Selling England by the Pound [Remaster] (CD - 1973)

Personnel: Tony Banks (vocals, 12-string guitar, keyboards); Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute, oboe, percussion); Phil Collins (vocals, drums, percussion); Steve Hackett (guitar, electric guitar); Mike Rutherford (guitar, 12-string guitar, sitar, electric sitar).

Audio Remasterers: Chris Blair; Geoff Callingham; Nick Davis.

Genesis proved that they could rock on Foxtrot but on its follow-up Selling England by the Pound they didn't follow this route, they returned to the English eccentricity of their first records, which wasn't so much a retreat as a consolidation of powers. For even if this eight-track album has no one song that hits as hard as "Watcher of the Skies," Genesis hasn't sacrificed the newfound immediacy of Foxtrot: they've married it to their eccentricity, finding ways to infuse it into the delicate whimsy that's been their calling card since the beginning. This, combined with many overt literary allusions -- the Tolkeinisms of the title of "The Battle of Epping Forest" only being the most apparent -- gives this album a storybook quality. It plays as a collection of short stories, fables, and fairy tales, and it is also a rock record, which naturally makes it quite extraordinary as a collection, but also as a set of individual songs. Genesis has never been as direct as they've been on the fanciful yet hook-driven "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" -- apart from the fluttering flutes in the fade-out, it could easily be mistaken for a glam single -- or as achingly fragile as on "More Fool Me," sung by Phil Collins. It's this delicate balance and how the album showcases the band's narrative force on a small scale as well as large that makes this their arguable high-water mark. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

If one had to pare the prog-rock story down to a handful of essential albums, this would undoubtedly be one of them. SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND was the culmination of all that Genesis had been striving for since their late-'60s inception, the refinement of the vision that developed on TRESPASS, NURSERY CRYME, and FOXTROT (somewhere in the world, there's been a second-wave prog outfit named after every one of these albums). The fusion of a complex classical mind with an electrified rock heart and pastoral folk spirit defined Genesis' anatomy, and never more effectively than on SELLING ENGLAND.

Peter Gabriel's startlingly unpretentious tale-spinning is at its best on "The Battle of Epping Forest." Tony Banks's elegant, sophisticated keyboard work is a vital element of nearly every tune, and the electric/acoustic guitar tapestry woven by Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford is the perfect icing on the cake. Somewhat anomalous but entirely welcome is the Gabriel-era band's catchiest, quirkiest song "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," the tale of a somewhat daft gardener. Phil Collins's lead vocal on the gorgeous acoustic ballad "More Fool Me" paints the shape of things to come. If you only buy one Genesis album, make it this one. minimize