Band: Genesis
32I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that I didn't really understand any of their work, though on their last album of the 1970s, the concept-laden And Then There Were Three (a reference to band member Peter Gabriel, who left the group to start a lame solo career) I did enjoy the lovely "Follow You, Follow Me." Otherwise all the albums before Duke seemed too artsy, too intellectual. It was Duke (Atlantic; 1980), where Phil Collins' presence became more prevalent and the lyrics started getting less mystical and more specific (maybe because of Peter Gabriel's departure), and complex, ambiguous studies of loss became, instead, smashing first-rate pop songs that I gratefully embraced. The songs themselves seemed arranged more around Collins' drumming than Mike Rutherford's bass lines or Tony Banks' keyboard riffs. A classic example of this is "Misunderstanding," which not only was the group's first big hit of the eighties but also seemed to set the tone for the rest of their albums as the decade progressed. The other standout on Duke is "Turn It On Again," which is about the negative effects of television. On the other hand, "Heathaze" is a song I just don't understand, while "Please Don't Ask" is a touching love song written to a separated wife who regains custody of the couple's child. Has the negative aspect of divorce ever been rendered in more intimate terms by a rock 'n' roll group? I don't think so. "Duke's Travels" and "Duke's End" might mean something but since the lyrics aren't printed it's hard to tell what Collins is singing about, though there is complex, gorgeous piano work by Tony Banks on the latter track. The only bummer about Duke is "Alone Tonight," which is way too reminiscent of "Tonight Tonight Tonight" from the group's later masterpiece Invisible Touch and the only example, really, of where Collins has plagiarized himself.
Abacab (Atlantic; 1981) was released almost immediately after Duke and it benefits from a new producer, Hugh Padgham, who gives the band a more eighties sound and though the songs seem fairly generic, there are still great bits throughout: the extended jam in the middle of the title track and the horns by some group called Earth, Wind and Fire on "No Reply at All" are just two examples. Again the songs reflect dark emotions and are about people who feel lost or who are in conflict, but the production and sound are gleaming and up-beat (even if the titles aren't: "No Reply at All," "Keep It Dark," "Who Dunnit?" "Like It or Not"). Mike Rutherford's bass is obscured somewhat in the mix but otherwise the band sounds tight and is once again propelled by Collins' truly amazing drumming. Even at its most despairing (like the song "Dodo," about extinction), Abacab musically is poppy and lighthearted.
My favorite track is "Man on the Corner," which is the only song credited solely to Collins, a moving ballad with a pretty synthesized melody plus a riveting drum machine in the background. Though it could easily come off any of Phil's solo albums, because the themes of loneliness, paranoia and alienation are overly familiar to Genesis it evokes the band's hopeful humanism. "Man on the Corner" profoundly equates a relationship with a solitary figure (a bum, perhaps a poor homeless person?), "that lonely man on the corner" who just stands around. "Who Dunnit?" profoundly expresses the theme of confusion against a funky groove, and what makes this song so exciting is that it ends with its narrator never finding anything out at all.
Hugh Padgham produced next an even less conceptual effort, simply called Genesis (Atlantic; 1983), and though it's a fine album a lot of it now seems too derivative for my tastes. "That's All" sounds like "Misunderstanding," "Taking It All Too Hard" reminds me of "Throwing It All Away." It also seems less jazzy than its predecessors and more of an eighties pop album, more rock 'n' roll. Padgham does a brilliant job of producing, but the material is weaker than usual and you can sense the strain. It opens with the autobiographical "Mama," that's both strange and touching, though I couldn't tell if the singer was talking about his actual mother or to a girl he likes to call "Mama." "That's All" is a lover's lament about being ignored and beaten down by an unreceptive partner; despite the despairing tone it's got a bright sing-along melody that makes the song less depressing than it probably needed to be. "That's All" is the best tune on the album, but Phil's voice is strongest on "House by the Sea," whose lyrics are, however, too stream-of-consciousness to make much sense. It might be about growing up and accepting adulthood but it's unclear; at any rate, its second instrumental part puts the song more in focus for me and Mike Banks gets to show off his virtuosic guitar skills while Tom Rutherford washes the tracks over with dreamy synthesizers, and when Phil repeats the song's third verse at the end it can give you chills.
"Illegal Alien" is the most explicitly political song the group has yet recorded and their funniest. The subject is supposed to be sad -- a wetback trying to get across the border into the United States -- but the details are highly comical: the bottle of tequila the Mexican holds, the new pair of shoes he's wearing (probably stolen); and it all seems totally accurate. Phil sings it in a brash, whiny pseudo-Mexican voice that makes it even funnier, and the rhyme of "fun" with "illegal alien" is inspired. "Just a Job to Do" is the album's funkiest song, with a killer bass line by Banks, and though it seems to be about a detective chasing a criminal, I think it could also be about a jealous lover tracking someone down. "Silver Rainbow" is the album's most lyrical song. The words are intense, complex and gorgeous. The album ends on a positive, upbeat note with "It's Gonna Get Better." Even if the lyrics seem a tiny bit generic to some, Phil's voice is so confident (heavily influenced by Peter Gabriel, who never made an album this polished and heartfelt himself) that he makes us believe in glorious possibilities.
Invisible Touch (Atlantic; 1986) is the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility, at the same time it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. It has a resonance that keeps coming back at the listener, and the music is so beautiful that it's almost impossible to shake off because every song makes some connection about the unknown or the spaces between people ("Invisible Touch"), questioning authoritative control whether by domineering lovers or by government ("Land of Confusion") or by meaningless repetition ("Tonight Tonight Tonight"). All in all it ranks with the finest rock 'n' roll achievements of the decade and the mastermind behind this album, along of course with the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford, is Hugh Padgham, who has never found as clear and crisp and modern a song as this. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument.
In terms of lyrical craftsmanship and sheer songwriting skills this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to "Land of Confusion," in which a singer addresses the problem of abusive political authority. This is laid down with a groove funkier and blacker than anything Prince or Michael Jackson -- or any other black artist of recent years, for that matter -- has come up with. Yet as danceable as the album is, it also has a stripped-down urgency that not even the overrated Bruce Springsteen can equal. As an observer of love's failings Collins beats out the Boss again and again, reaching new heights of emotional honesty on "In Too Deep"; yet it also showcases Collins' clowny, prankish, unpredictable side. It's the most moving pop song of the 1980s about monogamy and commitment. "Anything She Does" (which echoes the J. Geils Band's "Centerfold" but is more spirited and energetic) starts off side two and after that the album reaches its peak with "Domino," a two-part song. Part one, "In the Heat of the Night," is full of sharp, finely drawn images of despair and it's paired with "The Last Domino," which fights it with an expression of hope. This song is extremely uplifting. The lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock.
Phil Collins' solo efforts seem to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying in a narrower way, especially No Jacket Required and songs like "In the Air Tonight" and "Against All Odds" (though that song was overshadowed by the masterful movie from which it came) and "Take Me Home" and "Sussudio" (great, great song; a personal favorite) and his remake of "You Can't Hurry Love," which I'm not alone in thinking is better than the Supremes' original. But I also think that Phil Collins works better within the confines of the group than as a solo artist -- and I stress the word artist. In fact it applies to all three of the guys, because Genesis is still the best, most exciting band to come out of England in the 1980s.
Abacab (Atlantic; 1981) was released almost immediately after Duke and it benefits from a new producer, Hugh Padgham, who gives the band a more eighties sound and though the songs seem fairly generic, there are still great bits throughout: the extended jam in the middle of the title track and the horns by some group called Earth, Wind and Fire on "No Reply at All" are just two examples. Again the songs reflect dark emotions and are about people who feel lost or who are in conflict, but the production and sound are gleaming and up-beat (even if the titles aren't: "No Reply at All," "Keep It Dark," "Who Dunnit?" "Like It or Not"). Mike Rutherford's bass is obscured somewhat in the mix but otherwise the band sounds tight and is once again propelled by Collins' truly amazing drumming. Even at its most despairing (like the song "Dodo," about extinction), Abacab musically is poppy and lighthearted.
My favorite track is "Man on the Corner," which is the only song credited solely to Collins, a moving ballad with a pretty synthesized melody plus a riveting drum machine in the background. Though it could easily come off any of Phil's solo albums, because the themes of loneliness, paranoia and alienation are overly familiar to Genesis it evokes the band's hopeful humanism. "Man on the Corner" profoundly equates a relationship with a solitary figure (a bum, perhaps a poor homeless person?), "that lonely man on the corner" who just stands around. "Who Dunnit?" profoundly expresses the theme of confusion against a funky groove, and what makes this song so exciting is that it ends with its narrator never finding anything out at all.
Hugh Padgham produced next an even less conceptual effort, simply called Genesis (Atlantic; 1983), and though it's a fine album a lot of it now seems too derivative for my tastes. "That's All" sounds like "Misunderstanding," "Taking It All Too Hard" reminds me of "Throwing It All Away." It also seems less jazzy than its predecessors and more of an eighties pop album, more rock 'n' roll. Padgham does a brilliant job of producing, but the material is weaker than usual and you can sense the strain. It opens with the autobiographical "Mama," that's both strange and touching, though I couldn't tell if the singer was talking about his actual mother or to a girl he likes to call "Mama." "That's All" is a lover's lament about being ignored and beaten down by an unreceptive partner; despite the despairing tone it's got a bright sing-along melody that makes the song less depressing than it probably needed to be. "That's All" is the best tune on the album, but Phil's voice is strongest on "House by the Sea," whose lyrics are, however, too stream-of-consciousness to make much sense. It might be about growing up and accepting adulthood but it's unclear; at any rate, its second instrumental part puts the song more in focus for me and Mike Banks gets to show off his virtuosic guitar skills while Tom Rutherford washes the tracks over with dreamy synthesizers, and when Phil repeats the song's third verse at the end it can give you chills.
"Illegal Alien" is the most explicitly political song the group has yet recorded and their funniest. The subject is supposed to be sad -- a wetback trying to get across the border into the United States -- but the details are highly comical: the bottle of tequila the Mexican holds, the new pair of shoes he's wearing (probably stolen); and it all seems totally accurate. Phil sings it in a brash, whiny pseudo-Mexican voice that makes it even funnier, and the rhyme of "fun" with "illegal alien" is inspired. "Just a Job to Do" is the album's funkiest song, with a killer bass line by Banks, and though it seems to be about a detective chasing a criminal, I think it could also be about a jealous lover tracking someone down. "Silver Rainbow" is the album's most lyrical song. The words are intense, complex and gorgeous. The album ends on a positive, upbeat note with "It's Gonna Get Better." Even if the lyrics seem a tiny bit generic to some, Phil's voice is so confident (heavily influenced by Peter Gabriel, who never made an album this polished and heartfelt himself) that he makes us believe in glorious possibilities.
Invisible Touch (Atlantic; 1986) is the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility, at the same time it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. It has a resonance that keeps coming back at the listener, and the music is so beautiful that it's almost impossible to shake off because every song makes some connection about the unknown or the spaces between people ("Invisible Touch"), questioning authoritative control whether by domineering lovers or by government ("Land of Confusion") or by meaningless repetition ("Tonight Tonight Tonight"). All in all it ranks with the finest rock 'n' roll achievements of the decade and the mastermind behind this album, along of course with the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford, is Hugh Padgham, who has never found as clear and crisp and modern a song as this. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument.
In terms of lyrical craftsmanship and sheer songwriting skills this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to "Land of Confusion," in which a singer addresses the problem of abusive political authority. This is laid down with a groove funkier and blacker than anything Prince or Michael Jackson -- or any other black artist of recent years, for that matter -- has come up with. Yet as danceable as the album is, it also has a stripped-down urgency that not even the overrated Bruce Springsteen can equal. As an observer of love's failings Collins beats out the Boss again and again, reaching new heights of emotional honesty on "In Too Deep"; yet it also showcases Collins' clowny, prankish, unpredictable side. It's the most moving pop song of the 1980s about monogamy and commitment. "Anything She Does" (which echoes the J. Geils Band's "Centerfold" but is more spirited and energetic) starts off side two and after that the album reaches its peak with "Domino," a two-part song. Part one, "In the Heat of the Night," is full of sharp, finely drawn images of despair and it's paired with "The Last Domino," which fights it with an expression of hope. This song is extremely uplifting. The lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock.
Phil Collins' solo efforts seem to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying in a narrower way, especially No Jacket Required and songs like "In the Air Tonight" and "Against All Odds" (though that song was overshadowed by the masterful movie from which it came) and "Take Me Home" and "Sussudio" (great, great song; a personal favorite) and his remake of "You Can't Hurry Love," which I'm not alone in thinking is better than the Supremes' original. But I also think that Phil Collins works better within the confines of the group than as a solo artist -- and I stress the word artist. In fact it applies to all three of the guys, because Genesis is still the best, most exciting band to come out of England in the 1980s.
Band: Genesis
33oxlongm wrote:...
But I also think that Phil Collins works better within the confines of the group than as a solo artist -- and I stress the word artist. In fact it applies to all three of the guys, because Genesis is still the best, most exciting band to come out of England in the 1980s.
You're cutting up prostitutes right now, aren't you?
Rick Reuben wrote:You are dumber than week-old donuts.
Band: Genesis
34MrFood wrote:you're all talking nonce sense.
three fucking pages on genesis... what have we become?
If you think that's a crime, you should watch me cut up prostitutes.
But Seriously, I can't claim credit for the Genesis essay. What have we become? We have become this guy.
Band: Genesis
35Supper's Ready is great
That lawnmower song and the one Phil Collins sings on Selling England by the Pound are great
Mama's interesting
everything else is shit
That lawnmower song and the one Phil Collins sings on Selling England by the Pound are great
Mama's interesting
everything else is shit
Band: Genesis
36"I know what I like (in your wardrobe)" was their first hit. It got up to 17 on the British pop charts... Nonetheless, they still were not a popular band. Even after the LLDOB album came out. The last show PG was to play with the band was cancelled because no one bought tickets. This is the Genesis I love. They said that the Italians were the only ones supportive of their music... I must admit, Italy was a haven for many an artistic progressive rock band in the 70's... People think that the 70's were the heydays of "prog rock", but the good bands were not that popular.
There were 2 Phil Collinses... There was a cool, talented Phil Collins, who had a beard and would do acrobatic tambourine playing... Then in 1981, they replaced him with another Phil Collins (it's a common name) who resembled a hard boiled egg...
I just got these Genesis DVD's from some French-Canuck (gee, that's surprising)... Shows and documentaries from 1972-1977. When I watch the very old stuff, I realize they were not good musicians at the start. Hackett's solo on "Fountain of Salamcis" is lame. Anyone can play that. Bank's keyboards, Rutherfords bass parts, Collin's drumming were all simple and not that great. Peter Gabriel looks bored and does not really put on much of a performance at all.
They admit, that Supper's Ready was their first masterpiece... Though I do love Harold The Barrel, Hog Weed, etc.... Nursery Crime has some really good stuff. I'd say their first decent album. Trespass, apart from The Knife and The Fountain[...] is not very interesting. Their first album was a Bee Gee's rip off, which they admit. It got their foot in the door, which allowed them to blossom like.... a flower?
One of the DVD's has a 1 hour documentary on the history of Genesis. Members of Genesis said what I've always known... Musically, their best period was 1976-1978... It's pretty obvious if you listen to the music, and aren't so enamoured by Peter Gabriel (and hateful of Phil Collins) that your judgement of the MUSIC is off kilter...
3 pages on Genesis? I agree. This is simply not enough discourse on this amazing rock SUPERGROUP.
Seeing the 1973-1975 PG performances makes me realize how SPOT ON the Musical Box are. I saw them, and they were fucking amazing. A few people say the PG guy is too jerky, but seeing the original stuff, PG is very jerky on stage.
Oh, shit... I always thought Tony Banks used an arpeggiator to play LLDOB. Now I know, he actually fucking PLAYS that shit. That is fucking insane. I never knew this until two nights ago... Even when I listened to "Seconds Out", his playing was so tight, precise, and mechanical, I reckoned it was an arpeggiator. I always had a lot of respect for Tony, but seeing him playing LLDOB really clinched it. He's a god!
Anyway, as I said before, most of the Genesis catalog is very good. They put out 4 (studio, non-live) albums in the 80's and 90's that were not good. Here's my ranking of Genesis studio albums (70's live ones are great, but let's not focus on them). I'm sure some people will object to LLDOB not being on top. I just don't feel it's their best.
1976-1978 were the height of their musical prowess. To me, PG's costumes and antics do not come out on the studio releases. And as much as I respect PG, he didn't write the music. People think he did because he has his solo career... I don't think his solo albums are nearly as good as what he did with Genesis... He left the band because he had a baby with his wife, and couldn't devote time to both Genesis and his family... He also got sick of being some rock star front man. He's really not into the rock star ego gratification thing. He's a smart man.
Though, in the documentary, I notice Phil Collins does have some disdain for PG... He said "The one thing Peter Gabriel did well..." Phrases like that clue me in to the fact that there was conflict... Plus, they made it clear that Phil Collins' background was much different than the Charter House prep school kids that Banks, Gabriel, and Rutherford were... And they admit, this caused conflict... You see them on Italian TV, and Collins has his feet up on the table, drinking a beer, and everyone else is so proper and English... Phil admitted he was cocky (and Cockney) when he first joined the band... He's not a rich kid prepster. "you can tell me by the way [me talks]"
But anyway... These are my ordinal preferences:
1. A Trick of the Tale (1976)
2. Wind and Wuthering (1976)
3. Selling England By The Pound (1973)
4. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)
5. Foxtrot (1972)
6. ...And Then There Were Three (1978)
7. Duke (1980)
8. Nursery Crime (1971)
9. Trespass (1970)
10. Abacab (1981)
A Trick of the Tale is by far the high water mark for this band. Maybe one song that's not so strong (the title track). But even the slow songs were brilliant... The swirling mesmerizing ponderings of "Entangled"... But the end piece on that are perfect... Dance on A Volcano and Los Endos. They open and close the album with the same theme. "Los Endos" pluralization (The Ends), is extremely clever. That finale ties up the "loose ends" of the album (really, there are none!) and right when you think the album is over, it's not! It's not one ending, but a few endings!
Ok... The other four albums are pop shit. Someone posted that they love these ones, and hey, I can't argue with taste. I also ommitted their debut album "Genesis and Revelation", since it's more of a Bee Gee's album.
So yeah, I always hear how PG left the band and they turned to shit. I disagree. As much as you may hate Phil Collins, this was a different guy. The original Phil Collins had a beard and had talent... He was later replaced by a Phil Collins that resembled a hard boiled egg. They're two different people, but they have the same name. It's not an uncommon name.
As artistic and popular as Gabriel's solo career is, he did not write (much) of the music. He wrote lyrics, sang, played a kick drum and flute. This is a case of the "front man syndrome" -- thinking that the singer is the band leader. I have immense respect for Gabriel, but let's not give him more credit than is due. I cringe when I hear "Gabriel's Genesis". It was NEVER his band. He was NEVER the band leader. If I had to pick the most important and talented contributor, it would be Tony Banks, and then Steve Hackett. I think after Hackett left the band, it was a turn for the worst. More of an impact then when PG left the band, at least in terms of the music. Hackett could really express emotions through the guitar, in a way I've never heard any other guitarist do...
That said, I don't think Hackett's "Please Don't Touch" should have been on a Genesis album. It's a fusion tune. Just as Brand X tunes didn't show up on Genesis albums either... I don't have any Steve Hackett solo stuff, but I've heard that song, and it's good. But not Genesis...
Any Brand X fans out there? I like Masques and Moroccan Roll. Phil is one helluva drummer.
There were 2 Phil Collinses... There was a cool, talented Phil Collins, who had a beard and would do acrobatic tambourine playing... Then in 1981, they replaced him with another Phil Collins (it's a common name) who resembled a hard boiled egg...
I just got these Genesis DVD's from some French-Canuck (gee, that's surprising)... Shows and documentaries from 1972-1977. When I watch the very old stuff, I realize they were not good musicians at the start. Hackett's solo on "Fountain of Salamcis" is lame. Anyone can play that. Bank's keyboards, Rutherfords bass parts, Collin's drumming were all simple and not that great. Peter Gabriel looks bored and does not really put on much of a performance at all.
They admit, that Supper's Ready was their first masterpiece... Though I do love Harold The Barrel, Hog Weed, etc.... Nursery Crime has some really good stuff. I'd say their first decent album. Trespass, apart from The Knife and The Fountain[...] is not very interesting. Their first album was a Bee Gee's rip off, which they admit. It got their foot in the door, which allowed them to blossom like.... a flower?
One of the DVD's has a 1 hour documentary on the history of Genesis. Members of Genesis said what I've always known... Musically, their best period was 1976-1978... It's pretty obvious if you listen to the music, and aren't so enamoured by Peter Gabriel (and hateful of Phil Collins) that your judgement of the MUSIC is off kilter...
3 pages on Genesis? I agree. This is simply not enough discourse on this amazing rock SUPERGROUP.
Seeing the 1973-1975 PG performances makes me realize how SPOT ON the Musical Box are. I saw them, and they were fucking amazing. A few people say the PG guy is too jerky, but seeing the original stuff, PG is very jerky on stage.
Oh, shit... I always thought Tony Banks used an arpeggiator to play LLDOB. Now I know, he actually fucking PLAYS that shit. That is fucking insane. I never knew this until two nights ago... Even when I listened to "Seconds Out", his playing was so tight, precise, and mechanical, I reckoned it was an arpeggiator. I always had a lot of respect for Tony, but seeing him playing LLDOB really clinched it. He's a god!
Anyway, as I said before, most of the Genesis catalog is very good. They put out 4 (studio, non-live) albums in the 80's and 90's that were not good. Here's my ranking of Genesis studio albums (70's live ones are great, but let's not focus on them). I'm sure some people will object to LLDOB not being on top. I just don't feel it's their best.
1976-1978 were the height of their musical prowess. To me, PG's costumes and antics do not come out on the studio releases. And as much as I respect PG, he didn't write the music. People think he did because he has his solo career... I don't think his solo albums are nearly as good as what he did with Genesis... He left the band because he had a baby with his wife, and couldn't devote time to both Genesis and his family... He also got sick of being some rock star front man. He's really not into the rock star ego gratification thing. He's a smart man.
Though, in the documentary, I notice Phil Collins does have some disdain for PG... He said "The one thing Peter Gabriel did well..." Phrases like that clue me in to the fact that there was conflict... Plus, they made it clear that Phil Collins' background was much different than the Charter House prep school kids that Banks, Gabriel, and Rutherford were... And they admit, this caused conflict... You see them on Italian TV, and Collins has his feet up on the table, drinking a beer, and everyone else is so proper and English... Phil admitted he was cocky (and Cockney) when he first joined the band... He's not a rich kid prepster. "you can tell me by the way [me talks]"
But anyway... These are my ordinal preferences:
1. A Trick of the Tale (1976)
2. Wind and Wuthering (1976)
3. Selling England By The Pound (1973)
4. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)
5. Foxtrot (1972)
6. ...And Then There Were Three (1978)
7. Duke (1980)
8. Nursery Crime (1971)
9. Trespass (1970)
10. Abacab (1981)
A Trick of the Tale is by far the high water mark for this band. Maybe one song that's not so strong (the title track). But even the slow songs were brilliant... The swirling mesmerizing ponderings of "Entangled"... But the end piece on that are perfect... Dance on A Volcano and Los Endos. They open and close the album with the same theme. "Los Endos" pluralization (The Ends), is extremely clever. That finale ties up the "loose ends" of the album (really, there are none!) and right when you think the album is over, it's not! It's not one ending, but a few endings!
Ok... The other four albums are pop shit. Someone posted that they love these ones, and hey, I can't argue with taste. I also ommitted their debut album "Genesis and Revelation", since it's more of a Bee Gee's album.
So yeah, I always hear how PG left the band and they turned to shit. I disagree. As much as you may hate Phil Collins, this was a different guy. The original Phil Collins had a beard and had talent... He was later replaced by a Phil Collins that resembled a hard boiled egg. They're two different people, but they have the same name. It's not an uncommon name.
As artistic and popular as Gabriel's solo career is, he did not write (much) of the music. He wrote lyrics, sang, played a kick drum and flute. This is a case of the "front man syndrome" -- thinking that the singer is the band leader. I have immense respect for Gabriel, but let's not give him more credit than is due. I cringe when I hear "Gabriel's Genesis". It was NEVER his band. He was NEVER the band leader. If I had to pick the most important and talented contributor, it would be Tony Banks, and then Steve Hackett. I think after Hackett left the band, it was a turn for the worst. More of an impact then when PG left the band, at least in terms of the music. Hackett could really express emotions through the guitar, in a way I've never heard any other guitarist do...
That said, I don't think Hackett's "Please Don't Touch" should have been on a Genesis album. It's a fusion tune. Just as Brand X tunes didn't show up on Genesis albums either... I don't have any Steve Hackett solo stuff, but I've heard that song, and it's good. But not Genesis...
Any Brand X fans out there? I like Masques and Moroccan Roll. Phil is one helluva drummer.
Band: Genesis
38oxlongm wrote: And Then There Were Three (a reference to band member Peter Gabriel, who left the group to start a lame solo career)
Actually, that's a reference to Steve Hackett leaving the band. They had five people, PG left, then they had four... They recorded 2 more albums (the BEST ones), and then Hackett left... ...And Then There Were Three...
A very good album... "Down and Out" and "Deep in the Motherlode" are fucking brilliant!!! "The Lady Lies" is also very good.
He left after "Wind and Wuthering" because he felt his contributions weren't being valued. He wanted that song "Please don't touch" to be on "A Trick" (or was it W&W?). I like that song a lot, but I don't feel it belonged on either album. It would be like putting a Brand X song on one of those albums...
PG left after LLDOB because his wife had a baby, and he felt he was part of this machine. They had all these grand plans to tour for the next two years, and he wanted to spend time with his kid. Admirable. I can respect that. No one else in Genesis had kids at the time, so they didn't understand. In retrospect, they say they now understand why he did this, and it makes sense.
Anyone familiar with Hackett's solo work? He keeps on coming out with albums, and I hear they are really excellent, and all over the place. If anyone can recommend some good Hackett solo albums to start with, I'd appreciate it. He's on the same label as IQ and Spock's Beard now...
Hackett is extremely prolific... He has like 40 solo albums... I guess I'll start with "Please Don't Touch" since I've heard (and like) that song.
Tony Banks also has many solo albums. They all had solo careers... I think Banks and Hackett stuck to the more artistic side, and Rutherford, Collins and Gabriel are much better known. I mean, who doesn't like Mike + the Mechanics?!?
I don't think PG's solo work is lame, but definately not as good as Genesis stuff when he was in the band. But I don't think "A Trick of the Tale" or "Wind and Wuthering" would have been the same if PG was still in the band. I think his exodous led to a truly remarkable period for Genesis. By far my favorite work.
I'm actually amused when people make fun of Genesis. I love that show "The Young Ones", and they make all sorts of swipes at Genesis, Marillion, and other good, talented bands (while they showcased some of the shittiest new wave trendoid bands on the show -- except for Motorhead -- that was cool... Madness was cool too).
Yeah, Rick's infamous quote from the "bored" episode -- "I'm so bored I could listen to Genesis". Interestingly enough, this is what I think when I listen to most independent rock. Really... I love Slint, the Jesus Lizard and Shellac, but it seems most bands are a hybrid of 1-3 classic indie bands. I even saw a post for a drummer wanted, where the band described themselves as a cross between these three bands (Hi! 1993 called and it want's it's sound back!)
Shame! This is not "independent" to me. I'd MUCH rather listen to Genesis than most of the indie shit I hear today... It either sounds like something, or sounds like nothing (the nihilist now-wave noise-sters that are just soooo boring!!!)
Anyway, Rick was a prick, so anything he was critical of was actually (in reality) very tasteful and good. So his swipe at Genesis is actually evidence of the Young One's writers' esteem for the band.
Oh, and Marillion was Neil's favorite band... Not my favorite, but I respect them. Fish sounds more like Peter Gabriel than Peter Gabriel does...
Band: Genesis
39Brett Eugene Ralph wrote:In my experience, if you want a mass exodus, play some Genesis.
That probably holds true for Western Kentucky. In Chicagay, where the Musical Box have known to play to sell-out audiences, the great Genesis music is appreciated. In England, The Musical Box sold out 5 nights at the Royal Albert Hall...
Heck, I'm going to the November 4 LLDOB show at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. I'm so fucking there, it's not even funny!
I think in Western Kentucky, someone playing a jug and a tub with a bass string, while fucking his sister would go down well...
Band: Genesis
40ironyengine wrote:oxlongm wrote:...
But I also think that Phil Collins works better within the confines of the group than as a solo artist -- and I stress the word artist. In fact it applies to all three of the guys, because Genesis is still the best, most exciting band to come out of England in the 1980s.
You're cutting up prostitutes right now, aren't you?
This reminded me a lot of American Psycho too... But it's good to see someone evangelizing the Genesis albums I can't really get into at all.