More from Genesis
(1969) From Genesis To Revelation
(1970) Trespass
(1971) Nursery Cryme
(1972) Foxtrot
(1973) Selling England By The Pound
(1974) The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
(1976) A Trick Of The Tail
(1976) Wind & Wuthering
(1978) ...And Then There Were Three
(1980) Duke
(1981) Abacab
(1983) Genesis
(1986) Invisible Touch
(1991) We Can't Dance
(1997) Calling All Stations
Duke
by Genesis (1980)
Written by dcd15401 (2)
Now fully into its transitional period from progressive rock giants to stadium-filling art-pop superstars, Genesis began the 1980s with their most successful album to date.
Duke, like its predecessor, ... And Then There Were Three ..., attempts to offers something for everyone: Several tracks are unquestionably pop, but many are colored with complex, prog-ish arrangements bathed in keyboards and effect-laden guitars, though the heavy layering of keyboards on ... And Then There Were Three ... is not as prominent here.
According to interviews given by the band for the SACD version of the album in 2007, Duke had been conceived to include a suite of songs on Side A. After the opening trio of "Behind the Lines," "Duchess" and "Guide Vocal," the side was to have continued with "Turn it on Again," "Duke's Travels" and "Duke's End." The group, however, thought that sequencing the album in such a manner would draw comparison's to the band's legendary almost-sidelong piece "Supper's Ready," so the tracks were scattered throughout the recording.
Another theory is that the group realized the stronger tracks would be on Side A. Proof is offered in that, on the European tour for Duke, the band performed only the tracks from the suite, in one block, in the middle of the set ("Misunderstanding," a hit in the US, was added to the American tour).
Though he had written music for his jazz-rock outlet, Brand X, Duke is a coming-out party for Phil Collins as a songwriter, even it was somewhat by accident. After the breakup of his first marriage, Collins found himself alone with his thoughts, as Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford recording solo albums while Collins sorted out his personal life. As a result, Collins began to write what amounted to letters to his wife, complete with drum machines and keyboards. He played the tracks for Banks and Rutherford, who took two songs for Duke. The remainder, after encouragement from Ahmet Ertegun, ultimately became Phil's solo debut, Face Value.
Fans can argue that this is the band's last prog album or its first pop recording. In truth, it's both. Though the band never completely shed its darker side, they were now in a position to attack the charts with fresher sound and a rapidly-developing new songwriting voice.
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Genesis — Duke: Track-by-track review
1. "Behind The Lines"
Genesis introduces itself to the decade with a long introduction that harkens back to its full-on prog days, but the sound is clearly contemporary.
Phil's drum sound almost gets lost in the mix of keyboards and drums — not to mention a busy Rutherford bass line — but it hints of the beginning of Collins' use of the "gated drum" sound he became famous for (he began working on the sound with Peter Gabriel while recording the latter's third album, which took place at about the same time as Genesis recorded this album).
The vocal sections have almost a soulful feel, as we're introduced to an obsessed fan who seems to be lamenting the fall of his "duchess" ...
Whatever happened to you it's too late to change now
There's nowhere you can run to, no place to hide
Ah you let me down!
Collins re-recorded the song for Face Value, speeding up the tempo and adding a horn section.
2. "Duchess"
A quick fade-out of "Behind the Lines" leads into the band's first use of a drum machine on record. Piano, guitar and synth textures build throughout another long intro, until Collins launches into a tale of a diva who reaches the top and tries in vain to stay there before the inevitable fall.
Oh but time went by
It wasn't so easy now, all uphill, and not feeling so strong.
Yes times were hard,
Too much thinking 'bout the future and what people might want.
Collins — who had gone through a recording process of sorts with his solo material — delivers his strongest studio vocal to date. It's also a personal favorite of Banks, who called Duke his favorite Genesis album.
3. "Guide Vocal"
A short Banks-penned link has Collins singing ambiguous lyrics — "I am the one who guided you this far," though we don't know who guided whom — with just Banks providing piano and synth background. These verses are repeated, with slight variation, at the end of the record.
4. "Man Of Our Times"
Rutherford contributes this song — not to mention a droning bass line — about a full-fledged member of the rat race.
He brings another day another night, another fight
Well there's another day done and there's another gone by
He's a man of our times a man of our times
Again, Collins contributes a heavy drum sound and a Gothic-like vocal. No one would think twice if this had appeared on, say, We Can't Dance, but it must have a shock for Genesis fans at the time to hear this.
5. "Misunderstanding"
A solid, albeit standard-issue, pop song, Collins borrows the chorus from "Hot Fun in the Summertime" for his lyric about a fellow who gets stood-up, only to find that the object of his affection has other intentions ...
I rang your house but got no answer
Turned to my car; I went 'round there
Still don't believe it
He was just leaving
Collins has also cited Toto's "Hold the Line" and the Beach Boys' "Sail On, Sailor" as influences, and all of these songs share the same driving, 12/8 beat.
The 2007 remaster offers what is far and away the best-sounding version of the track, although a brief guitar line from Rutherford at 2:38 is inexplicably edited out of the mix.
6. "Heathaze"
Side A concludes on a melancholy note, as Banks delivers a typically fatalistic lyric about a man who is dreaming of a more idyllic world but still "feel(s) like an alien" in his. Still, one must remain realistic ...
Now the light is fading fast,
Chances slip away, a time will come to pass
When there'll be none,
Then addicted to a perfumed poison,
Betrayed by its aftertaste,
Oh we shall lose the wonder and find nothing in return.
Many are the substitutes but they're powerless on their own.
The dream sequence here is not dissimilar to "Mad Man Moon" from A Trick of the Tail, though this song seems to deal more with general depression than that of a lost love, as "Mad Man Moon" does.
7. "Turn It On Again"
Starting with a basic eighth-note rhythm, the band launches back into the Duke "suite" with the main character still longing for his Duchess, courtesy of his television ...
You're just another face that I know from the TV show
I have known you for so very long I feel you like a friend
Can't you do anything for me, can I touch you for a while
Can I meet you another day and we will fly away
This song has been a fan favorite almost from the moment of its release, as well as a hit single — strange for a track with a main riff in 13/4 and an even more complicated pre-chorus (check the rhythms on the "I, I get so lonely when she's not there" sections).
Collins is credited by Banks and Rutherford for suggesting that the track be played at a faster tempo. Also, Banks said the track was to be another link in the suite and that it was to have been played just once through, but the band decided to double the length of the tune because of how powerful it sounded.
8. "Alone Tonight"
It sounds for all the world like a Collins song, but this is Rutherford's baby all the way. Consider this the antithesis to his "Your Own Special Way" from three years earlier. There is hope for our lonely soul once a new day begins; it's just a matter of getting there. ...
On my own tonight, alone again tonight
Oh I'm alone again, alone again tonight
Oh I'm alone again, and it seems to me that everytime I try to change
Say that you'll, say that you'll
Help me reach the other side
This track wouldn't have seemed out-of-place in the suite. For that matter, it wouldn't be a stretch to propose the band actually tried to treat the entire album as a song cycle. In any case, Phil could relate to the lyric, and one can imagine him singing this to a picture of someone he's lost ("I touch your face and I don't know why/I call your name but you're going by").
In the interviews for the 2007 remastered version, Banks said the band rejected this song as a single in favor of "Turn It On Again."
9. "Cul-De-Sac"
Another dark, lyrical tour-de-force from Banks, this expansive, majestic track starts off with images of an army preparing for a climactic battle, not unlike "The Knife" from the early Gabriel era. ...
Far below, where shadows fester as they grow,
An army thousands strong, obsessed by right and wrong,
They sense their time is coming near. ...
But in this case, victory seems far from assured ...
You know you're on the way out,
It's just a matter of time.
You thought you'd rule the world forever,
Long live the king, and don't spare the loser.
The last verse indicates that this is going to be very bad day for the troops. But perhaps there's another allegory here. Is it about the extinction of dinosaurs — or perhaps a dinosaur 70s prog act?
Now the host emerges, and a shadow starts to fall.
Not one knows what hit them, none can see at all.
Even as the end approaches still they're not aware,
How can you fight a foe so deadly
When you don't even know it's there?
And now that the job is almost done
Maybe some escape, no, not even one.
Rare for an up-tempo song on Duke, the piano is center stage here. Collins also keeps busy in the background with aggressive hi-hat work, if there is such a thing.
10. "Please Don't Ask"
On a record full of ambiguous lyrics, this is as direct as it gets. Phil is singing directly to his ex, in this case it's in the form of reconnecting at a lunch date or some other informal get-together.
Though he seems willing to have another go at things, the song is loaded with apprehension ...
But y'know, I can remember when it was easy to say I love you
But things have changed since then, now I really can't say if I still do
But I can try
This is Phil's most emotive vocal yet. Producer Nick Davis brings special attention to that point on the 2007 remaster at the expense of some keyboard textures. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but there's no doubt that the overall sound of the track is from the period.
11. "Duke's Travels"
The album's climax begins with Banks playing "Watcher of the Skies"-esque synth chords over some splashy cymbal work, which eventually fades into another example of what would become Collins' signature reverb drum sound.
The main theme of this mostly-instrumental track bounces along in 6/8 for several minutes before abruptly changing to a driving 4/4 beat, which ultimately leads to a furious reprise of the lyrics to "Guide Vocal," before slowly drifting away to a circus-like figure from Banks.
12. "Duke's End"
The album ends with a short reprise of "Behind the Lines" and a variation of "Turn it on Again." On the 2007 reunion tour, the band opened the show with this track, preceded by the intro to "Behind the Lines."