Genesis - Invisible Touch

There no doubt exists a school of rock purists who consider Invisible Touch the album where Genesis officially kissed street credibility goodbye and said hello to beer commercial anthems and puppet extravaganza videos. True, perhaps, but on the other hand, it's great to sing along to a good pop song, too. And this record has good pop songs in spades, from rock-solid I'm-not-so-tough-I-can't-cry-style tearjerkers ("In Too Deep," "Throwing It All Away") to zingy, gurgly pop confections ("Land of Confusion," "Anything She Does"). A few slightly more sprawling tracks are also included ("Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," "Domino," and the instrumental "The Brazilian"), but compared to the band's earlier attempt at art-rock opuses, even these feel a bit candy coated. We are talking about 1987, after all. Thin synth lines weren't retro. They just were. And we loved it. --Bob Michaels