Selling England By The Pound

This is the very peak of Genesis' output. Gabriel's lyrics, the instrumental arrangements, the incredibly clever song structures, the great melodies, all combine to create something utterly moving and magic. The whole mood of this album is quite unlike anything else - a mixture of mythical, medieval and modern; bombast and humour, but above all, beauty.

This is the album on which Tony Banks creates his most magical keyboard soundscapes (but not forgetting to add plenty of fresh, exciting piano), Hackett gets the biggest chance to shine that he ever would on a Genesis album, and Gabriel writes some of his funniest, cleverest and most interesting lyrics, delivering them as only he can. There are some of the most emotionally devastating instrumental moments here on any Genesis album - any album FULL STOP, in fact - for example; Hackett's gut-wrenching guitar solo in 'Firth of Fifth', and Banks' extended keyboard solo at the end of 'The Cinema Show', where his keys create a swirling mass of colourful sound that envelops the listener and seems to come straight from the heart. And amongst all this, Gabriel draws you in with his commentaries on the degeneration of modern England, as well as transporting the listener back to the mythological England that never was.

Nowhere is this more apparent than on the opening track, 'Dancing with the Moonlit Knight', a song with so many twists and turns that you're left gasping for breath at the end, or at least you would be if there were not a two-minute outro of soothing, plucked acoustic guitars and textural sounds from the keyboards and flute.

Next we have 'I Know what I Like (In your Wardrobe)', with another winner of a lyric from Peter and a stomping beat, giving the band its first minor chart success.

'Firth of Fifth' follows, and what strikes you about this track is how intelligently written its instrumental section is, taking the listener along many different musical landscapes, and building tension until culminating in the aforementioned Hackett solo.

Following this is 'More Fool Me', a pretty little acoustic ditty from Phil Collins about a broken down relationship, that does not fit in with the rest of the album at all, but in a way makes it all the more appealing for this little idiosyncrasy. Anyhow, it breaks up the album between two lengthy compositions, much like 'I Know what I Like' and 'After the Ordeal' do, so that taken as a whole it is not too overwhelming.

Talking of which, the next track, 'The Battle of Epping Forest' is the longest on the album at 11:46. It is about a gang battle for rights over land in East London, and Peter Gabriel goes all-out with his theatrics, assuming the roles of so many different characters, and putting on so many different voices, that you can't help but laugh. There's also the strange interlude in the middle of the track about goodness knows what - something to do with a reverend - that seemingly has nothing to do with the rest of the song, but does a great job of keeping the listener's interest (much like 'Willow Farm' in 'Supper's Ready').

Next up we have the instrumental 'After the Ordeal', with some beautiful piano and guitar work from Banks and Hackett respectively; I often get a sense of freedom when listening to this, as indeed I do when listening to most of the album.

After this we have 'The Cinema Show', combining, like 'Firth of Fifth', lyrical sketches with extended instrumental passages, including, of course, the again aforementioned Banks keyboard solo. This leads back into one of the main themes from 'Dancing with the Moonlit Knight', but shifted across the bar, which in turn leads into 'Aisle of Plenty', a reprise of a small section of 'Dancing with the Moonlight Knight' but with different lyrics and a haunting mood, to make you feel complete at album's end.

This is not only my favourite Genesis album, but probably my favourite album of all time, and one of the best musical works (classical or otherwise) that I have heard.

I've been into Genesis since I was in my twenties, and now, in my fifties, I'm still as big a fan as ever. This album, for me, is Genesis at their absolute peak. A towering album, as powerful today as ever. The music lifts me as high now as it did all those years ago. The Lamb comes close, but Selling England is a timeless classic - if you haven't heard it, you're lucky, because you have so much to look forward to - BRILLIANT.

For me, this is the defining album of the early Genesis years, although perhaps an acquired taste, it has grown on me over the years and has never lost its magic.

From the first moment of Peter Gabriel's stand-alone voice singing "Can you tell me where my country lies? ... " there is a stamp of something bold and different in what is to come in the following songs. The rest of the opening track contains some moments of pure genius and a flowing energy that takes you right into the album.

It is the atmosphere that runs through the whole 50 minutes or so, evoking images of medieval England with an almost mythological air in both the lyrics and the instruments.

Another quality to this album is its diversity, from a classical opening to Fifth of Firth on the piano by Tony Banks to the catchy "In your wardrobe" track, which if I recall correctly from a documentary I saw, was the first taste of single success that Genesis had, getting into the top 20.

Overall, although this may not be to everybody's taste, it is a must for any Genesis fan, and worth a listen for anyone else! If it catches your imagination, then it will last you for years of relistening.