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Three is the Charm Aug 10, 2009
Genesis enters there middle era with just Phil, Tony & Mike. This is a great album - songs, arrangements, etc. Down and Out starts the album out with a bang. There is some beautiful music in Snowbound, Undertow and Burning Rope. Epic progrock in Ballad of Big. I find a few moments of unneveness, notably in "Say It's Alright Joe" - not my favorite. But all in all, this is album is a great effort - one that I keep returning to as the years go by.
 Genesis - And Then There Were Three Jun 04, 2009
I owned this album on vinyl for over 25 years but never listened to it. I liked A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering so much I just couldn't appreciate And Then There Were Three. However, once I bought the CD in 2009, it became one of my favorite Genesis albums. It has enough of the old sound before they came the Genesis of the 1980's. This is perhaps the last of the truly great (and listenable) progressive rock records of the genre. Definitely worth a listen and a space in your collection. It's almost like Follow You Follow Me is the odd song on the album, not the other way around.
When your talent has talent Feb 10, 2009
I credit Genesis with being the ONLY band who could elevate what was obviously a minor work into the stratosphere like this.
Why Genesis is great Jan 02, 2009
I've read through all of the other reviews of this album and have to add one more opinion. Genesis has been compared to other prog rock groups like King Crimson, Yes, ELP, etc. Although they're all fine musicians, the reason that they formed the band was as an outlet for their songwriting. All four of the original members (Anthony Phillips, Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford) were driven songwriters. They never bothered learning cover material - - their focus was entirely on writing. The genius of Genesis has always been in the crafting of their songs, and TTWT has perhaps some of the most accomplished songwriting of any Genesis album.
If you're new to Genesis, these songs probably won't grab you on the first time through (except for the one hit, of course).If you continue to play the album, the hooks begin to emerge and continue to hold up to repeated listening over many years. Up until this point, Genesis had never fallen into the trap of selling out their songwriting integrity - - through the 70s they had no interest in writing formula pop hits.
Genesis songwriting continued to evolve through the 70s. I consider 1976-78 to be the peak of the Genesis songwriting phase. Listen to "Burning Rope" or "Undertow" very carefully. Better yet, if you play piano or guitar, go ahead and try to play along. Not exactly John Cougar, is it? Good luck figuring out the chord progressions. Certainly, some of the songs aren't up to that level, perhaps foreshadowing the songwriting collapse that was coming.
For whatever reason, most of the great songwriters tend to have a peak creative period that might last a few years. When it goes, it's pretty much gone. That was Genesis. After TTWT album, Phil's pop sensibilities began to take over. After the mega-hit "Face Value", it was inevitable. There were still enough flashes of their songwriting genius on their albums to keep it somewhat interesting, but mostly it faded away as they "simplified" their songs to play to the masses. I was hopeful that "Calling All Stations" might be a return to their emphasis on the songs, but they were clearly were past their peak.
It's obvious that the material from their 70s songwriting era holds up much better than their poppy material. If you see their "When in Rome" reunion concert, observe the contrast between the "In the Cage" medley and "Invisible Touch". It's like comparing Mozart to Clay Aiken.
I see TTWT in bargain bins from time to time, and it always bothers me. However, there's some consolation to know that I find 20 Phil Collins albums for every 70s Genesis album.
Genesis minus Steve Hackett Jul 31, 2008
1978 was a year that brought great change to Genesis. Longtime guitarist Steve Hackett left the band because of creative differences, and Mike, Tony and Phil were left. The band titled this album '...And Then There Were Three' for that reason. From 1976-77, the band were a quartet. Now, the band was narrowed down to a trio.
The result was some prog rock and some more pop-oriented tunes that what fuel most of their '80s material. What Genesis did not expect was this the lineup they kept from late 1977 all the way to early 1993.
But, this is a great album. It's different. Very different. Genesis was beginning to take a different approach to their music by this point. This is far different from 'Wind & Wuthering' and 'A Trick of the Tail.'
Of course, this contains the smash hit that's still played on the radio today 'Follow You Follow Me,' but there's more to this record than just that one tune. 'Undertow' is a great '70s prog-pop ballad; 'Down and Out' could have easily made the cut for 'Wind & Wuthering.'
Other great songs here is the prog-driven 'Burning Rope,' 'Scenes from a Night's Dream,' based on the 1910s British cartoon character Little Nemo and 'Deep In The Motherlode,' a keyboard-driven work song.
Overall, if you like Genesis' progressive stuff of the seventies and/or you like their poppier, radio-friendly tunes of the eighties, than '...And Then There Were Three' is a release that you will like. You might not love it, but it's one of my personal favorite records.
Highly recommended for any Genesis fan. It's a different album, unlike anything else they have done, but it's a classic, nonetheless.
ENJOY!!!
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