Artist: GENESIS
Album: DUKE REMASTERED (CD)

Year: 1980/ 2008
Media type: CD

Duke is the tenth studio album by British band Genesis, and was released in March 1980. Duke became the trio's first UK #1 album, while broadening their US audience even further, reaching #11 there and going Gold immediately and eventually Platinum.

Duke may be regarded as a transitional album, incorporating both elements of dense and elaborate instrumentation associated with the band's 1970s era material and glimpses of their future 1980s pop melodies and hooks, and therefore became regarded as the album where many Genesis fans would draw the line between the "old" and "new" Genesis. This was a somewhat tricky drawing line—as Duke was a mixture of extremes, containing both short radio-friendly pop tunes (e.g. "Misunderstanding") as well as lengthy progressive rock suites (e.g. "Duke's Travels"). Hence, Duke enjoys the anomaly of being simultaneously regarded as either the band's last progressive outing or first pop-oriented release.

Duke came on the heels of solo albums by Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. Phil Collins had departed to Vancouver with his first wife to try to salvage their failing marriage. With the group's future uncertain, Rutherford recorded Smallcreep's Day while Banks issued A Curious Feeling. When Collins' marriage finally ended, he rejoined the group, bringing a batch of introspective new songs. Most of these made up his solo Face Value album when released in early 1981, but two of them—"Misunderstanding" and "Please Don't Ask"—were donated to Duke.

Once Duke was released, the song "Turn it on Again" became the band's second UK Top 10 hit, while "Misunderstanding" made considerable strides in the US, reaching the Top 20, and providing growing songwriter Phil Collins with his first self-written hit. "Turn it on Again" (whose music was written by Mike Rutherford, while Phil Collins contributed to the lyrics) was revealed on the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard (which spotlighted the albums Duke and Abacab in one episode) to have an unconventional time signature of 13/8.

A digitally remastered version was released on CD in 1994 on Virgin in Europe and Atlantic in the US and Canada. The remastered CD's booklet features all of the original album's artwork and complete lyrics.

All songs written by Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford, except where indicated.

TRACKLIST :

"Behind the Lines" – 5:31
"Duchess" (Banks) – 6:26
"Guide Vocal" – 1:35
"Man of Our Times" (Rutherford) – 5:34
"Misunderstanding" (Collins) – 3:13
"Heathaze" (Banks) – 4:59

"Turn it on Again" – 3:50
"Alone Tonight" (Rutherford) – 3:56
"Cul-de-sac" (Banks) – 5:05
"Please Don't Ask" (Collins) – 4:01
"Duke's Travels" – 8:40
"Duke's End" – 2:08

LINE-UP :

Phil Collins – percussion, drums, vocals, drum machine
Tony Banks – keyboards, vocals, background vocals, 12 string guitar
Mike Rutherford – basses, guitars, background vocals