Gabriel's solo voice at the beginning of this album gets me every time. Where is music like this nowadays? Believe it or not, before the time of Nelly (who is also Sisqo and Usher) and Good Charlotte (who is also Bowling For Soup and Simple Plan), bands used to regard music as an art form.

Okay, enough ranting. I sound like an old-timer, and I'm only 21.

But after hearing Genesis' fifth studio album, I'm ready to warp back to 1973 to try and catch these guys on tour. Selling England By The Pound is the best album the group ever cut, with or without Phil Collins, and if you're a fan of Genesis post-Gabriel, pick this up and see what Phil was really capable of.

This album is not perfect by any means. But no Genesis album ever was, and the flaws made the high points that much better. Fortunately, the flaws here are minimal, making this a wonderful experience all the way through. It's not an album for a party or casual listening -- this takes time and attention, but it's well worth it (a long drive on the highway in the rain would be ideal).

"Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" is a bit of British fantasy, but with a rock 'n' roll core and some wonderful vocal work from Peter Gabriel. The song really ends after five minutes, but there are three minutes of atmospheric noodling on the guitar and keyboard that don't add much to the song.

This segues into the quirky "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," the lyrics of which explain the front cover. Also on the first side is "More Fool Me," Phil Collins' first real vocal song and the harbinger of what was to come in his solo career. In this context, though, it sounds rather nice.

"The Battle Of Epping Forest" is the only misstep, a 10-minute piece with no real focus, musically. Gabriel told a story, as usual, but the band is unsure how to back him up (Steve Hackett later quipped that Gabriel sang over all the best instrumental parts). Following this is the pleasant instrumental "After The Ordeal," with a definite British folk feel.

But the set pieces here make the album worth listening to repeatedly. "Firth Of Fifth" has a wonderful piano intro that the band never replicated on stage, a rather mundane verse, and then the most brilliant, emotional solo of Steve Hackett's career. Listening to it loud almost brings a tear to the eye -- Gabriel's melancholy flute gives way to Hackett's guitar, and while parts of it are calculated, the whole effect is wonderful. Likewise, "The Cinema Show" is a standard Genesis song for about six minutes, and then it turns into four minutes of anxious, moving keyboard work by Banks.

When Genesis was at the top of their game, they had no equals. Replacing "Battle" with something else, maybe "Twilight Alehouse," would have made this better, but the other songs are strong enough to merit awarding this disc Album of the Career for Genesis.

Bands today could take a lesson.

Rating: A

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