Friday 31 July 2015

Anyway (Genesis, 1974)

Who says an excellent prog song must be long? Well, if necessary, "Anyway" shows you can be prog in the deepest sense in three minutes or so. "The Lamb Lies down on Broadway" is a special album in many ways, being so unpredictable and diversified, so this song seems one of the most traditional ones in such a pioneering work. But if you keenly listen to this, you'll think better. True, the main theme of "Anyway" comes from the very early era of the band, but the piano-driven arrangement can't hide a deal of awesome ideas: the sound has a sharp edge, I daresay there's an evil backtaste in it and Gabriel's vocals  go down the same way.

...Many years later...

All along this track the listener is somehow overwhelmed by the strong contrast he perrceives between the delicate arpeggio on the piano amd a definite sense of violence. And after all the lyrics are about Death. The instrumental bridge is also surprising, with its bombastic piano plus sampled guitar and, of course, the rythm section's neat work. In two words: pure emotion.

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