Genesis

With Peter Gabriel's, uh, poetry and tripped out medieval gimmickry, "The Musical Box" may be a pinnacle in prog rock nerd-ery but the guitars still sound awesome, more than 30 years later, with a watery, muffled psychedelia, and Gabriel nevertheless plays his part with unmatched drama. "For Absent Friends" features Phil Collins' first turn as a singer and the hammer-on riff that "Return of the Giant Hogweed" is built around could almost be called heavy metal. The real draw here, though, is "The Fountain of Salmacis" which really should be played any time two D&D players are gathered.

The countryside cottage in which (it says here) Genesis regrouped their creative energies
must have had a lot of strange stuff coming out of the walls to have been worthy of hosting
this new contender for the coveted British weirdo-rock championship. The cover of
Nursery Cryme is a De Chirico-like painting of a croquet field littered with Surrealist
paraphernalia. At stage center stands a large-eyed Alice sort, her mallet raised t... More >

God's wounds! It's a "rock" version of the myth of Hermaphroditus! In quotes cos the organist and the (mime-influenced) vocalist have the drummer a little confused! Or maybe it's just the invocation to Old King Cole! (Grade: C-)