Your favorite tracks on ... "Calling All Stations"

1st Official Post

    Your favorite tracks on "Calling All Stations" - pick THREE 68

    1. Calling All Stations (39) 57%
    2. The Dividing Line (36) 53%
    3. One Man's Fool (21) 31%
    4. There Must Be Some Other Way (19) 28%
    5. Not About Us (18) 26%
    6. Uncertain Weather (17) 25%
    7. Congo (16) 24%
    8. Alien Afternoon (13) 19%
    9. Shipwrecked (11) 16%
    10. If That' What You Need (1) 1%
    11. Small Talk (1) 1%

    Hey ev'ryone


    I thought it could be cool to discuss the favorite tracks of each Genesis album, starting the the latest ending with the debut.

    So, this is Calling All Stations.


    The idea is to add a poll every few weeks, but never close any of them, so you can always vote, interesting for new members also.


    So here we are - Calling All Stations!

    Always felt like The Dividing Line was the best track on this album. The power of the music covers for the somewhat cliche lyrics. Always had a soft spot for Congo, number 2. Picked the title track as 3 but could have just as easily gone with Alien Afternoon for it's quirkiness.

    A few personal views about individual tracks in response to observations and comments I've seen made over the years, stemming back to the old Genesis forum...


    I've never been that big on the title track - I actually find the opening a bit jarring - yet I've always found it curious it's often one of the songs fans include on their list of favourites from CAS.


    Conversely, a lot of people don't seem to like the two singles - Shipwrecked and Congo - though I always thought they were among the best half-dozen songs on the album (despite neither being in my Top 3).


    Another popularly held view I never agreed with was the idea Genesis chose the wrong songs to put on the album. For me there might be one track, Nowhere Else To Turn, that I sort of wish made it on the album but even then, I would not insert it at the expense of anything that's already on there.

    I voted for both Congo & Shipwrecked, which are great songs, plus the title track.

    For what it's worth, I would have chosen Sign Your Life Away as my third choice if it was possible. I know it's insanely commercial, but I love that track. That's a GREAT chorus!

    Alien Afternoon, There Must Be Some Other Way & One Man's Fool.


    For the record, the title track is approximately my least favorite song on the album. Also, I like the B-side Anything Now better than a lot of the album.

    The second half of Alien Afternoon is superb!

    I could just imagine Peter Gabriel singing that.

    "She looks at me and gently smiles, as if she knew I'd ask her all the time..."

    I chose Not About Us, One Man's Fool, and The Dividing Line.


    I almost picked Congo, because it has a catchy hook, but the extended drum breaks (surprisingly something Genesis never rarely did on an album) on The Dividing Line won me over in the end.


    I really like Not About Us, and it stands out to me because it's a little atypical for Genesis, and it's also a concise, well-crafted song, which is atypical for this album. One Man's Fool strikes me as this album's "late-era long song" in the style of Home By The Sea/Domino/Driving The Last Spike and while it isn't quite as good as any of those it still seems one of the most Genesis-sounding songs on the album.

    • Official Post

    I always thought that Calling All Stations was one of their strongest album openers. While there are several tracks on the record I consider to be "below average", there are also some classics, such as The Dividing Line.


    Third one would be Uncertain Weather for me.

    I have listened to the album more recently and I have picked

    The dividing line

    Uncertain weather

    Shipwrecked


    The title track is also strong and Not about us.

    some are wise ... and some otherwise