I definitely agree that Hackett was unsung on the Lamb album. His solo on the live version of “The Lamia” found on the first Archive box set is nothing short of stunning (even though I know it’s overdubbed).

From “Trespass”:

“Stagnation” is in my opinion the very strongest track that features on this record. I share your appreciation of “Dusk,” and for me “Stagnation” does a tremendous job of fusing the still-developing energetic, loud side of the band — particularly through the use of Banks’s descending Hammond organ lines — with the pastoral 12-string interplay that Rutherford and Phillips developed. Actually, speaking of Banks’s organ playing, despite the ocasionally nervous-sounding performances on this record (particularly from Gabriel and good-but-no-Phil-Collins drummer John Mayhew), there is a kind of aesthetic unity that arises from the combination of close-miced acoustic instruments and Hammond that the band brushes aside rather more quickly than I would prefer in the succession of subsequent albums.

Mainly my complaint has to do with Banks’s tendency increasingly to use synthesizers, some of which in my opinion sometimes make Genesis sound rather too similar to contemporaneuos prog-behemoths, most of whom never deserved to be mentioned in the same sentence as Genesis. For example, on “Selling England,” the synth on the second half of “The Cinema Show” isn’t exactly bad, but it just starts to sound kind of unidentifiable, it takes the otherwise magnificent instrumental passage just a bit too far away from the context of the rest of the song and album. Other cases of synth overload are, in my opinion, “Wind and Wuthering” and — as you point out — the rather antiseptic-sounding keyboards on “We Can’t Dance.”

(Having said this, I think the synths DO work remarkably well on “The Lamb” and even on “Abacab” (whose “Whodunnit?” I think I am alone in appreciating, pretty much entirely because of the weird synth noises.)

Anyway, I strayed off-topic. Some other songs from the Gabriel era that I feel — respectfully! — that you may have somewhat overlooked:

From “Nursery Cryme”:

“Seven Stones” - great drumming, for one thing, unique chords, and tons of mystique

“The Fountain of Salmacis” - a weird song, but again, really interesting chords and an amazing guitar solo. Also, the verses of this song have such fantastic drive to them; Rutherford’s plucked Rickenbacker bass is in full effect, supplying a very tasteful walking pattern.

“Harlequin” - this song is really enchanting; an unsung classic, in my opinion.

From “Foxtrot”:

I totally agree with you about “Get ‘Em Out By Friday,” the lyrics are truly brilliant and hilarious — to my mind, no song better encapsulates the biggest problem that occurred when Gabriel left: Banks & company simply didn’t have the lyrical chops to write something this simultaneously sophisticated and unpretentious (compare the level of pretension with “Watcher” & “Firth of Fifth”–both lyrics written by a combination of Banks & Rutherford–or ANY of the lyrics on “Wuthering” (with the exception of “Blood on the Rooftops,” which is actually a very nice piece of lyric-writing from Hackett/Colins) and “And Then…” See what I mean?

“Can-Utility and the Coastliners” - GREAT instrumental middle-section.

From “Selling England…”:
I pretty much think you got this one right. “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight” is definitely a high point for this band. And although I hate to “hate on” them like this, as much as “Firth of Fifth” did indeed emerge as a stage favorite particularly as an instrumental showcase, I have to say that these Banks/Rutherford lyrics are pretentious as all get-out. None Gabriel’s wit and humor from the brilliant two songs that the album starts with. Also, the “song” part of this song has always seemed to me to sit rather arbitrarily alongside the swirling melodies of the middle section.

From “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”:

“Fly On A Windshield / Broadway Melody of 1974″ — A one-two punch of some of the best ensemble instrumental playing the band ever did, along with–in my opinion–some of the most amazing and evocative images that Gabriel ever penned, and delivered with a relaxed confidence: a panorama of mid-70s Americana that manages to evoke a time and sensibility that happened long before I was born. I don’t think Gabriel’s singing gets better than this, in terms of sheer lyrical dexterity and commanding delivery.

“Back in NYC” — punk rock!: it totally rocks, although obviously in a really weird way…It has an emotional intensity in the verses and lyrical vividness that can really send chills up the spine.

“Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist” — one of the most captivating and yet most unconventional guitar solos I have ever heard. In fact, I believe that Steve Hackett is the unsung hero of the Lamb. I think that the reason he’s often not identified much with it is because this is around the time when he became disgruntled about not getting to contribute much to the writing in the band. But when you hear his guitar solos — especially on LP 2 of the set — you recognize the humanity that his sound added to the mix. They provide a nice counterpoint to Banks’s sweeping, yet sometimes overwhelming chordal soundscapes.

“The Lamia” — Diito from above.

“Anyway” — Bank’s acoustic piano work at its best / Gabriel in top form lyrically and vocally.

“Riding The Scree” — ok, maybe not the most original thing they’ve ever done, but Christ, that keyboard solo is INSANE. It is an example of why Genesis really shouldn’t be categorized alongside the likes of atrocious/flashy contemporaries like — yuck — ELP. The solo isn’t about “look how fast I can play.” Banks’s wove humor and humanity into his best melodies, and this song is no exception. It genuinely deserves to be called “quirky.” I love it. (And Collins’s drumming is truly magnificent, as usual.)

Also, in my opinion, the 1972 (originally) release “Genesis Live” is worth seeking out for versions of “The Return of the Giant Hogweed,” “Get ‘Em Out By Friday,” and “The Knife” that I deem to be far superior to the original versions. Particularly “The Knife” just totally rocks with Hackett on guitar.

Cool. Anyway, I’ll get going for now, but will likely make some comments on part two of this post. Thanks for an enjoyable piece.