Selling England By The Pound - GENESIS*****

Dancing With The Moonlight Knight/I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)/Firth Of Fifth/More Fool Me/The Battle Of Epping Forest/After The Ordeal/The Cinema Show/Aisle Of Plenty

With the release of Selling England By The Pound the British progressive band Genesis manage to combine strong commercial popularity with stunning artistic creativity. (US:70 UK:3)

“It's overused, but epic is a good word for this album. The band's most sweeping and striking moments are here in the four long tracks. The shorter songs are also good. This one is the last with the classic Genesis sound.”

“Genesis occupy an ethereal territory which transcends rock and blues while simultaneously embracing them and spurning them. Selling England By The Pound is indescribable. An attempt to classify this album might go something like this: Progressive-classical-folk-rock-symphonic-fantasy music.”

“What I like so much about progressive rock is that it always surprises me. This album specifically stands for that. These songs are like a jungle where you loose your way easily if you aren't well versed, but where the most beautiful things and places appear out of nothing if you walk on.”

“It’s as fresh and vital as it ever was and at its best, represents some of the greatest prog ever recorded. Not overly bombastic, not full of empty virtuosity or experimental noodling, nothing cosmically remote - just clever, funny and exciting. Prog rock, back then, was all about creating a unique sound. Genesis did just that and are immediately recognizable, perhaps nowhere more than on this album.”

“This is in my opinion one of the best records in history. Genesis here show visions both from history and the future. I can't get enough of it, every new listening gives me another dimension to it. Every song is good in its own way. This was totally new back in the seventies and no one has reached the same level again.”

“Not a single wasted second can be found from this record. Instrumentally the band does amazing job and the songwriting is brilliant here. A true progressive rock classic with only high quality material.”

“Complex classically inspired music combined with fantasy lyrics conjure up wonderful surreal images on this extraordinary work. Why doesn't anyone write music like this anymore?”