Selling England By The Pound [Remastered] - Genesis

Advantages: Peerless mix of prog and pop
Disadvantages: Some self-indulgence, that Phil Collins vocal

...My first Genesis album was Selling England By The Pound (£2.75 from Woolworths, Whitstable if I remember rightly). I recently felt emboldened enough to buy it again on CD. And you know, although I wouldn't have dared admit as much 20 or even 10 years ago, it's still a damn fine album. Released in 1973, it is arguably the high-water mark of the band's career. If you know the band from its 80s incarnation this album may come as a shock. After Gabriel ...
...their masterpiece. But for me, Selling England captures their creative peak. Thematically, the album is an elegy for an England that has - hence the title - surrendered to the forces of commerce. Gabriel's lyrics mourn supermarket culture: "Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout"; "Chewing through your Wimpy dreams"; "Thankful for her fine fair discount/ Tess co-operates". In contrast to such tawdriness, the album opens with a pastoral, folky ... Read review

Advantages: An improvement on Foxtrot - More Great Songs
Disadvantages: Phil Collins first vocal , but it's not too bad

In late 1973 after the holding operation that was the excellent “Genesis Live”, they got their first major commercial breakthrough in “Selling England By The Pound”, complete with hit single (their first) the oddly titled “I Know What I Like(In Your Wardrobe)”. This marked a new beginning for the band , and they ditched Paul Whitehead as cover artist in favour of Betty Swanson, who still managed to convey a very ...
...on the album is improved, the playing and compositions more confident. The only slight downer for a lot of folk will be that this is the first album where Phil Collins was featured on lead vocals on a song, the appropriately named “More Fool Me”. I’ve always considered Collins to be one of the best drummers in the world but he has foisted some of the worst MOR dross in the world on us since he started singing, but that’s just ... Read review

Advantages: Classic Peter Gabriel Genesis, Atmospheric, Wonderful Instrumentation
Disadvantages: You do have to switch off eventually

...and have been listening to Selling England on and off for all of those years. Selling England by the Pound is one of genesis best records along with Foxtrot and The Lamb Lies down on Broadway. Sorry guys but genesis went into a rapid slide when Peter Gabriel left. A lot of the music on Selling England send shivers down my spine, notably Firth of Fifth and The Cinema Show/Aisle of plenty. The words on The Battle of Epping Forest are an absolute ... Read review