Editing We Can't Dance (section)

== Critical reception ==
{{Music ratings
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="allmusic">Orens, Geoff. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=we-cant-dance-r8183|pure_url=yes}} Album review], [[AllMusic]].</ref>
| rev2      = ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]''
| rev2score = (favourable)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-11-12-1991316079-story,amp.html|title=On 'We Can't Dance,' Genesis reaches back to push music forward|author=Considine J.D.|author-link=J.D. Considine|date=November 12, 1991|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]}}</ref>
| rev3      = ''[[Calgary Herald]]''
| rev3score = C<ref>King, Frank (17 November 1991). "Recent Releases". ''[[Calgary Herald]]''.</ref>
| rev4      = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev4score = C<ref name="EW">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,316232,00.html|title=We Can't Dance Review|last=Browne|first=David|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=15 November 1991|access-date=8 June 2012|archive-date=2 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602200025/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,316232,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev5      = ''[[NME]]''
| rev5score = 1/10<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Maconie |first=Stuart |date=23 November 1991 |title=Long Play |magazine=[[New Musical Express]] |page=31}}</ref>
| rev6      = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="stones">Manning, Kara (9 January 1992). [https://web.archive.org/web/20080828212945/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/genesis/albums/album/189249/review/5943222/we_cant_dance Album Review], ''Rolling Stone''.</ref>
| rev7      = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book | author1= Nathan Brackett | author2= Christian David Hoard| title = The new Rolling Stone album guide | publisher = Simon & Schuster | page = [https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/328 328] | location = New York | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-7432-0169-8 | url = https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac | url-access= registration }}</ref>
| rev8      = ''[[The Windsor Star]]''
| rev8score = B+<ref>Shaw, Ted (15 August 1992). "Record Review". ''[[The Windsor Star]]''.</ref>  
}}
''[[Rolling Stone]]'' chiefly commented on the album's lyrics. They criticised "Tell Me Why" and "Way of the World" for being soulless and impersonal social commentaries, but regarded most of the songs as outstanding, and summarised "Although ''We Can't Dance'' doesn't quite achieve the vulnerable grace of ''[[Duke (album)|Duke]]'' or the exuberance of ''[[Abacab]]'', Genesis has nevertheless delivered an elegantly spare – and even adventurous – album."<ref name="stones"/> David Browne of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave a lacklustre review, stating: "At a time when everything is uncertain&nbsp;... you almost have to admire a record like ''We Can't Dance''.&nbsp;... You know there will be a couple of fleeting moments when the band breaks out of its torpor – for instance, on the very polite primal stomp of 'I Can't Dance' – and that such moments will just as quickly be subsumed by the rest of the musical quicksand."<ref name="EW"/>

In a retrospective assessment, [[AllMusic]] also criticised the lyrics of "Tell Me Why" and "Way of the World", calling them "paeans for world understanding that sound miles away from any immediacy". However, they praised the album for returning to a less pop-oriented direction, and especially complimented the grittiness of "[[No Son of Mine]]", "[[Jesus He Knows Me]]", and "[[I Can't Dance]]".<ref name="allmusic"/> [[Ultimate Classic Rock]] ranked ''We Can't Dance'' as the 14th best album by Genesis, stating "Collins' final album with Genesis is full of obnoxious, overproduced pop pap; most of the tracks sound like castoffs from one of his solo albums. When the meager charms of a song like 'I Can't Dance' are a highlight, you’re in big trouble."<ref>{{cite web | url= https://ultimateclassicrock.com/genesis-albums-ranked/ | title= Genesis Albums Ranked Worst to Best | work=Ultimate Classic Rock | first=Jim | last=Allen | date=4 January 2017 | access-date=26 May 2019}}</ref> Stevie Chick of ''[[The Guardian]]'' dismissed the album as "blandness" in a countdown of ten of the best Genesis songs.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/sep/03/genesis-10-of-the-best | title= Genesis: 10 of the best | work=The Guardian | location=London | first=Stevie | last=Chick | date=3 September 2014 | access-date=6 September 2014}}</ref>

The album garnered Genesis an [[American Music Awards of 1993#Winners and nominees|American Music Award]] for [[American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group#1990s|Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo, or Group]] and two further nominations for [[American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Album#1990s|Favorite Adult Contemporary Album]] and [[American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist#1990s|Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist]]. At the [[Brit Awards]] in [[1993 Brit Awards#Winners and nominees|1993]], the album was nominated for [[Brit Award for British Album of the Year#Winners and nominees|British Album]] while [[Phil Collins]] was nominated as [[Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist#Winners and nominees|British Male Artist]] for his contribution to the album.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/1993|title=History|website=[[BRIT Awards]]}}</ref>