Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail (1976) [SACD 24/96 Stereo Analogue Rip]

Many people see Peter Gabriel as the creative mind behind Genesis, but a few listens to A Trick of the Tale or Wind & Wuthering may quickly dispel that myth for many. This is an oft-overlooked period in Genesis musical history. The band was seemingly searching or grasping for a new identity in the wake of Peter Gabriel’s departure.
Dance of the Volcano is the first evidence that despite the departure of a very creative and pivotal member of their band, Genesis was still on solid footing. One might expect Genesis to be struggling, or that this album might be weaker than its predecessors in light of Gabriel’s absence. In which case, one would be quite wrong in each case. From the opening notes and through the entire CD, Genesis displays a self-assurance that is quite conspicuous in its presence.
Indeed, Phil Collins steps up from behind his drum kit to handle lead vocals with a level of confidence that belies his relative vocal inexperience. This isn’t a slam on Peter Gabriel, so much as a testament to the band’s adaptability and growth.

Tracklisting:
1. Dance on a Volcano
2. Entangled
3. Squonk
4. Mad Man Moon
5. Robbery, Assault And Battery
6. Ripples
7. A Trick Of The Tail
8. Los Endos


In all honesty, I am not a fan of the 2007 remix/remasters for CD/SACD. The volume is maxed out, the compressor/limiter is working overtime, and the peaks are clipped as hell. The tracks have also been EQ'd very bright.
There has been much heated discussion about these masters on the official Genesis forum - with the audiophiles on the one side complaining of the brightness and compression and the loss of Genesis' musical dynamics to the "Loudness Wars," and on the other side devoted fans who simply love the new masters and can't hear what all the fuss is about.

Remix engineer Nick Davis also 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 largely absent 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.

I hasten to add: the stereo SACD layer is still nicer than the 16-bit CD layer due to the improved resolution. And Trick is also not as badly compressed as Wind. Judge for yourself! :)
LezDawson