Genesis - Duke (1980) [2007 SACD 24/96 Stereo Analogue Rip]

With Duke, their second album as a trio, Genesis continue to rack up commercial success in inverse proportion to the creative losses they suffered with the successive departures of lead singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett.
Compared to the conceptual musical pretensions of A Curious Feeling and Smallcreep's Day, the previous year's surprisingly limp solo outings by keyboardist Tony Banks and bassist Mike Rutherford, Duke serves as a testament to strength, even in reduced numbers. As art rock goes, Turn It On Again is vibrant rock & roll with keyboards, rhythm section and vocalist deliberately working at rhythmic cross-purposes. Such typical examples of the group's epic classicism as Duchess, Man of Our Times, Duke's Travels and Duke's End possess a refreshing urgency marked by singer-drummer Collins' confident snap and the cool orchestral breeze of Banks' ivory armory.


1. Behind the Lines
2. Duchess
3. Guide Vocal
4. Man of Our Times
5. Misunderstanding
6. Heathaze
7. Turn it on Again
8. Alone Tonight
9. Cul-De-Sac
10. Please Don't Ask
11. Duke's Travels
12. Duke's End


Duke is very, VERY compressed. The intro to the brilliant Behind The Lines is so brick-wall compressed that the sound actually breaks up, distorts and even suffers drop-outs on the higher frequencies (e.g. cymbal crashes) as the volume maxes out beyond what the digital limits can record.

Remix engineer Nick Davis denies any use of excessive compression, and has stated that he is hurt by the criticisms.


But the visual displays of the files show otherwise: lots of dynamic clipping, just like the audiophile fans claimed they could hear. However, listening to the new vinyl masters of the Gabriel-fronted albums, shows that excessive compression is used far less on those vinyl versions. So the clipping prevalent on the new CD/SACD releases is certainly a result of the awful CD/SACD mastering by Tony Cousins.

The only real advantage over the DE Remaster edition is the improved clarity of vocals - Guide Vocal really reveals Collins as a deeply soulful substitute for the departed Gabriel. Collins has never sounded so beautifully fragile than on this new mix. Vocals are also brought out a little more - to good effect - on Man Of Our Times. All things considered though, for me the DER is still superior for its dynamic quality.

I hasten to add: the stereo SACD layer is still nicer than the 16-bit CD layer due to the improved resolution. Which is best? The SACD or the DER issue? Judge for yourself! :)
LezDawson