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While on the subject of Genesis solo careers. Steve Hackett (the quiet one) has some great stuff too.
So does Anthony Phillips, who of course was the original Genesis guitarist before Hackett replaced him, pretty underrated.
Yeah that's Phil singing.
It's a shame people (even Genesis fans) forget about this guy, he wasn't inducted with the rest of the band for this year's R&R HOF but he should have been. Even though he only played on the first two albums he played an important role in developing the Genesis sound.
Foxtrot, following up on my choice for Meddle in the Pink Floyd thread (Good set of songs on the first side, defining moment on the second), although I do have to say that while it could have been all about "Supper's Ready," - the first section being very beautiful and the last part very effective with complete cleverness in between - Peter's Fox in a Dress costume for the tour is clearly the perfect topping of the era.
Selling England by the Pound comes in for a very close Second...or even a tie.
Nursery Crime is Third while The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is forth.
But enough about Peter...for now.
Time for a little respect for the Collins era even beyond A Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering which were fine albums, but in a way lacking in something special even if there was great playing through it all. As I state, just a little, but that goes quite a long way thanks to the quality of the early 80's music that had it's own style and innovation. I'm certainly no fan of ...And Then There Were Three and it's crap overplayed hit, though, but his Drumming is killer and there were certainly some good moments with a few Early 80's albums which certainly did not kill Prog (It had a small group of bands reviving it by then...one band called Marillion) and proved that there was a band finally finding it's own voice again, and while it went Pop, it was for a while very good Pop.
Favorite Collins era album - Abacab. Damn, with Face Value, the best ever Collins solo album, '81/2 were his best post-Gabriel years (and yes I can add in his production for Frida too as the Drum Stomp on 1983's "Something's Going On" still kicks). "No Reply At All" is a crowning Pop moment for the Early 80's Genesis (thanks especially to Earth Wind and Fire's solid Horn Section), "Dodo/Lurker" was it's Epic work with Tony contributing some excellent Keyboard work, the title track being sharp, and "Keep It Dark" winding up Side One on a fine note. After Dodo, things went South ("Who Dunnit?" anyone?), but everything up to and including Side Two's opener seriously deserves another hearing.
"Mama" is also another solid moment. After that...well...let's just say that I would like to say the records after 1983 are not worth mentioning, but "Mama" and it's killer Demonic laugh are a worthy way to end the better part of their Pop years. Thankfully the Post-Phil Calling All Stations is almost forgotten enough for me to skip it, but Invisible Touch still is certainly the pain giver with it's MOR Standards, and although "Land of Confusion" has a nice video, the song remains one of those annoying tracks that make you scream "We get the point already!" at the radio. Still there's fine 80-83 tracks like "Paperlate," "Turn It On Again" and Phil's "Thru These Walls" to forget about the crap and whatever Phil Collins did after his second solo which went into over-played MOR Territory.
OK, back to the wonders of the Gabriel years!
I'm also a big fan of Steve Hackett's playing. I still have to get some of his solo work, but no matter what, he is a great Guitarist.
I think all the albums from Trespass up until Genesis are worth getting. Invisible Touch is the first real clunker, not including the uninspired debut.
That being said I do like Land of Confusion, I think it's the only good song on Invisible Touch and the last good song the band ever did, yeah the lyrics are preachy and obvious but the melody and hooks are great. And the video was awesome.
Genesis (Shapes) has That's All which I still consider the finest song of the Phil era, and Mama is great too. HA HA HEH. The only sh*tbomb on that album is Illegal Alien. At least that song is amusing in it's awfulness though.
Abacab is pretty underrated too. Who Dunnit? is absolutely terrible but everything else works. Progarchives has that album rated lower than Calling All Stations and that's just insulting.
Duke is awesome, it's the best Hackettless album and has some of Phil's best drum work too.
...And Then There Were Three is a perfectly fine album as well, even without Gabriel and Hackett there's still traces of the Genesis of old, though I'm glad they reinvented themselves with Duke, this is a career crossroads album, but a good one. Gabriel and Hackett are great but they went on to do great solo material so I don't really think their departure was a bad thing, being in Genesis would have just held them back, and personally I felt Banks and Rutherford were always the true core of the band, they were the main songwriters after all.
I'm not that big of a Genesis fan, but I do love Selling England by the Pound, Foxtrot and Live. But then again, I've never really listened to Live very thoroughly. I fall asleep to it at night. >_>
For those getting into Genesis but don't know where to start, well their catalog is so diverse so I'll give a little description of each album and newbies can decide which one sounds most like their cup of tea.
From Genesis To Revelation: No prog yet, just psychedelic pop, but not very good psychedelic pop imo, it's pretty generic and lifeless. But it's an interested history lession.
Trespass: Phil and Steve haven't joined yet but this is where Genesis found a sound of their own. This already sounds like Genesis, though there's more of a "classical" feel here than on their later works. It's very mellow mostly though The Knife is a very intense song which ends the album with a bang. The composition and musicianship isn't as tight as their later work would prove to be but it's a great start and the "true" debut of the band. If you want to check out Genesis albums in chronological order by starting with the good stuff, start here.
Nursery Cryme: Steve and Phil join the band and now the classic lineup is here. Now the band is really learning how to craft great hooks to go with their musicianship. The first truly great Genesis album, here they expand their horizons further. Highlights are the victorian fairy tale The Musical Box, the heavy sci fi epic of Return of the Giant Hogweed and the breezy mellotron layered Fountain of Salmacis.
Foxtrot: Has a similar feel to NC but it's even better. The fairy tale and mythology themes are still all over the album, though it has more "rock" to it than NC did. It's most famous track is the 23 minute apocolyptic epic Supper's Ready. But Watcher of the Skies is my favorite.
Selling England by the Pound: Still in the traditional Genesis prog style but this is where they absolutely perfected it. It's also the first to feature a lot of synthesizers which would become another Genesis trademark. There's everything in here, rousing medieval epics, quirky pop, acoustic ballads, piano solos, surreal humor, witty wordplay, lengthy synthesizer solos. It's pure Genesis. IMO The Cinema Show is the best song the band ever did. First half is a beautiful ballad about Romeo and Juliet with lovely 12 string guitar work and a very renassiance vibe, but it takes a twist ending in an awesome 5 minute (yes 5 minute) synthesizer solo, and the best synthesizer solo EVER.
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway: The last Gabriel era Genesis album and they really ended this era with a bang. Some call it the most excessive Genesis album and maybe so but its still one of their finest. It certainly stands out from all the rest, the songs are heavier and weirder than ever and it has a very dark and nightmare-ish atmosphere coupled with some of the most surreal lyrical imagery ever (mostly inspired by Peter's dreams) put on vinyl, there's a lot of ambience here and maybe that's no coincidence because Brian Eno played a role here. The story doesn't have to make a lot of sense, it's just awesome.
Trick of the Tail: The first Phil album and you know what? It still sounds like prime Genesis. This is a great album and no Phil era album has ever surpassed it. The classic progressive Genesis sound is still intact and Phil still sounds more like Peter than Phil. But the pop is creeping in slowly.
Wind & Wuthering: The last Genesis album to feature Steve. I think one reason he left is because he still didn't get to contribute as much as other members of the band, shame because he contributed some lovely guitar work here. This record has a very dreamy feel to it, driven by Steve's acoustic guitar and Bank's synthesizers. Very underrated and the last record where the prog dominates.
...And Then There Were Three: The first featuring only the trio as we know them. Now they are poppier then ever, though Banks is still using his trusty old hammond and mellotron so there's still a little classic Genesis left, though now that Ruthorford has assumed guitar duties he provides a more slick arena rock guitar sound then Hackett. Not a bad record but their pop period would prove to get better over time.
Duke: Now we're talking, this is a very underrated album. It's the album where the classic 80s Genesis sound really starts to surface. Though mixed with the pop there is a good dose of prog rock jamming and the musicianship is still very tight, this is the last Genesis album that could be considered prog.
Abacab: And now it's just pop, but pretty good pop nontheless. This album gets a lot of hate from prog fans but I honestly think it's nowhere near as awful as they make it out to be and if you like 80s pop this is not a bad bet at all. Who Dunnit? is one of the worst things they ever did though.
Genesis: The last good Genesis record if you ask me and it's a damn good one. Illegal Alien is a real duffer but this has some of the band's finest pop tunes. Especially Mama and That's All. Silver Rainbow is also a great deep cut.
Invisible Touch: Land of Confusion is great but the rest of this is pretty meh, this is where Genesis hardly sounded like a band at all anymore and instead become indistinguishable from Phil's solo material. Banks and Rutherford have little to do.
We Can't Dance: Or make good albums anymore, all the inspiration is gone and this just sounds like generic 80s pop, but it was made in 1991 lol.
Calling All Stations: Ever wondered what Genesis without Peter, Steve OR Phil would sound like?
Let me just say that this is considered the best song on the album. <_<
I think Trick of the Tale is better than Foxtrot, in my opinion. Foxtrot sounds so bland compared to the first album I heard by them, Selling England by the Pound. I would go to say that Entangled is one of the best songs the band put out. When the mellotron kicks in the sound dives into the sublime.
Foxtrot isn't bland at all and it's probably the most consistant Genesis album for me though Trick isn't far behind in that category. I rate their work like so.
Masterpiece: Selling England > Foxtrot > Lamb > Trick of the Tail > Nursery
Very good: Duke > Wind & Wuthering > Genesis > Trespass > Abacab
Decent but nothing special: ...And Then There Were Three
Mediocre: Invisible Touch > From Genesis To Revelation
Okay, so a friend gave me a mix CD with these Genesis songs on it:
-The Musical Box: ****ed in my pants
-The Return of the Giant Hogweed: Fantastic
-The Fountain of Salmacis: Well damn I just changed my pants and there it goes again...
-Harold the Barrel: Cute, and ridiculously catchy tune
-Supper's Ready, pt 2: I need this whole song badly
-Firth of Fifth: Is that 15/8?! NO. It's 15/8 mixed with 13/8 and 4. My mind was blown.
Basically, I need moar of this. I really need to pick up Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
Okay, so a friend gave me a mix CD with these Genesis songs on it:
-The Musical Box: ****ed in my pants
-The Return of the Giant Hogweed: Fantastic
-The Fountain of Salmacis: Well damn I just changed my pants and there it goes again...
-Harold the Barrel: Cute, and ridiculously catchy tune
-Supper's Ready, pt 2: I need this whole song badly
-Firth of Fifth: Is that 15/8?! NO. It's 15/8 mixed with 13/8 and 4. My mind was blown.
Basically, I need moar of this. I really need to pick up Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
The last two are essental Gabriel era Genesis as is the album Foxtrot.
Linear Mode
