Genesis
A Trick of the Tail

Inspired by a very pleasant conversation I had here on DeBaser with a dear friend, I decided to listen again for the billionth (maybe) time to this wonderful Genesis album, "A Trick Of The Tail," the first album without the great Peter Gabriel.

Like all legendary bands, when a leader leaves the ship, you never know what might happen, especially how the audience will take it. Pink Floyd had to struggle with this "phenomenon" created by the media and especially the public after Roger Waters' "departure," as did many other bands... in 1976 it was Genesis' turn. Gabriel was too tied to all the "theatrical" aspects, his being a "chameleonic" artist, his passion for transforming into the characters written in the band's songs. The rest of the band, however, pushed to highlight the band's technical aspects, which were significant, by the way... The band has always boasted excellent musicians, so I think it was normal for them to want to "showcase" not only Gabriel's art but also their own.

The enthusiasm, the desire to positively impress the audience, and the effort to minimize Gabriel's absence led the band to release "A Trick Of The Tail," a concept album that, in my opinion, does not differ at all from previous great works. The mood, the atmosphere created is always the same... we find ourselves living in yet another and wonderful fairy tale, a tale that only Genesis can tell in such a delicate, sweet, and magical way. The album contains extraordinary tracks, to be precise all the tracks are extraordinary, sure "Entangled" makes you dream, delicate, a flight among the clouds... then comes "Squonk" which at times seems like a sung version of the last unforgettable track of the album "Los Endos," and that's hardly surprising given we're talking about a concept. Most likely, "Los Endos" is the most beautiful track on the album, an exceptional closing that can't help but leave fans literally speechless, and even the most die-hard Gabriel supporters, I think, cannot deny that the band pulled off a great record even without their leader.

Sure, now if we think of "Foxtrot," "Nursery Cryme," "Selling England By The Pound," or even "Broadway," we enter a tunnel of considerations that we won't see the light of for months, because then subjective taste comes into play and there's no point in arguing there, which is why I don't want to compare this album with previous works. As many rightly pointed out, this album lacks what we can call the "epic" track, the "Supper's Ready" of the moment, so to speak... or "Firth Of Fifth"... just to mention two "monstrous" tracks... this is undeniable... but it is also undeniable that "A Trick Of The Tail" even without containing "the track that makes the difference" within it, still has all wonderful tracks and at least in my opinion, none can be set aside. The vocals are wonderful, the musical part is, as usual, sublime, and the album flows beautifully, listening to it with eyes closed is pure ecstasy!

What can I say, Genesis, at least with this and the subsequent album, managed to assert themselves, they showed grit and the right inspiration to create at least two extraordinary works in the absence of Peter Gabriel, the Floyds didn't manage, yes, I have to say... as a Floyd fan I have to say... after "Final Cut" and after Waters' departure, Pink Floyd failed to make an album worthy of their name... "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" is in my opinion not a successful album, or better said... not an album deserving of the name of the band that created it... it went significantly better with "The Division Bell," but the absence of Waters was always felt. In "A Trick Of The Tail," is Gabriel's absence felt? In my opinion, no, the band perfectly managed to maintain the high technical-musical level they had accustomed us to for years. They even succeeded with the subsequent album "Wind & Wuthering," which maybe isn't as beautiful as this one but is still a very successful and worthy record of the name of who created it. After that... though... the decline was felt even in Genesis.

Now, what rating can we give to this album? On the spot, just like that... I'd give it the maximum, 5 stars, it would be a shame not to give it 5 stars, listening to it today it would be even more appropriate to give it five stars... "how great it would be to have albums like this today"... as they say...!!! But then I also have to take into consideration all of Genesis' production and examine many other aspects. Therefore, I think it’s appropriate to give five stars to "A Trick Of The Tail" while clarifying that I consider it just a "step" below the previous works. Naturally, this last consideration of mine is entirely subjective and debatable. Given the very subtle difference that may exist between this and the previous albums, it's clear that many might disagree and consider this album as much an absolute masterpiece as the former ones. I think at this point it is too subjective. In any case, I think we all agree among Genesis fans that "A Trick Of The Tail" is a sublime album, a masterpiece? Very probably yes!

VinnySparrow