Re-arrange Genesis albums

Quote from Backdrifter

It makes absolute sense; it's about the male orgasm and being lost in the ecstacy of it.

Admittedly the first verse renders that a bit odd as it suggests ejaculating in the street but there's a bit of creative licence - the narrator is already anticipating that moment.

The glorious hook of the chorus, one of Banks's best, depicts the magic moment.

Aside from the unimaginative fade-out it's a terrific song. They should've been bold and had a post-orgasmic come-down ending.

I gather it's largely a Banks composition and certainly his lyric, and I had to have it pointed out to me by someone here that he is very prominent in the chorus with his vocal line "Beyond the silver rainbow you won't know..."

No definitely not an album closer. Maybe a side opener or a track 2. It would've been an interesting gig opener if they'd ever bothered to do it live.

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Excellent description of something that could have been awkward to describe! Not sure if that was me regarding the verse (probably not), but I can definitely hear his vocal as he is doing what we used to call "seconds" in school, and it's high in the mix, surely the most prominent he's been on a Genesis track. Being around the time of The Fugitive, he was clearly willing to wade in vocally. That said, although I don't have a source to hand, I'm pretty sure Phil tried to get Tony to sing the main vocal on the album, and Mike to sing Just a Job To Do, but they didn't go for it.

Would have made what is already one of the stranger album sides in Genesis' ouevre even more odd!

Would love if they had tried it out live.

Quote from foxtwin

Agreed and agreed. The song just doesn't make much sense, but it's what I love about it

I read (many years ago) that the term "silver rainbow" was Tonyspeak for a zipper. If so, it makes sense.

Quote from Backdrifter

I suppose it does but I always assumed it was an elegant description of the physical result of a male orgasm.

The lyrics are very clear about that for sure.

Quote from Christian

My Invisible Touch playlist is:

Do The Neurotic

Land Of Confusion

Tonight Tonight Tonight

Throwing It All Away

Feeding The Fire

Domino

Anything She Does

The Brazilian

problem is: I have lost the album title

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You have inspired me to make my own version of Invisible Touch. However mine is an extended CD version that also utilizes live recordings and covers to present these songs in what I consider to be the best possible light:

1. Land Of Confusion

2. In Too Deep (Martin Levac trio - A Visible Jazz Touch of Genesis vol 3)

3. Do The Neurotic (outtake)

4. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (single version)

5. Invisible Touch (The Way We Walk: the shorts)

6. Feeding the Fire (outtake)

7. Anything She Does

8. Domino (Wembly 1987)

9. I’d Rather Be You (outtake)

10. Throwing It All Away (Wembly 1987)

11. The Brazilian (Wembly 1987)

Mike Rutherford has mentioned that despite “Invisible Touch” being their poppiest album that their live show remained more evenly distributed between long and short songs. Thus I tried to make this CD resemble the flow of their live show. Think of this as Genesis’s take of Bruce Springsteen’s “The River” (a double album meant to use new compositions to capture the energy of his live performances). I open with the studio version of “Land Of Confusion” and follow it up with the Martin Levac Trio’s cover of “In Too Deep”. For a long time I hated “In Too Deep” which I viewed as overly corny. This changed a few years ago when I saw Daryl Stuermer perform a spellbinding rendition of the song with an orchestra. Unfortunately I don’t think he ever recorded it. Luckily, IMO Martin Levac’s low key Jazz arrangement of In Too Deep is the song’s definitive version AND Levac sounds just like Phil! No more covers going forward, I promise. I follow this up with “In Too Deep’s” B-side (in the UK that is) “Do The Neurotic” which reminds listeners that Genesis could still write a kickass prog instrumental. Now, I have a feeling this is a real unpopular opinion in these parts but I prefer the single version of “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”. The instrumental parts of TTT are too jammy and just don’t move me. Next is the live version of “Invisible Touch” from “The Way We Walk: the shorts”. Here’s something odd I can’t fully explain: I hate the original version of “Invisible Touch” but I love this live version of the track largely because it’s in a lower key. Usually when Genesis lowers a song’s key live it hurts the track but here I think it improves it. The original version just sounded too obnoxious and in-your-face to me (which is also due to the song’s production but I do think the higher key contributes.) I would be interested if anyone here who knows music better than me could weigh in on if changing a song’s key can radially change a song and/or justify why I feel this way about IT. For the rest of the tracks I just tried to create a good flow. Additionally any song that was performed at the 1987 Wembly gig uses that live version. Domino in particular was just spectacular that night!

Quote from Snowbound

I follow this up with “In Too Deep’s” B-side (in the UK that is) “Do The Neurotic” which reminds listeners that Genesis could still write a kickass prog instrumental.

Why the outtake version, what is the difference between it and the original, and is it on an official release? Thanks.

The only ones I'd dare to tamper with are Nursery Cryme, I'd inject Twilight Alehouse in there, and Wind & Wuthering, switch Inside And Out with All In A Mouse's Night.

The tracklists would be:

NURSERY CRYME

The Musical Box

Harold The Barrel

For Absent Friends

Twilight Alehouse

Return Of The Giant Hogweed

Harlequin

Seven Stones

The Fountain Of Salmacis

WIND & WUTHERING

Eleventh Earl Of Mar

One For The Vine

Wot Gorilla?

Blood On The Rooftops

Your Own Special Way

Inside And Out

"Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers... In That Quiet Earth"

Afterglow

Spot The Pigeon would also work IMO a bit better as it would be entirely lighthearted songs.

Abacab Side One:

Abacab

Keep it Dark

No Reply at All

Like it or Not

You Might Recall

Abacab Side Two:

Me and Sarah Jane/Man on the Corner (linked by drum machine).

Naminanu

Dodo/Lurker

Submarine fade into Another Record

Quote from Liquid Len

All in a Mouse’s Night is great. Take off Wot Gorilla? instead.

The sides of the LP would be more even and Phil needs to have something on the album too! 😅

AND, a six minute song would even the EP as well.

Quote from Backdrifter

Although, being Nancy Nitpicky, I must point out this doesn't strictly work as Alehouse was from the Foxtrot sessions. But your track sequence would work nicely leaving aside the time-travel issue.

I was the opposite - NC was one I'd leave completely untampered.

True, but the song itself was older. Trespass outtake?

on the album 'abacab', i would only replace the last two tracks -like it or not and another record- probably with you might recall and paperlate.

who dunnit doesn't bother me too much, i take it as a humorous song. but i find like it or not dull, and another record is just unlistenable for me.

I do this all the time...have the following saved under an Album Edit playlist (loser that I am)...

My Genesis - Genesis would be thus;

Side one as is (pretty flawless)

Side two

lose Just A Job To Do (save as non-album b-side to Mama)

replace It's Gonna Get Better with 6:30 version

Perfect 8 track LP

For Invisible Touch add the 3 b sides and make it a double.

Or as 8-track but start with Land of Confusion but with live arrangement where it doesn't go into vocal straight away. Then Invisible Touch, In Too Deep and end the side with Tonight x 3

We Can't Dance

No Son Of Mine

I Can't Dance

Never A Time

Driving The Last Spike

Living Forever

On The Shoreline

Way Of The World

Fading Lights

Luvverly

For Invisible Touch (admittedly my least favorite Genesis album):

Side One:

Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

Invisible Touch

Land of Confusion

The Brazilian

Side Two:

Feeding the Fire

Domino I & II

Throwing It All Away

Do the Neurotic

To me, each album between 1970 and 1980 is perfect, I never had the idea of rearranging them. I like every song, really.

From Abacab onwards, well...

Abacab

No Reply At All, Keep It Dark, Who Dunnit, Another Record > B sides of Abacab (single), You Might Recall, Man On The Corner, Like It Or Not.

Setlist :

Invisible Touch

In Too Deep, Anything She Does, Throwing it All Away > B sides of Invisible Touch, Land of Confusion, Tonight
In this configuration, the album would probably have been less successful (because less singles > less radio playing).

Setlist :

invisible touch -the song- is disliked by some genesis fans. i'm not one of them, for sure. but i think the perception of this song would be different if it:

- had been placed somewhere else on the album, not as the opening track.

- hadn't been chosen as the first single.

- the album hadn't been called after invisible touch.