Your favorite GENESIS studio albums (pick three)

    • Official Post
    Quote from fartbrah

    Foxtrot, Selling England, Abacab.


    The first two are what got me into Genesis, I absolutely adore the pastoral British sound mixed with some hard rocking and surrealism. But after recently giving Genesis's 80's output a listen, I became enthralled with Abacab and how it threw away with the "rules" of Genesis songs, the group even admitting such.


    The theme of abstraction is perfectly conveyed through the nonsensical lyrics and jamming nature of some tracks. This aspect of it gives the album a timeless nature, with each new listen granting a new perspective.

    Another one who likes Abacab :)

    Welcome to out forum!

    It would be interesting to compare the ages of members with their choices. I can't bear Abacab (it was the first album I didn't buy). I am 62 and see Abacab as their moment as when Fish left Marillion. I was fine with Peter leaving, Steve hurt more, and then with Abacab they completely changed direction.

    Quote from KeithC

    It would be interesting to compare the ages of members with their choices. I can't bear Abacab (it was the first album I didn't buy). I am 62 and see Abacab as their moment as when Fish left Marillion. I was fine with Peter leaving, Steve hurt more, and then with Abacab they completely changed direction.

    I'm 57 and love Abacab, placing it second to The Lamb as my favourite. Selling, Duke and NC will be interchangeably 3rd.


    Abacab was certainly different in many ways but I disagree it was a complete change of direction. Given the more direct, generally shorter material of the previous 2 albums it was for me more or less the same direction but accelerated.


    The trio, often already at the core of PG-era stuff, now had more space musically, their own studio, and seriously hit their stride on stage where they were reaching their peak and also made a huge visual innovation. While the varilites came after the album, they nevertheless had an adrenaline surge and I feel it was very evident in the energy of Abacab.

    Abandon all reason

    Quote from KeithC

    It would be interesting to compare the ages of members with their choices. I can't bear Abacab (it was the first album I didn't buy). I am 62 and see Abacab as their moment as when Fish left Marillion. I was fine with Peter leaving, Steve hurt more, and then with Abacab they completely changed direction.

    I'm 41 and Abacab is among my favorite 6, which share equal status for me (trespass, NC, trick, duke and cas are the other 5). If I had to rank them, Abacab would come second or third after trick and possibly cas.

    I'm 54 and while Abacab is not one of my top 3 albums, I have a very healthy respect for it. All of my favourite artists branched into new territory with each album. Abacab is a great example of this, sounding quite different than Duke and being light years away from Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering just a few years before. I'm not sure I would have cared much if Abacab had simply been Wind and Wuthering version 4.0.

    I'm 61 and my favourite by far is Selling England By The Pound. This album was my first album I listened to while I was sick in bed and borrowed from my brother that introduced me to Prog music back in the early 70s. I was already a big fan of Supertramp before then and now considered a prog type genre.

    I'm not surprised to see SEBTP is #1.


    I AM however, surprised to see Genesis is 2nd from the bottom!! That one is my #3:


    1. WCD

    2. ATOTT

    3. Genesis


    To me, Genesis is one of their most defining albums, in terms of their sound post-70's era. If someone wanted to know what post-prog Genesis was like, I'd probably play them Mama.


    If this were a top 5, then I'd put Duke at #4 and either Invisible Touch or SEBTP at #5-I can't decide (ever the struggle of an all eras fan!).


    But still I was surprised to see some of this ranking, like seeing ...ATTWT in the upper half. Whenever I hear fans talk about it, it gives the impression of an "album of filler, with a couple great songs."

    WCD is an odd one for me, it has a special connotation because it was the album really got me into Genesis, and one of the earliest albums I listened to obsessively, age 10-11. I think it has good depth and range, but there's also a maturity about it that makes it a little boring or something. The sound is unadventurous, which may be a production issue. I return to it infrequently but when I do, I enjoy the heights very much - NSOM, Jesus, driving the last spike and dreaming while you sleep are all great but countered by very mechanicsy MOR fare like Never a Time, and I was never a big fan of Fading Lights.


    I am glad to see it top of someone's pile though!

    Problem with this album is Side A is awesome and side B is average really.


    I think the fact the album is like 2 lines or one paragraph in Phils Autobiography says it all.


    Some amazing work followed by b sides makes it struggle as a top album.


    Invisible Touch clearly had more TLC given to it in comparison.


    I wonder if the album may have looked more appealing to fans if the songs on side one were spread out a bit:


    Side A:


    Mama

    Taking it All Too Hard

    That's All

    Illegal Alien

    Silver Rainbow


    Side B:


    Just a Job to Do

    Home By The Sea

    2nd Home By The Sea

    It's Gonna Get Better


    Personally I would've actually enjoyed that track listing better myself. No album is without a lesser song or two, but that order spreads out the 'good ones-' and would make for a better listening experience IMO. Then again, whether or not that's a better order would depend on whether or not you like certain ones-like for example, I think Just a Job to Do is great, and I know generally Silver Rainbow seems to be a 'fan favorite' as well.

    Quote from thewatcher

    WCD is an odd one for me, it has a special connotation because it was the album really got me into Genesis, and one of the earliest albums I listened to obsessively, age 10-11. I think it has good depth and range, but there's also a maturity about it that makes it a little boring or something. The sound is unadventurous, which may be a production issue. I return to it infrequently but when I do, I enjoy the heights very much - NSOM, Jesus, driving the last spike and dreaming while you sleep are all great but countered by very mechanicsy MOR fare like Never a Time, and I was never a big fan of Fading Lights.


    I am glad to see it top of someone's pile though!


    WCD is similar for me as well. I had been hearing Genesis on the radio all throughout my childhood in the 80's, but it was when my mom gave me her copy of WCD when I was about 12 that really kicked it all off for me. I remember listening to that album back to front over and over again all that summer, and after that I embarked on a multiple years journey into their back catalogue. It was wonderful-but it all started for me with WCD, so I guess that's why it has a special place for me.


    I do acknowledge the album doesn't really take any risks from a stylistic POV-it just kind of trudges along and I agree has a certain 'maturity' to it that the others don't have as much of, but IMO it sounds so different from anything else they've done-and that I think is part of why I like it so much.

    Quote from thewatcher

    WCD is an odd one for me, it has a special connotation because it was the album really got me into Genesis, and one of the earliest albums I listened to obsessively, age 10-11. I think it has good depth and range, but there's also a maturity about it that makes it a little boring or something. The sound is unadventurous, which may be a production issue. I return to it infrequently but when I do, I enjoy the heights very much - NSOM, Jesus, driving the last spike and dreaming while you sleep are all great but countered by very mechanicsy MOR fare like Never a Time, and I was never a big fan of Fading Lights.


    I am glad to see it top of someone's pile though!

    It's the top of my pile for pretty much the reasons you give.

    For me, shapes fits his description of ATTWT, 2 good songs, loads of filler. At least ATTWT had 4 good songs!

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

    Like 1
    Quote from BillysNumber

    I wonder if the album may have looked more appealing to fans if the songs on side one were spread out a bit:

    Perhaps in the beginning, upon release and up until the release of the next album but things have a way to fall into place. We are assessing them after 30 years and it is what it is, no matter the tracks sequence. Half of the album is simply weak, the same can be said IMO about ATTW3 and Abacab. Still, I find these albums more solid than WCD. Of the 12 songs there, I can personally only listen to 3 or 4.

    Thinking about it, i think this what I resent the most about Genesis' new course in the 80' and the 90'. It's not the change per se but how sketchy the quality of the albums became. From 1970 to 1980, with the exception of half of ATTW3, they released really solid albums. There was always the occasional filler but overall the material was great. Starting from Abacab, there are good songs but no great albums, subjectively, of course. The exception would be Invisible Touch which is a hits machine and truly a homogenous album, but I have no problem admitting that it isn't really my cup of tea. Anyway, Mama alone is enough to make me rate Shapes higher than other ''new '' albums. It's the one song I'm sure Phil dreaded singing but simply had to. You can't leave that one out.

    Quote from Fabrizio

    Thinking about it, i think this what I resent the most about Genesis' new course in the 80' and the 90'. It's not the change per se but how sketchy the quality of the albums became. From 1970 to 1980, with the exception of half of ATTW3, they produced really solid albums. There was always the occasional filler but overall the material was great. Starting from Abacab, there are good songs but no great albums, subjectively, of course. The exception would be Invisible Touch which is a hits machine and truly a homogenous album, but I have no problem admitting that it isn't really my cup of tea. Anyway, Mama alone is enough to make me rate Shapes higher than other ''new '' albums. It's the one song I'm sure Phil dreaded singing but simply had to. You can't leave that one out.

    I kinda agree re Shapes album.


    Mama and Home by the Sea are on another level with That's All behind it.


    Silver Rainbow is okay, the rest is not of a good enough standard especially when you look at IT and even WCD afterwards.