Duke

by

Genesis

Edit

'Duke' was released in March 1980 and marked the beginning of a more commercial period for Genesis. I am a big fan of Genesis both with Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, (their albums from 'Tresspass' right through to '...And Then There Were Three' I found outstanding, and I also disagree with some reviewers that Genesis were finished after Steve Hackett left the band.

'Duke' is kind of a concept album, 'Behind The Lines', 'Duchess', 'Guide Vocal', 'Turn It On Again' and 'Duke's Travels'/'Duke's End' - all classic Genesis without doubt - originally itended as one suite. The drums are very powerful on the album, although Collins' distinctive drum sound would appear the next year on his solo debut 'Face Value'.

'Duke' starts with a bang with 'Behind the Lines', which goes straight into 'Duchess', with the short 'Guide Vocal' (written by Banks) on the end, all excellent. 'Man of Our Times' sounds rather messy at first, but gets better with repeated listenings. Collins' 'Misunderstanding' was released as a hit single and it probably paves the way for many of the songs Phil Collins wrote as a solo artist in future years. 'Heathaze' is a bit too slow for my liking.

'Turn It On Again' starts the second half and this of course was the other single from the album. Unfortunately it is after this that the album really deteriorates, thanks to the rather whiney 'Alone Tonight' and 'Please Don't Ask'. The latter track has a listenable enough tune but the lyrics are cringeworthy to say the least! Sandwiched in between these is 'Cul de Sac', written by Banks, a good track but a bit bombastic and certainly not one of his best (he did much better with his compositions on both 'Trick of the Tail' and 'Wind and Wuthering' - check out 'Mad Man Moon' and 'One for the Vine', two of my most favourite Genesis tracks).

'Duke' picks up again at the end with the nearly 9 minute long 'Duke's Travels', probably the most prog piece on the album. This goes straight into 'Duke's End', which is a reprise of the opening 'Behind the Lines'.

Overall, Duke is made up mostly of strong material and is worth visiting... 3 and a half stars overall. The band also played some fantastic live shows around this time - tracks such as 'Behind the Lines' and 'Duchess' sound even better live (check out 'Three Sides Live' for these and more). Many reviewers will disagree with me as I prefer 'Abacab' to this and prefer the more stripped-down sound that came with that album... 'Duke' though still has its moments and its immensely superior to 1991's 'We Can't Dance' and the abysmal 1997 album 'Calling All Stations'.