A Trick Of The Tail
by Genesis (UK)

Peter Gabriel leaves the band, yet the band's sound remains intact. I would argue that this album is softer and perhaps more accessible than Foxtrot and The Lamb, mainly because of Collins' voice (NOT the direction of the band...that would come later). They were just as progressive here as they were on their previous four albums. The album's sound is probably closest to Selling England: Collins sings a lot like Gabriel did on that album (probably because his voice is softer and more soulful), and there's about an equal proportion of ballads and heavier tracks. Collins isn't as edgy a singer as Gabriel, but the band compensates by playing with more aggression on tracks like Dance on a Volcano. Collins' drumming is particularly powerful on this album: he's jazzy and fast. Hell, Los Endos is borderline fusion due to the style of drumwork.

This album is a legitimate contender for Genesis' best for two reasons:
(1) The musicianship is sharper than ever before, and
(2) Even with Gabriel out of the picture, the songwriting and singing didn't take a hit. Remarkably, the band neither improved nor devolved due to Gabriel's departure. That says a lot about a band!

I think Gabriel's departure was good for all parties involved. Banks, Rutherford, and Collins would eventually develop a mutual interest in crafting pop songs, and Gabriel had free reign to experiment with styles outside of Genesis' core sound. Both Gabriel and Genesis would knock each other off the charts in the future, FYI.

While perhaps A Trick of the Tail is not Genesis' best album (that award goes to Selling England by the Pound), it should be regarded as their crowning achievement. The fact that they put out an album this amazing immediately after Peter Gabriel left is nothing short of astonishing. So many wonderful themes on this album: the need to succeed under pressure (Dance on a Volcano), the longing to be somewhere else (Mad Man Moon), dealing with one's inhibitions and fears (Squonk), being grateful for what you have (A Trick of the Tail), the impermanence of beauty (Ripples), it's all incredible. And this is backed up with some of the finest musicianship ever from the quartet of Collins, Banks, Rutherford and Hackett. This is one of Genesis' most towering achievements and a slice of prog perfection that any fan of the genre should indulge in.

A Trick Of The Tail' is great end to what was one of the great progressive rock bands of all time. The transition from Peter Gabriel's artphonic progressive fairy tale soundz to Phil Collins maestro pop is well represented on "A trick of the tail". Collins holds the Genesis audience quite well, continuing in the tradition of Nursery Cryme, Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb lies down on Broadway, Collins writes and sings very Gabrieleque ... giving Genesis fans the slick fairy tale world of Lewis Carroll with a mix of hard driving progressive back ground and laced with looping keyboards surrounded by a few soft ballads. Despite Gabriels departure ..Genesis surprises everyone by not missing a beat. Unfortunately this would be the last great Genesis record.. in Progressive format.

From paladisiac TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/09/2011 14:54 | #32421 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

From the opening notes and drum-fill and cymbal action, this one sounds epic. Maybe it had to following the lamb... and peter gabriel's departure? Phil begins the story of "dance on a volcano" in the middle of the action and that's how the entire album feels -- in the middle of a great work. If it wasn't for the lamb..., it'd be this or selling england by the pound for my 70s favorite genesis. Outside of Gabriel's vocal and flute absence, you'd never know he left. One of my favorite "silent" moments comes in the silent precipice between "entangled" and "squonk". i love the lyrics of both "entangled" (encompassed in a hypnotizing "freudian slumber empty of sound"), "ripples" (a mesmerizing tale of life's beauty) and "mad man moon" the best on the album. "mad man moon"'s the best of the bunch, sporting these lyrics: "Was it summer when the river ran dry,/Or was it just another dam?/When the evil of a snowflake in June/Could still be a source of relief. " and "If this desert's all there'll ever be/Then tell me what becomes of me./A fall of rain?" and "a prison in sand Is a haven in hell,/For a gaol can give you a goal" and "Within the valley of shadowless death/They pray for thunderclouds and rain,/But to the multitude who stand in the rain/Heaven is where the sun shines." and closer "Forever caught in desert lands one has to learn/To disbelieve the sea.". I love the pickup of the piano and fast drumming nearing half-way through 'til about 2 minutes remaining. i really dig this line in squonk: "All in all you are a very dying race/Placing trust upon a cruel world/You never had the things you thought you should have had/And you'll not get them now,/And all the while in perfect time/Your tears are falling on the ground..". "robbery, assault & battery", while not the most poetic genesis tune, is still a lot of romping, humorous fun -- "a trick of the tail" Genesis would revisit the "fading beauty" tale of "ripples" again on We Can't Dance -- i especially like the eerie instrumental middle section.

There is so much potential on this record with some great ideas for songs which are dragged out a little which is mainly due to the turmoil around the band at the time. To start with the positives which is the riffs, hooks and choruses we are treated to. Then there is the instrumentation which shines so bright so often, especially the drumming. Also, the vocal is fantastic and I love Collins vocal performance just as much as I loved Gabriel's vocal on earlier releases. Then there are the first two songs which are phenomenal alongside Ripple and the title track which are both brilliant as well. This gives the record the big moments it needs to be one of the greatest albums but it is let down by the other tracks which aren't consistent enough. I would even argue that Los Endos and Robbery, Assault And Battery are pretty pointless filler cuts with the latter also close to being a bad song. Furthermore, I find on this album that all the songs seemed to be unnecessarily elongated making the record drag and seem like the artist was just trying to fill a run time. This causes me to lose interest in the album pretty easily whilst getting slightly irritated as great songs get brought down by overly lengthy outros or overly long moments where nothing of significance is happening. Overall, I really feel this album did not reach its full potential and it would be interesting to hear it when it is trimmed down but with it being the way it is I don't think it competes with other Genesis albums.