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.