Your favorite GENESIS studio albums (pick three)

Quote from OneForTheVine

Yes! I think there are more than a few here who like the 4-man band version best (myself included). ATOTT (IMHO) always sounded like the more proper sequel to SEBTP than The Lamb did. The Lamb was completely sui generis to my ears - great, but wholly unique in the Genesis catalogue. ATOTT and W&W continued the classic, established "Genesis sound" starting with Trespass all the way up to SEBTP.

I was always amazed that they were able to lose PG and continue and then lose SH and continue - neither of those are easy things to overcome. Heck, even in the early days, losing Ant Phillips made them consider not continuing briefly. They really are one of the most resilient bands ever.

...and I just realized I didn't say what I voted for when I wrote this!

Voting for three over the whole range of the band is really difficult (as many properly have said) - I went with W&W, SEBTP, and Duke.

If I had the freedom in the poll to vote for top three from 1970-1977 and then 1978-1998, that I could do much more easily: in the first group, it would be W&W, SEBTP, and Nursery Cryme (w/ ATOTT virtually tied); in the second group, it would be Duke, Genesis (i.e., the eponymous 1983 album), and Abacab (w/ ATTWT virtually tied).

Tough to do a full-ranging poll with a band who evolved so much...

And Then There Were Three

Duke

A Trick Of The Tail

Quote from Noni

Love these polls percentages... Highest goes on the top!! .....

SEBTP, ATOTT and Foxtrot.. Though I like W&W and all those other early genesis albums!!..........

It's a shame The Genesis to Revalation is last here in these polls I quite like this album.. Just got the album The Silent Sun by Genesis 1969... Though similar to TGTR album, there's some differences.

In fact I rate this No6 out of all the albums listed above The Lambs at No 7.

I do like The Lambs but prefer the others above this album...

Quote from Nienna

And Then There Were Three

Duke

A Trick Of The Tail

Nice choices - all great albums

The Lamb

Abacab

=Duke/Selling England

Quote from Aloy

Calling All Stations

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Abacab

Someone picked CAS!

But I don't see it in the actual voting results...?

Quote from Noni

It's a shame The Genesis to Revalation is last here in these polls I quite like this album.. Just got the album The Silent Sun by Genesis 1969... Though similar to TGTR album, there's some differences.

In fact I rate this No6 out of all the albums listed above The Lambs at No 7.

I do like The Lambs but prefer the others above this album...

Did you know it's recently been re-released as Genesis 50 Years Ago? It's the first repackaging of the album that seems to do more than just re-arrange the track list. There are new stereo mixes and vocal-only tracks on there. For me, it's not sufficient enough to re-evaluate the record as high art (1969 is the year that Miles Davis released In A Silent Way and King Crimson had In The Court Of The Crimson King so, really, Genesis's first record never stood a chance) but it's an interesting listen nonetheless.

Trick

Lamb

Wind

Trick is always my number one. Lamb will always follow right behind it. Wind is usually next although ATTW3 has been giving Wind a run for its money lately.

OK I'm new on here so don't kill me for preferring the Peter Gabriel era. I loved Genesis in the 70s but lost interest when PG left. I really need to get a copy of ATOTT and perhaps WAW to re asses.

Foxtrot

Selling England by the Pound

Nursery Cryme

While the order might vary regarding the others, the first three, as for as I am concerned have always been and still are:

Trick

SEBTP

The Lamb

Quote from Steve

OK I'm new on here so don't kill me for preferring the Peter Gabriel era. I loved Genesis in the 70s but lost interest when PG left. I really need to get a copy of ATOTT and perhaps WAW to re asses.

Foxtrot

Selling England by the Pound

Nursery Cryme

If you like the Gabriel era most (and there's nothing wrong with that - how could there be? Without that era, there are no eras after), you should give ATOTT and W&W a listen. You would at least like the music. I always regarded ATOTT as the more proper sequel musically to SEBTP than "The Lamb", which was a wholly unique piece of music in their catalogue.

Quote from OneForTheVine

I always regarded ATOTT as the more proper sequel musically to SEBTP than "The Lamb", which was a wholly unique piece of music in their catalogue.

Quote from OneForTheVine

If you like the Gabriel era most (and there's nothing wrong with that - how could there be? Without that era, there are no eras after), you should give ATOTT and W&W a listen. You would at least like the music. I always regarded ATOTT as the more proper sequel musically to SEBTP than "The Lamb", which was a wholly unique piece of music in their catalogue.

True, the Lamb is clearly one off and with Trick they certainly returned to a more familiar path, however, if you are Peter's fan the edge and quirkiness he brought to the table is sorely missed, particularly on W&W which I personally believe is a fine album but a bit 'bland'. And the voice. Phil does a lovely job on those albums but he is far from being the singer he was to become and imo didn't still have the 'gravitas' in his voice Peter had.

Quote from Fabrizio

True, the Lamb is clearly one off and with Trick they certainly returned to a more familiar path, however, if you are Peter's fan the edge and quirkiness he brought to the table is sorely missed, particularly on W&W which I personally believe is a fine album but a bit 'bland'. And the voice. Phil does a lovely job on those albums but he is far from being the singer he was to become and imo didn't still have the 'gravitas' in his voice Peter had.

Oh, sure - that's true. My comment was purely in reference to the music. There was a distinctive musical sound that Genesis created from Trespass to SEBTP that defined the band up to that time. The Lamb was a departure from that established sound - and it had to be that way. With the storyline that Peter came up with, the music had to be different. After Peter left, the remaining four reverted to the style of music that simply came naturally to them. That's all I was getting at.

Quote from OneForTheVine

Oh, sure - that's true. My comment was purely in reference to the music. There was a distinctive musical sound that Genesis created from Trespass to SEBTP that defined the band up to that time. The Lamb was a departure from that established sound - and it had to be that way. With the storyline that Peter came up with, the music had to be different. After Peter left, the remaining four reverted to the style of music that simply came naturally to them. That's all I was getting at.

Quote from OneForTheVine

If you like the Gabriel era most (and there's nothing wrong with that - how could there be? Without that era, there are no eras after), you should give ATOTT and W&W a listen. You would at least like the music. I always regarded ATOTT as the more proper sequel musically to SEBTP than "The Lamb", which was a wholly unique piece of music in their catalogue.

To me, the Lamb is a musical continuation/progression from SEBTP, incorporating some new technologies and a poppier side already explored in I Know What I Like. What jolts with the Lamb is the change of theme and atmosphere more akin to the Velvet Underground or something, than the classical English mythological landscape of the earlier albums. I'll definitely give Trick another chance.

Quote from Steve

To me, the Lamb is a musical continuation/progression from SEBTP, incorporating some new technologies and a poppier side already explored in I Know What I Like. What jolts with the Lamb is the change of theme and atmosphere more akin to the Velvet Underground or something, than the classical English mythological landscape of the earlier albums. I'll definitely give Trick another chance.

Personally I find the Lamb highly disruptive musically. I find they really steered away from what had been doing up to that point. It's harder, edgier and much less 'British' than all their previous albums which would make sense, considering it had to provide the musical background to the imaginary adventures of a Puerto Rican in NY. Even the art is a departure from the other albums. Trick and W&W again, just exude Britishness. the music, the lyrics and even the art.

Quote from OneForTheVine

With the storyline that Peter came up with, the music had to be different.

I've never been entirely sure at which point during the making of the album that Peter came up with the story. Was it before or after he left to work with Friedkin?

Quote from StillCan'tDance

I've never been entirely sure at which point during the making of the album that Peter came up with the story. Was it before or after he left to work with Friedkin?

That's a great question! I honestly don't know.

Does anyone else have insight into that?

I always got the impression the timeline was:

Agreement to do a story album

Discussion of what story

The Little Prince vs The Lamb

The Lamb accepted

Accepted that PG writes the story and lyrics

They start making the album

During the making of the album, Friedkin contacts PG and the disagreement about him breaking off to do Friedkin's project occurs.

Thus, before the Friedkn intervention, PG had at least had a Lamb outline in order to make his initial pitch to the band. How far he'd got with the text and lyrics is another matter.

This is interesting: https://www.rollingstone.com/m…-on-broadway-1974-w475114

Not the same as best 3, but having gone through some old Q magazines as part of a clearout and found a 1997 edition in which Banks, Rutherford and Wilson are interviewed for the release of CAS, TB and MR are asked what their most and least favourite albums are. MR says his favourite is The Lamb and least favourite W&W. TB says his favourite is side 1 of Genesis, and least is side 2 which he describes as "the weakest thing we've ever done". He also says he's not keen on SEBTP or Duke but acknowledges there are strong songs on both. They both (MR in particular) describe SEBTP as a "difficult time", MR citing that he had quite bad writer's block at the time.

Wilson isn't interviewed in that particular side bar but elsewhere says Trick is his favourite.