Review by marshman February 5, 2013 (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
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Being born in 1970 I started to love music in the early 80's, and this was one of the first albums I owned. I got it on cassette for Christmas in what I think must have been 1983 after getting the 7" for Mama. It wasn't long before I knew every track back to front, but in recent years I've hardly listened to it (most likely because my tape deck died!).
I recently upgraded my blu-ray player to an Oppo-103 for reasons other than SACD, but as a welcome side effect I could dig out my old Dark Side Of The Moon and War of the Worlds SACD's and try them out again (I used to have a Sony cinema system that was SACD compatible but that died too). I play through my Yamaha RV-1900 amp and a set of Dali home cinema speakers. I acquired this album as part of the latest Genesis box-set, after also acquiring Abacab on it's own.
This one was a slow builder for me, but by the time the album ended I was a fan anew and really impressed with the sound - I've never heard it so good. Now I'm not a sound engineer and I don't seek out super top end gear, I just like stuff that sounds good.
The bit that really started the wow factor on this album was about 4.30 into Mama when it kicks up a gear after the lines "you've taken away my last chance, don't take it away, can't you feel my heart". Phil's drums came right into my room and I cranked it up a little more, giving my system and my neighbours patience a good test. Bass and drums are strong throughout (I'd never before appreciated Mike's bass playing so much) and the keyboards are now so clear.
The other track that stood out for me, and one that I had never previously rated as one of my favourites is It's Gonna Get Better, nicely bookending the albums top wow tracks for me. The instruments sound so clear and spaced.
As a test, I also tried out the CD layer on my 23 year old JVC amp and Aiwa CD player, coupled with some 12 or so year old Denon bookshelf speakers. I didn't have an earlier CD version to compare with and wasn't expecting the same quality, but was once again pretty blown away by how good it sounded in Stereo too. So I immediately listed to the whole thing again in Stereo whilst cooking dinner.
So there you are, tainted by an old love of the album, I rate it a top Genesis album and sonically fantastic.
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