Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Genesis
Label: Virgin Records
Released: 1980
Rating: 3.5/5
“Duke” is an interesting and unique record for Genesis in more ways than one, because it’s a kind of bridge between the band’s two musical faces. On it, Genesis took the big step from progressive rock to pop, or rather the new wave of the 80s, and overnight became a global pop attraction that started filling stadiums like it was nothing, but at the price of their musical creativity and most of their old fans. After the monster hit “Follow You Follow Me” from the previous record “And Then There Were Three” (1978), it was hardly a surprise that they decided to leave behind their past as one of the best and most important prog rock bands of the 70s and adapt to the new times. Their music started to rest on shorter songs, more or less based on new wave and rhythm ‘n’ blues motifs. In other words, something you couldn’t find in their music until then. “Duke” is thus a sort of in-between hybrid of prog and pop. And that’s exactly what makes this album so singular, because combining the two musical styles produced some extremely interesting results. On top of that, this album was reportedly a model for numerous newborn prog bands of the 80s, who went on to create a new genre, neo-prog (Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Pallas, Twelfth Night…). It was with this very album that Phil Collins became the band’s leading force, mainly with his love-and-social-themed lyrics and the charisma of a born stage entertainer. With this album he became the writer of most of the lyrics and music for the band. Still, his influence over the group isn’t as strongly felt here, since he started his solo career a little later, after this album came out. Unhappy divorces evidently became one of Collins’ main lyrical themes, and the concept of “Duke” is based on his traumatic split from his first wife. The lyrics became far more personal, or rather were practically nothing but that, at the expense of the intelligent and surreal themes of the earlier albums. Despite the dominance of the new wave/pop sound, Collins’ programmed drums (a first on a Genesis album) in some parts of the songs and Tony Banks’ modern keyboards, most of the songs on the album are very pleasing, and most fans of classic Genesis should enjoy them too. Collins’ vocals had improved significantly by this album, and almost all comparisons with his predecessor had vanished. On the other hand, “Duke” contains quite a few good-to-average pop songs that were practically all big hits, e.g. “Behind The Lines”, “Duchess”, “Misunderstanding”, “Turn It On Again” and “Alone Tonight”.
“Duke” is a semi-concept album and, roughly speaking, tells through some of its songs the story of a lonely “Duke” who is abandoned by his beloved but haughty “Duchess” (“Duchess”), and when he’s left all alone (“Behind The Lines”), through days that are always the same for him he gazes sadly and tearfully out the window (“Alone Tonight”), forgotten by the whole world and apathetically sprawled in front of his TV (“Turn It On Again). In the end he does decide to set off and look for her (the closing “Duke’s Travels” and “Duke’s End”), but we never find out whether he found her. Everyone can imagine the ending of the story however they like. Maybe Collins’ concept sounds a little corny (like, to be honest, most of his later confessional poetry, especially from his solo career), but still you can feel a concept running through the whole album, in the music and the lyrics, and a connection between the songs as some motifs recur across individual tracks. “Duke” was reportedly even meant at first to be a fully conceptual album with a longer suite in the vein of “Supper’s Ready” (Foxtrot, 1972), but precisely because of that they chose to “chop it up” into several songs, to the great relief of the label and the sorrow of most of the old fans. The songs that make up the concept are also the best ones on the album.
The pompous, dramatic “Behind the Lines” is one of the most energetic openers in the band’s history, with a punchy instrumental intro on Banks’ synthesizer and the band’s recognizable jazzy Collins-Rutherford rhythm. Then comes a shift into a section that’s clearly built on soul, kicked off by Collins’ vocals. A song that vividly shows off the band’s new face, one that stepped boldly into the 80s with a new wave sound. Definitely a pretty obvious step toward commercialization, but still a very solid song. Collins also released the same song in a slightly altered version on his first solo record, “Face Value” (1981). Right after it comes “Duchess”, whose opening section is based on a combination of Collins’ programmed ethnic drum rhythms and modern new wave synths, yet it also has an epic structure and is therefore one of the more interesting “pop” creations on the album. “Guide Vocal” is a short but dramatic piano overture with Collins’ heartfelt vocals, followed by “Man Of Our Times”, which has a fragmented rhythm and a somewhat distorted yet brilliant Collins vocal, plus Banks’ modern synthesizers. It’s an excellent cross between the band’s signature progressive variations and new wave, with Collins’ trademark chorus. The commercialization is obvious on the pop number “Misunderstanding”, which was a big hit when it came out, but is also one of the weaker songs on this album, or the band’s catalog, with fairly corny lyrics. The fact is that, for all its commercial simplicity, you get sick of it pretty quickly after a few listens. “Heathaze” is therefore one of the better creations on the album, even carrying some of the spirit of classic Genesis, and to me the main motif slightly recalls one of Marillion’s early works. “Turn It On Again” is another pop hit with a clever Rutherford riff. Nothing special, but still one of the band’s better pop numbers. “Alone Tonight” is a Collins ballad with a rather corny chorus that already sounds a lot like his solo stuff. Still, I don’t doubt that plenty of tender souls will get misty-eyed listening to it, because the man truly sings from the heart. “Cul de Sac”, on the other hand, is a wonderful, semi-progressive composition that lifts the mood of the album again and has all the band’s best qualities, and even the lyrics are more like the band’s “good old days”. All three musicians leave their souls on it. “Please Don’t Ask” is one of the band’s better ballads, with Collins on vocals and without unnecessary pathos.
The album’s peak is undoubtedly the fantastic epic finale under Banks’ masterful direction, made up of two parts, “Duke’s Travels” and” Duke’s End”, which together form a coherent whole, marking the end of the Duke’s wanderings and a wonderful close to the album. The dramatic “Duke’s Travels” opens with the rush of waves on synths and, besides the excellent, classic jazzy Collins-Rutherford rhythm, includes one of Banks’ best and longest solos on modern synthesizers, a real treat for all fans of classic Genesis. At one point the composition sounds truly cosmic, and when Collins’ excellent vocals join in, a genuine prog cloud nine suddenly opens up. I can’t remember Collins’ voice ever, before or since, sounding as “uplifting” as on this song. The epic closer is the band’s last great prog masterpiece and one of their best compositions, one that can stand shoulder to shoulder with their finest work of the 70s. When the main motif from “Behind The Lines” returns once more at the end of “Duke’s End”, the album wraps up sensibly, the same way it opened. I can say that this phenomenal epic finale lifts the quality of the album by at least one whole grade, and that’s exactly why “Duke” is worth the attention even of those who gave up on the band’s commercialization after “Follow You Follow Me”.
With “Duke”, which was a monster success worldwide and their first “gold” album on the British charts, Genesis made a very good record that sails successfully between prog and pop, while still having enough progressive elements not to get watered down into an ordinary new wave pop album, even though it’s also a more than obvious sign that the band had decided to dedicate itself to precisely that direction and throw out its creative expression. The production is excellent and the album has a very “alive” sound, maybe even the most of any of the band’s albums. For all AOR and pop rock listeners, “Duke”, despite its occasional complexity, is a real treat, while for fans of prog rock and classic Genesis it’s the last album from the band worth listening to, one where the band hasn’t yet sold its musical voice for bigger commercial success and bowed to Collins’ solo career. Anyone who doesn’t burden themselves too much with the Genesis legacy of the 70s while listening will discover plenty of wonderful musical moments in “Duke”.
Lineup
Phil Collins – vocals, drums, drum programming
Mike Rutherford – guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals
Tony Banks – keyboards, 12-string guitar, backing vocals
Production
David Hentschel and Genesis
Track list
1. Behind The Lines (5:43)
2. Duchess (6:25)
3. Guide Vocal (1:21)
4. Man Of Our Times (5:34)
5. Misunderstanding (3:13)
6. Heathaze (4:57)
7. Turn It On Again (3:46)
8. Alone Tonight (3:54)
9. Cul-De-Sac (5:06)
10. Please Don’t Ask (4:00)
11. Duke’s Travels (8:39)
12. Duke’s End (3:08)
Album length: 55:46
