That's very like the trajectory of Nobody's Perfect. Excellent fragmented intro and first verse with really nice minor-sounding build and a sort of ominous, slightly tense feel - then bursts into a bright sunny playschool swingy-armed chorus, and all the air goes out of the song.
Gah! That's even worse. Don't know why they shied away from building on the good bit. You start thinking "ooh this might have teeth!" and the dentures fall out. It's like a switch and bait.
The cynical side of me has always wondered if some of the things the band points to as representing changes to their approach to writing songs (e.g. showing up with no material written and counting on good stuff flowing from jamming in the studio; the use of drum machines to lay down basic beats) was more the product of the band members being stretched thin creatively by their various solo projects than it was an artistic commitment to adopting new creative strategies.
Display MoreIn the Genesis Forum Italia, I found this post from 2009, by a good Genesis expert:
"They entered (Genesis) in the studio without an idea, without traces without enthusiasm but full of arrogance: We are the Genesis, something will come out.
The few ideas materialize in no more than three pieces; the rest is a bunch of sessions thrown away in some way where more was lost time than anything else".
True or false?
I agree with a lot of this actually 
I was a casual fan of 16 when Abacab came out, but saw that tour at the NEC. And by the time Genesis came out, I had every album and was a full on obsessive.
I really tried to like the album when it came out. I saw the tour of course, which was great.
For me, if we ignore FGTR, it is comfortably their weakest album. For me it has 3 excellent tracks, and I'm sure you can guess which I'm referring to.
The rest, I never have any desire to listen to, which is pretty unprecedented for any other Genesis album.
Side 2 is so underdeveloped I do wonder what they were thinking at the time. I think I'm right in saying there wasn't a lot (if any) of unused material which went onto B-sides etc, which makes total sense.
It seems to support the idea they were either feeling uninspired, lazy, complacent, I don't know. It's like they totally abandoned the concept of quality control.
I appreciate that for a lot of people this was their gateway into the band, and that's great. But it does absolutely nothing for me, other than Mama, HBTS/SHBTS.
I was so relieved when IT came out, as I felt it was a much better album, and still do.
I was so relieved when IT came out, as I felt it was a much better album, and still do.
Very agree! 
Funny. A lot of what seems to bother all you guys about the Genesis album is what bothers me about IT. A trio album when all three of them had their hearts wrapped around their solo albums, trying to find a compromise between their diverging ideas, ending up with something that was less than the sum of its parts, produced to be a commercial killer.
IT is more convincing both melodies and lyrics, but the sound is inferior to Genesis '83. 
Display MoreI agree with a lot of this actually
I was a casual fan of 16 when Abacab came out, but saw that tour at the NEC. And by the time Genesis came out, I had every album and was a full on obsessive.
I really tried to like the album when it came out. I saw the tour of course, which was great.
For me, if we ignore FGTR, it is comfortably their weakest album. For me it has 3 excellent tracks, and I'm sure you can guess which I'm referring to.
The rest, I never have any desire to listen to, which is pretty unprecedented for any other Genesis album.
Side 2 is so underdeveloped I do wonder what they were thinking at the time. I think I'm right in saying there wasn't a lot (if any) of unused material which went onto B-sides etc, which makes total sense.
It seems to support the idea they were either feeling uninspired, lazy, complacent, I don't know. It's like they totally abandoned the concept of quality control.
I appreciate that for a lot of people this was their gateway into the band, and that's great. But it does absolutely nothing for me, other than Mama, HBTS/SHBTS.
I was so relieved when IT came out, as I felt it was a much better album, and still do.
In many ways I agree. Side 1 is really strong. As said earlier I still like side 2 and find it all quite listenable but I have agree that the songs not do match up. Having said that I think they are stronger than most on Abacab. That album has Abacab, MASJ and D/L as really top c class Genesis songs, and all of side 2 Genesis beats the the rest.
In many ways I agree. Side 1 is really strong. As said earlier I still like side 2 and find it all quite listenable but I have agree that the songs not do match up. Having said that I think they are stronger than most on Abacab. That album has Abacab, MASJ and D/L as really top c class Genesis songs, and all of side 2 Genesis beats the the rest.
Always so interesting how fans views differ - I find all of Abacab side 1 very strong. NRAA and KID are among my favourite songs, in very different ways. After D/L things tail off a bit, but for me, no way do Job and Taking beat them, not even close. But I'm a big fan of Silver and It's Gonna.
Yes, always interesting how opinions can vary widely! I much prefer Genesis to IT. "Just a Job To Do" and "It's Gonna Get Better" remain two of my favorite Genesis tracks from the 80s. "Illegal Alien" was corny fun at the time but obviously hasn't aged well. "Silver Rainbow" is a good song, but for some reason it didn't grab my attention back in '83 when I had this cassette in frequent rotation.
I don't dislike "Invisible Touch"; I was quite enthusiastic about the then-new Genesis songs at first, but about six months after its debut the US airwaves were so oversaturated with IT tracks that I grew tired of it. It didn't help that "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was picked up for beer ads... felt like a sell-out (Selling the US by the Dollar?) 
Very agree!
I'm afraid I don't agree. Side One of the self-titled album was very good. Side Two had its moments, principally It's Gonna Get Better and Silver Rainbow (albeit SR could have been improved with a stronger ending). With IT, the title track may be the single worse song the band ever wrote and recorded (and yes, I'm including WhoDunnit), and even the relatively good songs on the IT album (Domino; The Brazilian; TTT) all suffered from gooey 1980s slickness and an overreliance on electric drums.
I'm afraid I don't agree. Side One of the self-titled album was very good. Side Two had its moments, principally It's Gonna Get Better and Silver Rainbow (albeit SR could have been improved with a stronger ending). With IT, the title track may be the single worse song the band ever wrote and recorded (and yes, I'm including WhoDunnit), and even the relatively good songs on the IT album (Domino; The Brazilian; TTT) all suffered from gooey 1980s slickness and an overreliance on electric drums.
I understand, because in Italy Genesis' fans don't like IT. 
I understand, because in Italy Genesis' fans don't like IT.
Parla per te.
Fare parte di un forum sui Genesis (peraltro tenuto in vita artificialmente) dove si è iscritto lo 00000000000000000000000000000000,1 % del popolo Italiano non significa arrogarsi il diritto di parlare addirittura a nome di una nazione intera........
I understand, because in Italy Genesis' fans don't like IT.
Not to be particularly antagonistic here, but I bet lots of Italian Genesis fans do like IT.
Personally I prefer Genesis, both sides. I find the first side mind blowing in just how strong it is. I find the second half to be endlessly interesting, like the real back alleys of the band's music. I took a while to warm to it, but just like with Abacab, you can almost discover something new each time you listen. I even like Taking It All Too Hard, largely because of Phil's vocal performance, but also because it has a wistful vibe that's somehow in harmony with It's Gonna Get Better (which is much, much better) and in stark contrast to Just A Job To Do.
I dunno, I feel like as halves go, it's up there for the band purely exploring new corners.
Parla per te.
Fare parte di un forum sui Genesis (peraltro tenuto in vita artificialmente) dove si è iscritto lo 00000000000000000000000000000000,1 % del popolo Italiano non significa arrogarsi il diritto di parlare addirittura a nome di una nazione intera........
Se leggi i miei post su quel Forum, vedrai che parlo sempre bene di IT.
Ciao, Orlando.
If You ready my post in that Forum, you'll see that I write only the best for IT.
Hi, Orlando.
I agree there are aspects of "will this do?" in some ways, yes especially the lack of additional recordings. A couple of the side 2 tracks sound like they would have been b-sides in other circumstances.
i read somewhere that phil suggested to include siver rainbow in the 1976-1991 archive, because he thought it was a single b-side, he didn't remember that it was eventually included in the 'genesis' self-titled album. i don't blame him, because silver rainbow is a song that didn't see the light of day since 'genesis' came out. it wasn't released as a single, it was never played live as far as i'm aware, it's hidden in the second side of the album...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_It_All_Too_Hard
I found this in Wikipedia and seems that Silver Rainbow is side-B.
'genesis' was probably a rushed album, it makes sense given the point where the band and their individual members were at that time. but even so, it includes three genesis classics: mama, that's all and home by the sea. this proves how talented this band was.
.....it includes three genesis classics: mama, that's all and home by the sea.
I hesitate to re-tread the 'classics' debate going on in parallel elsewhere in the Forum but I do cringe at That's All being considered as worthy of the description. More of an average country music pastiche than anything else, in my view.
I hesitate to re-tread the 'classics' debate going on in parallel elsewhere in the Forum but I do cringe at That's All being considered as worthy of the description. More of an average country music pastiche than anything else, in my view.
Go to concur on That's All. For me, it's ok at best. Apparently it was a big hit in the US, which might explain it's constant appearance in setlists since.
