release date: Jun. 6, 1986
format: vinyl / digital (1992 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,14]
producer: Genesis, Hugh Padgham
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK
13th studio album by Genesis following 2½ years after the self-titled '82-album sees the trio back with co-producer Hugh Padgham and a re-use of the collective writing / composing and recording process they had adopted with great success on the predecessor.
Stylewise, you could call it progressive pop employing elements from soft rock, pop soul and new wave, but it basically comes out as soft, melodic, mainstream pop / rock, or: 'MOR' (Middle Of the Road music).
The album was met by mixed reviews but only consolidated the success of Genesis as the band's fourth consecutive studio album to peak at #1 on the UK albums chart list. Furthermore, five tracks were issued as singles, and they also fared quite well with positions from #14 to #22 on the UK singles chart list, however, they performed even better on the US Billboard Hot 100, where all five singles made it to top-5 ("Invisible Touch" as the band's first US #1 single, "In Too Deep" and "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" both reaching pos. #3, and the two singles "Throwing It All Away" and "Land of Confusion" peaking at pos. #4).
For me, this is not really to distinguish from Phil Collins' solo albums like his most recent albums Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982) or No Jacket Required (1985), and it never really caught my ear. It was basically impossible not to hear the songs on the radio, or when you were in town shopping, but it just seems so over-produced, over-arranged and soaked in harmony-driven choruses that it goes as quite indeferent music. After one listen you think, "Nice tune..., but hey, isn't that just too repetitious?! Does it go on like that?!", and after two spins: "Yike!". Can't stand it and find it on a long list of artists, I simply don't admire, but grant that it's immensely popular.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]
