01	Eleventh Earl Of Mar						07:44
	02	One For The Vine						10:00
	03	Your Own Special Way						06:18
	04	Wot Gorilla ?						03:19
	05	All In A Mouse's Night						06:38
	06	Blood On The Rooftops						05:27
	07	'Unquiet Slumber For The Sleepers ...						02:23
	08	.. In That Quiet Earth'						04:49
	09	Afterglow						04:12

Wind & Wuthering
(27 Dec 1976)
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Personnel:
Tony Banks - Steinway Grand Piano, ARP 2600 and Pro-Soloist Synthesisers, Hammond Organ, Mellotron, Roland String Synthesiser, Rhodes Piano, etc.
Phil Collins - Voices, Drums, Cymbals, Percussion
Steve Hackett - Electric Guitars, Nylon Classical, 12 String, Kalimba, Auto-harp
Mike Rutherford - Basses, 4, 6, and 8 String, Electric and 12 String Acoustic Guitars, Bass Pedals

Production:
Co-produced by David Hentschel and Genesis
Engineer: David Hentschel

Recorded at Relight Studios, Hilvarenbeek, Holland
Assistant Engineer: Pierre Geoffroy Chateau
Remixed at Trident Studios, London
Assistant Engineer: Nick "Cod" Bradford
Tape Operators: John, Geoff, Neil and Steve
Equipment: Tex (Nibs) Read, Andy Mackrill, Paul Padun and Dale

Thanks to: Tony Smith, Alex Sim, Brian Murray-Smith

Sleeve Design: Hipgnosis/Colin Elgie


CDSCD 4005 (P) 1976 Virgin Records LTD (C) 1985 Charisma Records LTD

Genesis: Wind & Wuthering

Bob Eichler:
This is possibly the most overlooked Genesis album. It doesn't get as much praise as the Gabriel-era albums, or as much criticism as the post-Hackett albums, and when people do talk about the music that came in between, it seems they usually focus on Trick of the Tail. To be honest, there is some forgettable material on this disc, but there's also some prime stuff.
The album opens with two songs that are extended with instrumental passages and almost have a "mini-epic" feel to them. These tracks are OK, but don't really grab my attention until the pseudo-circus music section of "One For the Vine" - that part is great. Those songs are followed up by what is easily the weakest song on the album, the annoying ballad "Your Own Special Way".
After that the album really starts to take off. "Wot Gorilla?" is a great little instrumental, which uses some unusual sounds and has a fairly lighthearted feel to it. "All in a Mouse's Night" has a cartoonish sound (created mostly by the keyboards) to accompany a story about a mouse trying to escape from cruel humans.
The next two songs are the real highlights of the disc. "Blood on the Rooftops" features some beautiful acoustic guitar work and lyrics that somehow seem deep and meaningful although a closer look makes them seem to be almost random phrases strung together. "Unquiet Slumbers..." starts out with more nice acoustic guitar, coupled with atmospheric keyboards. After a couple minutes of that, the piece builds up into the sudden burst of drums that kicks off the main section of the song, which sounds like it could be Phil Collins' audition piece for Brand X. Really good, fusiony stuff. Towards the end the song shifts and takes on a mean attitude, which just makes it even better. Parts of this track remind me of some of the little instrumental fillers on "The Lamb". During its last few seconds the track makes a high speed run back through its main theme and then segues directly into the thick keyboard sound of the ballad "Afterglow".
This last track is a little sappy, but is performed well enough to pull it off. Besides which, it can be forgiven just because it adds a nice contrast to the instrumental frenzy that came before it and eases the listener out of the album.
Overall this is a pretty strong disc, and is probably my favorite of the two post-Gabriel, pre-trio albums. Definitely recommended to those who are already Genesis fans. For those who are new to the band, try starting with an earlier album.

Sean McFee:
I would consider this Genesis' most underrated progressive album, as it seems to be at neither the top nor bottom of many lists. I would consider it a step up from A Trick of the Tail, and perhaps Genesis' finest progressive work.
The fantasy imagery is still heavy on this album, with a mouse story, a tale of a failed Scottish uprising and a bizarre sort of war/religion parody (or at least that's how "One for the Vine" reads to me). The album gets some scorn for the first signs of the AOR/pop music that the band was to be known for in "Your Own Special Way", and to a lesser extent "Afterglow". I don't personally find either of these songs particularly objectionable, and would put them both well ahead of much of the later pop material. Both "Eleventh Earl of Mar" and "One for the Vine" are fairly lengthy with long instrumentals, and don't differ significantly in quality from most Genesis songs of similar length.
It is the second half of this album that makes this album for me. "All in a Mouse's Night" has enough quirkiness to appeal to me, while "Blood on the Rooftops" combines some of Hackett's most beautiful playing with abstract lyrics that work very well in combination. The "Wuthering Heights" two-part instrumental which follows is not steeped in pyrotechnics, because that's never really the case with Genesis, but establish a mood and keep it going. Finally there is "Afterglow", which while not one of the album's strongest moments is a fitting conclusion.
Wind & Wuthering is in every way a Genesis album, and sees the band fully realize the sound they had been honing for so many years. It's hard to imagine how much they could have improved had Hackett not left after this album, but I guess that's something we'll never know.

Joe McGlinchey:
During this time, guitarist Steve Hackett thought his input as a writer was being deferred by the other band members for Tony Banks' offerings, and especially coming off the heels of Voyage of the Acolyte, the lure of a potential solo career would soon prove too strong to deny. But before his departure, Genesis would get in one last 1-2. "Eleventh Earl of Mar" sparkles with tight performances and the seamless transitioning of electric and acoustic passages that marks the trademark of traditional, symph prog. "Blood on the Rooftops" shows Hackett in fine form, with moody-grey shading perfectly reflecting the mournful landscape found on the cover of the album. I'll even admit to liking "Your Own Special Way," the syrupy ballad that hinted what was to follow from the band. Personally, I like the guitars and Collins' harmonies, and for trivia buffs, the second verse quotes from an obscure poem "Who Has Seen the Wind" by Georgia Christina Rosetti. Certainly they could do (and, in fact, would do) worse than this one.
The centerpiece of the album, though, is a two-part instrumental, with titles drawn from the last words of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, appropriately enough. The darkened "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers...," written by Hackett and Rutherford, sounds fully orchestral in scope, and explodes into the seraphic, group-composed "...In That Quiet Earth," an intense instrumental that proves to be one of the band's most resplendent moments. This sequence resolves into "Afterglow," which is either a heart-tugging anthem about love...or a despairing entry from a post-nuke survivor, depending on whether you're a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of guy. There are brief moments I can do without, and I can't believe the band nixed Hackett's "Please Don't Touch" in favor of "Wot Gorilla?," nice little tune though it is. Still, this is Genesis' final 'classic' album, and it's also one of their most powerful.

Eric Porter:
Wind and Wuthering is an absolute classic; a must have. The music is some of the best ever written by the band. If this is the sound that many neo-prog bands have been after, I don't think they have ever come close. Again, Collins does a superb job, and I don't think Gabriel could have done better. This to my ears is the last truly classic Genesis recording.
"Eleventh Earl of Mar" has a great intro with guitar and symphonic keys; the song really moves with Banks' driving organ chords and some upfront bass. About 4:00 minutes in, everything stops and Hackett's guitar and the band create some excellent atmospheres. The whole CD has a mysterious quality to it, and this song has a great opening and closing like "Fountain of Salmacis" - just astounding. "One for the Vine" has to be in contention for my all time favorite songs period, and on the Three Sides Live disc it is apparent that it should have been included on Seconds Out . The opening is very mellow with piano and vocal. The song continuously builds on itself. The chorus is excellent, featuring Phil's falsetto. Banks creates an excellent calm before the storm with his piano, the band then kicks in with an incredible mid section of very complex music, and back to the theme and the piano leads the way out.
"Your Own Special Way"is the song that may show things to come, but I still like the song and it does have a nice melody. Probably my least favorite tune on the CD. "Wot Gorilla" is an instrumental piece that may have been inspired by Phil's work with Brand X, and it would have been nice to hear the band do more stuff like this. It opens with chimes, bells and Phil setting the tempo for the band; Hackett and Banks play in unison for a lot of this one. "All in a Mouse's Night" has fantasy lyrics a la Trick of the Tail, and some great keyboard work from Banks. "Blood on the Rooftops" opens with some nice classical guitar from Hackett, and Phil singing a beautiful melody over the top. The song has a very melancholy feel but is excellent. The arrangement and emotion in this one always hits me: another all time favorite of mine.
"Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers" is an instrumental with Hackett and Banks playing some atmospheric music that leads into "In That Quiet Earth", another instrumental that gets very heavy and has a fusionish feel. The band really rocks and I wish they had explored more instrumental pieces. "Afterglow" is the closer with a very romantic feel, and again a pretty melody; I think Phil really breathes life into this one live, his vocals here seem a little held back.
This could be my all time favorite Genesis CD. It is unfortunate that Steve Hackett grew disenchanted with the group, because I think this contains some of the best music of their career. His nylon string classical guitar makes a number of appearances and I think he really contributed immenesly to the music even though he felt not enough of his songs were being done. The big blow seemed initially to be the loss of Gabriel which the band triumphantly overcame, but ultimately, hindsight seems to show that Hackett's departure really changed the band's sound most of all. The CD cover is also very simple, a grey landscape with a tree and some leaves blowing around, but seems to convey the mood of the music. If you are a Genesis fan without this one in your collection, you are really missing something special.





Genesis - Wind and Wuthering

Member: TopographicYes

Wind and Wuthering is commonly known as the last album with the classic Genesis sound. I'd have to agree. All the great instrumental sounds from the Peter Gabriel era are here, but something else is in the mix as well: A rich lushness and a big improvement in overall engineering. This is my favorite of the post Gabriel releases for that very reason. It took a few listens, but very quickly I was hooked on this album.

The music is all top notch here, on an even par with the best of the Gabriel era. It harkens back and looks forward all at the same time. The melodies are a little more streamlined and it makes it all the more palatable.

Instrumentally Tony Banks' keys are dense and multi-layered, something only hinted at on earlier releases. Lush layers of Mellotron, Hammond organ and synth abound. The guitar work is sublime. This was the last album to feature lead guitarist Steve Hackett and he is in excellent form here, turning in some of his best work during his tenure with the band. Both his electric chops and his excellent classical guitar work are a dominant force on Wind. Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford turn in excellent performances as well. While I am not a big fan of Collins singing, especially on the post-Duke albums, here his voice is in fine form. He's a good singer who sounds best when he has quality music to sing to, such as here.

Much like the wintry cover art, the music is cool. Upbeat in spots, but with a strong sense of space and longing. Standout tracks that any prog fan should look into are the propulsive "Eleventh Earl of Mar", "One For The Vine" which is a real prog gem with a great off-meter middle section, and the one two punch of "Unquiet Slumber/In That Quiet Earth", one of the very best instrumentals in the Genesis catalog. And last but not least, the regal "Blood on the Rooftops", a classical guitar driven number that is Hackett at his best.

Also noteworthy are "All In A Mouse's Night", which has some very nice music but lyrically is no more than a children's cat and mouse story. "Wot Gorilla", a very short instrumental piece that never really develops into anything too grand. And the anthemic "Afterglow", which soon became a concert staple. Collins vocal is a real standout and the strongest part of "Afterglow" in my opinion.

Also included is "Your Own Special Way", the bands most overtly pop number up to that point. It is roundly disliked by most classic fans - a number that has people reaching to skip it. In the context of the Wind LP though, it's not that bad. I can take it or leave it. While most of this record looks back, "Own Way" give a glimpse at the road the band would soon go down and never return. Oh the pain, the misery that would soon engulf classic Genesis fans!

In the meantime Wind and Wuthering stands as the last classic Genesis album and a bookend companion LP to the bands excellent A Trick Of The Tail. Both are worth looking into, highly suggested and inseparable.