As you all know Wind And Wuthering was an American British trained racehorse born in 1979 who had a good start as a promising youngster, but never quite lived up to a couple of good showings early on in his career. He was then retired from competition and put to stud, without any notable success. Sadly, he was euthanised in July 1998 at Ladyhawke Ranch, California.
What? oh, wrong Wikipedia entry. Sorry. Wind And Wuthering (1976) is Genesis 8th album and the second post-Peter Gabriel. I forget this is a music blog and not a racehorse-y one, even when the racehorse is named after an LP*.
I was given this LP as part of a collection a workmate of my wife’s did not want and I kept it because of the cover really, post-Gabriel Genesis not really being my thing. And what a gorgeous Autumnal LP cover it is, chalk another one up to the Hipgnosis boys.
When I first played Wind And Wuthering I was decidedly underwhelmed. I have stuck at it, giving it a play annually on the strength of the cover alone and whilst my whelms are in no way overed, they are a bit less undered than they once were.
Genesis were still clinging to intricate songs with speedily played multi-part structures which were about things, at this stage. The likes of ‘Eleventh Earl of Mar’ (doomed Scottish rebellion) and ‘One For The Vine’ (false prophethood, mass expectation) are every bit as proggy as Genesis ever got with this line-up. ‘… Mar’ wins by being a more humane, coherent track, I simply don’t see the attraction in ‘… Vine’ at all^; its’ creator allowed himself far too many keyboard thribbles and trills on it.
The first saving grace for Wind And Wuthering comes with the delicate, pretty ‘Your Own Special Way’, which is just a nice heartfelt song, set to some very nice music. It is a gorgeous piece and one of the few Genesis tracks to betray any outside influence, some gorgeous Beatles-y harmonies in this case. It is remarkable that Genesis never really seemed to draw on anything outside their own creative selves, it is one of the reasons I like them.
I can’t quite make my mind up if ‘Wot Gorilla?’ is half great, or fully awful – a brief (by 1976 standards) jazz-fusion workout with some really interesting rhythms going on; not too marred by Phil Collins/this LP’s production penchant for constant splashy cymbals.
The Tom & Jerry-esque ‘All on a Mouse’s Night’ is absolute bollocks and the press-baiting, heartfelt ‘Blood on the Rooftops’ is infinitely better, especially the instrumental intro. It gets 1537 bonus points for mentioning Wales too. I’ll cut to the final track and commit Genesis sacrilege by saying I don’t get what makes ‘Afterglow’ special, other than a sincere vocal and a comfortingly churchy sound.
But what really makes Wind And Wuthering worthwhile for me, along with ‘… Special Way’, are the two linked instrumental tracks on side 2 ‘Unquiet Slumbers For the Sleepers… ‘ and ‘… In That Quiet Earth’^^. The former is particularly atmospheric and effective, all foggy keyboard washes and uncertainty.
Wind And Wuthering certainly justifies a place in the 1537, but it is as far as I go in Genesis’ discography. Great cover art aside, it is interesting that amongst all the bombast and showy instrumental skills it is the humbler, more relatable moments on the album that live stronger.
You, you have your own special way, Of turning the world so it's facing The way that I'm going, Don't ever, Don't ever leave me. (Your Own Special Way)
976 Down.
P.S: I have a strong suspicion that I am actually related to the eleventh earl of Mar, on my father’s side. I bet I have a claim on the ancestral seat.
PPS: The sky over my garden on Monday evening – no filters used on this one, it was an incredible sight.
*my two personal favourite racehorses being Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes and Reek Of Putrefaction.
^As a Fish-era Marillion diehard I hear a lot of them in the construction and approach to these two tracks, but not necessarily the bits of Marillion I liked. Marillion to my mind added a rougher, more passionate edge to it all and wanted to sing songs about real things.
^^a friend of mine once briefly decided to form a prog rock band called the Quiet Earth Sleepers based on these two tracks, but he couldn’t get the logo quite right in the back of his maths book and so QES never were. he tells me they would have been ‘even bigger than It Bites’ otherwise. True story.
As I rather like W and W (wrote about it a while back) I was a bit nervous about reading this, but glad I did. I think I’m somewhere in Rich’s territory with this one.
As a ridiculously dedicated fan of 70s progressive rock, I stuck with them through that decade and beyond.
How’s this for controversy: I’d put Duke in my Top 5 Genesis LPs.
Thanks Bruce, I’m glad you don’t feel I’ve been too brutal. There are some definite high spots here, but less and less of interest to me generally. The cover will always keep it in the 1537 though.
Mrs 1537 likes Duke too, I have never listened to it, in my usual open-minded manner I’ve just decided I wouldn’t like it. If it’s any consolation, I’m very often utterly wrong about these things.
How fortunate you are to have a spouse who compensated for your lapses in judgement. 😎
First off. That opening of the take was classic. Second “Vinyl Diviner” works. Like HMO I was still hanging in with the band. I guess this was still the feeling out period until they found the money trail.
I kinda like ‘Honky Horse’ for my pick.
Where’s Invisible Touch?
5 minutes in the sin bin Deke!
bahaha
I’ve been tempted to buy this a few times, but I’ve always put it back down. Now I don’t think I ever will, cause I don’t see it for the same price I used to… and, well, you’re not selling it here.
Nice LP cover though.
Absolutely!
This has always been the weaker of the majestic prog years. It’s always been an album of two half and the more melodic half is more interesting.
I saw Marillion almost as much as Whitesnake in the day, they were definitely a more working class Genesis.
I’d like to see David Coverdale fronting Genesis. I’d pay to see him belting out ‘The battle Of Epping Forest’.
Don’t make me too jealous please, but how good were early Marillion live?
They were awe inspiring at times and Fish was bigger than life, I’ve seen them with Hogarth and they are fun but a pale shadow of their past, the Royal Court was the scene of many a Marillion gig and then there was a festival with Marillion, Tull and most of Fairport Convention, I can’t remember the name of it. It felt like they played every other week at times.
A very fair assessment, even though I believe my whelm is way over yours.Yet it’s not in my Genesis top 5. If you wrote nothing other than the title of this post it would have been a winner. Nicely done sir.
Thanks Rich – the titles are my favourite bit.
I have struggled to get in to early Genesis…maybe some day it will connect with me. I was more in to the Phil sung pop stuff and the Peter solo stuff.
Burn the pop witch! Burn him!!
It’s an interesting exercise to try to pinpoint when people lose interest in a group.
In this case, it doesn’t seem to be a clear a line of Gabriel = good, Post-Gabriel = pass.
Excellent whelming paragraph!
Knowing the location of your whelks is, I believe, the first stage towards complete spiritual enlightenment. True story.
Whelms not whelks!!!!! Damned autocorrect!!
I’m typically underwhelked with autocorrect’s ability to guess the word I was attempting to spell!
What other Genesis have you got? Cause I highly rate the earlier stuff. This album was at a point where they were losing me. There’s better stuff before AND AFTER.
And Genesis didn’t sing about real things? Got any Giant Hogweed growing near you? THE THREAT IS REAL.
Apart from the debut, live one and Lamb (coughs) on CD, I have everything up to this one.
I bet you’re a massive fan of I Can’t Dance.
Giant Hogweed, my arse! You’ll be telling me musical boxes are real next.
We Can’t Dance does have Driving The Last Spike on it. Love that song. And it’s about real things too.
I get what your saying about Marillion cause I love em too and they are much easier to get on with. Genesis often lost me with tracks that were too busy and silly but they could hit peaks of brilliance that Marillion never could.
Agreed. Every word of it. Selling England is probably my favourite.
Yep. That and Lamb is my favourite era. I love the S/T too but you have to pretend that Illegal Alien isn’t a thing.
A bit like Blue Murder and ‘Sex Child’?
Ewww exactly like that. My mind’s eye is still scarred by that song.
That will waste an hour to two
Have you heard Trick of the Tail – the first album with Collins on vocals? It’s much stronger IMO.
I have and you’re right, of course. I do prefer Gabriel Genesis though, by far.
Just making sure you didn’t miss it – I think Trick of the Tail is up there with the Gabriel stuff, but Wind in a huge drop in quality.