And Then There Were Three - GENESIS*****

Down & Out/Undertow/Ballad Of Big/Snowbound/Burning Rope/Deep In The Motherlode/Many To Many/Scenes From A Night's Dream/Say Its Alright Joe/The Lady Lies/Follow You Follow Me

It was a strange paradox that the more Genesis shrunk in personnel the greater their commercial success became. And Then There Were Three was the last album to reflect their distinctive progressive musical style. Features the rather poppish UK No. 7 hit single Follow You Follow Me. (US:14 UK:3)

“It's not a reflection of either's musical or artistic merit, but Genesis lost a lot more momentum when guitarist Steve Hackett left than they did when Peter Gabriel left. And Then There Were Three is quite a literal title since Hackett's departure reduced Genesis to the core trio of Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, the line-up that would make the band international superstars and remain unchanged until the mid-'90s. Naturally, the music is the sound of a band in transition.”

“And Then There Were Three is a record full of magnificent compositions, slightly more commercial than the albums before, but still not in the least arbitrary. In fact this was the last of the really great Genesis albums without any soul pop, funky horns and one finger keyboard lines.”

“Probably the most polarising of the band releases up to that point, the album sees Genesis, now as a trio, trading some of their grandiose, complex ideas for increased pop sensibility. Maybe due to the fact that they weren't exactly sure in which direction they wanted the music to go, And Then There Were Three sits awkwardly in-between progressive rock and pop-rock, somehow being neither and both at the same time.”

“This gives the listener a slightly poppier kind of progressive rock. Not as guitar based as before, but still a lot of creativity and great melodies with a good amount of experimentalism at times. The album creates a soft and smooth atmosphere, especially the finalizing Follow You Follow Me.”

“It seems to show the direction their music was heading, but still keeps it's dignity unlike much of the group’s music from the 1980s.”

“This is very dominated by the sound of Tony Banks' Polymoog synthesizer which gives it a distinctive mood. Like other Genesis albums, the rhythms get intense and the melodies and harmonies are downright magical.”