Firth of the Fifth
Most successful of the major works on the album, it starts with crashing left hand piano notes and a delicate right hand melody before the band joins forces in a rather obvious 'edit'. Peter offers some ringing phrases like "The scene of death is lying just below", and plays a flute duet with the keyboards. In the background it's possible to detect a howl from Phil that sounds like an early ancestor of 'Mama'. The swirling pattems developed by Banks and Hackett here would become familiar to fans at the band's increasingly grandiose stadium shows.
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More Fool Me
After all the bluster of 'Firth Of Fifth' this is a stunning contrast and a telling lesson in the power of simplicity. Phil Collins makes his second vocal appearance with a poignant tale of a damaged relationship, sung to a simple acoustic guitar. It was written by Collins and Mike Rutherford while sitting on the steps of Island Studios and later became Phil's featured vocal spot on the subsequent tour. In many ways it is the most effective item on the album and foreshadows Phil's future solo career.
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The Battle of Eppig Forest
An overblown attempt to introduce a note of realism and modernity. A real life gang fight over territorial rights, widely reported in the newspapers, encouraged Genesis to produce a wordy but strangely dull monologue that is not helped by the flat production. In fact the whole album lacks dynamics and the sense of surging urgency that characterised their work hitherto. But 'The Battle' made a good stage piece and there was one good joke: "There's no one left alive – must be a draw." The piece is littered with characters, none of them as memorable as Harold The Barrel.
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After The Ordeal
An epilogue to the 'battle' with rhapsodic piano introduction and a pleasing duet between Banks and Hackett. The latter, incidentally, is shamefully underused throughout the album. The curious unwillingness of any of the band to push their particular skills or put their individual stamp on proceedings is probably the reason for the sense of a collective stand-off that prevails.
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The Cinema Show
Romeo and Juliet go to the pictures, while the band accompany their exploits with pieces that hark back to 'Musical Box'. There are no musical surprises here and little drama, but the piece does take off during a driving jazz-rock instrumental passage where at last Collins' drums catch fire and the band hits a groove. 'Cinema Show', like 'Firth Of Fifth', would sound much better live.
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Aisle of Plenty
Barely concealed references to Tesco, Safeway, Fine Fair and other supermarkets are heard on this throwaway piece, which fades out as Phil and Peter recite bargain offer prices. It's not surprising their manager felt a tad disappointed when he first heard an album that has touches of briiliance, a hit song and Phil's stunning vocal debut, but lacked cohesion and Genesis' indefinable magic.
