Now...I want to go over something. Something BIG. It's called The Duke Suite. It was planned for Duke but scrapped.
It was split into six different songs and I will go over all of them now.
Behind The Lines introduces us to the new Genesis with a bang. It's a poppy, catchy and overall kickass opener to a great album. Man, I wish more people liked Duke...
For some reason, I really like the lyrics. They just...you know...stick with me in my head. Also, the whole track just reeks of nostalgia. I was going through all the albums a few months ago and when I came to Duke and listened to the whole album, I realized I had been too hard on the album. I realized it was one of their best. And now whenever I listen to Behind The Lines, I always start to smile.
So, what could come after such a amazing opener to the suite?
Well, the next one...it's a bit different.
Duchess opens with drum machines. It's the first time drum machines appear on a Genesis album, by the way.
The first minutes of Duchess are just build-up and atmosphere. And it's wonderful. It sounds so soothing...and to be frank, it's beautiful! Of course after that we have the main part and it's this one section that I feel more Genesis fans should pay attention to. It's not an intentional one but I can see a clear metaphor for some older Genesis fans.
In the Gabriel/Early Collins' era, the fanbase was a loyal and respectful fanbase, at least the ones I have seen, and I have seen a lot, mind you!
When they turned to pop, some of the older fanbase jumped ship and shunned their new music and they hated what Genesis had turned into. On the Abacab tour, they were even booed offstage! You see what I mean, right? Right! Back to the song!
The main part is absolutely amazing. It's definitely a high point of the suite. The lyrics as you may have guessed are amazing too. The song all comes together as something much more emotional than Afterglow could ever hope to be.
Then we return to the opening section again and Duchess comes to a end.
To end the first half of the suite, we have Guide Vocal. This is a small ballad with only Banks on piano and Phil's vocals.
Due to the shortness of the ballad, it's not as great as the two songs before it. But it's still great in it's own way.
If that was to be end of the suite, it would have still been a clear highlight in Genesis' history. But of course, Genesis had more up their sleeves. And the second half starts. And you know what?
It's much, much better than the first half!
What does it start with? Well...
Turn It On Again is one of those pop songs for me. Those pop songs that are just perfect. And it is truly a marvel. I was surpised by I Know What I Like, even more surprised by Follow You Follow Me and this one just blows both out of the water. The melody WILL make you sing along or at least, make you bop your head to the song. If you don't do that, then...I am so sorry for your lack of a soul, but let's press on. Of course like the two other earlier mentioned Genesis pop songs, it's short. But it doesn't need to. Turn It On Again is perfect both in the suite and outside the suite.
And so, Turn It On Again ends and we get closer to the end.
Duke's Travels' instrumental section is one of the best instrumental sections I have ever heard. The first two minutes makes me feel like I'm flying. And the rest of the song both make me bop my head and it kicks my butt from Sweden where I live to Mars once the fast paced section begins. And that section. Wow. I liked Phil's drumming before but THIS? It just blows me away! We have a excellent reprise of Guide Vocal after that and then the conclusion.
We have a amazing piano section and then to the synth only countdown to the final frontier.
Duke's End ends our journey with a big bang too big for words. It's great. It starts out as a Behind The Lines reprise which is also great until Phil does a drum fill and a Turn It On Again reprise starts and ends everything.
And that's The Duke Suite. It's definitely one of Genesis' most shining moments and I feel it's very underrated.
And here's the thing:
It's not even in my top ten Genesis songs!
