Compared to the conceptual musical pretensions of A Curious Feeling and Smallcreep's Day, last year's surprisingly limp solo outings by keyboardist Tony Banks and bassist Mike Rutherford, Duke serves as a testament to strength, even in reduced numbers. As art rock goes, "Turn It On Again" is vibrant rock & roll with keyboards, rhythm section and vocalist deliberately working at rhythmic cross-purposes. Such typical examples of the group's epic classicism as "Duchess," "Man of Our Times," "Duke's Travels" and "Duke's End" possess a refreshing urgency marked by singer-drummer Collins' confident snap and the cool orchestral breeze of Banks' ivory armory.

Still, in the six years since their psycho-opera, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Genesis have lapsed into a stylistic predictability that sorely misses Gabriel's perverse wit and the sensual, near-Indian strains of Hackett's guitar. Yet the familiar, almost anesthetic sound of Duke is comforting: a reassurance that Genesis aren't ready for an exodus yet.

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DAVID FRICKE

(Posted: Sep 4, 1980)