Your favorite tracks on ... "Duke"

  • I have to say I love the production on Duke. Very open, lots of space. True, the remix is superior even though some elements of the music got lost in transition (I'm thinking of one of the guitar lines in the "horrible" ^^ Misunderstanding) but I still think the essential Mr Hentschel did a sterling job with the music.

  • I guess I am biased to a couple of songs that we played with my band back in the day and brings back great memories. My 3 favorite Duke tracks are:

    Behind the Lines, Misunderstanding, Dukes Travels/End


    Honorable mentions: Duchess and Man of our times.

  • I have to say I love the production on Duke. Very open, lots of space. True, the remix is superior even though some elements of the music got lost in transition (I'm thinking of one of the guitar lines in the "horrible" ^^ Misunderstanding) but I still think the essential Mr Hentschel did a sterling job with the music.

    Agreed. I listened to the 180gm vinyl yesterday at high volume and it performed very well. Man of our Times is the one that sounded odd to my ears on the original pressing and whilst my ears haven’t got any better- that track certainly has in the remix.

  • Duchess, Guide Vocal and MOOT are mine. They go so well together , always liked them. I did however struggle with this album for a while.

    A friend of mine bought it before I did and he told me that it was good but it wasn't Genesis . Well it was certainly something new. I think the fact that is was so different made it less accessible , but it's an album that grew on me more and more over the years . I thought PDA and AAT seemed out of place on a Genesis album but they seem to fit when got used to it. It's so well balanced from beginning to end. The big intro, followed by a wonderful trio of songs , TIOA is one their best , a great way to start side 2 and fantastic ending with Guide Vocal coming back. Having said that I have never been keen on Misunderstanding and have never quite got into Cul De Sac, though don't know why.

  • I agree about the production, I always thought this album sounded nice and 'full', neither muffled like some of it's predecessors or tinny like some of it's successors. I like the heavily distorted man of our times, that half sunk vocal feels like an integral part of the song.


    For my choices heathaze is an instant number one. It's a personal thing. From way back when I first heard Duke I've been fixated on the ambience of that song, the faintly exotic melody and lyrics tinged with the feeling that something is just out of reach.


    Otherwise duchess and Duke's travels. The latter climaxes magnificently with the sudden change in tempo ("and you fear what you.... Don't.... Understand") making it feel like you're falling off a cliff. I like the bit of mythology behind the duke suite and how it was broken up to avoid comparisons with Supper's Ready.


    Cringe: the lyric 'extinct until the end of time' <X. What other kind of extinct is there?

  • Have to say Duke is one of my favourites...always seems to have a positive vibe and a great summer listening album. The intro to Duchess is for me one of the highlights....and the live version was great as seen in the Lyceum shows. I know it is one of TB favourites and will hopefully see it making it come back on the new tour

  • Abacab, which is a Charlotte NC-based band is working on the album in its entirety. They played the Duke Suite at their show last month.

    I live in the NC mountains two hours north of Charlotte and have seen Abacab four times. They are definitely worth checking out if you're in the area. They play a setlist that's not too different from what Genesis has played in the 90s and beyond - lots of hits with some epics and a surprise or two tossed in there as well.

  • I live in the NC mountains two hours north of Charlotte and have seen Abacab four times. They are definitely worth checking out if you're in the area. They play a setlist that's not too different from what Genesis has played in the 90s and beyond - lots of hits with some epics and a surprise or two tossed in there as well.


    I live on the lower Eastern Shore of MD. Ever heard of a band called “The Genesis Show”? They play the east coast (not sure if they’ve made it down to NC). They used to do the W&W tour, then started alternating between the Abacab and Encore tours. Their website says they’re gonna do one more show (combo playing the entire Three Sides Live album and some songs played at the 1982 reunion show). Also says this will be the last time they play Supper’s Ready for a while so I’m assuming they’ll be doing the Duke or ATTWR tours after that. Fantastic band wealth worth seeing.


    I live in the NC mountains two hours north of Charlotte and have seen Abacab four times. They are definitely worth checking out if you're in the area. They play a setlist that's not too different from what Genesis has played in the 90s and beyond - lots of hits with some epics and a surprise or two tossed in there as well.

  • I've not heard of The Genesis Show. Will look them up now.


    I really want to check out The Genesis Show. I was trying to make it to their Three Sides Live show when live music started going down the drain...

    I started a thread about them at the link below - they're my co-favorite Genesis tribute band along with "The Musical Box".


    The Genesis Show



    Back on topic:


    Turn It On Again, Behind The Lines, Duke's Travels/Duchess (tie)

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

  • Ok, no surprises here. BTL, Duchess and Duke's Travels.


    One of the easier choices for me - these three picked themselves IMO.


    Ive grown to love Please Don't Ask a lot more as the years have gone on, and conversely I like Alone Again less than I used to.


    The very first notes I heard Genesis play live was the opening to BTL on the Abacab tour - a show which turned me from a casual fan into a Genesis nut.


    BTL is an amazing album opener, and show opener for that matter. Hearing it at the TIOA show was magical

  • Ive grown to love Please Don't Ask a lot more as the years have gone on, and conversely I like Alone Again less than I used to.

    Please Don't Ask really shoots from the hip whereas Alone Tonight is more "darling, I miss you"; it's a bit soft. "Surprisingly high vote from the keyboard player," Phil once said with regards to Please Don't Ask and it is true that Tony does prefer it to Misunderstanding.

  • Please Don't Ask really shoots from the hip whereas Alone Tonight is more "darling, I miss you"; it's a bit soft. "Surprisingly high vote from the keyboard player," Phil once said with regards to Please Don't Ask and it is true that Tony does prefer it to Misunderstanding.

    Much, much prefer Please Don't Ask to Alone Tonight for just that reason. I find the latter very mushy. Please Don't Ask has wicked bass and atmosphere too, apart from being more genuine with the emotion.

  • Much, much prefer Please Don't Ask to Alone Tonight for just that reason. I find the latter very mushy. Please Don't Ask has wicked bass and atmosphere too, apart from being more genuine with the emotion.

    Oh, definitely. Just that line alone "But I miss my boy". When I first heard the album, I was just a spotty teenager. I loved the song but I couldn't relate to Phil's situation. Now, I'm older and I have kids and the idea of my family unit breaking up and of me becoming a "Saturday dad" really hits home and the song gets to me on a much deeper level now.


    The sequencing of that song, placed between two of the so-called proggier numbers, highlights what Tony Banks once said about the sequencing of Supper's Ready, where a romantic song placed next to an absurd song highlights the difference between them and enhances the respective mood of both pieces.