Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

Often overshadowed by its immediate successor--The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway--this 1974 album features Genesis concert favorites such as the baroque "Firth of Fifth" and the epic "Cinema Show." It yields the group's first British hit, "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)." Singer Peter Gabriel's heady mixture of dark drama and cryptic commentary is tied to some of the band's most stunning arrangements: Steve Hackett's violin-like guitar melodies on "Firth of Fifth," Tony Banks's synth arpeggios on "The Battle of Epping Forest," and crisp, tight drumming throughout from Phil Collins. Collins makes his Genesis lead vocal debut on the acoustic "More Fool Me." The complex structures and poetic risks taken here may throw fans of later Genesis hits such as the cute "Abacab," but it's well worth coming along for the ride. --James Rotondi Amazon.com essential recording

 Arguably their best
The four albums from Nursery Cryme through Lamb Lies Down on Broadway are the classic albums that represent the band's peak ("Trespass" and "Trick of the Tail" are a notch down but still great. "Genesis Live [Definitive Edition Remaster]" and "Genesis Archive, Vol. 1: 1967-1975" round things out). Each one of these contains material that is absolutely must-have, so it's hard to pick one favorite. A lot of focus is given to "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" because it's the last one with Peter Gabriel, and also their most ambitious project, but I think a good argument can be made why this one is their peak. Certainly "Lamb" contains a lot of great stuff but, as double-LP concept albums tend to be, there is a fair amount of filler material which rounds out the "story", but which makes the last quarter of it lose steam, IMO.

SEBTP is as close as any of Genesis' albums to being representative of all the qualities that made them so wonderful. You even get a catchy pop ditty, "I Know What I Like". It starts out with an ominous-sounding machine-like roar, then a quintessential Gabriel spoken intro "It's one o'clock..." before launching into the song, which tells the story illustrated on the cover. IMO, as a pop song, this one is superior to anything ever done by the trio version of the band.

The oddest song is definitely "Battle of Epping Forest". This is the one that most clearly has Peter Gabriel's imprint on it. The lyrics narrate a turf war between gangs in east London in stylized way that makes it sound like a medieval battle. Gabriel puts on various voices and affects to depict different characters, which are sometimes hilarious, and sometimes just irritating, frankly. It's allegedly based on a real news story, though no one can find the article, it seems. The whole thing drags on a bit long, and doesn't entirely work (I sometimes skip it), but give it an "A" for creativity and uniqueness.

"Firth of Fifth" is one of their "epic" songs, with a big, sweeping theme, and lyrics that invoke legendary themes (I had to look up what "undinal" meant :)). It also features an all-too-rare acoustic piano solo by Tony Banks, and most notably, was is, IMO, Steve Hackett's greatest performance on any Genesis album (I'm not so familiar with his solo stuff). The guitar solo is absolutely spectacular in its simplicity. Unlike so many other rock guitarists, Hackett doesn't focus on flash and speed, but rather on creating sonic landscapes and moods. The solo on this song is the greatest example. I always felt that Hackett didn't get enough exposure in Genesis, and this ultimately caused his departure. The short "After the Battle" is another great example of this, and also is a great airy counter-balance after "Epping Forrest".

The album opens and closes with two long multi-part songs " Dancing with the Moonlight Knight" and "Cinema Show / Aisle of Plenty". "Moonlit Knight" is a thinly-veiled criticism of trends in the UK at the time, dressed in the legend of King Arthur, and is one of Gabriel's greatest performances. It begins with an a Capella vocal, and gradually builds in intensity and complexity. "Cinema Show" likewise begins with a gentle love story and then proceeds to stranger territory, mentioning Tyresias, an ancient Greek seer whom the gods turned into a woman, and then back to a man (I had to look it up too!). At the end there is "Aisle of Plenty", which refrains the music and the lyrical theme of "Moonlit Knight", with a list of grocery items no doubt referring to the selling off of the country. The last line of the song proper refers to "deadly nightshade", which is a plant with hallucinogenic properties, allegedly used in witch's brews. What it means escapes me, but it is interesting.

The only weak spot is "More Fool Me" an insignificant but innocuous short tune. It happens to be Phil Collin's official lead vocal debut (I'm quite certain he did the lead on "For Absent Friends" on "Nursery Cryme", but it's uncredited), but I'm not dumping on ol' Phil - I just don't care for the song. It's not bad, just not up to par with the rest of the album.

If you can't decide which of the 4 classic albums to buy first, this one is a good one to start with. If you like this one, you will want the others:

Nursery Cryme
Foxtrot
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

One interesting side point:
Genesis's first post-Gabriel album, A Trick of the Tail (see my review), has many parallels with SEBP, from the cover color and artwork, to the similarity between the "pop ditties" on both albums ("I Know What I Like" and "Squonk"), The crime stories ("Epping Forest" & "Robbery Assault & Battery"), the long instrumental and refrain at the end, and some other similarities in the sound & feel of the two albums. I have to think that all this was deliberate. Clearly after Gabriel's departure, they had something to prove, and it is interesting that they chose SEBP, and not "Lamb", as the reference point. May 12, 2008

 Awful
I am a firm believer that one should not review records from musical styles which the reviewer has no sympathy for. And I am no fan of "progressive" music, which I associate with the very worst classic rock like Kansas, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Yes. But, with Selling England by the Pound, I expected something. I don't know, I like early Elton John, even early Billy Joel, why not early Genesis, a band who has at least as much cred as these fixtures of the mediocre music scene. People like this album, this band. And I thought maybe I could too. So I expected something. But, God, I can't get into this. It was a chore, a literal chore to sit though this for the purposes of passing judgement. And I didn't even get all the way through it. I guess this is progressive music, and though it is not as bad as, say, Yes, well, it really sucks. In my opinon. Grueling, endless songs, pretentious references to the sands of time, mixing the worst of psychedelia with the worst of swollen classic rock. Dreadful. But you probably love it. And I shouldn't review it. March 29, 2008

 picture perfect music
How in the world can anyone complain about this masterpiece? Selling England by the Pound is classic progressive rock, and just a really amazing and solid record. These are some of the words that will enter your mind when you listen to it for the first time-

beautiful
colorful
adventurous
special
brilliant

Seriously, Genesis at one point in time was doing things that NO ordinary rock band would dare attempt. For radio stations to completely ignore this extraordinary masterpiece just goes to show how angry and depressing this world can be.

This album has a certain lively feeling that will immediately lift you up and carry you away. Whether it's the soothing flute playing on "Firth of Fifth" or the amazing twists and turns in the story of "Battle of Epping Forest" or the magical instrumental that can either be extremely beautiful or extremely sad to the listener ("After the Ordeal")... it's a flawless record. Songwriting has never been better. It's rock and roll that takes on a whole new meaning and just about anyone can appreciate this sound and style. Buy it now. February 18, 2008

 Worth every pound you will ever pay for an album.
This album is just about everything that you can love or is great about progressive rock! You will know why everyone lives this album 5 stars after listening because this is some of the best music you will ever hear. It is a crime Genesis did not become as famous as they would later become with this album. This album is by far the most sophisticated album Genesis ever did and they would never do anything this great again though they were still incredible later on. Firth on Fifth will blow you away as well as Cinema Show which are the types of songs that made classic Genesis a premier Progressive Rock act forever. This is the album that puts Genesis on the level of greatness of Jethro Tull and only the best of the best progressive rock bands! This is as experimental as a Pink Floyd album and as sophisticated as and rock band can get near Mozart or 18th century classical masterpieces which this rivals all the way and totally rocks dude! November 14, 2007

 Arguably the Gabriel era's finest hour 34 years on
Genesis' fifth studio effort Selling England by the Pound was released in October of 1973.
By 1973, Genesis (which comprised of singer Peter Gabriel, bass player Mike Rutherford, keyboard player Tony Banks, drummer Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett) had developed a cult following and respect with rock fans. However, the band's commercial aspects in the US were not great as Buddah Records (who distributed Charisma in the US) did nothing for the band. Charisma changed distributors Stateside from Buddah to Atlantic (which was home to Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Cream and many others) and this gave the band some confidence to record its next album as they were now at the same home as Zeppelin and The Stones. Would Selling England By the Pound be a classic or would the band fall from grace. Read on and find out.
We open the album with Gabriel singing the acapella intro to "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" which told the tale of the demise of "good old England" and the rise of commercial, modern England. Gabriel's brilliant vocals and lyrics are matched by brilliant guitar work of Steve and Mike and additional musicianship from Tony and Phil as the song becomes a superb climactic rock number after its soft start. Next is the band's first UK Top 20 hit "I Know What I Like". This piece tells the story of a lawnmower sitting on the porch which was one of the band's first tracks to feature a synthesizer and a great piece. Next is the majestic "Firth of Fifth". It begins with a piano solo by Banks and launches into a grand epic. The song features a flute solo, a synthesizer solo and one of Hackett's most memorable guitar solos. The first half closed with "More Fool Me" which was Phil's second lead vocal with Genesis. A nice break-up song written by Mike and Phil.
The album's second half starts with "The Battle of Epping Forest" which is an epic about a gang fight with references back to medieval England and excellent muscianship by the Genesis members. Great piece. Next is one of Hackett's classic guitar pieces "After the Ordeal". Next is the epic "The Cinema Show" which is one of the band's best epics. From the opening 12-string guitar doodle, you are then thrown head first into a beautiful song for six minutes. Then, the song breaks into a superb synthesizer solo section which is hard to describe. We close the album with "Aisle of Plenty" which is somewhat of a reprise to the album's opening track but a nice piece nevertheless.
Selling England By the Pound gave Genesis their first crack in the US Top 100 album charts peaking at #70 in 1974 paving the way for more success in the future and eventually reached Gold status in US sales. It reached #3 in their native UK. Sales aside, Genesis were maturing and becoming a band to be reckoned with.
RECOMMENDED! November 7, 2007

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