Few things are as synonymous with the 1980's for me than Genesis and Phil Collins. I remember hearing many of the hits from this album plyaed from the garage at my uncle's house as my cousins and I ran around in the orchards surrouding it, or heading out to the Donegal Bay beach.
In my college years I checked out Genesis' early stuff, when they were still fronted by Peter Gabriel, and found it fascinating for the most part, and at times mindnumbingly bizarre. Though they were never as far out there as Syd Barret-era Pink Floyed, even well structured masterpieces as Foxtrot and Nusery Crime had moments that were simply beyond comprehension. Apart from the debut album, Trespass, the power trio of drummer Phil Collins, guitarist/bassist Michael Rutherford, and keyboardist Tony Banks had remained the sole constant to this point in Genesis' history. Following the departure of Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins stepped out from behind the kit and took up the mic.
While the change from avant-garde rock group to the space age pop present on Invisible Touch was by no means an overnight process, it was evident by the time of their 1980 album, Duke, that they were destined for radio glory. Abacab and the self-titled 1983 album furthered this tradition, but kept the prog rock firmly in place, with odd keyboard flourishes and complex drumming. Invisible Touch is where the process is fully streamlined to the extent that the songs flow like poppy shit from a duck's ass...at least for the first half of the album.
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