Album Review

Stephen Thomas Erlewine [allmusic.com]

If And Then There Were Three suggested that Genesis were moving toward pop, Duke is where they leaped into the fray. Not that it was exactly a head-first leap: the band may have peppered the album with pop songs, but there was still a heavy dose of prog, as the concluding ''Duke'' suite made clear. This is modernist art rock, quite dissimilar to the fragile, delicate Selling England by the Pound, and sometimes the precision of the attack can be a little bombastic. Nevertheless, this is a major leap forward in distinguishing the sound of Genesis, the band, and along with a new signature sound come pop songs, particularly in the guise of ''Misunderstanding'' and ''Turn It on Again.'' The first is a light, nearly soulful, heartache song, the latter is a thunderous arena rocker, and both showcase the new version of Genesis at its absolute best. The rest of the record comes close to matching them.