SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND

by

Genesis

Edit

I listened to Genesis obsessively while in graduate school and this 1973 recording was always a favorite. For me, Selling England by the Pound represents everything about progressive rock that I hold near and dear: intricate ensemble work, virtuosic musicianship, cool synthesizer sounds (ARP Pro Soloist!), and "hummable" melodies. I know the "hummable" melodies thing will raise a few eyebrows, but they are nice to have around and there is no shortage of them on this recording.

There is a mixture of long and short pieces on Selling England by the Pound, which range from quiet acoustic pieces to full-blown, over the top, prog extravaganzas. The longer pieces include Dancing with the Moonlit Knight (8'03"), Firth of Fifth (9'37"), The Battle of Epping Forest (11'44"), and The Cinema Show/Aisle of Plenty (12'41"). Sandwiched in-between the longer pieces is the poppy I Know What I Like (in 1974, it reached #21 in England), More Fool Me, which is an acoustic piece with Phil Collins on vocals, and After the Ordeal, which is a short instrumental written by guitarist Steve Hackett. Each of the longer pieces are excellent examples of their highly disciplined ensemble approach to arrangements, which include pre-composed solos and display the use of a few carefully placed chords that make the transition between sections in different keys seamless. The transitional chords and mellow 12-string acoustic guitar parts, along with smooth synthesizer and guitar tones, a full Rickenbacker bass sound from Mike Rutherford, and the ability of excellent drummer Phil Collins to make even a 5/4 seem natural impart an unhurried, warm, and intimate feel to the whole recording.

Based on what I have read, writers block plagued Genesis during the recording period even though Selling England by the Pound is conceptually sound (it comments on English class structure) and it is only Firth of Fifth that suffers from a dodgy lyric. Furthermore, keyboardist Tony Banks expressed irritation with vocalist Peter Gabriel's decision to plaster lyrics over the entirety of the already busy The Battle of Epping Forest. So many lyrics in fact, that Peter reportedly ran out of breath during live performances of the song.

Although the sound quality of this 1994 remaster is not nearly as good as my old LP, it is still pretty good.

In spite of it all, the guys in Genesis came through with a remarkable recording of progressive rock - one that I return to again and again. Very highly recommended.

Although this album contains some of Genesis' best songs ever, I must dissent from the consensus view that it's their best - especially when compared with its immediate neighbors in their discography: "Foxtrot" (which I consider their best Gabriel-era album) and "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" (a masterpiece until it runs out of gas halfway through the second disc). There's just way too much filler and bluff after you get past the three best songs.

But those three songs! "Dancing With the Moonlight Night" begins the record in dramatic and majestic fashion; its lyrics lament the disappearance of Merrie Olde England with an aching nostalgia ("Can you tell me where my country lies...Paperlate, cried a voice in the crowd...The note he left was signed `Old Providence' - it seems he's drowned"). The keyboard solo at the end of the song sets the tone for the rest of the album: this is Tony Banks' coming out party. Even better is "Firth of Fifth," with its gorgeous piano intro and outro, and Banks' ingenious use of theme and variation (for an excellent analysis of this song, check out Edward Macan's fine analysis of progressive rock, "Rocking the Classics.") Finally, there's "Cinema Show/Aisle of Plenty," which begins as a ballad about a lower-class Romeo and Juliet, spins into a euphoric extended instrumental section, and concludes with a restatement of the "Moonlight Night" theme. "Cinema Show" ranks with "The Musical Box" and "Supper's Ready" as one of the very best Genesis songs ever.

These three tracks make up about half the album's running time, and qualify the record as essential Genesis. But the rest of the songs constitute a serious drop in quality. "I Know What I Like" is a shoddy (and annoying) early attempt at a Genesis pop song; the flaccid "More Fool Me" features a tentative Phil Collins attempting lead vocals for the first time, with mixed results; "The Battle of Epping Forest" is a poor man's "Supper's Ready," without the spark of genius that made the earlier song work so brilliantly; and "After the Ordeal" is a nice instrumental that fades from memory as soon as it ends.

If you're into early Genesis, "Selling England By The Pound" is a must based on its glorious peaks. But its valleys disqualify it from masterpiece status.