...And Then There Were Three
by Genesis (UK)

It's basically a slightly more commercialized and stripped down Wind and Wuthering. By this point, Genesis were becoming stagnant because Rutherford and Banks were basically the only songwriters left, and they had been there since day one: it was probably best that they changed musical directions with the next album, Duke, by giving Collins more to do. I don't mind Genesis going mainstream, but this album was just too romantic and mellow for my taste. I prefer the opposite kind of mainstream: upbeat, powerful, aggressive, bombastic. At its best it's intriguingly atmospheric...and not much more. It's Wind and Wuthering meets singer-songwriter mediocrity. The definition of an average album. Most of the tracks are forgettable, but I do enjoy Follow You Follow Me.

The first of many albums in the band's three-piece era, and a pretty darn good one considering how huge the loss of Steve Hackett was. It's not very even, and it kind of loses steam toward the second half, but there are still some really nice prog moments on here (Snowbound, Burning Rope) as well as some fun prog-pop tunes (Down and Out, Follow You Follow Me) that really shone a light on the direction Genesis was heading in. I'd argue that the highs are just as high as the previous album, Wind & Wuthering, but it's not as consistent. Perhaps that makes sense for a new three-piece outfit looking to make some hit singles for the first time in their long music career. Not the very best, but definitely a worthy edition to the Genesis catalog. (Edited)

Definitely one of the weakest albums from my absolute favorite band. The album really seems confused as to which direction it is going. Some of the songwriting is pretty mediocre here. Especially on "Snowbound" (Hey there's a Snowman/Hey, Hey what a Snowman/Pray for the Snowman/Ooh, Ooh what a Snowman). As a comment below me said, this album is very atmospheric and works well as a fall-time album. I also think that the two final tracks are standouts. Overall, this album is just average, and it could have been so much more. Well, at least we have the rest of Genesis' discography to keep us company.

From doombringer 02/24/2024 12:11 | #302185 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

All of the albums that Genesis released in the 1970's were good .
Some were better , some were just good. Like this one , i have to admit .
Sans Steve Hackett and his recognizable Guitar-playing-style, the eleven tracks feature some of the best keyboard -works by Tony Banks . A very underrated Album (Edited)

I think this is an underrated album because it was the first attempt of the 3-man band era. It's still very proggy in spots and hits a lot of sweet spots, even if it is uneven. But I think it's unique! (Edited)