Genesis - Nursery Cryme (CD 1994)

Originally releases in 1971 this is the first album to feature the "classic" Genesis line up

Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett and Phil Collins

The addition of Collins drumming and Hacketts guitar made Genesis the best oiled machine there ever was.

You only need to listen the opening track Musical Box to know what I mean.

Of the seven tracks on the album there are three "long tracks" (Musical Box, Hogweed, Salmacis) and four "Short tracks"
The delicate Harliquin and For Absent Friends (Collins on vocals), the humerous Harlod the Barrel, and the vastly underrated Seven Stones.

If I was to recommend and ealy Genesis album to a first time listener this would not be the album I would choose but it is a classic from the Genesis stable and certainly a worthy addition to any classic rock collection

A Genesis epic, Nursery Cryme broke away from the Trespass and Revelation moodiness and threw Gabriels Genesis firmly into the progrock spotlight.

The Musical Box is a deep, dark and distrubing tale: progrock at it's best. Key, tempo and style changes allow the song to fraw you into the lyrics, as disturbing now as it was when written in 1970.

Harlequin and For Absent friends are almost confectionary-like in their lightness, with Harold the Barrell adding a comic twist.
Returning to a darker theme are Seven Stones and the odd subject matter in Return of the Giant Hogweed.

The Foutain of Salamancis is a little like musical marmite: you either love it or hate it, you cannot have no opinion. Setting Greek myths to music is never easy, but the story-telling, for me, is magical and a huge release from the mundanity of life.

In all this is an artictic masterpiece, comparable to Obscured by Clouds (Pink Floyd), Led Zeppelin III and ELP's Tarkus, all from the same year: 1971.
Genesis is the darker and more melancholy of the four, but well worth a listen if you have a few spare minutes: you will be surprised, and hopefully like me, delighted.