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Get your tricky tail back to the main Genesis page now! A Trick of the Tail (And You Don't Even Want to Know How I Did It)
Overall Album Score: 8.8 out of 10 Holy cow! Did Peter Gabriel leave? Well, that sucks! What the heck is Genesis without Peter Gabriel? It would just be like Johnny Appleseed without his apple seeds! Dude! That would suck! Without Johnny Appleseed, we wouldn't have apples, which would leave us humans wide-open for doctor attacks. So, you know that Genesis without Peter Gabriel has got to be bad, then. Don't forget who took over the band! Yeah! It was Mister cue ball himself, Phil Collins! He sucks! ... Except he did win an Academy Award. But that doesn't mean he can't suck! Celine Dion won an academy award, the ho. ... Oh wait. At least at this point in the Genesis discography, Phil Collins keeps the band on the same Prog-rock path it had been since its conception. And ... truthfully, it could have been 1000000 times worse. Phil Collins even sounds like Peter Gabriel! So the stylistics of the band haven't changed much, the sound hasn't changed much ... hey! Who needs Peter Gabriel? Ohhhh! But when I listen to this album, I do notice something fundamental that's missing. Every single Genesis album previous to this point really managed to delve deep into my soul and enchant me with its serene sense of mystics and spirituality! Without the brilliance of Peter Gabriel, Trick of the Tail just sounds like an above average version of everybody else's prog-rock album. Oh sigh! But it is above average! I wish I could get 'above averages' on my semester report cards ... (At my school, based on the conversations with people that I had, an F would be average.) The point is, however, that it is above average. So what if Gabriel-less Genesis doesn't sound as good as Gabriel-full Genesis? It still sounds nice. And, if you miss Pete so much, then why don't you just listen to Selling England By the Pound again? That'll do the old trick. You could do much worse than listening to Phil Collins Genesis. You could listen to Phil Collins' solo albums! Genesis is still perfectly entertaining and they do know exactly what they're doing. So, put Trick of the Tail right on the same rack with all the other classic Genesis albums. Overall Album Score: 8.8 out of 10 (Yes! Go right ahead and put this one next to all the Gabriel era Genesis classics. It doesn't only stylistically fit in with those albums, it is as beautiful as any of 'em. However, it's ever-slightly more shallow. Gabriel was an irreplaceable asset, the remaining four members did better than you could have expected.) Average Song Score: 9.0 (Even without Peter Gabriel, Genesis at least proves they can come out with a very strong set of songs.) Album Tilt: 9.0 (I do enjoy this album very much! Much of it is very beautiful.) Artist Rating: 8.5 (Unfortunately, I'll have to dock a few points in this category because this is hardly a worthy follow-up to the Gabriel era. It's not deep, spiritual, or psychological as the previous Genesis albums used to be ... something that I didn't even fully appreciate until now!) Track Reviews Dance on a Volcano 9/10 This album certainly starts off on a high note! (As in "something that's good" not "a musical note that is of a high tone.") It's kind of a disjointed Prog song with arranging that seems devoid of any sensible structure, yet it sounds perfectly like it was done on purpose! And the song works! The instrumental interludes are entertaining, as well. Nothing is wrong. Phil Collins keeps the Genesis tradition going! ... For now. Entangled 10/10 Even better! This is a beauty! It's a slower, more sweeping song that, again, doesn't make us too sad that Gabriel left. I like the entire thing ... although, I'm wondering why there's a Moog-synth in here. I thought the Moog-synth days were over starting 1970! Well ... even with the synth, I really like the orchestration they did on this track! (Yikes, though! I'm thinking it would have been utterly phenomenal had Tony Banks gotten his facts straight.) Just the same, I think it's rad. Squonk 9.5/10 Hah! I think that's one of the funniest song titles on the planet! "Squonk!" That's the greatest made-up word on the planet, I reckon. This is an excellent prog-rock song that is certainly as good as anything Gabriel-era Genesis could put out. (Minus the deep spirituality ... but that was a gimme, right?) It's a wonderfully entertaining prog-rock song. More than you'd ever want, I bet. Mad Man Moon 8.5/10 This one is a little bit unfocused, but it is lovely through-and-through. Tony Banks treats us to a little bit of good piano here, which is always welcomed. I really enjoy the melodic moments, though, when Phil's actually singing. Oh man! It's much, much simpler than the way Pete used to do it, but dang it! I still like it! Genesis really seems to mellow out here ... and I mean that in a good way! If they bloomed on Selling England By the Pound, their pedals grow a deep red and emit sweet thick smells on A Trick of the Tail. Never a bad thing ... though it does mean that it passed its peak. Robbery, Assault, & Battery 8.5/10 Not wonderful, but still excellent. This is another fine, strong Genesis song ... more reminiscent of the Genesis days of yore compared to the last one. It's more baffling and complex with all sorts of violent chords going off and Tony Banks comes in every once in a while and dazzles us with his quick fingers on that keyboard. It's nice ... but like the previous track, it seems a bit unfocused as well. (For the record, this song sounds kind of like "The Battle of Epling Forest" ... a song which was not unfocused.) Ah. It doesn't matter. Genesis still has good kinetic energy. Ripples 9/10 This is a song that meddles around in quiet, yet dramatic territory (with GREAT and QUIET piano notes) and then when the song explodes in its beautiful chorus it just manages to fill you with such passionate, desperate emotion that ... oh! I just don't know what! I always feel awful when reviewing Genesis albums, because I always forget to mention Steve Hackett, el guitaro-man extraordinaire. He's barely on here, but his quiet presence lends the song a fantastical quality that enchants me like nothin' else. A Trick of the Tail 9.5/10 This is pretty good! (Only at four-and-a-half minutes, this might just be the only song on the album that is of the correct length!) And ... this song isn't too simple ... it isn't too unfocused ... the instrumentation is quirky and fun yet not too overbearing. The melody is fairly catchy ... I like it! The lyrics are fun to read through, as well. They still aren't as mystically enchanting as Gabriel could make 'em, but they certainly recall Gabriel in a good light. Los Endos 8/10 I'm not a huge fan of this instrumental track, but I'd be the last person to tell you that it's boring. It's entertaining! It's just not anything too memorable. Helllllllo! What do you think of A Trick of the Tail and my mother? Leave your comments here. slb23@shaw.ca (Simon B.) received August 1, 2004 A TRICK OF THE TAIL is my favourite Phil Collins-era Genesis
album. I've had it for about 5 years, and I always return to it. The
music is wonderful, and the lyrics are great, too (better than I would've
thought for the first post-Gabriel album).
acg3dinst@aol.com (andreas G) received April 11, 2007 I think you got it right. Here Genesis is treading water for the first time. Phil does a good job on the vocals but he just doesn't have the range and expressiveness, and creativity that PG does. Still, a very enjoyable album (the last really good one, I think). |
All reviews are copyrighted by Michael Lawrence. He no likes-ah Garth Brooks.
