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Foxtrot marked a decisive point in Genesis's career. An emerging art-rock band who were building up a growing cult following with a busy touring schedule, this album was an artistic and commercial landmark; it was their first album to chart. Including the classic "Watcher of the Skies" and Peter Gabriel's whimsically compassionate slice of life, "Get 'Em Out by Friday," the album's highlight is the ambitious sidelong epic "Supper's Ready." Comprising seven linked subsections, it was inspired apparently by a frightening experience where Gabriel's wife, Jill, felt she was possessed, and is a story of two lovers and the struggle between good and evil. Certainly it was the most innovative and entertaining piece the band had produced to date. The relatively rough production values could be seen as either detracting somewhat from the impact of the album or adding a pleasantly rough edge to what might otherwise be a somewhat prim sound. --James Swift
Progreview: 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.
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