Genesis: 10 Awesome 70's Track's You've Never Heard

6. The Battle Of Epping Forest (Selling England By The Pound, 1973)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFuIYyXiD5w At over 11 minutes in length and featuring a plethora of time changes, "The Battle of Epping Forest" tells the story of rival gangs battling over territory. The track is a musically adventurous odyssey that tells the tale over no less than twelve verses. Gabriel's trademark humour is front and center with such quips as, "Amidst the battle roar, accountants keep the score: 10-4." In the end it seems that nobody has survived and a coin is tossed to declare the winner. "Selling England By the Pound" was the band's breakthrough, reaching number three in the UK and number seventy in the US. The album was also the first to be certified gold by the RIAA. "The Battle of Epping Forest" was performed live during the tour for this album but was subsequently dropped do to the length of the lyric as well as the myriad time and musical changes which made it difficult to perform.