Genesis – Abacab

Somehow all Genesis albums after ''The lamb lies down on Broadway'' seem transitional efforts that raise expectations of something new and fresh, but unfortunately in the end never really live up to them. This one is a good point in case. Many wrong choices about the timbres of the keyboards severely mar most tracks when listened to some 20 years later. We cannot much ire the mixing either: the up-front drumming sounds much too dense and simple and obscures any detailed arrangement. The imitation horns on the synths are pretty bad too. Maybe it is characteristic that the best two tracks are no group compositions. The richly harmonized ''Me and Sarah Jane'' conveys an emotion both real and gripping through adequate musical means and mild unexpected twists. Very impressive. The luxuriously swaying ''Like it or not'' exudes temperate power without trying to please too hard. Also quite impressive. Some of the rest has its moments, but most of the times the band tries to cater for too many audiences at once. By doing so a hybrid style is created somewhere in between prog-rock, poppy songwriting and even some groove-dance-feeling. They seem just on the brink of letting out of the sack whatever interesting developments lie dormant inside their music, but no, they do not.