Invisible Touch [CD]

I know it's fashionable not to like Genesis these days, but I refuse to bite my lip and say they are rubbish. They can be, and have been, but not here.

I think this album has a lot in common with Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms. They were both released at almost the same time, 1986 and 1985 respectively. Both bands had previously made albums which were critically accalimed - A Trick of the Tail (1976) for Genesis and Making Movies (1980) for Dire Straits, and both bands had achieved moderate commercial success too. However, these two albums marked the point at which both bands managed to fuse artistic brilliance with massive commercial success.

The title track, with its killer melody, is the perfect single. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, with it's contemplative expansiveness is a philosophical and meditative masterpiece. In Too Deep is one of the 80s' most touching love songs. Throwing It All Away is a vicious and angry inditement to all the women that ever broke your heart. And those are just some of the highlights.

It's funny, many people consider this album to completely embody the pop, churn 'em out, hit making era of Genesis but in reality, what we get is a strange sort of "prog-pop" fusion which makes for very interesting listening.

That being said, the opening track Invisible Touch is a pop song. Right from the first taccy roll of the drum machine to the final strains of Phil Collins voice, desperate to be heard over his roaring ego, it's pop. However, dismissing all pop is unfair. I'm a huge fan of early Genesis and consider everything from Trespass to Trick of the Tail to be the golden age of Genesis but this is still good music. It's very catchy and unashamedly happy in a similar vein to sussudio but without the stutter.

Tonight Tonight Tonight (so good they named it thrice)is where it gets very interesting. The drum machine is still there but the song is longer and more varied than its predecessor. The music twists and turns with almost progressive intent. It's dark in mood and Phils vocals are harsher. Here we have Genesis letting music take the front seat, rather than money.

Land of Confusion is one of the finest points on the album. It's still slightly long for a Genesis song but rather than feeling heavy and slow, the song goes from strength to strength. They also had something they wanted to say with this song. I don't mean in the way Phil was always trying to pluck at your purse strings. ("people are dying of aids and death and you have money give me money please"). This is a decent protest song with clever lyrics and well written music. A rarity in modern music.

In Too Deep is enjoyable but borders on Phil Collinistic misery. There's a definite feeling of self-pity in this song but the album just about holds together here. Anything She Does is far more upbeat. Returning to simplistic lyrics and pop music, where this song shines is Phils singing style. The emphasis and voices he uses throughout are very entertaining and make it a worthwhile listen.

Domino is a real highlight. This is where the album truely reaches prog-pop. It starts with a moving and beautifully written opening with nice lyrics and a great chorus. The stage is set and the surreal, almost trance like beggining suddenly gives way to a thundering drum machine and a vast second part of the song which pushes the musicians and singer to their limits. The lyrics are reminiscent of the Gabriel era ambiguity and strangeness and are belted out ferociously over the ever driving drums. It changes all over the place, briefly returns to the opening style, then simply gives itself time to burn out.

Throwing It All Away is a short and quiet song. It serves as a chance to catch your breath after Domino. It's a love song. It's a pop song. It's very nice. Rather than showing off at how much rock and variety they can fit into a song, the band just deliver a beautiful chill-out song which can be enjoyed as unintrusive background music when relaxing.

For the Grand Finale, Genesis decided that, following the tradition of many earlier albums, an instrumental was in order. The Brazilian doesn't disappoint. This is another venture into prog-pop territory. The drum machine is out in full flow and Tony Banks pores over his keyboard supplying a wide range of musical textures and odd noises to this track. Mike Rutherford is on hand with some Rock guitar and the whole thing comes together to create a brilliant closing piece to a very good album.

It's a strange album in terms of sound because the production and instruments make it sound like it should be very firmly based in pop but this goes beyond just "pop" or even just "rock". This is just Genesis playing what they wanted to play no matter how it came out. Sometimes it works, once or twice it doesn't. It's not a masterpiece and it's certainly not the best album in the history of Genesis but whereas certain albums (i.e. the atrocity that is ABACAB) reek of blatant commercialism, this album feels more like several music veterans having a good old jam and sounds all the better for it.

While this album is satisfactory and gains a lot of appeal by its concise, straight forward approach, it is the first sign that Genesis were coming to the end of an era, with some of the songs straying from what is best about pop and more towards the banal.