Genesis at their peak

This is overall the best Genesis album. I would give this album 4 1/2 stars because of the production, which kind of makes it an album you either love or hate - it leans heavily on keyboards to fill in the gaps. This is a special album that creates a spooky, foggy mood. The instrumental on the second side (Unquiet Slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth) has some very strange sounding guitar and synth work, we got a real scary song for you tonight, kids. 'Blood On The Rooftops' has a beautiful classical guitar opening, and an otherworldly verse with fine mellotron and rhodes work, which opens up into a more traditional chorus. 'One for the Vine' starts out unassumingly and builds into the best instrumental break in all of prog rock. '11 Earl of Mar' just rocks along, with excellent Steve Hackett riffs throughout, and an evocative, swirling middle part. "All In A Mouse's Night" is amusing and grim, with a crazy 3-crash drumbeat on the verses. "Your Own Special Way" is a bit of a break with the formula but is a likeable shmaltzy song. "Wot Gorilla" is an instrumental retread of the break in 'Vine', and 'Afterglow' is a good resounding end to this album.

Last of a great run

I was a young child back when "Your Own Special Way" was an AM radio hit and I remember liking it, so when I eventually became a prog fanatic, this album was a bit of a sentimental favorite since it housed the song that introduced me to Genesis.



Wind and Wuthering and the double live Seconds Out marked the end of the prog era for Genesis before a long descent into pop mediocrity. Some proggers point to tracks like "Your Own Special Way" and "Afterglow" as signs of the impending apocalypse but I happen to like both of those songs, with the electric piano interlude on "Your Own Special Way" a particular favorite Genesis moment.



The opening "Eleventh Earl of Mar" seems to be reaching for "Dance on a Volcano" but falls just short despite a fine effort. I like it quite a bit, but for me it lacks the killer melodic hook that would have fully sealed the deal. "Wot Gorilla" is a fusion-y piece that betrays Phil Collins' concurrent work with Brand X. I wish this piece could have been longer, but then again like many Genesis records this was already over 50 minutes long.



The double-whammy instrumental "Unquiet Slumbers for the sleepers/in that quiet earth" is a classic Genesis prog jam, probably the last studio example of the classic Genesis sound. The more "serious" prog tracks are "One for the Vine," "All in a Mouses's Night" and "Blood on the Rooftops." "One for the Vine" features some particularly effective vocals and keyboards while "Blood on the Rooftops" marks Steve Hackett's last great moment on a Genesis studio record with some excellent classical guitar work. All three of these tracks stand with the best of the post-Peter Gabriel era.



This album has a lot of "lasts" and carries a certain bittersweet melancholia reinforced by the stark cover art and lyrics like those on the post-apocalyptic "Afterglow." An autumnal recording in more ways than one, and Genesis' last great prog record.

Simply the best Genesis studio album

From a muscial, as well as a vocal, standpoint, this is the finest Genesis album. The lush, intensely performed progressive rock on this album will captivate and please you as no other Genesis record can. There is no bad song on this album, and its music will truly satisfy ones soul. Purists insist that Peter Gabriel is the true Genesis voice, but there is no Gabriel-fronted album that is as deep-reaching as "Wind and Wuthering." Close runners-up to this masterpiece would be the amazing "Seconds Out" LP, which successfully conveys the power and intensity of a live progressive-era Genesis performance, and the excellent "A Trick of the Tail." For my ears, though, "Wind and Wuthering" represents musical perfection; this is to Genesis what "Brain Salad Surgery," "Close to the Edge," and "Abbey Road" are to ELP, Yes, and the Beatles. Even without Gabriel! The one sad note about this album is it was the last true progessive peak for Genesis; once Steve Hacket departed Genesis after this LP, the group seemed to slowly lose their way musically, and while they gained enormous commercial appeal, it was at the expense of doing away with their progressive sound. Enjoy this CD- it was written and performed from the heart!