Genesis
We Can't Dance

THE REVIEW

After an easy-breezy album with disproportionate commercial success like "Invisible Touch" (with no less than 5 singles in the top ten!), the most predictable choice for Genesis was to release a carbon-copy album. Fortunately, things didn’t go quite that way: in fact, "We Can't Dance," though fully in a pop dimension and with a typical '90s sound, is pleasantly listenable.

This consideration, of course, is not valid for the die-hard anti-Collins critics, those who from 1978 onwards (some even since 1976!) seize every opportunity to trash every Genesis-labeled work... sometimes giving the impression of not having even listened to it with a minimum of attention and objectivity. Even a quick glance at the artwork (a refined watercolor after the monstrous and sloppy covers of the 1981/1986 period) hints at a more refined work compared to the previous one. And indeed, it is immediately noticeable that the sound is less synthetic and contrived, although still heavily indebted to electronics, while the taste for more complex compositions reemerges with appropriate instrumental openings... The level of most of the lyrics is also strikingly positive (so poor and superficial in the recent past), revealing an unexpected sensitivity to the social issues of our time.

A worthy example is the good opening track, as well as the first single "No Son of Mine," which tackles the thorny issue of family abuse. Among the more elaborate tracks is the lengthy "Driving the Last Spike," unusually dedicated to a historical episode (the construction of the British railway network), which opens as a subtle ballad and then evolves into more rocking rhythms. The piece most loved by old fans is undoubtedly the splendid "Fading Lights": after a melancholic start sung magnificently by a Phil Collins in his prime, a long instrumental interlude explodes, reminiscent of the "Duke" atmospheres, dominated by Banks' rich keyboards. Also noteworthy is the curious "Living Forever," with a beautiful choral finale where Phil's jazzy drumming prevails. But perhaps the album's highlight is represented by the modern and experimental "Dreaming While You Sleep," an intense and haunting track with some fine guitar work by Rutherford... even more beautiful and dramatic in the live version. The playful "Jesus He Knows Me" deals instead with the grotesque phenomenon of American televangelists (not that we're much better off in Italy, with sanctuaries to Padre Pio and weeping Madonnas). Tracks that are decidedly immediate and commercial yet quite listenable include the bluesy "I Can't Dance," the slow-burn love song "Hold On My Heart," and the rhythmic "Tell Me Why," with a pacifist text emphasized by the relative video.

Unfortunately, there are the usual filler tracks, a sad constant in the Genesis of the '80s: "Never a Time," "Way of the World," and "Since I Lost You" are as useless as they are insignificant. Despite their presence, it can be said that "We Can't Dance" is a good chapter in the trio's pop career, certainly the best after 1980 (it’s absurd to attempt comparisons with the band's unrepeatable progressive phase), remembering also that this album has sold a staggering 20 million copies. Successfully combining quality and success is no small feat. Score: 3.5.