Genesis: Duke - 1980

 

This was the album that saw Genesis properly begin to turn into the more pop-oriented band they became in the eighties, building on the foundations that the infectious single Follow You Follow Me had given them. It wasn’t a sea change, however, as there are still many proggy characteristics present - mountains of flourishing keyboards, a vague “concept” to the album and an overall grandiosity of sound that is totally at odds with anything I was listening to in 1980.

There is a tinniness and a harshness to the sound that is so very eighties - and indeed so very Genesis in the eighties - that doesn’t appeal to me. Many of the songs are good ones, though - particularly the singles Turn It On Again and Misunderstanding, both of which are catchy and hooky in their Genesis sort of way. 

Behind The Lines and Duchess are impressive big production numbers too, as is the chunky ballad Heathaze, while the plaintive piano ballad Please Don’t Ask is excellent, almost like a Phil Collins solo song. However, some of the good qualities present in these songs are overwhelmed by the bombastic production and instrumentation. If they had a warmer, bassier makeover I think they would appeal more to me. That was the eighties for you.

The album has Phil Collins driving everything along, on drums and vocals, and he was well on the way to becoming one of the eighties’ biggest stars. I have to say his drumming on here is awesomely powerful. He was most underrated as a drummer. Man Of Our Times (and its sort of intro, Guide Vocal) is a solid big rock ballad but the old proggy habits surface in the sprawling suite of Duke’s Travels and Duke’s End. As regards any concept, though, an awful lot of the lyrics seem to be typically Collins angst-ridden “she’s left me and I miss her” fare. 

The maudlin-themed Alone Tonight perfectly exemplifies this, and it was something he built an entire solo career on. Cul-De-Sac is a prog meets big pop ballad number. As I said, hints of the past were difficult to completely shake off. Look, I will freely admit that this wasn’t (and isn’t) fully my thing,  and there are many albums I would prefer to listen to, but I can’t help but like Turn It On Again.


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