…And Then There Were Three…

By 1978 Genesis had already lost Peter Gabriel and now Steve Hackett was gone too. So this album is really the band figuring out who they are as a trio. And honestly, they do a decent job of it. It’s just not the Genesis we knew before.

The big hit here is Follow You Follow Me and it’s hard to argue with it as a song. It’s catchy and Phil Collins sounds great on it. But it also kind of signals where things are heading, and if you’re a fan of the proggy stuff from Foxtrot or The Lamb, that can be a little bittersweet to sit with.

The album isn’t all pop though. Burning Rope and Deep in the Motherlode have some real weight to them and feel closer to what Genesis used to do. Undertow is another good one. Those tracks remind you that the band still had a lot going on creatively, they just weren’t always showing it.

The weaker spots are where the songs feel a bit unfinished, like they needed one more pass before going to tape. You can hear where Hackett’s guitar would have filled things out. It’s not bad, it just feels a little thin in places.

Worth a listen if you’re working through the Genesis catalog. It’s a transitional record and you can hear that in every track. Not their best but not a skip either.