Genesis: Wind and Wuthering

The last of their greats

Throughout the early to mid-seventies, Genesis had a list of classic albums. Even after Peter Gabriel left, following The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the quality continued with Trick of the Tail, and then this one released in December 1976: Wind and Wuthering. Recruiting the drummer as the new lead vocalist and frontman was an inspired choice. Peter Gabriel left and, contrary to all expectation, Genesis never missed a beat.

But, in my opinion, at least, it was the last of their truly great, immersive albums. After Wind and Wuthering each release became more commercial, more poppy – and more depleted. No longer were they fully and proudly progressive, although moments of progginess could still be heard, almost despite their new selves. Like air belching its escape from the lungs of a decomposing corpse, it still happened occasionally.

In terms of financial success, following Wind and Wuthering, became the moment that they started to reach for the big time. A couple of albums later, around Duke era, they were accepted into the clutches of mainstream fame and they never looked back. And the money and commercial adulation never stopped coming. But for me they had stopped being interesting. Duke is a good album. There are a few tracks I really love, for example, the epic close of Duke’s Travels. But it was a…