SALMACIS

It was the first LP by Genesis that I bought, back in 1979. That's why I have a particular attachment to it, though not to the extent of overlooking the rubbish, because I truly consider "The Ballad of Big," "Scenes from a Night Dream," and even the overly sweet "Follow You Follow Me" to be just that. Purified of these three pieces of trash (especially the first two, which are truly awful), the album wouldn’t be so bad after all. There are gems in there, such as "Down and Out," "Undertow," "Deep in the Motherlode," and "The Lady Lies," exactly two per side.

Dear Moro, I agree with you, although I am a bit more benevolent in my overall judgment of the album. In fact, I consider "The Grand Conjuration" a masterpiece that introduces new themes into the Opeth sound. I completely agree on "Isolation Years," a bit less so on "The Arlequin Forest," while I think the opening track is a bit better than you describe. It is clear, however, and here lies the problem, that the Opeth arc is entering its descending phase.

Dear Moro, I agree with you, although I am a bit more benevolent in my overall judgment of the album. In fact, I consider "The Grand Conjuration" a masterpiece that introduces new themes into the Opeth sound. I completely agree on "Isolation Years," a bit less so on "The Arlequin Forest," while I think the opening track is a bit better than you describe. It is clear, however, and here lies the problem, that the Opeth arc is entering its descending phase.

What a magnificent record, sublime, wonderful. The first of a magical quartet that, through Welcome and "Love Devotion and Surrender" with Mahavishnu Mac Laughlin, will culminate in the deep live LOTUS, a true summa of Santana's sound. Waves Within is truly fantastic, Every Step of the Way encapsulates all the poetry of the first four albums and sublimates it into an unmatched synthesis.

Croce said, "beware of those who claim to have great intuitions, but so sublime that they can't be told. Every true intuition is expression, and therefore also communication." Too often we hide behind the alibi of the inexpressible. Anyway, since you didn’t write the review, I'll fill in: the album you just suggested is, in my opinion, the best by Hammill's group (yes, even better than Pawn Hearts, but I don’t have time now to prove it). Creativity is at its peak: "Killer" and "House With No Door" are like the sun and the moon, the Yin and the Yang, only the Yin is the latter. "Killer" is masculine and rhythmic, I would even say devilish, while "House With No Door" is feminine, lunar, nocturnal, a charm of voice and keyboards. But the true masterpiece is "The Emperor in His War Room," which, if you look closely, contains the aforementioned duality: the first part is dreamy, and the second is jazz-rock. Fripp's acoustic guitar first and electric later is dreamy. "Lost" and "Pioneer Over C" COMPLETE AND STABILIZE AN INCREDIBLY HIGH EXPRESSIVE LEVEL.

Croce said, "beware of those who claim to have great intuitions, but so sublime that they can't be told. Every true intuition is expression, and therefore also communication." Too often we hide behind the alibi of the inexpressible. Anyway, since you didn’t write the review, I'll fill in: the album you just suggested is, in my opinion, the best by Hammill's group (yes, even better than Pawn Hearts, but I don’t have time now to prove it). Creativity is at its peak: "Killer" and "House With No Door" are like the sun and the moon, the Yin and the Yang, only the Yin is the latter. "Killer" is masculine and rhythmic, I would even say devilish, while "House With No Door" is feminine, lunar, nocturnal, a charm of voice and keyboards. But the true masterpiece is "The Emperor in His War Room," which, if you look closely, contains the aforementioned duality: the first part is dreamy, and the second is jazz-rock. Fripp's acoustic guitar first and electric later is dreamy. "Lost" and "Pioneer Over C" COMPLETE AND STABILIZE AN INCREDIBLY HIGH EXPRESSIVE LEVEL.

Croce said, "beware of those who claim to have great intuitions, but so sublime that they can't be told. Every true intuition is expression, and therefore also communication." Too often we hide behind the alibi of the inexpressible. Anyway, since you didn’t write the review, I'll fill in: the album you just suggested is, in my opinion, the best by Hammill's group (yes, even better than Pawn Hearts, but I don’t have time now to prove it). Creativity is at its peak: "Killer" and "House With No Door" are like the sun and the moon, the Yin and the Yang, only the Yin is the latter. "Killer" is masculine and rhythmic, I would even say devilish, while "House With No Door" is feminine, lunar, nocturnal, a charm of voice and keyboards. But the true masterpiece is "The Emperor in His War Room," which, if you look closely, contains the aforementioned duality: the first part is dreamy, and the second is jazz-rock. Fripp's acoustic guitar first and electric later is dreamy. "Lost" and "Pioneer Over C" COMPLETE AND STABILIZE AN INCREDIBLY HIGH EXPRESSIVE LEVEL.

I essentially agree with Giobbe and Giov: A nice step back from the last masterpieces. Whether it is superior to the average quality of releases in 2005 is another matter, but if I had listened to it in advance, I wouldn't have bought it. Bye.

Dear Rebel, I imagine you are referring to Gabriel from the '70s and '80s because aesthetically he's taken quite a dive... anyway, his personality and charisma are still the same. I've been a Genesis fan since '79 at least. I saw them at the legendary Festival dell'Unità di Tirrenia in 1982, when they played the splendid Supper's Ready. At Apocalypse in 9/8 THERE WAS THE APOTHEOSIS. I consider this Suite the pinnacle of Genesis's art alongside Musical Box from Nursery Cryme.

Oh no, my dear Rebel. While it is true that aesthetic judgment is always eminently subjective and only partly objective, in this case "more particular" fits Nursery Cryme much better, while Foxtrot is characterized by an elegance, a balance, and a wisdom in the arrangements that make it a classic of Progressive. Cf. "What is a Classic" T.S. Eliot. In Nursery Cryme, on the other hand, one can witness perhaps a more marked genius and intuition (The Musical Box) but the textbook synthesis of the Genesis sound is "Supper's Ready" and perhaps even more so the splendid first "side."