Selling England by the Pound

Selling England by the Pound is the fifth album studio of the group of progressive Rock Genesis, left in 1973.

This album follows Foxtrot (1972) and Genesis Live (1972) and was the commercial top of Genesis with Peter Gabriel (it reaches the 3rd position in the English charts). He is regarded per many fans as one of the best albums of the group. The album approaches the topics of the medieval England but also of current England. Parts speaking about the ancestral Mythologie of England (“Dance hall with the Moonlit Knight”) coexist with parts evoking the present (“I know what I like”) and the central part of the second face, epic “the Cinema Show,” puts in scene the reincarnation of two Greek characters straight left “Fire Sermon,” scene extracted the part of T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land. ”

The musical performances are ground much and strong that on the preceding albums. The music is more often unified in the total structure of work. In particular, the solo of Guitare of Steve Hackett in “Firth off Fifth” in concert is with its apogee, while this same song opens on a piano directly inspired of the structures traditional most complex and splendid (it will be noted that Tony Banks, the pianist, interpreted this introduction only very little once, fearing more than very to get mixed up the fingers, which had already arrived to him in concert).

As in the preceding albums, the group innovates in the melodies, the rates/rhythms and the tempos, expensive innovations with the progressive Rock. This album contains certain parts which will enter the legend of Genesis, in particular “Firth off Fifth” and “The Cinema Show,” two pieces with the rather short vocal contents being only one alibi to surround a musical work of a great richness. “The Cinema Show” is the apogee of the second part of the album, starting with the play of Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford interlacing the acoustic guitars 12 cords carrying the mythological words and driving with a solo of Synthétiseur one incredible duration interpreted by Banks on a rate/rhythm into 7/8. This solo will form later the melody showpiece of instrumental prolonged that Genesis will interpret in concert well after the years' 70. The last song “Aisle off Plenty” thus takes again harmonies of the beginning of the album and closed the circle on the impressions which started it: nostalgia for the England old woman.

On this album also the shorter song “I know what I like is reproduced (in your Wardrobe)” which was the first individual one of Genesis to English reach the 17th place in the charts in April 1974. In this same song, the words " I' m just has lawn mower " refer to the illustration of cover of the album, which is a table of Betty Swanwick entitled " The rêve" (" The Dream "), and where one sees a character lengthened on a bench beside a lawn mower (on the left).

Distribution

Steve Hackett : electric guitar, guitar nylon
Peter Gabriel: voice, flute, percussions, oboe
Tony Banks: keyboard, acoustic guitar twelve cords.
Phil Collins: battery, percussions, voice
Mike Rutherford: low guitar, acoustic guitar twelve cords, sitar electric

List tracks

"Dance hall With the Moonlit Knight" - 8:04
" I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) " - 4:08
" Firth off Fifth" - 9:37
" More Fool Me" - 3:10
" The Battle off Epping Forest" - 11:46
" After the Ordeal" - 4:16
" The Show" Cinema; - 11:06
" Aisle off Plenty" - 1:32

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