-X, I've heard this song compared to it quite often. To me, it sounds like something that the Mahavishnu Orchestra might have done circa-Birds of Fire, but somewhat less aggressive. The bell intro reminds me a bit of Lark's Tongues in Aspic, part 1 by King Crimson, but the music that follows does not. All in a Mouse's Night is where things get so proggy as to be cheesy, with the melodramatic opening and the cartoonish verse music. This story of a mouse taking a walk at night and trying to escape the cat and the humans has its charm though, and I don't count it as a bad song, just a bit of fun that I have to be in the right mood for. Next is Blood on the Rooftops, one of my favorite songs on this album, if not my absolute favorite on this album. One of my favorite Genesis songs overall, really. I'd love to learn to play this one. It starts off with a beautiful acoustic guitar intro and leads into melancholy but pretty singing, with lush string-synth keyboards. A very emotional song, and a great success from Genesis. Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers and In that Quiet Earth are an amazing instrumental working, once again having a bit of a fusion feel to them. The album ends with the relaxing song Afterglow, which is similar in feel to Your Own Special Way, but while those are the weakest songs on the album, they aren't terrible, and Afterglow works well to ease the listener out of the album.

Hopefully, anyone who thinks Phil Collins is the devil will give this one a try and change their mind. Looking back, it was Steve Hackett's departure that changed their sound for the worse, not Peter Gabriel's. While those interested in Genesis's prog era shouldn't necesarily start here, this is my 2nd favorite album from Genesis.