We Can't Dance reimagined

    Hi there - long time forum lurker, first time poster!


    Probably like many, I've often thought that We Can't Dance is far too long for it's own good, and a very decent album is lurking somwhere underneath the surface with a few tracklist alterations.


    This is my suggested tracklist, which on my Spotify playlist flows much better to my ears. I've broken it up into two sides as that's how I always knew the album.


    Side 1:

    No Son Of Mine

    Jesus He Knows Me

    Hearts On Fire

    I Can't Dance

    Driving The Last Spike


    Side 2:

    On The Shoreline

    Dreaming While You Sleep

    Living Forever

    Fading Lights


    Whilst the rest of the alterations were pretty easy for me, there were a couple I pondered on. Firstly, I Can't Dance is not a fave of mine at all, but it is a pretty popular and unique Genesis song in the wider world and also gives a little bit of light in what is otherwise a pretty heavy album. Also, until recently I'd always thought of Hearts On Fire as nice enough but nothing special and sounding a bit unfinished anyhow. Then I listened to the Nick Davis remix for the first time in years a few months back and it sounded much stronger than I remembered. Definitely stronger to my ears than any of the ditched tracks.


    What are your thoughts on WCD?

    Could have been a Genesis classic of cot down to around 50 minutes. It's just too long. No really bad songs but too many mediocre songs mainly on the last half of the album

    Quote from Harold Demure

    I don't mind it either, it's pleasant enough. Tony's not a fan though judging by interviews

    It wasn't really a Genesis song so much as, Phil wanting to do a tribute to Eric, but had no solo album at the time to work on so maybe why Tony isn't fond of it.


    Even more ironic Phil told Clapton, his own tribute song wasn't very good and was one of the biggest songs of the time.


    I think even then, Phil was possibly struggling to be within the band environment & his personal choices during the tour, future solo albums showed the quality & inspiration was waning, until he started doing the musicals & big band projects.

    Quote from Ben

    I'm probably the only one, but I like "Since i lost you", the only song on the album where Tony plays on a real piano.

    Definitely not the only one. The emotion in Phil's voice slays me every time. And yes, always good to hear Tony on a real piano!! Otherwise i like Harold Demure's suggested tracklisting and will give it a try over the weekend.

    I'll pop this question in here thanks to BackDrifter's help :)


    Basically I've just discovered the EXCELLENT B-sides from the We Can't Dance singles "On The Shoreline" and "Hearts On Fire" thanks to the extra tracks from the Red boxset I got recently.


    I'll make a playlist with these songs along with the rest of We Can't Dance so it's kind of in sequence.


    My question is: Where should they go with the rest of the album's tracks?


    I'm thinking after "Since I Lost You" but keep "Fading Lights" as the last song on the album. That should sound quite good, but I'm just curious if anyone thinks I should put them earlier in the album?


    I'm interested in people's thoughts on this, should be interesting :)

    this may be an unpopular opinion, but i think phil's vocals on 'we can't dance' were a bit... over-expressive, if such a word exists. it seems like he was saying "hey guys, see what a good singer i've become over these years!", and that bothers me a little. no matter who wrote the lyrics to each song from 'we can't dance', phil overacted a little when singing it.


    or perhaps it was nick davis's fault for mixing the album with phil's vocals on top and too loud, who knows...

    Quote from chema

    this may be an unpopular opinion, but i think phil's vocals on 'we can't dance' were a bit... over-expressive, if such a word exists. it seems like he was saying "hey guys, see what a good singer i've become over these years!", and that bothers me a little. no matter who wrote the lyrics to each song from 'we can't dance', phil overacted a little when singing it.


    or perhaps it was nick davis's fault for mixing the album with phil's vocals on top and too loud, who knows...


    I hear what you're hearing (I think) I've just always come to a different conclusion. I think We Can't Dance was the clearest and most natural-sounding Genesis album since...perhaps A Trick of the Tail? Because of the clarity and the lack of obvious studio effects everything, including Phil's voice, sounds a lot more open and natural, which leads to hearing more of the expression in his voice.


    I think that the vocals on We Can't Dance were some of Phil's best (Driving The Last Spike is simply incredible) and I think a lot of that has to do with how transparent the recording/mixing is. Nick Davis' work is outstanding in my opinion, and even at the time I was really impressed by how much better WCD sounded compared to the two albums previous.

    Quote from WinstonWolf

    I think that the vocals on We Can't Dance were some of Phil's best (Driving The Last Spike is simply incredible) and I think a lot of that has to do with how transparent the recording/mixing is. Nick Davis' work is outstanding in my opinion, and even at the time I was really impressed by how much better WCD sounded compared to the two albums previous.

    Completely agree with all of this

    Abandon all reason

    Like 1

    I think overall it was their most mature album, they had a huge success with IT and the Tour and whilst there was pressure to beat that, the band didn't take the easy way out and as the band has done over the years, they all grew and evolved.



    Phil did more on this album then before and it was very much equal, although maybe the songs excluded, perhaps could have replaced one or two of the others included (all subjective of course).


    I know that by the Tour, a lot happened and it left Phil in a bad way mentally and with all the extra stress he was under, hiding away made sense and being pulled back into the band so quickly for that benefit gig, pretty much did it for him.


    But I (we) will still wonder to this day, what the next album with Phil could have been like, had life taken a different path.


    Music was changing a lot, but Genesis had survived over the years all the fads and threats and became stronger for it.


    A 2006/2007 Album, (even just 2 or 3 new written songs prior to the Tour), may have given us a huge insight into just how these incredible artists could overcome all the doubters (Inc their own), and put to bed the biggest question, as to whether they could have ended Genesis on the highest of highs and removed the mixed 1996/97 period which I'm sure haunted Mike & Tony in different ways.

    Edited once, last by choccy ().

    Like 2