Jeff Blehar
I'm going to have to side with most of people here in disagreeing with you, George. I think that Foxtrot is an absolute peak performance for the early Genesis, which is easily the equal if not the better of Selling England By The Pound (it's close, but I'd ultimately favor Foxtrot because "The Battle Of Epping Forest" is just lamentably bad). Almost everything is top-notch here; "Watcher Of The Skies" is a great opening shot, with those portentous organ chords and that bizarrely clipped 7/4 meter.
I like the "short" songs like "Time Table" and "Can-Utility" quite a lot as well, especially the melody line of the latter. The only song on here I actively dislike is "Get 'Em Out By Friday," which is just a bit TOO British for my tastes...I think the opening is also really ungainly and ugly, too. "Horizons" is a beautiful acoustic showcase, but really now, the reason why we all love this album is that thing on Side 2: "Supper's Ready." I can't think of very many songs that I'm happy to sit and listen to for 24 minutes, but this is one of them.
There are just SO many intriguing things going on in here, brilliant little bits that you just sit up and smile for: that mystical and momentous opening passage (goosebumps for me always), the loping melody of "Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man," the orgasmic release of the guitar soloing on "Ihknaton & Itsacon," the inspired goofiness of "Willow Farm," and then of course the apocalypse, capped by the brilliant recapitulation complete with church bells and a truly thunderous fade out where the whole band sounds like it's waving goodbye.
Sure, there are some slow moments like "How Dare I Be So Beautiful?," and I could have done without a couple of minutes of the 9/8 playing easily, but taken all in all, the final effect floors me. Now I quite like Thick As A Brick, but I think "Supper's Ready" compares favorably to it. Perhaps Genesis couldn't play as well as Tull, but each composition is going for different moods, and Genesis does a better job with theirs.
Gabriel's lyrics (for all of their cheerful insanity) certainly hold together far better than Ian Anderson's burblings about modern culture; I defy you to point out any moment in Thick As A Brick that rivals "Lover's Leap" or the finale for sheer ability to transport you some mystical, visceral place (sure: 'Do You Believe In The Day' is just as, if not more, mystically poignant; but ultimately you're right, Thick As A Brick is about quite different things; still, it has far less boring moments during its 45 minutes - G. S.). Those references to strange transfigurations, "guardian eyes of blue," and souls igniting really take me somewhere. This deserves no less than a 9. Not a 10 because of "Friday," but a strong 9 nonetheless.
Philip Maddox
This was my second Genesis album, and though I originally liked it more than Selling England, that one grew on me immeasurably and this one never did. It still rules, of course. It takes most people a long time to get into 'Supper's Ready', but for some reason, it clicked with me immediately. I must have listened to that song 5 times in a row. I don't think any of it's weak - I wouldn't change a second of it.
Highlights are the 'Ikhnaton' part, the conclusion, and my favorite, 'Willow Farm'. Ooh, now that's a groovy song. The hook in the verses reeled me in instantly. Plus, it's fun! It segues right into that beautiful acoustic guitar and flute bit, too. I love that! 'Supper's Ready' is, without doubt, my favorite song on here. The rest isn't bad at all, though. 'Watcher Of The Skies' is very majestic, as is 'Time Table'. Both of 'em are great.
I even love 'Can-Utility And The Coastliners', especially that vocal section near the end. Or maybe the part when Peter sings "All who love... OUR
MAJESTY!". It doesn't strike me as filler at all - actually, it may be my favorite side A track. By a strange coincidence, 'Get 'Em Out' is probably my least favorite track here - it's good, but not quite great. It's probably just because it doesn't strike me as very pretty, while everything else is extremely pretty. I can't decide if I'd give this a really high 9 or a 10. I'll have to wait until I get more Genesis albums.
Nick Karn
Yeah, this is indeed an awesome album, and probably one of their absolute best. I have to confess, though, that my listening experiences for this album revolve around the countdown until "Supper's Ready" and its' preceding acoustic instrumental "Horizons" (it might as well be an intro to the song as far as I'm concerned), which is one of the candidates in my mind for prog rock's finest ever creation.
The last half of it is simply some of the most absolutely breathtaking music I've ever heard, with Gabriel's spectacular theatrical display in "Willow Farm", the threatening 9/8 jam (really setting a spectacular mood), and the shatteringly majestic final section reprising the "Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man" bit (I LOVE that main melody in both forms!!). Simply blows me away.
But since that song is less than half of this 51 minute album, the rest of the album would have to be fairly excellent for it to earn an overall high rating, and it is for the most part. "Watcher Of The Skies" has a good dramatic intro and mood, though it doesn't REALLY thrill me - just a very well played 7 minute epic. "Get Em Out By Friday", though, really is a great sequel to "Return Of The Giant Hogweed", with an even more curious, truly original, and downright twisted plot and all those different character sketches.
Great overlooked drumming in that piece too. And I think "Can Utility And The Coastliners" is actually quite beautiful near the beginning of it - it's just the middle acoustic meandering part that's not too exciting, but the end of the song is rather good. "Time Table" to me is the least thrilling full length song on here, though it is a rather pretty ballad piece, and a step up from the unassuming filler on Nursery Cryme. I agree with the 12 rating overall - a normal nine.
Brian Sittinger
Very solid album. I do not find any weak spots in this album. It just took a bit of adjusting to appreciate this great work. Except for a small portion of "Supper's Ready", this album does not have the extreme contrasts of mood that Nursery Cryme (in particular, "The Musical Box" possesses.
As such, I don't have many comments for this record. The often neglected "Horizons" is a pretty, and unfortunately short classical guitar song by Steve Hackett. Check out the harmonics at the beginning! Finally, "Supper's Ready" moves very smoothly through its 20+ minutes playing time. Right hen it seems that the song will get dull, it changes direction. This song gets especially going once you're at "Willow Farm".
"Apocalypse in 9/8" features a unique, catchy rhythm (err, something like 9/8 perhaps!) building up to "As Sure As Eggs Are Eggs" (what wacky subtitles!) with a cathartic final section courtesy of especially Gabriel and Hackett (more heavenly/emotional notes from him, accompanying Gabriel's vocals). It will blow you away. 10 out of 10 (on a very bad day,
Billy Williams
Foxtrot is a great album, and, in my humble opinion, is the greatest prog album I've ever heard. "Watcher of the Skies" (I like the creepy organ intro) is quite good, as is "Time Table." Both have solid melodies. "Get 'Em Out By Friday" is tremendous. I love this song.
It's humorous and it rocks, and, in many ways is a precursor to songs like "The Battle of Epping Forest." I think you've underrated "Can Utility and the Coastliners" just a bit, George. It ain't that bad! The major highlight is, obviously, "Supper's Ready." What more could be said about it? All in all, this is Genesis' finest effort, just slightly ahead of Selling England.
Ben Kramer
When I got this a few weeks ago and listened to it, I knew that Genesis would be my favorite prog band and one of my favorite bands of rock. This album is just about as amazing as its follower, the epic Selling England By The Pound.
'Watcher of the Skies' is the perfect song to open it and it is also my favorite song on the album. The opening 2 minutes is amazing, and it sets more atmosphere than Yes ever did. The instrumental is great too, almost as great as the one found in 'Dancing With The Moonllit Knight'. 'Time Table' is a nice little pop song, maybe not as good as 'I Know What I Like', but it is still memorable. 'Get 'Em Out By Friday' is just phenomenal, being one of the best songs of the Gabriel era (Which is by far their best era, I don't have any albums after he left with the exception of A Trick Of The Trail (excellent!), but the napster files don't prove to make the later Genesis era promising.).
The little opening riff is simple, yet intriguing. The only problem I have with it is that it seems to drag on at the end a little too long, not in a bad way, but it just seems like it would have been better if they shaved 30 seconds off of it. I don't see what you have against 'Can-Utility And The Coastliners' because I love it. They could have built a 7 minute prog song around it and it would be as amazing as 'Watcher Of The Skies'. 'Horizons' is totally pointless and I don't see the need to make side one 27 minutes from 25. However, that is my only problem with side one. Side two is as good as side one.
The 23 minute 'Supper's Ready' (I don't know how famous it is, but I can't imagine it ever becoming a common radio hit, so I wouldn't call it famous) is built on the best melody Genesis ever did (except the piano/synth part on 'Firth of Fifth', but I don't know if that actually counts). Also, Pete's lyrics are his best ever and he wouldn't top them until, maybe 'Biko', maybe 'Intruder', but not until his solo career. The problem with it is, like all sidelongs (not 'Thick As A Brick'), contains many themes along with the main theme.
So, while the main theme may be awesome and Genesis' peak, within the song, there are a couple of small sections that I would have cut. I can't really say which ones, because they change from listen to listen, but about 10 minutes in is what I'd consider the only true boring part in the whole song. Other than that, this is prime Genesis, and excellent prog. Overall, this album is worth a 9(14) on the McFerrin scale and a 10(14) on your scale. Why does this get a slightly weaker score than Selling England By The Pound?
Well, Selling England By The Pound is one of the most emotional albums I have ever heard (along with Abbey Road and Quadrophenia, as well as a couple Dylan albums, but that's a given). It isn't something that you could listen to 5 times in a row. Foxtrot isn't as emotional and while a superb album, it isn't quite up to Selling England By The Pound which I would give a 15, though I still see Genesis as a 4 star band, at least the Gabriel era.
The rest is probably a 2, maybe a three because A Trick Of The Trail is so great. Good Job Guys, you managed to outdo yourselves on this one, and even followed it with more excellence. In case you were wondering, this is my second favorite progressive album ever, only behind Selling England By The Pound.
Glenn Wiener
If I were to sum up Foxtrot, I would say that it is loaded with creative instrumental passages. However, melody wise its a hit and miss affair. 'Watcher Of The Skies' has the most memorable melody. 'Time Table' is fairly memorable as well but its the keyboard touches and the vocals that make it special.
'Get 'Em Out By Friday' is way too all over the place. An occasional interesting passage but just not too captivating for an 8 1/2 minute tune. 'The Coastliners' tune is pretty good for the most part but there are some so so spots. 'Horizons' is good background music. And 'Supper's Ready' has both good and trying moments. 10 out of 15 sounds right.
Fernando H. Canto
Wow, did Genesis learn to like to do long albums. They must have looked at the huge lead-out groove on Nursery Cryme, and Tony said: "How much music can we fit in there?" "Three," Steve said, coldly. "I think we can fit in *five*, if we squeeze the rest of the record a bit more", Peter challenged. "But we'll be reducing the sound quality!," Mike replied, reluctantly. "Who cares about sound quality, if we can compensate it with *musical" quality, eh?," Peter said, even more challenging. Silence fell for a few seconds, until it was broken by Phil's shy voice: "Can we?"
I think they could! They spent less time going on stuff like 'Seven Stones', and went on to the real meat: My only gripe against the album is that Tony is *too* heavy on the vibrato-less organ, and that monotonous hum can be a bit grating sometimes. Also, there's less Steve Hackett. But, the good songs are just as good as on Nursery Cryme, and the bad songs...
Heck, there are no bad songs! Shut up, you whiny 'Can-Utility And The Coastliners' hater. I mean... Seriously, if this compares to 'Harlequin', then 'Time Table' certainly compares to 'Firth Of Fifth'. I like the way the mood of the song flows from soft and gentle to tense and nervous and finally to screaming and ascending into the finale. That's a cool song. Oh, well... I guess my main disagreement is that Genesis' strength is not the "power".
I don't really care whether they're being powerful or soft - if they have got a good melody, they can make anything work. Then again, I like 'For Absent Friends', so I can see where our tastes differ. Other than that, you're pretty right on 'Time Table' being beautiful. I've seen some people comment on the "hideous" lyrics to that song.
Sheesh, if 'Time Table' has hideous lyrics, what does 'Watcher Of The Skies' have? Man, people are crazy! These must be the same folks who love Graeme Edge's poetry on Days Of Future Passed! Okay, okay, on topic, on topic. I *love* 'Watcher Of The Skies'. Corny Mellotrons? You're crazy, man!
Those Mellotrons give me chills! And 'Get 'em Out By Friday' is pretty much perfect, too. I like all the transitions of mood and instrumentation and vocal intonations. I'm not one of those who go totally ape over 'Supper's Ready', just because it isn't as mindblowingly fantastic as other sidelongs I know, but it is a great composition, anyways.
Whether all those different things fit well together, I don't care. Those are very good musical ideas, and it sure has a grandiose finale. And 'Horizons' rules! I wish I could play harmonics like that!
