Comparisons to "Supper's Ready"

  • I recall reading that Genesis were considering having a suite on SELLING ENGLAND consisting of Moonlit Knight, Cinema Show & Aisle of Plenty... but wanted to avoid comparisons to "Supper's Ready."


    Then they considered having the "Duke suite" on DUKE (Behind / Duchess / Guide / Turn / Travel's / End)... but wanted to avoid comparisons to "Supper's Ready."


    I guess they were really afraid to have anything get compared to "Supper's Ready," huh?


    Of course, Mike's SMALLCREEP'S DAY did have that sidelong title suite... and of course it got compared to "Supper's Ready" (one reviewer said it sounded like "'Supper's Ready' warmed over").

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • Fair play to them, given SR was such a well-known and distinctive piece, they decided not to do anything that seemed like the same sort of thing. Also, other bands considered to be within the sphere of prog rock had done side-long suites, some of those bands more than once too. I wouldn't be surprised if that was also a consideration.


    Ironically given they threw out the rule book on Abacab, it too at one stage had a potential "suite" of Naminanu-Dodo/Lurker-Submarine (or whatever order was intended - some say Naminanu would've been at the end).,

    Abandon all reason

  • Fair play to them, given SR was such a well-known and distinctive piece, they decided not to do anything that seemed like the same sort of thing. Also, other bands considered to be within the sphere of prog rock had done side-long suites, some of those bands more than once too. I wouldn't be surprised if that was also a consideration.


    Ironically given they threw out the rule book on Abacab, it too at one stage had a potential "suite" of Naminanu-Dodo/Lurker-Submarine (or whatever order was intended - some say Naminanu would've been at the end).,

    ...and I just became a member of the Department of Redundancy Department! ^^


    Somehow I missed your post when I made mine - sorry!

    Stepping out the back way, hoping nobody sees...

  • Hahaha no problem, easily done.


    On my Genesis compilation I reconstituted the Dodo suite with Naminanu at the start as it flows better. Submarine is a favourite Genesis track of mine - simple and atmospheric.

    Abandon all reason

  • Hahaha no problem, easily done.


    On my Genesis compilation I reconstituted the Dodo suite with Naminanu at the start as it flows better. Submarine is a favourite Genesis track of mine - simple and atmospheric.

    Yes, I have to agree. "Submarine" is just a lovely piece of music - mostly Tony of course, Mike must have gone to the pub while the other two were working on it. ^^

    I also agree that Naminanu at the beginning works better too.

    Stepping out the back way, hoping nobody sees...

  • Yes, I have to agree. "Submarine" is just a lovely piece of music - mostly Tony of course, Mike must have gone to the pub while the other two were working on it. ^^

    Or, as per his book, nipped outside for a puff? He must have showed up long enough to stand on a couple of bass pedals as they are quite evident. But what a fascinating idea, Genesis down to a duo on record. With that track, it could conceivably be Banks/Collins only, if either of them took care of bass pedal duties.

    Abandon all reason

  • Isn't Submarine one of those pieces where Phil describes as him wearing his "Bonham hat"?


    As for Supper's Ready, it's to the band's credit that they didn't try and repeat the same trick. Unlike Yes...

  • on a previous genesis forum, there was a member who only posted to reply any time that someone said anything remotely negative about genesis later stuff. he was tiresome as hell.


    one day, someone started a thread comparing supper's ready and the 'duke suite'. he quickly said that he preferred the duke suite by a country mile. :rolleyes: but, since he was so "anti-prog" so to speak, it would have made much more sense that he denied the whole 'duke suite' concept. from the point of view of someone who isn't into suites or other similar progressive things, behind the lines, duchess, guide vocal, turn it on again, duke's travels and duke's end are just a bunch of songs from the album 'duke'.

  • on a previous genesis forum, there was a member who only posted to reply any time that someone said anything remotely negative about genesis later stuff. he was tiresome as hell.


    one day, someone started a thread comparing supper's ready and the 'duke suite'. he quickly said that he preferred the duke suite by a country mile. :rolleyes: but, since he was so "anti-prog" so to speak, it would have made much more sense that he denied the whole 'duke suite' concept. from the point of view of someone who isn't into suites or other similar progressive things, behind the lines, duchess, guide vocal, turn it on again, duke's travels and duke's end are just a bunch of songs from the album 'duke'.

    I remember a similar situation, but in this case the person would respond whenever someone would post a positive comment about later Genesis. Every...single...time...this individual had to counter with a criticism.

  • Incidentally, has anyone attempted to link Dancing With The Moonlit Knight with The Cinema Show? Do they even match up? If so, where would you make the join?

    dancing with the moonlit knight fades out if my memory doesn't fail me, but i think the ending section could have easily matched the cinema show intro, if they had wanted to do it that way. they could have gradually silenced up they keyboards and other instruments, until only the 12-string guitar was left...

  • It seems it's just the fact it's a 12-string at the end of one and the start of the other. The figure and tempo don't match so unless there was an abandoned bridging section it wouldn't have been a seamless link.

    Abandon all reason

  • supper's ready is very cohesive. the duke suite and the dodo suite would have been more like kate bush's the ninth wave: a set of songs thematically linked, each one of which merge into the next one.


    unquiet slumbers for the sleepers / in that quiet earth / afterglow can be regarded as a little suite, as well. even the two previous songs, all in a mouse's night and blood on the rooftops could be added. the story that links them all could be something like this: a young couple who lives happily and their worst problem is a mouse hanging aroung from time to time, are watching the tv news. then a catastrophe starts to happen, an earthquake perhaps. and finally, the narrator regrets having lost their house and everything...

    Edited once, last by chema ().

  • unquiet slumbers for the sleepers / in that quiet earth / afterglow can be regarded as a little suite, as well. even the two previous songs, all in a mouse's night and blood on the rooftops could be added. the story that links them all could be something like this: a young couple who lives happily and their worst problem is a mouse hanging aroung from time to time, are watching the tv news. then a catastrophe starts to happen, an earthquake perhaps. and finally, the narrator regrets having lost their house and everything...

    ^^


    I especially like how the young couple have suddenly aged dramatically from song 1 to song 2.


    Your excellent idea could be further extended to include side 1. The young couple are putting their son to bed and dad has to read him a bedtime story. The story sets him off reminiscing about a story he read as a young boy himself, about some bloke on a mountain or something - whatever the hell One For The Vine is about, basically. He shakes his head to clear these muddled thoughts, and goes downstairs and on seeing his wife and reminding himself how beautiful and graceful she is, thinks how lucky he is to be with her. These pleasant though somewhat saccharine thoughts are interrupted by a bizarre story on the TV news about an escaped gorilla, then further animal-based distraction occurs as their cat goes by chasing a mouse.


    At this point, to avoid the young couple suddenly becoming a couple old enough to have lived through at least one world war, it could be that it's the wife's turn to reminisce as the mouse incident reminds her of her mother telling her a similar story, and we cross-fade to the mum's house where she and her husband are settling down to a night of TV watching.


    Then everyone goes to bed and they all have a bit of a disturbed night that gets even rougher when the escaped gorilla (remember him?) sets off a nuclear device that kills everyone except the young husband who miraculously survives and is left to ponder his lot.


    I like this! Let's do other albums! In fact, here's the challenge - starting with track 1 of Revelation, make a concept career out of all the albums.

    Abandon all reason

  • supper's ready is very cohesive. the duke suite and the dodo suite would have been more like kate bush's the ninth wave: a set of songs thematically linked, each one of which merge into the next one.


    unquiet slumbers for the sleepers / in that quiet earth / afterglow can be regarded as a little suite, as well. even the two previous songs, all in a mouse's night and blood on the rooftops could be added. the story that links them all could be something like this: a young couple who lives happily and their worst problem is a mouse hanging aroung from time to time, are watching the tv news. then a catastrophe starts to happen, an earthquake perhaps. and finally, the narrator regrets having lost their house and everything...

    Reminds me strongly of the lyrics to Domino, funnily enough!