bob_32_116

On the Tabletop Genesis podcast, they interviewed Tony Banks, and he had this to say about John Mayhew (paraphrasing from memory): people listen to Trespass and they say what was wrong with Mayhew's drumming. And in fact he was a competent drummer, but what he could not do was improvise, to put his own stamp on the music. Banks and the others really had to tell him how a certain part should be played, and then he would play it. In other words he was more like a session musician than a member of the band.

Banks made similar comments about a couple of the singers he worked with later in his career, Jayney Climek and Alastair Gordon; they had great voices and vocal technique, but did not seem able to put anything of themselves into the songs, so Tony felt more as if he was programming an instrument than working with fellow musicians.

Trollheart

At this point, the fine line between Genesis and Phil Collins as a solo artist blurs so much that the penultimate album to feature him could easily in most cases be mistaken as one of his. Bringing much of his r&b and soul influences to many of the tracks, cutting shorter and more commercial songs, with only really Tony Banks trying to keep the longer, more epic tracks in a bid to retain something, anything of the Genesis motif, the thirteenth album was certainly unlucky for some, myself included. I don't hate it, but I see it as the natural progression from Abacab and much of Genesis, to where the band could hardly even be afforded the description progressive rock.

Of course, the continuing new direction increased their popularity, leading Brett Easton Ellis's psychopath killer in his cult novel American Psycho to laud this album as their best (a lot he knew!) and giving the band their first ever number one hit single in the US of A, when the title track went to the top. The album itself was another number one in the UK, making it four in a row, while it hit the number three slot in the USA. At this point, certainly from a Stateside point of view, it was fair to say Genesis, the new Genesis, had arrived. But was the old Genesis dead, or were there still a few breaths left in its slowly-dying body as it began to give up the ghost but refused to die without a fight?

Invisible Touch (1986)

I don't know what an invisible touch is, but she has one, apparently. Or at least, she seems to. After a tour to promote their twelfth album, a third solo effort from Collins, the birth of Mike + The Mechanics to keep Mike Rutherford busy, and an album of soundtracks from Tony Banks imaginatively entitled Soundtracks Genesis reconvened to record their next album. It was three years on from the release of the self-titled, and they were riding pretty high on the success of singles like “Mama” and “That's All”, pulling in new fans while probably ditching older ones. Their next album would capitalise on the success, both of the new Genesis and of Phil Collins's somewhat meteoric rise to solo fame, as his hits easily eclipsed those of his parent band - indeed, he was doing so well on his own that there were whispers that he would not return to the band and that Genesis had split. Perhaps sadly in retrospect, this would not turn out to be the case.

Rattling, tumbling drums power in the title track, with a jangly, poppy guitar from Rutherford and Genesis make no apologies for the new direction they were going in as they open the new album up. And why would they? It got them to number one; who cared about some old stuck-in-the-mud fans who had carried them through the seventies? That was the past, man, and this was the Genesis of the future. Musically, if not actually literally, a rebirth that would see the band move further and further into pop territory until eventually ... Well, more of that to come. Much of this album has been dogged by the accusation that it could really be a Phil Collins solo album, and it's hard to refute that, when you listen to many of the tracks, “Invisible Touch” being a prime example. Again, it's not the Genesis we know, even the Genesis of “That's All” or the terrible “Illegal Alien”. It's not even the gentle Genesis of “Follow You Follow Me” or even the somewhat more acerbic but still recognisable Genesis that pushed “Mama” into the charts. All of those were, to one degree or another, possible to tie down as being Genesis songs. But this could have been written and played by anyone from Go West to Duran Duran. There's just nothing in the song that reminds me of old Genesis, and even Banks's synths are snappy rather than sonorous, poppy rather than placid and jumping rather than rippling. The rot has set in.

Do I need to describe the song? You all know it, even those who hate Genesis will have heard it on the radio or TV. It was, after all, at number one so you could hardly avoid it. I feel it's devoid of any real emotion or connection to the band, and if I didn't know better would have thought it could have been written for them, but given Collins's embracing of the worlds of pop, soul and even jazz on his solo albums, it shouldn't really come as too big a surprise. But for me, it was not a pleasant one. Bah, there's not even a bridge! Oh, and let's utilise the most cliched of cliches in pop music, changing the key up one octave for the final chorus. Boo. The overuse of electronic drum machines is also unwelcome, and further evidence if any were needed of their changing musical style.

There is some hope though, as the second track is one of those (almost) old Genesis epics, even if it is basically a love song that runs for nearly nine minutes. It has a spooky intro thanks to Banks's keys and, it has to be admitted, the damn drum machine. Originally tentatively titled “Monkey/Zulu”, it eventually became “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” (think I preferred the working title!) and was, rather amazingly, released in a very truncated form as a single, getting to number three in the US and 18 here. I haven't heard the single version, but they chopped about fifty percent out of the song, so I assume the best parts were removed, including the instrumental midsection. There are echoes of both “Mama” and “Misunderstanding” here in the lyric, but it is the powerful instrumental midsection that really makes the song for me, leading us almost back down the path and over the garden wall (sorry) to a time when Genesis made superb, intricate, thoughtful music and the word “pop” was a bad one.

It can't be argued of course that the instrumental part is what extends the song to its somewhat overlong eight minutes fifty-two seconds, as it runs for more than three minutes, but I still can't really envision the shorter version being as good. Anyway, such thoughts are soon brushed aside as we have bigger problems. “Land of Confusion” carries us kicking and screaming through the Chamber of 32 Doors and back to the world of pop, where yet another hit single is waiting. With a very clever video made by those Spitting Image people, it's a song that really suffered from being upstaged by its video. I mean, it's okay, but it's nothing terribly special. At least Rutherford gets to take control, banging out the riffs like there's no tomorrow, while the boys enjoy some close-harmony backing vocals. Again, I'm sure you know the song; it, or at least its video, was on constant rotation on the likes of MTV throughout 1986. Another big hit (14 in the UK and 4 in the US), I suppose it showed if nothing else that there would be no backdown from Genesis now. This album was cementing their place as a true pop band with bona fide hits, and opening their music to a much wider audience, and they were never going back to Broadway.

In essence, a kind of political song whose message I feel was lost in the comic video, but it certainly did the business for them, as did the next one, the fourth single and one of the two ballads on the album (unless you count “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” as a ballad, which personally I don't). “In Too Deep” is, to be fair, a beautiful song but it smacks of Phil Collins solo material, and hovers close to songs like “One More Night”, “Take Me Home” and “Separate Lives”. The ticking drum machine is right out of “Thru These Walls” (note: see how Collins was already pandering to America by using the non-English spelling? Dickhead) and “In the Air Tonight”, although in fairness Banks plays some gorgeous piano and orchestral synth, and Collins's vocal is smooth, though at this point I had had enough of him, having been subjected to No Jacket Required and its various singles for way too long. I really don't want to talk about “Anything She Does”. It's just awful, and sounds like it was thrown together in a few minutes, perhaps as a last-minute filler, but I don't think it was. It's loud, it's fast, it's sort of abrasive and it has a kind of latin feel to it, so it is different, but maybe the trouble is that it's too different. It's like something off a Ricky Martin album, not that I'd know what that sounds like. It's salsa, soul, rock and roll, just doesn't work for me, especially the frenetic chorus. Meh. Sounds like trumpets in there again, though it could be synthesised. Oh, and the main melody for the verses is ripped off from “Illegal alien”, just to cap it off.

That could have been it for me, but then we get “Domino”, one more big epic that actually nods much more to the Genesis of yesteryear than “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” did. With a nice slow jangly guitar and hooting synth it is split into two sections, the first, “In the Glow of the Light”, a slow, moody piece run mostly on dark synth with some powerful percussion and orchestral hits. The whole thing runs for almost eleven minutes, which is something of a joy for old Genesis fans like me, and it really is a standout on the album. There's a nod back to “Undertow” when Collins snarls ”Sheets of double glazing help to keep outside the night” and the first part is quite sombre and bitter, then in the second part, “The Last Domino”, it kicks into life with a galloping beat, somewhat a very distant cousin of the “Home By the Sea/ Second Home By the Sea” model, as well as nods to "Duke's Travels". Banks excels on the keys here, driving the song forward, in both parts, and effectively bridging the two as his morose, crying synth becomes a trumpeting, rocketing one, the whole tempo picking up as it reaches the fourth minute and launches into the second part.

With still ominous but faster synth Banks hammers along, grabbing elements from older songs as he goes, Rutherford painting the edges with superb guitar flourishes, Collins's voice getting more urgent and passionate. The desire for horror/outrage is encapsulated in the lines ”Well you never did see/ Such a terrible thing/ As you seen last night on the TV/ Maybe if we're lucky they'll show it again/ Such a terrible thing to see!” with the very antithesis of “Blood On the Rooftops” from Wind and Wuthering. The beat gets stronger, the rhythm harder and it really starts to rock along in the seventh minute, as the band get into their stride. Why isn't the rest of the album like this?

But it isn't. There's another soppy love ballad to almost close out the album, and though “Throwing it All Away” is a decent song, it's kind of almost an amalgam of “In too deep” and “Taking it all too hard” from the previous album. Not surprisingly at this point, it too was a big hit stateside when released as a single. I wonder what they would have made of “Domino”? Oh, I see it charted! Even though not released as a single. Interesting. And it's about the war that was raging in Lebanon at the time. Well, that just throws into sharper relief the (sorry) throwaway nature of this song, which is nothing more or less than a simple pop ballad. Weirdly, though written by Rutherford, where I think a guitar solo would have fit, they decide instead to sing the chorus in a round of “Woo-ooh-ooh-ohh”s. We end then on an instrumental, and while it's good it's a little tacked on, with a very industrial/electronic feel to it. “The Brazilian”? Really? Why? Then again, that's a question I could ask about this whole album.

TRACK LISTING

Invisible Touch
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
Land of Confusion
In Too Deep
Anything She Does
Domino
(i) In the Glow of the Light
(ii) The Last Domino
Throwing it All Away
The Brazilian

At the time, I desperately tried to like this album, because who wants to admit his heroes have failed him, right? But after suffering through Abacab and Genesis I was not in any mood to be forgiving, and to retain me as a fan they would have to have pulled something major out of the hat. They didn't. With the exception of maybe two tracks, this is a pop album, no more and no less, and worse, a badly-disguised Phil Collins solo album. I had already bought No Jacket Required - I didn't need an extension of that.

Luckily for me, Genesis made one final rally before they more or less called it a day, coming back with an album that, while it never quite returned them to the glory days of their progressive rock zenith, at least tried a lot harder than this wannabe-Collins effort. Invisible touch, eh? Touch this.

Rating: 6.4/10

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Trollheart

A year on from the partial success of Nursery Cryme, with their new, now stable lineup working well together and a major tour under their belts, Genesis returned to the studio to cut what would be their fourth album, and one which would finally lift them into the British charts, as well as produce some timeless tracks that would go on to become classics. It would also further develop Peter Gabriel's stage persona, as he wore the infamous red dress and fox mask on the tour to promote the album. As if that wasn't enough, it would have the longest Genesis track ever, one of the few progressive tracks of the time to exceed twenty minutes in length.

Foxtrot (1972)

Another album that was short on actual tracks, but of which one track would take up an entire side of the original vinyl LP, Foxtrot began to be fleshed out while the band were still on tour, and as Steve Hackett, exhausted by the pressures of being on the road, contemplated leaving the band. It would also see the departure of three producers, as their original one, John Anthony, was dismissed by Charisma Records. Bob Potter, brought in to replace him, was dismissive of their music, having been more used to working with folk sensations Lindisfarne, and Tony Platt did not get on with the band either. Finally, they settled on a combination of Dave Hitchcock producing and John Burns engineering, a team that would last them through their next three albums.

We open on “Watcher of the Skies”, with a deep, sombre, classical sounding mellotron chord, with another coming in behind it, quiet at first then gaining in volume and power as, with the percussion, it blasts open the song and Gabriel begins singing. Moving slightly away from their fantasy/mythology themes of previous albums, this song is a science-fiction tale, the story of a galaxy-travelling entity who comes across Earth after Man has long since passed, and wonders what the creatures who lived here once were like. Its iconic opening still delights crowds whenever Genesis plays, and it is a highly requested song, almost fifty years later. Collins plays some powerful stuff here, driving the tune along, but it can't be denied that it is Tony Banks who breathes life into it and maintains it all through its seven-minute plus run, especially in the closing minutes, when he plays a kind of game of call-and-answer with Collins and Hackett before the whole thing explodes into a massive solo to take the piece to its thundering end.

As in previous albums, a bombastic epic is followed by a simple short song, and again “Timetable” is probably the only song on this album I don't care for. With its medieval lilting melody and its Beatlesesque feel, it's a song longing for simpler times. It's sung well, but it has always come across as the weak song on the album for me, again looking back more to the debut album than anything that has gone since. There's a really nice piano line running through it, and Gabriel is in fine voice, but I'm just waiting for “Get 'em Out By Friday”. I was always of the opinion this song paid respects to the Douglas Adams books of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but it seems I am wrong. It's an odd little tale, concerning the forced resettlement of tenants by greedy, unscrupulous landlords. Like “Harold the Barrel” on the previous album, it's another cast effort, with Gabriel taking various parts, the song itself blasting away the softer vestiges remaining as “Timetable” fades into the distance with a blasting keyboard flurry and then a marching, thumping drumbeat from Collins as Gabriel introduces John Pebble, of Styx Enterprises (nice to see the nod to Greek mythology, tying a link back to the closer on the previous album, and also at a stroke painting this company as evil) who needs tenants cleared out of their houses so he can sell them.

“Get 'em out by Friday!” he warns his agent, known as The Winkler. ”You don't get paid till the last one/ Is well on his way!” and the Winkler approaches Mrs. Barrow, who has been living there for all her life, and does not want to move. The music is frenetic, jumping, urgent: Pebble needs those people out, and does not particularly care what measures his agent uses to ensure this comes about. Initially the Winkler uses the tactic of simply raising her rent, making it impossible for her to remain there, then later he offers her a cash incentive to move to a new tower block --- and then Pebble raises the rent again! Some gorgeous twelve-string work here from Hackett, as Mrs Barrow considers her options, reluctant to leave the home she has lived in all her life. Nice flute from Gabriel too.

After a long instrumental section which gets very dreamy and pastoral, time passes and we are now in the year 2012 (remember this was written in 1972) where Genetic Control have decreed that all humans must be reduced in height to four feet, in order that more may be housed, and once again Mrs Barrow is evicted from her home, not meeting the height requirements. Pebble is now Sir John, heading one of the largest construction conglomerates on the planet, and intends to make even more money by buying up all the tower blocks and kicking out the tenants who are too tall. Where will they go? Hey, that's life in the big city, as they say! The song then reprises the opening section before ending with some thumping drumbeats and a sort of angelic arpeggios on the keys as we're advised ”Invest in the Church for your Heaven.”

The legend of King Canute, who tried to prove how mighty he was by commanding the sea to recede, is explored in the cleverly-titled “Can-Utility and the Coastliners”, with a harpsichord opening and a soft vocal, keyboard and flute rising a little as does Gabriel's voice, as Canute decrees ”By our command, waters retreat!/ Show my power, halt at my feet!” An extended instrumental section then builds, trundling along nicely with mellotron and bass, guitar and drums before the mellotron takes over fully, carrying the tune into the final minute, almost echoing parts of “Watcher of the Skies” before guitar joins in and the song gets a little rock and roll. Tweedling keys from Banks brings back the stately grandness of a song about a king, and it heads for the big finish, with a sort of chaotic ending, Gabriel singing a little manically, Collins and Banks blasting out the final notes as it ascends and then stops abruptly.

“Horizons” is the first Genesis instrumental, and a chance for Hackett to show what he can do, and why he would become one of the most respected guitarists of the progressive rock era. It's short, only just over a minute and a half, but beautifully simple and yet intricate, recalling the traditional ballads played by minstrels in medieval times. It's his solo effort, and is the calm before the approaching storm, which breaks slowly but will, if you've not heard it before, take your breath away.

The longest ever Genesis composition, and one of the longest songs even in the ever-indulgent world of prog rock, “Supper's Ready” is a multi-part epic in the grandest tradition of classical symphonies and epic poems, and is split into seven sections. It opens on “Lover's Leap”, which begins with Gabriel's soft retelling of an experience he and his wife once had, an out-of-body thing, where they looked into each other's eyes and suddenly found themselves in other bodies. What were they smoking? I don't know, or even if the story is true or just anecdotal, but it's led on acoustic guitar in a soft, relaxing melody, that somehow has the potential in it to turn into something much darker. And it does. On a twelve-string and piano instrumental it moves into part II, “The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man”. It's often pointless to try to figure out Gabriel's lyrics, and I've never understood what this is about, but it drives on a powerful guitar, the soft ambience lost as the song takes off.

”I know a farmer who looks after the farm” Gabriel advises us, ”With water clear he cares for all his harvest.” Indeed. A bubbling keyboard melody from Banks takes the tune, mellotron booming in the background as Gabriel smirks ”Can't you see? He's fooled you all!” Perhaps a sly wink at those who read too much into his lyrics? On a children's chorus of ”We will rock you, rock you little snake/ We will keep you snug and warm” we slide into part III, “Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men”, the tempo increasing as the characters join a battle with a ”Host of dark-skinned warriors”. Again Banks's synth jumps, dances and whirls all over this piece as battle is joined before it all falls down in part four, “How Dare I Be So Beautiful?” to slow, dreamy, drony synth in the aftermath of battle, and ”Wandering the chaos that battle has left” the characters come across Naricssus, who stares morosely at his reflection in the water, turning into a flower.

A flower? Two words which mean more than nearly anything to Gabriel-era Genesis fans, as they then signal the cosmic shift as the song moves into its fifth part, “Willow Farm”, where things just get silly. Onstage, this also marked the moment where Gabriel would appear dressed as a huge flower. Um. Anyway, riding on a twenties-style melody, the lyric is past ridiculous as Gabriel sings about ”Winston Churchill, dressed in drag/ He used to be a British flag!” It goes on like something out of Alice in Wonderland or Monty Python, before for some reason the characters become seeds in the ground and we move into part six, “Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchett)” (yeah) with a return to the soft, gentle meandering guitar and flute, with lush organ backing it until it ramps up into a real rocker (presumably in time signature 9/8, though I'm no musician) building towards the big conclusion as Judgement Day looms. A bubbling keyboard solo brings us into the apocalypse and returns us to the opening section, as the travellers finally return home, I guess into their own bodies, to witness the return of Jesus Christ in part seven, “As Sure as Eggs is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)” and a beautiful almost orchestral ending with a superb guitar solo to take it out.

TRACK LISTING

Watcher of the Skies
Time Table
Get 'em Out By Friday
Can-Utility and the Coastliners
Horizons
Supper's Ready
I: Lover's leap
II: The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man
III: Itknaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men
IV: How Dare I Be So Beautiful?
V: Willow Farm
VI: Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)
VII: As sure as Eggs is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)

Foxtrot was an important album for Genesis in many ways. Firstly, as mentioned, it provided the band with their first measurable chart position in their homeland, though the single released from it sunk without a trace. Well, what did they expect? Whose bright idea was it to release “Watcher of the Skies” as a single? Surely the shorter “Time table” (even though I don't like it) or even “Horizons” - instrumental singles were nothing new at the time - would have been better choices? But apart from that, it was also the album on which the lineup finally solidified, with Steve Hackett's reservations about playing live and remaining with the band put to rest for now, and it shows a major jump in Gabriel's talent for lyrical mastery, even if often I haven't a clue what he's singing about.

The track “Supper's Ready” is indeed the focal point of the album, but it would not be fair to say that the rest of the songs are filler, not at all. They do play second fiddle to the epic composition of course, and it was this closer itself that would be both the shining jewel in Genesis's crown as they went forward, and the tool of their ultimate downfall, seen as originally evocative, powerful, compelling and exciting as well as ambitious, but in latter years as overblown, pretentious, ridiculous, overlong and pointless, a real symptom of what was seen as the malaise afflicting progressive rock, and which would ultimately bring it down under the weight of its own hubris. But the album marked almost a creative peak for Genesis, and while almost everyone disagrees with me, I feel this is the quintessential Peter Gabriel era album, and the one that was to come, though lauded by so many as their best, somewhat pales in comparison to this masterwork.

Rating: 9.8/10

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rubber soul

To give you an idea just how popular Genesis was in the states before the Phil Collins era, I was able to get Foxtrot in the bargain bin just a few years after its release. Count me among those that think this is Genesis' best album. I especially liked Watcher of the Skies, long as it is. I don't think it was until about Lamb Lies Down on Broadway when they began to sound more radio friendly. That's the genius of Foxtrot, I think. They weren't trying to come up with a hit, just make a nice album. that's my take on it anyway.

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Trollheart

You're right there. Nursery Cryme was the first Genesis album to get into the charts, and even then I expect few people knew of them. I reckon it's possible you have to wait till Selling England, when "I Know What I Like" became an unlikely hit, before people began remembering the name.

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bob_32_116

There are some decent tracks on Invisible Touch, but the title track is not one of them. The other single "Land of Confusion" I like better, though I find the lyrics a bit naive and amateurish.

"Domino" does indeed hearken back a little to the classic Genesis sound, though more so on the first part than the second, which gets a bit poppy and shouty towards the end. "Tonight x3" is actually rather good. I am also quite fond of "The Brazilian", a very uncharacteristic instrumental that nevertheless works quite well.

People tend to discuss this new direction of the band as though it was entirely led by Phil Collins, but they forget that he had been a part of the band since Nursery Cryme, and had been the de facto frontman since A Trick of the Tail. Also, from what I know about Tony Banks, "the quiet one", nothing the band did would have happened without at least his tacit approval, if not active support. I think a better explanation is that the band, all three of them, got besotted by observing the stratospheric success of Phil Collins' pop-oriented solo efforts, and could not resist seeing if the same thing would work for the band. And it did, for a while.

bob_32_116

Ah, Foxtrot. What can I say about this album that has not already been said, and said better, by others?

Just one thing: I always feel sorry for "Can Utility and the Coastliners", being on the same album as "Supper's Ready". The latter is regarded by many as their finest moment, and I would find it hard to disagree. Yet had "Supper" not been present, I think fans would speak of this album as "Wow, that's the one that has Can-Utility and the Coastliners!". "Can" is musically brilliant, and is even better when you study the lyrics deeply. Poor King Canute is one of the most misquoted and misunderstood figures in history. He was not a deluded egomaniac who thought he could order the waves not to advance; rather, he was demonstrating to his followers the limits of his kingly authority, and how trivial his powers were in comparison with the forces of nature. He was a forward-looking individual who understood some things that still seem to elude certain political leaders of the 21st century.

Trollheart

That is something I did not know, and I pride myself on being a history buff. I must look into that more. If you're right (and I have no reason to doubt you) then I guess I owe poor old Can-Utility an apology.

As for Invisible Touch, it could very well be as you say - Rutherford did go all pop with Mike + the Mechanics (though I'd argue certainly the first, and maybe even the second album in parts was quite prog in a proggy pop way) but I don't see it with Tony. He tried, failed, and decided to go back to his first love, classical. Of all the three driving the new direction, I would still say 90% at least of the blame lies with Collins. Damn him. You can't I guess say he single-handedly turned Genesis from a prog to a pop band, but if he had pursued more the path taken by Gabriel in his solo career, maybe Genesis would not have ended up going as ****e as they did towards the end.

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bob_32_116

From Wikipedia

rubber soul

All I know is there are two Genesis. The one with Peter Gabriel and the one after he left. It seemed to me as if Collins had taken over the band, though I guess that's a bias with frontmen in general. In any event, prog was dying a bit; even Gabriel's solo material were not of the ten minute variety and I'm guessing Genesis, possibly wanting to make some money, changed with the times.

Having said that, the first Collins fronted album, And Then There Were Three, is pretty fantastic.

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