Top 10 Genesis tracks

    Why not join me in counting down our top 10 Genesis tracks (1 track per week to give occasional visitors to the site time to respond and everyone else time to replay and reshuffle the order of their old favourites) I’ll tally up the results after we finish. You can say as much or as little about the tracks as you like: no pressure!

    So for the next 7 days, please respond with NUMBER 10 only.

    As for mine, I’ve had a lot of trouble finalising this top 10 and in the process of shuffling tracks up and down, quickly realised that within the list were sub-categories which just happen to coincide with the medals awarded at Chelsea (Bronze, Silver, Silver-Gilt & Gold). So without further ado, I’ll start my countdown


    10. Undertow (Bronze)

    It is often said that Genesis are dead and that all you can read on their tombstone is ‘And Then There Were Three.’

    I disagree, although I would add to the album title the epithet: ‘Anyone out there play guitar?’ Having said that, there are some well crafted, if admittedly shorter, songs here of which Undertow with its anthemic chorus stands proud. Scatter the tracks across a playlist and it’s easier to tolerate that wall of synthesiser sound that plugged the gaps created by Hackett’s departure and Mike’s apprenticeship as lead guitarist (sorry, Mike, but by your own admission you struggled and only just managed to pull it off)

    So: yes, a departure from the epics of yesteryear and musically much less complex but rousing atmospheric stuff nonetheless - and to those who blame this on Collins: change the frickin’ record: his writing credits were few on this album and remember that nothing ... but nothing.. gets done in Genesis without a nod from Banks!

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~

    Like 2

    Anyone out there prepared to go through the pain of picking their favourite child? Yup, it’s a tough one but it’ll deepen your love for those that get chosen 😍

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~

    I like the idea of seeing people's top 10s and could pretty well name mine right now but I'm not so hot on the idea of stringing it out across more than 2 months or categorizing them. Those things are inhibiting me from joining in, maybe it's stopping other people too? I don't know.

    Abandon all reason

    I’m terrible at ranking stuff but Ill give it my best shot.


    10. Hold On My Heart

    Not a lot to say other than I really love this song. I get a feeling of nostalgia hearing this one. Mike’s guitar line with Phil’s vocal during the bridge gets me every time.

    Very difficult list to compile. Can we do top 20 instead?? Lol, that would take ages if we only post one a week. Can we ned the rules and post one a day?


    In any case, I'll kick off with my number 10 choice:


    Down & Out

    Quote from Blacksword

    Very difficult list to compile. Can we do top 20 instead?? Lol, that would take ages if we only post one a week. Can we ned the rules and post one a day?


    In any case, I'll kick off with my number 10 choice:


    Down & Out

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~

    i agree it is a challenge keeping the list to 10 but this will simply encourage us all to re-listen to the tracks in order to ensure nothing important gets left out. I’m allowing a week per track so as to garner sufficient responses which I plan to collate at the end into some sort of graph. I’d also like to encourage people to wax lyrically about why they’ve chosen what they have and that in itself can take time to draft. Hope you stay the course Blacksword

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~

    Quote from Backdrifter

    I like the idea of seeing people's top 10s and could pretty well name mine right now but I'm not so hot on the idea of stringing it out across more than 2 months or categorizing them. Those things are inhibiting me from joining in, maybe it's stopping other people too? I don't know.

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~

    I’m allowing a week per track so as to garner sufficient responses which I plan to collate at the end into some sort of graph. I’d also like to encourage people to wax lyrically about why they’ve chosen what they have and promote debate as to the merits of each track.. Hope you’ll get involved

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~

    There are too many to list. My favourites seem to change every week. However at the moment I will say my Number 10 is Jesus He Knows Me. I can't give reasons. The lyrics are brilliant & it rocks. Sorry I can't be more specific. 8)

    Quote from IndieBrindie

    i agree it is a challenge keeping the list to 10 but this will simply encourage us all to re-listen to the tracks in order to ensure nothing important gets left out. I’m allowing a week per track so as to garner sufficient responses which I plan to collate at the end into some sort of graph. I’d also like to encourage people to wax lyrically about why they’ve chosen what they have and that in itself can take time to draft. Hope you stay the course Blacksword

    I'll do my best to stay with it :)


    Down & Out was one of handful of tracks that really confirmed me as a Genesis fan. After hearing Dance on a Volcano on the radio, I started saving to buy an album but in the meantime I thought I'd loan a cassette from the local libray, and that cassette was 'And then there were three' Down & Out remains one of my favourite alnum openers of all time. That deep base, and stomping 5/4 beat set against those strong Genesis melodies make it a great package. It's very representative of where the band were at the time. It's prog rock, but also very listenable and accessable.


    Contraversially (?) ATTWT also remains in my top 5 Genesis albums, partly for sentimental reasons.

    ATTW3 does appear to divide a lot of fans. I happen to love it but it was released during my teenage years so there’s sentiment there for me too 😀

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~

    Quote from FeelItComing

    There are too many to list. My favourites seem to change every week. However at the moment I will say my Number 10 is Jesus He Knows Me. I can't give reasons. The lyrics are brilliant & it rocks. Sorry I can't be more specific. 8)

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~

    You can say as much or as little as you like about your choices: no pressure! Sometimes a gut, emotional reaction is worth far more than words. My top 10 are also constantly shifting too, but I like that. It makes me re-play the tracks as I struggle to decide which I prefer. 😀

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~

    Quote from Blacksword

    Down & Out was one of handful of tracks that really confirmed me as a Genesis fan. After hearing Dance on a Volcano on the radio, I started saving to buy an album but in the meantime I thought I'd loan a cassette from the local libray, and that cassette was 'And then there were three' Down & Out remains one of my favourite alnum openers of all time. That deep base, and stomping 5/4 beat set against those strong Genesis melodies make it a great package. It's very representative of where the band were at the time. It's prog rock, but also very listenable and accessable.


    Contraversially (?) ATTWT also remains in my top 5 Genesis albums, partly for sentimental reasons.

    D&O is in my top 10 for definite, but Indiebrindie don't count it as one of your 'number 10s' in your survey as I don't have my 10 listed in order.


    I too like the driving rhythm and the insistent bass with all those slightly off-kilter guitar and keyboard lines over it, and the overall somewhat ominous feel to the track.


    As to the rest of the album... I was also a teenager at the time and really anticipating the album's release, given Hackett's recent departure. But I don't retain the sentimental regard for it expressed in the above posts. Down & Out is for me one of the most prime examples of a superb and exciting opening track giving way mainly to disappointment and illustrating that frustrating thing with some albums, that the rest of it never lives up to the opener. Even back then, the fluffy tweeness of Scenes and Snowbound was a huge turn-off and I still cringe at them now; in my mind, Scenes might just be the single worst track they ever did. Ballad of Big isn't much better despite the exultant keyboard line that features during the song and in the fade-out. Joe is kind of just about not too bad, but it has negative associations from the two gigs I went to on the Duke tour, where PC dragged it out with infuriating long pauses and the coda was elongated to enable him to do an interminably drawn-out 'drunk' routine (though of course that's not the album version's 'fault'!). I know The Lady Lies is a favourite with some fans but sometimes I just didn't get along with Banks's fairytale storytelling and this is an example. I also occasionally tired of his ponderous philosophising and that was a big mark against Burning Rope along with its rather overblown quality. I also never liked the very tinny trebly top-end sound of the album. It was at least beefed up a bit in the 07 remasters.


    Apart from D&O, another huge favourite is Many Too Many. It's the antithesis of Rope, simple and unfussy but a zillion times better and more affecting. That might be in my top 10 as well. Undertow and FYFM are good. Even though I don't tend to ever listen to it, I have an affection for Motherlode for its being the opening track of my first ever Genesis gig, something I'll never forget.

    Abandon all reason

    Like 1

    I feel the same regarding Scenes, Snowbound and Ballard of Big, but Motherode, Burning Rope, Undertow are all favourites. I also agree the sound of the album was greatly improved through the re-masters. Far more punch! For me, it's an album which meant a lot to me at the time because of what was going on in my life and I love it for that reason, but I understand why it polarises opinion. I hadn't heard any earlier albums at that point, and it is a step down from Wind & Wuthering, although W&W could have been imporved with the omission of Wot Gorrila and Your own Special Way.

    Quote from Blacksword

    I feel the same regarding Scenes, Snowbound and Ballard of Big, but Motherode, Burning Rope, Undertow are all favourites. I also agree the sound of the album was greatly improved through the re-masters. Far more punch! For me, it's an album which meant a lot to me at the time because of what was going on in my life and I love it for that reason, but I understand why it polarises opinion. I hadn't heard any earlier albums at that point, and it is a step down from Wind & Wuthering, although W&W could have been imporved with the omission of Wot Gorrila and Your own Special Way.

    And equally, while it's far from a favourite of mine I do get why it has a certain appeal for many. Though I genuinely struggle to see what redeeming features Scenes and Snowbound have - maybe less so with Big, as the anthemic keyboard line is kind of nice, but the rest of that track has a feel of "ah, this'll do." Overall though, while it's not for me I do get your reasons for having some affection for it - the albums and tunes you hear in those formative years stay with you.


    As for W&W, I agree about omitting the two tracks you mentioned, but sadly I'd want to also leave out pretty much everything else bar about 4 tracks! As a fairly new Genesis fan at the time, I liked discovering everything then. But over the years, I've come to lose interest in the 4-man era and ATTWT. While there are 3 or 4 solid classics from that era, those albums now leave me cold. From Duke, my interest was revived.

    Abandon all reason

    Quote from Backdrifter

    And equally, while it's far from a favourite of mine I do get why it has a certain appeal for many. Though I genuinely struggle to see what redeeming features Scenes and Snowbound have - maybe less so with Big, as the anthemic keyboard line is kind of nice, but the rest of that track has a feel of "ah, this'll do." Overall though, while it's not for me I do get your reasons for having some affection for it - the albums and tunes you hear in those formative years stay with you.


    As for W&W, I agree about omitting the two tracks you mentioned, but sadly I'd want to also leave out pretty much everything else bar about 4 tracks! As a fairly new Genesis fan at the time, I liked discovering everything then. But over the years, I've come to lose interest in the 4-man era and ATTWT. While there are 3 or 4 solid classics from that era, those albums now leave me cold. From Duke, my interest was revived.

    I think the four man band was their best period. The Gabriel albums are absolute classics of course, and I think they recorded less 'filler' in those years, but Trick and W&W were their best performed and produced albums and the accompanying live performances were mindblowing (Seconds Out). Duke also had some incredible highs, but, for me, some unforgivable lows (Misunderstanding & Please Don't ask) The latter should have been left for a Collins solo album. After Duke, it all went a bit pop for me, although they could still pull some gems out of the bag; Mama, Domino, Fading Lights spring to mind.