Review:
“If And Then There Were Three suggested that Genesis were moving toward pop, Duke is where they leaped into the fray. Not that it was exactly a head-first leap” (Erlewine); “there was still a heavy dose of prog, as the concluding ‘Duke’ suite made clear” (Erlewine), “with Gabriel-style Genesis, with fanfare-like keyboards, martial drumrolls and the old opulence” (Pareles).
However, “Guide Vocal, has lyrics that give Gabriel a definitive kiss-off” (Paleres) and this is album is more “modernist art rock, quite dissimilar to the fragile, delicate [Gabriel-era] Selling England by the Pound” (Erlewine).
Generally, though, “the band…have peppered the album with pop songs” (Erlewine) in which “the music usually stays upbeat…and every so often the hazy instrumental passages clear up for the kind of straightforward songs that would define latter-day Genesis” (Pareles).
That “new signature sound” (Erlewine) is clearest on the singles. Misunderstanding “is a light, nearly soulful, heartache song” (Erlewine) while Turn It on Again “is a thunderous arena rocker” (Erlewine). The pair of songs “showcase the new version of Genesis at its absolute best. The rest of the record comes close to matching them” (Erlewine) on this “schizoid but invigorating album” (Pareles).
1 million
300,000
5 million
