Duke 2008 Remaster

"As an album, 'Duke' was pivotal in the change of direction that Genesis were to take over the course of the next 10 years. It came about after the group had been on a lengthy hiatus and features a little more pop, with slightly less of their progressive-rock mantle. This is possibly due to their each having acquired Roland drum machines, which they used relatively extensively for songwriting & recording, from that point on…

Obviously though, the majority of 'Duke' is still pretty epic sounding. For a good example of this, check out the intro to the opening track, 'Behind the Lines' - it's fantastic stuff. This first piece flows seamlessly into "Duchess", which is another perfect paradigm of this band's continued grandiosity. However, there are certainly some lovely, more intimate encounters to be had here, such as the short but sweet "Guide Vocal", the affecting "Alone Tonight", and the beautifully amorous "Please Don't Ask".

'Duke' features many other enduring moments too, including such classic Genesis compositions as the edgy "Man of the Times", "Heathaze" & "Cul-de-sac"; the slick hit single "Misunderstanding" & stage favourite "Turn it on Again"; as well as the two cracking pieces that finish these proceedings, namely the mainly instrumental "Duke's Travels" & "Duke's End". The former of these last couple of cuts breaks out some phrases from "Guide Vocal" towards the end, before segueing into the latter tune. In turn, this last song begins with a passing refrain of the album intro mentioned earlier. It's a nice touch that ties all these loosely conceptual pieces together in a way that the band used to do on several of their earlier masterworks from the '70s, e.g. 'Foxtrot', 'Selling England by the Pound & 'A Trick of the Tail'.

'Duke' remains a highly-underrated recording of sheer magnificence, which I propose all enlightened music types to check out forthwith."
-MARTY (14/04/2007)