Selling England by the Pound
Englishness, satire and long instrumental passages: the peak of the Gabriel years for many fans, and Hackett's favorite.
Genesis, 1973
- Released
- 5 October 1973
- Recorded
- August 1973
- Studio
- Island Studios, London
- Label
- Charisma
- Producer
- John Burns and Genesis
- Length
- 53:48
Most of it was written in sessions at a doctor's house in Chessington. Gabriel suggested the title, a Labour Party slogan, partly to answer accusations that they were selling out to America, and Betty Swanwick's painting The Dream was adapted for the cover, a lawnmower added for I Know What I Like. It ranges from the Arthurian Dancing with the Moonlit Knight to the gang-war satire The Battle of Epping Forest and The Cinema Show, with Firth of Fifth at the center of side one.
It reached three in Britain. NME called it their best, most adventurous album; The Guardian found much of it tedious. Steve Hackett has called it the best Genesis album with Gabriel, and he played it in full on tour in 2019.
Track listing
- Dancing with the Moonlit Knight8:05
- I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)4:08
- Firth of Fifth9:38
- More Fool Me3:12
- The Battle of Epping Forest11:49
- After the Ordeal4:17
- The Cinema Show11:06
- Aisle of Plenty1:33
Personnel
- Peter Gabriel vocals, flute, oboe, percussion
- Tony Banks keyboards, 12-string guitar
- Steve Hackett guitars
- Mike Rutherford bass, 12-string guitar, electric sitar
- Phil Collins drums, percussion, vocals on More Fool Me
More from Genesis
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974), A Trick of the Tail (1976), ...And Then There Were Three... (1978), Genesis (1983)
Sources
- Selling England by the Pound, Wikipedia
- Steve Hackett on Selling England by the Pound, Rolling Stone (2019-09-05)