On the drive back from VSAC, I loaded this one into the cd changer. I was a real fan of the Gabrial/Hackett era of this band and saw the Lamb Lies Down live. And although I love that album, I think that Selling England is more complete and consistently excellent.
Here we have another one of those issues that the mere mention of a song title pushes the play button in my head. "The Cinema Show" brings verse after verse.
"Home from work our Juliet
Clears her morning meal" and
"I will make my bed
With her tonight, he cries.
Can he fail, armed with his chocolate surprise?".
The list just about covers every title; " I Know What I Like", "The Battle of Epping Forest",..
And the music! The way that Tony Banks harnessed those pre-cpu , synthesisers emulating woodwinds and strings. Effortless comes to mind. Hackett is, well, Hackett at his very best. And while I've never been a fan of Phil Collins, his control over a trap set can't be faulted. I believe that "More Fool Me" is his first lead vocal for this band and while a bit sappy, in the context of the surrounding work, it continues the flow that starts with the first note and ends with the last.
1973,.. This album could have been released yesterday and no one would be any the wiser.
I believe that much of this genre owes a debt to the sub conscious wish for simpler times. It overlays a monochrome filter atop the complexities of life and allows us to be that boy with a wooden sword and newspaper armor in a Sendak story. I don't know if I am particularly susceptible this this sentiment, but I hope I am.
It's difficult to find anything anywhere that breaks the spell in this finely crafted album.
As they say,.. " A place for everything,.. and everything in it's place".
Atlantic Recording Corp 82675-2
