"Ed ella sognava che ogni volta che suonava/tutti l'avrebbero urlato per sentirla ancora/tutto ciò che doveva fare era camminare verso il riflettore/e tutti avrebbero iniziato a screpitare. "
Questi sono alcuni versi presi da "Duchess" canzone che tratta della nascita e del declino di una cantante, scritta da Tony Banks è molto indicativa per capire il nuovo corso che questo gruppo ha deciso di intraprendere, ora il rapporto con la musica e il pubblico deve essere più diretto, immediato e coinvolgente, nel 1980 non c'è più spazio per il prog, c'è solo bisogno di semplicità prima che tutto poi degeneri nella stagnazione più completa della seconda metà del decennio. Ecco che allora da questa idea nasce "Duke" un lavoro che abbandona le atmosfere malinconiche del precedente Lp e riesce a far godere i fans del gruppo di nuovo materiale che si dimostra completamente inedito nelle sonorità, è un prog rock che si è evoluto e ha perso completamente il motivo dell'autocelebrazione (anche se i Genesis non hanno mai peccato di virtuosismi inutili come altri colleghi) e ritorna in binari ben più consoni al semplice rock.
L'idea inizialmente è quella di realizzare un'unica facciata di musica con una grande suite, la "Duke's Suite", ma ben presto questa idea viene giustamente accantonata e allora quella che era la vecchia suite viene smembrata nelle sue parti, e allora ecco spiegato il motivo per cui i primi tre brani, "Behind The Lines", "Duchess" e "Guide Vocal" sfumano l'uno dentro il successivo in un effetto molto bello, la parte conclusiva invece quasi totalmente strumentale va a costituire il bellissimo finale di "Duke's Travels" e "Duke's End". Si inizia dunque con "Behind The Lines" e quì ci sono le prime sorprese, l'andamento gioioso di tastiere di Banks è retto dal forte ritmato della batteria di Collins, è una lunga introduzione priva di qualsiasi virtuosismo solistico, la musica è quasi caotica e straripante e introduce alla parte cantata che, sorpresa, è quasi soul music con Phil che canta in modo impeccabile il dolore per la fine del suo matrimonio, "Il momento è giunto ora/dobbiamo mantenere i nostri sentimenti/ma sto guardando proprio attraverso te/e il tuo cuore è vuoto". La canzone poi sfuma nella seconda grande novità del disco, la drum machine, che regolare e fredda introduce il piano di Tony che ci conduce a "Duchess", il brano non è proprio bellissimo ma fa il suo effetto soprattutto perchè si tratta di una canzone di costruzione completamante nuova per il gruppo; la successiva "Guide Vocal" è un prezioso intermezzo di atmosfera scritto da Banks, molto bello e dal testo enigmatico, "Io sono quello che vi ha guidato così lontano/tutto ciò che sapete è tutto ciò che provate".
Il primo contributo di Rutherford al lavoro è la chiassosa "Man Of Our Times", una canzone dal ritmo ripetitivo che ricorda una sorta di officina meccanica o una macchina a vapore, un brano decisamente irritante che anticipa la brutta "Keep It Dark" sul successivo "Abacab". "Duke" mantiene però ancora alcuni affreschi tipicamente banksiani, "Heatheze" e "Cul-De-Sac" sono due brani tipici del mite Tony, due canzoni oniriche e sognanti che trovano in questo album il giusto spazio. L'apertura del secondo lato è seganta dal ritmo disco-rock di "Turn It On Again", canzone dall'effetto micidiale su tutte le stazioni radio, un brano semplice guidato dalla chitarra di Mike, ottimo per le secuzioni dal vivo ma nella versione in studio sembra decisamente quello che è, un pezzo da hit niente di più. Completano il tutto alcuni episodi non proprio entusiasmanti, la pochezza di "Misunderstanding", e le discrete "Please Don' t Ask Me" e "Alone Tonight". Il finale del "Duca" è invece stupendo, due strumentali energici e trascinanti, il primo "Duke's Travels" riprende la parte cantata di "Guide Vocal" per poi lasciare spazio al solo suono di moog di Tony che apre a "Duke's End" che non altro che la ripresa del tema principale di "Behind The Lines".
Un lavoro che alla fine si dimostra molto riuscito ma con gli innesti di "Evidence Of Autumn" e di "Open Door" sarebbe diventato ancora più bello, peccato che i tre non siano soddisfatti e con il successivo "Abacab" tenteranno di creare qualcosa di diverso, una forma di pop-rock complessa e sofisticata che non riesce però a mantenere totalmente le premesse ben auguranti di "Duke".
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Behind the Lines (05:30)
I held the book so tightly in my hands
I saw your picture, heard you call my name
There was something strange, I could not look away
I wanted to be there, I wanted to go
You gave me no warning, you gave no reason
But I was with you, right by your side
Just give me the strength and I can help you
They can try their hardest, they don't frighten me
It's written in the book
It's hotter than I've known before
But I feel so cold and I don't know why
But if the fire within your heart can beat the storm
Then I really believe you could make it right
The time has come now, we must show our feelings
But I'm looking right through you and your heart is empty
Whatever happened to you, it's too late to change now
There's nowhere you can run to, no place to hide
Ah, you let me down
...but wait a minute, I don't understand
It's getting stronger, so grab my hand
Don't wanna leave you, don't wanna go
But I'm losing all control
Can't you see me, I'm slipping away
I can only stay if you've the will to keep me here
It's written in the book
Oh, so many times since hten I've read those words
Just waiting to see you, can you see me?
02 Duchess (06:25)
Times were good
She never thought about the future, she just did what she would
Oh, but she really cared
About her music, it all seemed so important then
And she dreamed that everytime that she performed
Everyone would cry for more
That all she had to do was step into the light
And everyone would start to roar
And on the road
Where all but a few fall by the wayside, on the grassier verge
She battled through
Against the others in her world, and the sleep, and the odds
But now everytime that she performed
Everybody cried for more
Soon all she had to do was step into the light
For everyone to start to roar
And all the people cried: "You're the one we've waited for!"
But time went by
It wasn't so easy now, all uphill and not feeling so strong
Yes, times were hard
Too much thinking about the future and what the people might want
And then there was the time that she performed
When NOBODY called for more
And soon everytime she stepped into the light
They really let her know the score
But she dreamed of the times when she sang her songs
And everybody cried for more
When all she had to do was step into the light
For everyone to start to roar
And all the people cried: "You're the one we've waited for!"
03 Guide Vocal (01:34)
I am the one who guided you this far
All you know and all you feel
Nobody must know my name
For nobody would understand
And you kill what you fear
I call you for I must leave
You're on your own until the end
There was a choice but now it's gone
I said you wouldn't understand
Take what's yours and be damned
05 Misunderstanding (03:14)
There must be some misunderstanding
There must be some kind of mistake
I waited in the rain for hours
You were late
Now it's not like me to say the right thing
But you could've called to let me know
I checked your number twice, don't understand it
So I went home
Well, I'd been waiting for this weekend
I thought that maybe we could see a show
Never dreamed I'd have this feeling
Ah, but seeing you is believing
That's why I don't know why
You didn't show up that night
There must be some misunderstanding
There must be some kind of mistake
I was waiting in the rain for hours
You were late
Since then I've been running around trying to find you
I went to the places that we always go
I rang your house but got no answer
Jumped in my car, I went 'round there
I still don't believe it
He was just leaving
Oh, there must be some misunderstanding
There must be some kind of mistake
There must be some misunderstanding
Yes, there must be some kind of mistake
(There must be, there must be, oh-oh) misunderstanding
(There must be, there must be, oh-oh) misunderstanding
(Yes, there must be, there must be, oh-oh) misunderstanding
(Yes, there must be, there must be, oh-oh) misunderstanding
06 Heathaze (05:00)
no cloud
the sleepy
calm sunbaked earth
thats cooled by gentle breeze
and trees
with rasping leaves
only endless days without a care
nothing must be done
silent as a day can be
far off songs of others
on their chosen run
as they do
all those things they feel give life
some meaning
even if they're dull
it's time to stop this dreaming
must rejoin the real world
as revealed by orange lights
and a smoky atmosphere
the trees and i are shaken by
the same wind but whereas
the trees will lose their withered leaves
and i just can't seem to let them loose
and they come refresh me
those hot winds of the south
oh, i feel liken alien
a stranger
in an alien place
now the light is fading fast
chances slip away
time will come
to pass
then there'll be night
and addicted to a perfume poison
betrayed by its aftertaste
oh, we shall lose their wonder
and find nothing in return
many are the substitutes
but they're powerless on their own
beware the fisherman
who's casting out his line
into a dried-up riverbed
but dont try to tell him
'cause he wont believe you
throw some bread to te ducks instead
it's easier that way
i feel like an alien
a stranger
in an alien place
the trees and i are shaken by
the same wind but whereas
the trees will lose their withered leaves
and i just can't seem to let them loose
and they come refresh me
those hot winds of the south
i feel like an alien
a stranger
in an alien place
07 Turn It On Again (03:51)
All I need is a TV show
That, and the radio
Down on my luck again
Down on my luck again
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
It's driving me mad
Just another way of passing the day
I, I get so lonely when she's not there
I, I, I, I
You're just another face
That I know from the TV show
I have known you for so very long
I feel you're like a friend
Can't you do anything for me
Can I touch you for a while
Can I meet you on another day
When we will fly away
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
It's driving me mad
It's just another way of passing the day
I, I get so lonely when she's not there
I, I, I, I
Turn it on
Turn it on, turn it on again
Turn it on
Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
09 Cul-de-sac (05:05)
Wake up now
This is the time you've waited for
Far below
Where shadows fester as they grow
An army thousands strong
Obsessed by right and wrong
They sense their time is coming near
So they turn towards the light
From their region of the night
Marching on and on
They're nearly there, it won't be long
You know you're on the way out
It's just a matter of time
You thought you'd rule the world forever
Long live the king, and don't spare the loser
After all
You're not what you thought you were at all
You're just a natural fact
Another cul-de-sac
On nature's hard unfeeling trail
Now all those dreams of old
Will be stories left untold
Cut off in your prime
Extinct until the end of time
You know you're on the way out
It's just a matter of time
You thought you'd rule the world forever
Long live the king, but don't spare the loser, now
Now the host emerges, and a shadow starts to fall
Not one knows what hit them, none can see at all
Even as the end approaches still they're not aware
How can you fight a foe so deadly when you don't even know it's there?
And now that the job is almost done
Maybe some escape, no, not even one
You know they're on the way out
It's just a matter of time
You thought you'd rule the world forever
Long live the king, and don't spare the loser
10 Please Don't Ask (04:02)
Oh, please don't ask me how I feel, I feel fine
Oh, I cry a bit, I don't sleep too good, but I'm fine
When can I see you?
When can I touch you?
Again and again I ask myself, was I wrong?
Oh, but time's a healer and heaven knows I've been strong
Maybe we could try
Oh, maybe we would work this time
Oh, I can remember when
It was easy to say I love you
But things have changed since then
Now I really can't say if I still do
But I can try
'Cause I know that the kids are well
Yes, you're a mother to the world
Oh, but I miss my boy
I hope he's good as gold
But enough of me, tell me, how are you, you look good
Well you lost some weight, I can see, your hair looks nice, you look good
Maybe we should try
But don't say it, 'cause I know why
But you know, I can remember when
It was easy to say I love you
But things have changed since then
Now I really can't say if I still do
But I can try
'Cause I know that the kids are well
Yes, you're a mother to the world
Oh, but I miss my boy
Oh, I hope he's good as gold
11 Duke's Travels (08:39)
I am the one who guided you this far,
All you know and all you feel.
Nobody must know my name
For nobody would understand,
And you kill what you fear,
And you fear what you don't understand.
I call you for I must leave,
You're on your own until the end.
There was a choice but now it's gone,
I said you wouldn't understand,
Take what's yours and be damned.
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di Grasshopper
Se non ci avesse pensato prima Battisti il titolo ideale per questo disco sarebbe stato "Io vorrei...non vorrei... ma se vuoi".
"Musica che batte": un potente disco-rock facilone, ideale per il mercato radiofonico degli anni '80.
Di MiciaTigre
Esiste forse un altro gruppo rock che abbia saputo rendere meglio gli aspetti intimamente negativi del divorzio e di non avere più nemmeno i soldi necessari per una donna per poter andare dal parrucchiere almeno 2 volte alla settimana?? Credo di no.
A partire da 'Duke' la presenza di Phil Collins si è fatta sentire di più, la musica è diventata più moderna, la batteria elettronica ha avuto più risalto.
