'DREAMING WHILE YOU SLEEP' AN EPIC PIECE OF GENESIS STORYTELLING

 By the time 1991 had come around British progressive rock pioneers GENESIS had lot most of the frayed ends that characterised the band's experimentally laced output during the early to mid 70`s.


From the moment that drummer/singer PHIL COLLINS embarked on a solo career in 1980 starting with the album FACE VALUE, which contained the epic and spiteful IN THE AIR TONIGHT, Genesis would be compelled to strike out in a more pop orientated direction to make commercial mileage out of the mainstream success of Collins' solo albums.


For most casual pop fans in the 80`s and very early 90`s who didn't particularly follow either Phil Collins or the music of his band GENESIS, it would have been easy to group the band's output and that of Collins together in one big melting pot.


The 1986 GENESIS album INVISIBLE TOUCH was essentially a crossover pop album that still retained some of the progressive rock innovation on albums like ABACAB in 1981, keyboardist TONY BANKS in particular was still heavily indebted to prog, while Collins and guitarist MIKE RUTHERFORD were definitely under the spell of 80`s pop.


It would be five years before GENESIS would re-group to record WE CANT DANCE, Collins having released his definitive solo album BUT...SERIOUSLY in 1989. Unlike INVISIBLE TOUCH, WE CANT DANCE lacks just about any progressive rock innovation, whereas the latter had songs like THE BRAZILIAN to strike a balance between pop and progresssive on that album, WE CANT DANCE seemed to be workmanlike, lazy and for the most part...boring.


The title song I CANT DANCE is a good solid rock song with a great riff from Rutherford, apart from that one the only other above average tune on the album is this tale of sorrow sung with heartfelt intensity by Collins - DREAMING WHILE YOU SLEEP.


I am not sure if the lyrics of the song was based on the real life experience of one of the band members, i hope not for their sake, because it chronicles the story of someone who does a hit and run in their car while under the influence of alchohol, and lives to regret the moment they didn't stop for the rest of their life. It was the most epic GENESIS song recorded since ABACAB the song in 1981. Spine tingling stuff!