Genesis: Genesis : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

In many ways. Genesis' fifteenth album is the group's safest to date. Instead of resolutely pushing forward, as Abacab did, or merely refining the achievements of its predecessors, as was the case with Selling England by the Pound. Genesis seems little more than an attempt to be all things to all fans.

"Home by the Sea," for example, is fairly typical of recent Genesis, with an engaging minor-key melody, driving rhythm and just enough keyboard clutter to lend a sense of oceanic atmosphere. But "Second Home by the Sea," which immediately follows, picks up on the keyboard and guitar flourishes and amplifies them into the sort of instrumental pudding that marked the worst of ...and then there were three. It's as if the band members felt obliged to reassure their older fans that they remember them, too.

This is particularly appalling in light of what Genesis shows the trio capable of doing. Phil Collins' drumming is as tasteful as ever, and his gutteral delivery of "Mama" shows that his fondness for R&B may finally be paying off in his singing. Mike Rutherford's guitar work is surprisingly feisty, so much so that it's hard to understand why the instrumental tracks are so keyboard heavy. But even though Tony Banks sticks in some of his most bombastic synthesizer work in recent memory, some of his bits–the rubbery synth lines in "Mama" or the jazzy bounce of the organ in "That's All"–suggest it's more a matter of misdirection than misapplication.

Still, two songs, "Mama" and "That's All," do break some new ground. The former is powerful both rhythmically and conceptually, pushing the band to new heights of musical drama and rhythmic expression, while "That's All" is an engaging rummage through the false hopes of romantic regret. Overall, however, the drift of this album is one step forward, two steps back.