Duke

I admit that I love Phil Collins in Genesis far more than Peter Gabriel. Phil Collins style was and is far more commercial and radio friendly and this adds up to more records sales which is ultimately what record companies are interested in. Duke is of that calibre. This is a good album of tracks its not a concept album and certainly isn't prog but it is very radio friendly yet at the same time still manages to shows off some of the musicianship and the talents of the band that were, but also does show the direction they would take in future would be that of the pop sound. Still good stuff though and they made a lot more money than I have so who am I to judge!. "Alone Again" is very listenable and not at all dissimilar to the Phil Collins hit of "Why Cant it Wait til Morning" which followed on his solo album. "Turn it On Again" was a big radio hit, "Misunderstanding" - a clear direction of the pop that was to come and the Phil Collins influence. "Dukes Travels" and "Duke's End" are both great numbers - can listen to those over and over. Do I recommend it - I do if you want the more commercial sound - however if the Gabriel era was your preference this won't suit at all.

I have always loved this album I had it on cassette Finally replaced it with CD I like all the songs but for me the highlights are Duke's travels and Duke's end I could listen to these tracks forever I also like the album cover I love the simple cartoon picture I recommend this Genesis album Flawless

This is the perfect Genesis album for those of us who like the middle ground between some of the over proggy Gabriel era stuff and the over poppy Collins material of latter years (the only evidence of which on here is Misunderstanding). Tracks such as Duchess, Man Of Our Times and Heathaze are he types of song that, sadly, aren't written anymore. I think this is even better than And Then There Were Three.

Of the entire Genesis catalogue with either Gabriel or Collins this for me is their absolute peak. With the band's members and sound pared back to a three piece the quality of material, style and playing is streamlined, simple and tight in a way that they never were before yet it is not as slick and radio oriented as later albums became allowing for an almost perfect balance of catchy accessibility and progressive playing that unlike the rest of their catalogue has largely not dated. For casual listeners this is the place to start.

This was the album that first got me into genesis, and came to me in a slightly strange way. Back then in 1980 the sony walkman had just launched and was as revolutionary then as ... well, with so many new gadgets coming out every 5 minutes now, it's hard to compare - but say the mobile phone 20 years later. MY sisters boyfriend had one and told me to listen, just hear how amazing it was (and it was!), and Duke was the cassette playing. I had never heard anything so powerful or compelling before, and within a year or two I had gradually bought every single genesis album and seen them perform Duke/Abacab several times, then later do the one time reunion with Peter Gabriel.But back to the point - Duke. I still think this is an amazing 'concept' album. For sure there are one or two tracks that don't entirely fit into the 'play' but there is an overall sense of journey, a coherence, to the album that stands the test of time. But more than that, it's an example of three musicians in particular at their very prime, which was even more evident live. Fantastic writing, fantastic musicianship, a standard they never quite equalled again in my opinion.