Big Ears

Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (Charisma 1973)

Cashiers really know how to take charge




Selling England by the Pound Tracklist

1. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight
2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
3. Firth of Fifth
4. More Fool Me
5. The Battle of Epping Forest
6. After the Ordeal
7. The Cinema Show
8. Aisle of Plenty

Songs written by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford
Produced by Genesis and John Burns


Selling England by the Pound Lineup

Phil Collins: Drums, percussion, vocals
Michael Rutherford: Bass guitar, 12-string guitar
Stephen Hackett: Electric Guitar, acoustic guitar
Tony Banks: Keyboards
Peter Gabriel: Vocals, flute


Classic-era progressive rock albums can be relied upon for their distinctive intros: Pink Floyd famously used a heartbeat sound effect to open the overture, Speak to Me, of their best-selling The Dark of the Moon; In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson launches into their most dramatic track, 21st Century Schizoid Man, after Ian McDonald's quiet and eerie reeds intro; ELP's Tarkus fades in on a single note from Keith Emerson's Hammond organ, on a piece appropriately entitled Eruption; and engineer Eddie Offord reversed a tape recording of a piano chord to give Yes's then best known song, Roundabout, its memorable intro on their breakthrough album, Fragile. Dancing With the Moonlit Night gives Selling England by the Pound an equally distinctive and particularly unique introduction to a progressive rock album, with Peter Gabriel's traditional unaccompanied folk-music delivery of, "'Can you tell me where my country lies?' said the unifaun to his true love's eyes." There are also times when Gabriel sounds like the quivering Roger Chapman.

After two-and-a-half minutes, Dancing With the Moonlit Night becomes a riff-based hard rock track, consisting of Tony Banks's synthesizer, Steve Hackett's ahead-of-its-time tapping guitar technique and an eight-piece choir. The song is as close as the album gets to a title track, with its reference to, 'Selling [and digesting] England by the pound.' Puns in the lyrics include, 'Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout.' Green Shield stamps were part of a supermarket and petrol station loyalty scheme, which one collected, stuck in a book and after many years of collecting, traded for a stainless steel teapot or similar household goods. Green Shield eventually became the Argos catalogue store. Another pun, 'Chewing through your Wimpey dreams,' refers to the, then exotic, food outlets which were opening in central London in the seventies. The track closes on a quiet coda of Banks' masterful mellotron, guitar and flute.

I Know What I Like has a lawnmower sound effect, bongos, surreal lyrics and Beatles-style guitar in combination with a catchy chorus and strong melody driven by Mike Rutherford's Rickenbacker bass. By Genesis's standards the song is commercial to the point that it gave them their first hit single, but semi-spoken references to a first person lawnmower are typical Gabriel eccentricity. It was a perplexing piece when heard on BBC Radio One 247 MW, but now forms a familiar and consolidating part of the album. Track 3, Firth of Fifth, has a Tony Banks piano intro which on an ELP album would be a Keith Emerson piano movement, but here evolves into a slightly sinister marching vocal, cleverly matching the lyrical description of a journey through the English countryside or British landscape. The title is a play on words, as the Firth of Forth is the estuary or 'firth' of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea. Ignore any media criticism of the lyrics - they are wrong. Banks's acoustic piano returns, before a lengthy instrumental of sythesizer, mellotron and Steve Hackett's guitar, which, while sounding a bit like early King Crimson, formed the template for many copyists, including Rush and Marillion.

Phil Collins takes lead vocals on More Fool Me (written by him with Mike Rutherford) and is one of only two songs from the Gabriel era to feature Collins on lead vocals (the other being For Absent Friends from Nursery Cryme). The song foretells Collins's solo career and recalls the Spitting Image 'my wife's left me' satire, in that it is about a man whose 'lady' leaves him. More Fool Me is unusual for Gabriel-era Genesis, or any other seventies progressive rock band, in that it is a love song. In hindsight, the melody is not a million miles from Rutherford's own commercially melodic outlet, Mike and the Mechanics. According to the liner notes, The Battle of Epping Forest was inspired by a news story about two rival gangs' territorial battles in the East End of London. Peter Gabriel uses different voices for the various characters in order to tell the story, a device which he had used previously, although the band later claimed that on this occasion he used too many. Certainly they are a distraction from the lyrics and chord changes. Nevertheless, The Battle of Epping Forest is choc-full of ideas. It starts with a military flute and snare drum intro, then develops a dramatic vocal with chunky bass and barroom piano before the aforementioned voices. Banks adds Keith Emerson-style trumpet synthesizer and bubbling organ sounds, while Hackett's open chords pre-date Gordon Giltrap. The latter's closing guitar was later emulated by Steve Howe for Yes's Going For the One re-union.

Steve Hackett's folk guitar introduces his own After the Ordeal, the inclusion of which, according to some sources, was opposed by Banks and Gabriel. It is ironic as Hackett's folk inclinations mirror Gabriel's own and Banks adds a beautiful synthesizer solo. Such disputes with Banks, with whom he worked so well, led to Hackett's departure, spelling the end of their progressive era and ushering in the pop music phase of the eighties. Cinema Show

Cinema Show tells a story like The Beatles' Eleanor Rigby, 'Home from work our Juliet clears her morning meal/ She dabs her skin with pretty smells concealing to appeal/ I will make my bed, she said, but turned to go/ Can she be late for her cinema show?'. As with the Fab Four, few concessions are made in the lyrics to Americanisms, 'Romeo locks his basement flat/ And scurries up the stair/ With head held high and floral tie/ A weekend millionaire.' Father Tiresias is a classical figure who spent time living as a woman, and is a further inspiration from the band's Charterhouse education. Gentle instrumentation, led by acoustic guitar and flute, develops into a beautifully melancholic melody. Many successful bands have lifted ideas from Cinema Show, but none twist and turn on a theme like Genesis. Tony Banks's bubbling ARP solo moves to the fore, similarly to Gabriel's voice on I Know What I Like. Phil Collins's drumming and percussion is superb throughout. The entire track is complex and mellifluous, without any histrionics, and ends on a fading guitar. Seventies progressive rock albums usually had their epic track and Cinema Show is Selling England by the Pound's, in accomplishment if not length.

Aisle of Plenty is a short track which serves to make puns from a number of supermarkets, such as Fine Fare, Safeway, Tesco and the Co-operative, as well as references to products like Peek Freans biscuits, Fairy Liquid detergent, Anchor butter and Birds Eye frozen food.

Mike Rutherford lamented that Genesis never released a Dark Side of the Moon or Close to the Edge, but in hindsight we can see they spread their efforts more consistently than the bands that recorded those albums. During the Gabriel era, Genesis did not release a weak album. Selling England by the Pound was not their best album, but it was strong and ironically sold well, while the intense epic The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was yet to come. Also to follow were Phil Collins's huge commercial solo success, as well as Peter Gabriel's and Mike Rutherford's equally commercial albeit less lucrative solo projects. Indeed, the eighties saw Genesis make the transition from progressive rock progenitors to purveyors of hit singles, to the point where Phil Collins later claimed that he never liked ELP anyway.

In the process, Collins became better known as a singer-songwriter than drummer, Gabriel abandoned his narrative folk style, Rutherford concentrated on the sentimental and Tony Banks failed to follow in his bandmates' footsteps. Only Steve Hackett stuck to his principles and continued to make solid progressive rock albums. Yet, despite his colleagues' contributions and future fame, Selling England by the Pound is Tony Banks's album. His subtle, but never overlooked, and accomplished keyboard playing is constantly emotional, melodic and inspired. Paradoxically, Selling England by the Pound is not 'just' a considerable achievement from Genesis, but is also Tony Banks's finest moment.


Note: As far as I can establish, the Selling England by the Pound artwork came from a drawing by Betty Swanwick called The Dream. The lawnmower was added later.

5th August 2013

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Big Ears

Armageddon - Armageddon (A&M 1975)

Armageddon it





Armageddon Tracklist

1. Buzzard (Pugh, Caldwell, Relf) 8:16
2. Silver Tightrope (Pugh, Caldwell, Relf) 8:23
3. Paths and Planes and Future Gains (Pugh, Caldwell, Relf) 4:30
4. Last Stand Before (Pugh, Caldwell, Relf, Cennamo) 8:23
5. Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun
(a) Warning Comin' On (Pugh, Caldwell, Relf) 1:02
(b) Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun (Pugh, Caldwell, Relf) 3:07
(c) Brother Ego (Pugh, Caldwell, Relf, Cennamo) 5:13
(d) Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun (Reprise) (Pugh, Caldwell, Relf) 2:02


Armageddon Lineup

Keith Relf: Vocals
Martin Pugh: Guitar
Louis Cennamo: Bass
Bobby Caldwell: Drums


When Bobby Caldwell left Captain Beyond during the recording of their second album, he could hardly have foreseen that not only would they become a legendary cult band, forty years on, but that the same would happen to his second band, Armageddon. The latter were a hard rock ensemble consisting of singer Keith Relf from the influential Yardbirds, as well as having been a co-founder of progressive rock band Renaissance, and drummer/somgwriter Caldwell from Johnny Winter, Captain Beyond and Rick Derringer. The lineup was completed by Martin Pugh from Steamhammer on guitar and Louis Cennamo, formerly of both Renaissance and Steamhammer, on bass.

Beginning with a much-copied busy guitar riff from Martin Pugh, followed by Bobby Caldwell's characteristic driving drums and Louis Cennamo's pounding bass sound. Keith Relf's singing is gravelly, but a bit buried in the mix. Nevertheless the pace never lets up. Relf and Caldwell's pedigree was well known before the formation of Armageddon, but Pugh and Cennamo are both excellent musicians, the guitarist Hendrix-inspired with a psychedelic blues feel and the bassist almost percussive in his technique. The only criticism of Buzzard being that the harmonica solo, a hangover from Relf's days with blues pioneers The Yardbirds, is unnecessary and made the album sound dated even in 1974. Silver Tightrope by contrast begins with a slow guitar and bass, while Relf's vocal is choir boy-like and has added harmonies. The track continues in an ethereal psychedelic mode, culminating in Caldwell's drumming and a piercing guitar solo from Pugh. At around the halfway point, Paths and Planes and Future Gains marks a return to the fast format of track one, but this time with an echo-y vocal which remains indistinct. Pugh's insistent guitar playing is constantly inspired and varied.

Penultimate track, Last Stand Before, settles in to a repetitive funk groove. This is no bland Chickenfoot funk, but more in the vein of Glenn Hughes. Indeed, Trapeze appear to be an influence on Armageddon throughout. Towards the end, the imaginative riffing is redolent of Caldwell's Captain Beyond, but it is marred by another harmonica passage. Closer Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun is the fastest track on the album and is again, due to the riff, similar in style to Captain Beyond. The introductory riff gives way to another equally fast one, before Relf's voice and Pugh's harmonic guitar. His solo is played between the channels with either his own or Relf's rhythm guitar to the right. At the risk of repeating myself, Relf's voice is not loud enough and there is more harmonica, this time not too much or out of place. Certainly the band end on a high point.

Armageddon received good reviews, established adequate radio airplay in the US and achieved reasonable sales, but split soon after; their demise is variously attributed to a lack of live performances, bad management decisions and drug use, but Keith Relf's tragic death by electrocution, from an incorrectly earthed guitar (14th May 1976), meant there was no going back. As a result, talented guitarist Martin Pugh, who had played on Rod Stewart's superb first solo album, seems to have retired from music. Bassist Louis Cennamo rejoined his early Renaissance bandmates, under the name Illusion (after the first Renaissance album), and drummer Bobby Caldwell briefly returned to Captain Beyond for the Dawn Explosion album and tour.

Armageddon is a flawed masterpiece and one can only wonder at what this band could have achieved had they remained together for a second album and proper tour.

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Unknown Soldier

Nice review of the album, I reviewed this album some time back in my journal and as always you've covered the song arrangements and described them perfectly.

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Big Ears

Thanks for the positive feedback, US. For some reason, I could not find your review. Do you have a link?

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Unknown Soldier

It was on page 32.
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...istory-32.html

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Tres Hombres by ZZ Top (London 1973)

In the fine Texas tradition







Tracklist:
Side One, Vinyl
1. Waitin' for the Bus (Gibbons, Hill) 2:59
2. Jesus Just Left Chicago (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) 3:30
3. Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) 3:23
4. Master of Sparks (Gibbons) 3:33
5. Hot, Blue and Righteous (Gibbons) 3:14

Side Two, Vinyl
1. Move Me on Down the Line (Gibbons, Hill) 2:32
2. Precious and Grace (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) 3:09
3. La Grange (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) 3:52
4. Shiek (Gibbons, Hill) 4:05
5. Have You Heard? Gibbons, Hill 3:15

Bonus Tracks, Remaster 2006
11. Waitin' for the Bus" (Live) (Gibbons, Hill) 2:42
12. Jesus Just Left Chicago" (Live) (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) 4:03
13. La Grange (Live) (Gibbons, Hill, Beard) 4:44

Lineup:
Billy Gibbons - Electric Guitar, Vocals
Dusty Hill - Bass Guitar, Vocals
Frank Beard - Drums, Percussion

Produced by Bill Ham ~ Engineered and Mixed by Terry Manning


Tres Hombres (London 1973) is as close to a perfect blues rock album as it is possible to find, but sadly you had to own the original vinyl in order to get the effect, as the CD version was remixed with a different drum sound in order to cash in on ZZ Top's commercial success with Eliminator (Warner Bros 1983). Thankfully, in 2006 a remastered version was released with engineer Terry Manning's original mix. Tres Hobres is ZZ Top's best album, with no bad tracks, and there are a couple of aspects of the record which remain constant. First is the sheer variety of ideas, not just from the band switching between time signatures at the rate of about one a minute, but in Billy Gibbons' guitar solos. One on a track is not enough for him, he prefers two or three and changes the sound between them. Second, Gibbons usually uses an authentic blues voice, similar to John Lee Hooker, but encompassing many others. Both of these elements combine to produce a special work.

Waitin' for the Bus begins with a funky slow blues feel which lasts for around a minute before it changes into a hard rock riff with harmonica. Then it reverts back again. Jesus Just left Chicago begins with a straight blues riff which is maintained throughout the track, but is cranked up a notch by the power of the rhythm section and, at the mid-point, by the freneticism of Billy Gibbons' guitar soloing. The band's best known track before the synth-augmented material of the eighties, was Beerdrinkers and Hellraisers with its no-messing boogie and dual lead vocals. It always surprised me that the two voices were not separated by the stereo channels and the remaster has done nothing to disavow me of this. Gibbons plays a great guitar solo, adds an even better one and closes with another.

Master of Sparks has one of the best intros you will ever hear, alternating between bass and drum phrases, until the guitar appears. Dusty Hill then plays short bursts of notes as if his bass was a lead instrument. There is a strange sound at 2;07, which for years I thought was a glitch on my vinyl. Despite the lightness of the playing, the track has a grinding fuzzy feel and could be a prototype for the sludge bands thirty years on. In the latter part of the track, the dominant bass reappears and Hill adds another solid solo. According to an interview with Gibbons in the Sounds music paper, it is about fastening a man into a spherical steel cage on the back of a truck and kicking it out when the vehicle achieves 60mph. If he lives, he is granted the title Master of Sparks.

The only slow track on Tres Hombres is Hot, Blue and Righteous, which closed the first side of the vinyl. On CD, it is immediately followed by the fast rock 'n' roll of Move Me On Down the Line. For my money, Precious and Grace is ZZ Top's best ever track, as it encompasses everything that makes Tres Hombres a fantastic album. It has a funky bluesy opening for about a minute, with Gibbon's growling vocals, before a time signature change with Hill's heavy bass and slide guitar. This is one of the most memorable guitar solos ever; not for the speed, although it is fast, but for sheer feel and Gibbon's ability to blend with his rhythm section. At one point it sounds as if he is playing the strings between the bridge and saddle of his Fender Stratocaster.

Almost as good as the preceding track is the toe-tapping La Grange, referring to the Chicken Shack, a brothel outside La Grange, Texas, 'They gotta lotta nice girls.' It begins with slow blues guitar chords, drum sticks on the rim of the tom tom and Hooker-type vocals, before being joined by the bass and developing into a full-on boogie. Gibbons uses his voice as almost as an instrument with his little 'how-how's and his guitar playing is amazing as always. Sheik completes a trio of titanic blues-rock tracks, with its swirling wah-wah guitar, heavy bass and maracas. The nonsensical lyrics demonstrate the band's sense of humour, 'I met a sheik from Mozambique who led me to the Congo. He dreamed to go to Mexico and sample a burrito.'

Have You Heard is fairly generic blues, with harmonies from Gibbons and Hill, but is rescued by the slide guitar. The song closed side two of the vinyl, but the 2006 remaster has three live tracks as bonuses: Waitin' for the Bus, Jesus Just Left Chicago and La Grange. All are heavy, the bass guitar is high in the mix and the guitar playing, especially on La Grange, nearly took the paint off my door.

At first glance, the album cover design is simple with a dark green background and three separate photographs of each member of ZZ Top. However, each picture is very atmospheric, as is Tres Hombres. I have never been to Texas, but every time I play this album I can feel the glare of the sun, taste the desert grit and smell refried beans. It may all be cliche, but I can dream.

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Unknown Soldier

Great review here as I love that album and good to see that you're back with us

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Thanks, US. I hope to be posting regularly here again soon.

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Trollheart

Yeah I echo that sentiment! I thought you were gone for good, glad to see I was wrong.

Mind you, I thought I was gone for good too. Glad to see I was wrong about that...

Great review, great album and as usual you make it come alive in a way few others can. Welcome back man and don't be shy about posting more stuff. We need writing of this calibre here in Journaltown.

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Big Ears

Thanks, TH, that is high praise indeed. Like you, I had a break from forums for a while and I am a bit busy at the moment, but I am hoping to have a few things on the way.

Music Banter is a bit like Yes. They had their moments without Jon Anderson, but they were better with him. Same with MB. It had its moments without Trollheart, but . . .

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