Album of the Day

Duke, by Genesis (1980): This was the real turning point for Jesus. The slide from prog pioneers to slick pop band first began with "Your Own Special Way" on Wind and Wuthering and gained steam with "Follow You, Follow Me" from ... and Then There Were Three, a bona fide (if small) pop hit. Duke seems to consciously straddle the divide between the two eras. On the one hand, there's the obvious radio material like "Misunderstanding" and "Turn It On Again" (the latter albeit a radio-friendly 7/4). On the other, there's strong prog elements in the "Behind the Lines" trilogy, "Cul-de-Sac," and the closing mostly-instrumental workout "Duke's Travels / Duke's End." The success of the radio material pretty much showed the band the path they'd follow for the rest of their career. Whether that's a good thing or not is a matter of personal preference.

UPDATE: In the Ground & Sky review, Bob ponders:

Hmmm, an album that mixes prog and pop and is based on the early Genesis sound... hey, could this be Genesis' neoprog album?

I think that's right - a few years before Marillion, IQ, and Twelfth Night would set the genre's boundaries, Genesis showed them the way.