Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (1973)

Their fifth album is arguably the most grand and virtuosic of the Gabriel era.

Genesis released their fifth studio album, Selling England by the Pound, on October 13, 1973, on Charisma. Each side opens with a group-written epic ("Dancing with the Moonlit Knight," "The Battle of Epping Forest''), both with words by frontman Peter Gabriel, who penned "I Know What I Like" with guitarist Steve Hackett, who contributed the instrumental "After the Ordeal." Keyboardist Tony Banks composed the quasi-classical "Firth of Fifth" with lyrical input from bassist Mike Rutherford, who wrote the acoustic ballad "More Fool Me," drummer Phil Collin's second lead vocal number. The latter three collaborated on "The Cinema Show," which has a lengthy instrumental jam section. At just under 54 minutes, this is their longest single studio album of the seventies.

"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" (8:04) developed from a series of Gabriel piano etudes and Hackett guitar pieces. The lyrics deal loosely with England's surrender to American corporate interests (opening salvo: "Can you tell me where my country lies?'') Line eight provides the album title. Gabriel sings the first two lines unaccompanied, followed in succession by Hackett, Banks, and Rutherford, who add muted filigree (in C minor). Banks underlies the third stanza ("Citizens of hope and glory'') with classical piano. After a tout exchange between young man and old, the track flares to a chorus as Gabriel commandeers with "Follow on!" An instrumental maelstrom ensues, anchored by Rutherford's martial rhythmic figure (F# augmented fifth), followed by a tapping Hackett solo (in A). Another exchange transpires, this time with "a fat old lady." A second, more diversionary chorus unfolds ("You play the hobbyhorse, I'll play the fool''). They break again to the F# figure but cut abruptly to a jagged ARP melody. The track climaxes with thunderous descending chords that level off into a quiet, pastoral postlude of Mellotron and harp-like acoustics. (The words "paper late," which open the second stanza, later formed the basis of the 1982 Genesis song "Paperlate.'')

"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" (4:10) fades in with a shimmering low-note Mellotron, joined by a Nigerian talking drum and sitar. The lyrics concern Jacob, a young lawnmower who aspires to nothing more than bench rests and eavesdrops, despite the higher hopes of his elders. The song's loosely arranged mix of psychedelic exotica and dark electronics provides a missing link between the recent tide of acid-folk and later developments in post-punk, which Gabriel would mine on his third solo album.

"Firth of Fifth" (9:40) opens with a 67-second piano etude: a modulating fugue in 13/16 and 15/16. Gabriel's grand entrance ("The path is clear'') accompanies a slow, swelling organ–bass progression (in B). Two verses pass where the narrator examines land where feudalism once reigned. The title is a pun on Firth of Forth, the estuary of the Scottish River Forth. Two-thirds in, an abrupt piano refrain cuts to a flute-laden, low-key ostinato; overtaken with ivory runs (in C minor). The opening theme returns, now as a swelling organ solo with sharp rhythmic accompaniment. The group's instrumental core (Banks, Collins, Rutherford) interlock exclusively for 70 seconds (4:35–5:45). Hackett enters with ghostly sustains — over a modest Rutherford ostinato (in E7 minor) — that wind around to a slow-resolving theme over Banks' Mellotron. The verse recapitulates for one final go-around, followed by a watery piano outro.

"More Fool Me" (3:13) is a sparse love lament of voice and quiet acoustic chords. A pause occurs every two lines. The track swells slightly on the chorus ("And you'd be the one who was laughing'') but remains an unaccompanied Collins–Rutherford duet. Phil — high-pitched and gritty at this age (22) — sings the title once in the penultimate stanza.

"The Battle of Epping Forest" (11:43) fades in with an approximate marching band theme: flute melody + snare drums + tuba-like bass notes. Genesis blast into verse at 1:13 with Gabriel's opening line ("Along the forest road''), sung to an energized organ–bass progression (in B with drop thirds) over jazzy drum rolls. Gabriel introduces the two rival gangs — Willy Wright and his boys (Billy's boys) and Little John's thugs (the Barking Slugs) — as they descend on Epping Forest to settle a territorial dispute. Hackett cuts in with blazing licks as the windy open-cadence verses pivot to the unison, closed-cadence chorus (same key), where Gabriel declares that the battle is unlike anything seen since the (English) Civil War. On the following sequence (Bridge I: in A minor), a low-voiced Gabriel marks the positions of the fighters: some brave (Georgie); some not (Harold Demure). Bridge II drops in on the accountant's picnic, led by Sweetmeal Sam. The verse theme resumes with staccato backing as Gabriel voices the exploits of Mick the Prick, fresh out the nick (prison). After the falsetto Gabriel–Collins "got me framed" line, a song-within-a-song commences (in rising D). Here, Gabriel voices several characters in a loosely related dream sequence (5:30–7:45). Hackett overtakes Gabriel's "They called me the Reverend" vocal melody with a searing lead that pivots back to the Epping chorus. A recap of Bridge I illustrates the battle gore; followed by a "silver cloud" recap of Bridge II. The first verse returns in wind-down mode as Gabriel notes the after-battle carnage. A coin toss settles the "scoooooooore," Gabriel bellows in his final notes as Hackett takes over with searing recaps of the "Sweetmeal" and "forest road" vocal melodies, climaxing with noodly runs on a grand finale of the main theme.

"After the Ordeal" (4:15) is a classical instrumental, composed primarily by Hackett with input from Rutherford. A four-chord intro (Dm–C–F–C...) heralds a rhythmless tapestry of plucked nylon guitar and running piano. Hackett weaves a sentimental melody over a four-chord sequence (Am–G–Dm–G–Am–G–C–Cmaj7), underscored by Banks' two-handed allegro. They cross three sections in the first 60 seconds, landing on a blunt tritone refrain (C#–G–B–E). The sequence repeats, resolving a second time at 2:10 with the entrance of Collins, who paces the second half: a slow descending bass pattern overlaid with Hackett's wailing, high-end electric sustains. This goes through two 16-bar repetitions, then moves to the coda: an ascending lead (in D).

"The Cinema Show" (12:39) opens with a duet of 12-string (Rutherford) and nylon guitar (Hackett), played in plucked descending minors. Thirty-five seconds in, they settle on a plucked figure (D major, alternating fourths) with flute-tone Mellotron. Gabriel sings a tale of Juliet and Romeo, penned by Rutherford and Banks with inspiration from "A Game of Chess," part II of The Waste Land, the 1922 modernist poem by American bard and playwright T.S. Elliot. Collins harmonizes on the "I will make my bed" buildups to the high-octave chorus. A full-band bridge ensues (in G) where Hackett plays sustained leads amid Gabriel's introduction of "father Tiresias," the blind prophet of Apollo in Greek mythology who became a woman for seven years. The bridge twice occurs, bisected by a flute-laden sequence of 12-string/nylon filigree (in D7 minor and G7 minor). After the second utterance of "there is in fact more earth than sea," Hackett overtakes the "Tiresias" vocal melody with a lyrical solo that pivots (at 5:57) to a four-minute, 40-second jam in 7/8 between the instrumental core (Banks, Collins, Rutherford). It first settles in a jerky F# pattern, then pivots to A major below the light, cascading notes of Tony's ARP Pro Soloist. He gradually layers choral Mellotron over Phil's tight, martial drum pattern. The passage crests around 10:00 as Mike's bass roams then tightens under Tony's full, shimmering tones. They resolve on a 4/4 acoustic figure that slides into "Aisle of Plenty," a recap of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight." The album fades out on the "Citizens of hope and glory" melody with barely audible descriptions of English market cold cuts and canned goods.

John Burns co-produced the album in succession with sound-work on titles by Hemlock, Keef Hartley, and Hanson, a Brit-funk band signed to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Manticore label. The engineer on Selling England by the Pound, Rhett Davies, also worked on 1973 albums by Free (Heartbreaker), Stealers Wheel (Ferguslie Park), and Silverhead. "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" and "The Cinema Show" were originally supposed to run together as a 22-minute epic titled "Disney."

For the Selling England cover art, Genesis contacted British painter Betty Swanwick, who supplied one of her old works, The Dream. At the band's request, she added a lawnmower to the image, which ties into the lyrics of "I Know What I Like" with Jacob represented by the bench dweller. The album appears in a single sleeve apart from German and Italian pressings, which sport textured outer-gates and brown lyrical inner-gates.

Selling England by the Pound reached No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart. In February 1974, Charisma lifted "I Know What I Like" as a single, backed with the 1972 recording of their Nursery Cryme-era organ-psych number "Twilight Alehouse." It reached No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart.

Genesis promoted Selling England by the Pound with an October 1973 UK tour, followed by a 19-date November–December tour of the United States and Canada. For performances of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight," Gabriel donned a Britannia getup comprised of a Union Jack vest, cape, and helmet.