"The Battle of Epping Forest" (translated from English. - "Battle for Epping Forest") - the fifth track from the album Selling England by the Pound of the British group Genesis . The composition is the longest on the album and the second longest in the history of the work of the group, second only to the epic “ Supper's Ready ” from the album Foxtrot .
| The battle of epping forest | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executor | Genesis | |||
| Album | Selling england by the pound | |||
| Date of issue | October 12, 1973 | |||
| Date Recorded | August 1973 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Duration | 11:49 | |||
| Label | Charisma records | |||
| Author | Genesis | |||
| Composer | ||||
| Producer | Genesis , John Burns | |||
| Selling England by the Pound Album Track List | ||||
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Content
Song Lyrics
A song filled with satire, in an epic spirit, tells of an armed confrontation between two East End gangs competing for territories they control (the idea of the song was taken from a local newspaper). The clash of factions was the ancient forest Epping Forest . Gradually, more and more people are drawn into the brawl, among them a certain priest (his “story” occupies the whole middle of the composition) and world-famous show business lighting designer Jonathan Smeaton ( English ), nicknamed “Liquid Lan”, who is seized with a desire to take revenge put him in jail . Also in the song there are lines about certain “accountants” who calmly keep track of the dead, as if in a sports match (perhaps a hint of inactive power structures). And, as it were, from above, from the windows of the expensive Rolls-Royces, “patron bosses” look at the fighters no less calmly. The battle ends with the complete destruction of its participants (in a draw) and it is decided to identify the winner using a coin toss.
The lyrics abound in colloquial and even thieves expressions, which gives the narrative a special flavor.
Sound Features
The composition is distinguished primarily by the rhythm and even solemnity in the sound of Tony Banks' keyboards and Steve Hackett's guitar, as well as the flexible vocals of the author of the words Peter Gabriel , turning into a recitative. The composition begins with a medieval march set by rhythmic drums of Phil Collins , its melody changes over the course of almost 12 minutes of sounding - another Genesis distinguishing feature of the first half of the 70s.
Recognition
The musicians themselves perceived this composition ambiguously - they believed that the song was too burdened with lyrics, and also considered it too difficult for live performance in terms of arrangement, so it was excluded from the concert program. However, she was well received by critics, like the whole album, which is considered one of the best in prog rock [1] . In addition, according to PopMatters , the song entered the list of 25 best progressive rock songs of all time, taking 12th place there [2] .
Notes
- ↑ Rating of prog albums of all time on progarchives.com .
- ↑ Sean Murphy. The 25 Best Progressive Rock Songs of All Time . PopMatters (05.22.2011).