TotW 03/11/2024 - 03/17/2024: GENESIS - Calling All Stations

    Quote from Backdrifter

    A growing tendency with their later work and massively overused on this album. Am I right in thinking TDL is the only one with an actual ending?

    Correct. Fade-outs became the norm with Abacab onwards and persisted throughout all following albums. Trespass is the only album with no fade-out at all, most non-album tracks don't fade out either. On all other albums up to Duke they were used rather when they served the song, prime example Supper's Ready. After Duke they became a default mode standard. In defense of Genesis, these standard fadeouts were a real 80's thing, everybody used them. The 90's largely got rid of them. CAS is notable for still sticking to these fadeouts as if the 80's were still alive.

    Quote from Schrottrocker

    Fade-outs became the norm with Abacab onwards and persisted throughout all following albums.

    I hadn't quantified it that way before but having now thought about it I can see you're right. Up to Duke, less than half their album tracks faded out. It then became the norm bar the odd one or two.

    Abandon all reason

    Quote from Ben

    We criticize CAS for the fades out but it was already the case in WCD.

    On CAS, all tracks faded out except for The Dividing Line


    We Can't Dance had some tracks that didn't face out:

    Never A Time

    Driving The Last Spike

    Living Forever


    I assume it just appeared to be inappropriate on many CAS songs as the fade outs felt a bit strange. Calling All Stations or Congo would have deserved a proper ending, for example.



    By the way - one of the reasons I like Peter's last album i/o a lot is that it doesn't really have fade outs, with one exception.

    Loathed fade-outs seem to be a big issue in the Genesis fan community :/

    I see that it seems they were too lazy or unable to write a 'proper' ending. And there ARE some great proper endings in the Genesis & Co. catalogue. On the other hand a fade-out may be intended as such by the composer(s). Some composers of the past writing 'perpetuum mobile' pieces for piano might have been happy, had it been possible for them to conclude their pieces with fade-outs ...

    Of course I don't like it either when tracks fade out too chokingly quickly. Then I look out for a live version or alternative mix ... What I do prefer to fade-outs AND proper endings ist seguing pieces, anyway (as on side 1 of Smallcreep's Day e. g.).

    Quote from WILL_son

    14!

    Probably the strongest track on the record (along with "The Dividing Line")...

    Yes—About The Dividing Line! I never understood why this track did not get more love from fans. It is a great track. It actually bothers me when fans say they have listened to everything the band has put out there, then state that they refuse to listen to this album. Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I think if you take this album as a Genesis album on its own merit and do not compare it to their previous work, it holds its own for the most part. I can’t defend Small Talk unfortunately.

    Quote from Liquid Len

    Yes—About The Dividing Line! I never understood why this track did not get more love from fans. It is a great track. It actually bothers me when fans say they have listened to everything the band has put out there, then state that they refuse to listen to this album. Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I think if you take this album as a Genesis album on its own merit and do not compare it to their previous work, it holds its own for the most part. I can’t defend Small Talk unfortunately.

    I love Calling All Stations as an album opener by the way.