TotW 08/21/2023 - 08/27/2023: GENESIS - Throwing It All Away

1st Official Post
    • Official Post

    Your rating for "Throwing It All Away" by GENESIS 22

    1. 15 points - outstanding (2) 9%
    2. 14 points - very good (2) 9%
    3. 13 points - very good (1) 5%
    4. 12 points - good + (2) 9%
    5. 11 points - good (4) 18%
    6. 10 points - good - (1) 5%
    7. 09 points - satisfactory + (2) 9%
    8. 08 points - satisfactory (4) 18%
    9. 07 points - satisfactory - (1) 5%
    10. 06 points - sufficient + (0) 0%
    11. 05 points - sufficient (1) 5%
    12. 04 points - sufficient - (0) 0%
    13. 03 points - poor + (1) 5%
    14. 02 points - poor (0) 0%
    15. 01 points - poor - (1) 5%
    16. 00 points - abysmal (0) 0%

    We invite you to share interesting facts and tidbits about this track. Let's look at the track in the context of the band's / the artist's history, at the music, the songwriting and all other aspects that are relevant for this track. Please do stick to the discussion of the track above. Comparisons to other tracks are okay, but remember that the other track you may be keen to talk about has or will have its own Track Of The Week thread. If you spot a mistake or if you can close a gap in the fact sheet above please feel free to contact martinus or Christian about it; we will gladly add and improve!


    GENESIS - Throwing It All Away
    Year: 1986
    Album: Invisible Touch
    Working title: ?
    Credits: Banks/Collins/Rutherford
    Lyrics: Yes
    Length: 3:50
    Musicians: Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford
    Played live: 1986, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2007, 2021, 2022
    Cover versions: ?

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    Notes: If you ask Chester Thompson which is the favorite Genesis song he has played, he answers quite regulary: "Throwing It All Away". That may seem a little strange, but can the drummer be wrong? The song quickly transformed from a rather unremarkable pop ballad to a stadium anthem that was still a weighty part of the set in 2007 and also later in 2021 and 2022. Most recently, the song was also played regularly by Mike + The Mechanics..

    cheers

    Christian


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    Mmmm. Not sure how to sum this up. It’s a very well written and performed song, excellent in fact. But I’m not sure I like it much. It just doesn’t retain my attention and whilst it’s never offensive I just leave it on and wait for the next track if that makes sense, and as the next track is The Brazilian, that’s fine. I understand why Chester likes it, I think in a long and complicated drumming set, it would be a chance to play some nice simple fills with feeling and enjoy the audience enjoying the song, it does have a good feel live - although I could do without the call and answer stuff.

    Dull, lifeless. And that clunky line, "memories will remind you" is, I assume, by Phil, as it's in the same ballpark as "There's nothing left here to remind me, just a memory of your face" - neither of which make any real sense, would you ever say that in a conversation? "The only thing that reminds me of our World Cup win is the memory of winning it." As Duncan Banatyne would say, "I'm Ooot!"


    TBF, It's not the only weak bit of lyric in there, the "late at night" line is weak too.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

    I like it a lot. Really nice melody, chords and changes fitting perfectly together in a great compact pop song with a swinging feel. It's a good demonstration of how this trio of skilled musicians could produce long-form pieces that sat side by side with short catchy pop songs.

    Quote from foxfeeder

    that clunky line, "memories will remind you" is, I assume, by Phil, as it's in the same ballpark as "There's nothing left here to remind me, just a memory of your face" - neither of which make any real sense, would you ever say that in a conversation?

    🤣 Loving the idea that song lyrics should reflect conversational speech. Imagine it the other way around.


    "Hello, nice morning"

    "Yes - the sun has been up for a couple of hours. Covered the ground in a layer of gold."


    "What are you smiling at?"

    (He cries:) "I will make my bed with you tonight. Can I fail, armed with my chocolate surprise?"

    Abandon all reason

    Like 4

    Literally just good enough to chart and make a filler in live sets. That aside, nothing special. Shows how good the trio got in creating exactly this, a product. Symptomatic for the hit machine they had become in the late 80s.

    Nice little Genesis pop song in its original version. Ruined in live versions by Phil's silly "de-da-ray" stuff and his messing up the line "someday you'll be sorry, someday when you're free" (saying "someday when you're sorry" instead).

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


    ...crows simply drank at home.

    Like 1

    ‘You off out?’


    ‘Like the dust that settles all around me

    I must find a new home,

    The ways and holes that used to give me shelter

    Are all as one to me now….’


    ‘You need to lighten up mate’

    Quote from DecomposingMan

    Ruined in live versions by Phil's silly "de-da-ray" stuff

    I enjoy seeing the various interpretations of that vocalisation. That's the 5th or 6th one I've seen on here. To me it sounds like 'dee-a-day'. But yes, the song is best in the original. Although despite it not thematically fitting I found it quite nice as the vehicle for the nostalgia imagery on the final tour.

    Abandon all reason

    Like 1

    Holes? I think you're going a bit off-topic there! <X


    But just to be clear, the song is written as a conversational piece, one-sided, we're not talking about a song by Yes, or from the Lamb, and while it may not be exactly as someone would speak, just the simple logic of saying "memories will remind you" is mental, writing it as a lyric is lazy, although not out of place in this song, filler-like as it is.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

    Quote from foxfeeder

    But just to be clear, the song is written as a conversational piece

    Just to be even clearer it is, as you rightly point out, a song. Like zillions of other songs written as someone addressing someone else and which don't bother to adhere to nitpicky conventions of one to one conversation.

    Quote

    the simple logic of saying "memories will remind you" is mental

    'Mental'. Blimey. I'd sooner apply that to getting your boxers in a tangle over this lyric.

    Abandon all reason

    I think Backdrifter and I were just having a bit of fun with lyrics being turned into conversation. Actually quite a lot of Genesis lyrics would do that, perhaps because they are so well written. But they wrote such a lot of stuff that inevitably there are some bland and perhaps lazy cliches along the way

    Quite the 80s ballad.

    And I remember trying to air-drum all the fills from The Way We Walk cd as a kid (...who am I lying to, I still air-drum along to the song ;))


    Nobody mentioned the "Throwing it all, throwing it all, throwing it all, throwing it all..." part from the live version? The best poly-rhythmic part in a pop ballad ever ^^

    Hmmm. I always thought this song was a pleasant (yes) 'throwaway'.... until before Phil's show on my way to the VIP dinner when I heard them playing it at soundcheck. This just increased my excitement and when the song was actually played, I made eye contact with Daryl amd was totally pumped up.. It was perfect and I now won't hear a word against it. I don't have a problem with 'memories will remind you' or any part of it unlike some of Phil's even more heavy handed solo songs.

    Quote from foxfeeder

    Dull, lifeless. And that clunky line, "memories will remind you" is, I assume, by Phil, as it's in the same ballpark as "There's nothing left here to remind me, just a memory of your face" - neither of which make any real sense, would you ever say that in a conversation? "The only thing that reminds me of our World Cup win is the memory of winning it." As Duncan Banatyne would say, "I'm Ooot!"


    TBF, It's not the only weak bit of lyric in there, the "late at night" line is weak too.

    I agree ...

    ... the track was never my cup of tea, but it worked well live, especially during the 2007 and 2021/2022 tours. So, emotional 11 points from me ...

    Nice, pleasant pop song with nice, heartfelt feel. Destroyed live by Phil's annoying and embarrassing "dee da laaaaayyy" stuff.


    PS - I notice three of us have different interpretations of what Phil was singing when doing his Freddie Mercury moment. I think he sometimes strayed into "Zeee da laaaaaayy" as well. Whatever, it still makes my toes curl and I preferred the studio version as a result.

    Quote from DecomposingMan

    Nice little Genesis pop song in its original version. Ruined in live versions by Phil's silly "de-da-ray" stuff and his messing up the line "someday you'll be sorry, someday when you're free" (saying "someday when you're sorry" instead).

    There are several audience participation things Phil did from about the mid-80s on that I didn't care for.

    But this was one I actually did like, and like quite a bit.

    I'm always up for an extended intro (or outro) and this one is melodic and it transitions nicely into the song.

    Given the choice, I prefer the live version because it has just a little more to offer.