b o b

I don't have much to add to the already existing reviews, except to relate this little tale: When I was in college, my roommate accidentally left the door to our room unlocked one day, and someone walked in and stole my tape deck. The thing that really irritated me about it was that my copy of Foxtrot was in it at the time, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find another copy. Definitely one of Genesis' best, and a classic album that all prog fans should hear. review by Bob Eichler — undated —

s e a n

This 1972 release from Genesis shows a band growing more confident in the sound developed in their previous release, Nursery Cryme. The influence of Tony Banks continued to grow as more and different keyboards were worked into the compositions. Genesis released their first (and only) side-long epic. All these things point to Foxtrot as one of the most important Genesis albums. Strong points of the album include the solemn "Watcher of the Skies", bookended by a powerful and familliar Mellotron theme. "Can-Utility and the Coastliners", a somewhat underappreciated track, is almost prototypical Genesis, with Gabriel singing of the legend of King Canute while Hackett and Banks tear into their respective instruments to produce parts which are enjoyable yet still technically proficient. "Horizion's" is a nice enough guitar solo, and of course there is "Supper's Ready". So what to make of this 20+-minute song that begins with an evening watching TV and ends with the apocalypse? Personally I think it works, with even the weaker parts at least offering something to the overall theme of the song. While Peter Gabriel dancing around as a flower isn't exactly the height of art for me, I can deal with it because of the impressive payoff that closes the song in the form of "Apocalypse in 9/8" and "As Sure As Eggs is Eggs", the final two parts. Of course this album isn't a total success. For that to be the case, the lyrics of "Time Table" would have to be something other than painful. And there is the mystery of "Get 'Em Out By Friday"; why is it that those nice old people were evicted to fit people in who were half the height ("We can fit twice as many in the same building site") when they offered to pay double the rent? If you keep them around, you can make the same money and not have to pay for renovations! Joking aside, it's a pretty half-baked morality tale without too much going on for eight or nine minutes. Foxtrot stands strongly in the Genesis canon despite its flaws, and makes an excellent entry point into the world of symphonic for interested neo-prog fans. Likewise, people who enjoy Genesis but not most of their contemporaries may want to make the leap to that other sub-genre as well. Recommended. review by Sean McFee — undated —

j o e

Similar to Yes' fourth album Fragile, Genesis' fourth album is rather disjointed, attempting to glue various bits and pieces together into a workable whole. The most seamless tune and undisputed classic is "Watcher of the Skies," with its gothic mellotron opening. The sometimes-disputed classic is "Supper's Ready" (as for myself, I love certain sections, but think the epic as a whole is a bit overrated when one looks at the forest instead of the trees). As for the remaining tracks, "Time Table" is my least favorite. I find it boring all the way through, with hideous lyrics. The sci-fi satire of "Get 'Em Out By Friday" starts off great but then criminally fizzles out (perhaps the biggest anti-climax on the album). On the other hand, "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is the most underrated one here, and "Horizon's" is a short Hackett guitar instrumental that, while perhaps a tad out of place opening up for the mammoth "Supper's Ready," is still an undeniably beautiful piece. All in all, Foxtrot's a great album to be sure, but I think it has got some weak moments. review by Joe McGlinchey — undated —

e r i c

The centerpiece here is the classic "Suppers Ready", which makes this CD a must have. There is much more to the CD that is special. The CD opens with "Watcher of the Skies" which contains one of the most memorable keyboard intros in prog. It is a very powerful piece of music with excellent drumming from Collins and the band playing a hypnotic rythym with Banks' organ over the top. A very dramatic finale closes this great tune. "Time Table" opens with piano, a mellow tune for the most part, and straight forward. "Get 'Em Out By Friday" has nice guitar and keyboard interplay on the opening; it's a pretty heavy song with strong bass and jumping organ chords. "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" has lots of acoustic guitar and flutes, nice mellotron section with driving acoustic guitars, a lot of different sections. "Horizon's" is a short classical guitar piece from Hackett. "Supper's Ready" is broken into seven distinct sections, opening with acoustic guitars and vocal, followed by an instrumental section with flutes and piano; very atmospheric. Lots of Tony Banks featured throughout, heavy organ sections and soloing, lyrics get surreal, music gets very eclectic at times, like in the "Willow Farm" section for example. "Apocalypse in 9/8" helps build the tension to a maximum, very rythmic and powerful, and of course the ending where you feel a sense of relief, a soothing symphonic ending. Foxtrot is a great CD and offers everything that you could want. It is a must have as is most early to mid-period Genesis. review by Eric Porter — undated —

b r a n d o n

First of all, it must be known that aside from "Firth of Fifth", Genesis' music does practically nothing for me. It lacks edge, aggressiveness, and musicianship; and just generally fails consistently to grab my attention. That said, I think Foxtrot is an overrated album. The opener "Watcher of the Skies" is decent enough, and I do like "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" and the brief Hackett acoustic guitar piece that is "Horizon's" (why the apostrophe?). None of the other pieces, including the much-vaunted side-long epic "Supper's Ready", appeal to me at all. "Supper's Ready" itself seems like a bunch of separate songs - not particularly great ones, either - pasted together into an LP side. Also see the jabs at "Apocalypse in 9/8" that David Lynch has written (available in the articles section); I agree with them wholeheartedly. Not my cup of tea, then; but fans of the band will undoubtedly disagree with me completely, as this is an acknowledged Genesis classic. To each his own. review by Brandon Wu — undated —