Posts by Merryman

  • Top 10 Genesis tracks

    I was away for a week so I missed #6, so I'll do both.


    #6 - Ripples


    I guess enough has been said about this track in this thread already. When I was first getting into Genesis, through the Platinum Collection, the middle section really blew me away as something so different from anything I'd ever heard before and it was definitely my #1 track for a short while. The first part of the song, however, with its interweaving guitar and piano lines, is really what I appreciate most these days.


    #5 - Dancing with the Moonlit Knight


    Just an extraordinary song. The build-up from that evocative a capella intro right the way through to the massive chorus and the rocking instrumental section is one of my favourite things in the world. An exceptional piece of art.

  • Linking Genesis Lyrics

    "They say no one has ever come back from there" - The Mystery of the Flannen Isle Lighthouse


    I'm trying to think of some unlikely letters... I think there are quite a few lines that start with the letter "i", but so far I can only come up with one that ends with it!

  • Your Own Special Way

    Although I definitely like every other track on Wind and Wuthering more, I still like this track a lot. I can see why it's too sappy and pedestrian for many though!

  • Top 10 Genesis tracks

    I am quite shocked to read all the negative responses to A Trick of the Tail!!:DOf course I vehemently disagree with any negative criticisms laid at this wonderful album. However, I do agree with the positive comments made about the 3 tracks nominated so far - all among my favourite Genesis tracks, although only one of those has made it into my top 10 list for the purposes of this thread (more on that later...).


    My choice today is not actually from that album. For my #7, I nominate The Musical Box. This is a really exciting and special moment from the band, and while I absolutely adore Trespass, and especially "Stagnation", they really broke through into another dimension with this piece. While the first few minutes naturally have Ant Phillips' fingerprints all over them, at the same time the unmistakable characters of Phil and Steve already have a chance to shine through. I find the whole thing much more convincing than anything on Trespass. The ending in particular is so much better than the ending to "Stagnation", which I find to be the weak part of the song - rather than ending with a somewhat bland major key plod and what feels like an almost trite resolution, the climax to "The Musical Box" has a rhythmic, dynamic and harmonic excitement which I think is a lot more mature and accomplished than anything the band did previously. It gets the adrenaline pumping!

  • Top 10 Genesis tracks

    Well I just discovered this thread! Love a bit of data collation. It's really an impossible task to seriously rank a top 10 but I've had a quick think and drawn up an approximate list now that probably takes in my big highlights:


    10. Deep in the Motherlode


    I just think this is an absolute belter, kind of like a swung version of Squonk but more concise and with a unique atmosphere that doesn't reappear anywhere else in the Genesis catalogue. It wasn't always one of my favourites but it has been a slow grower and now it's one I turn to a lot. Along with "Say It's Alright, Joe", it's a major highlight of a slightly difficult album for me.


    9. Behind the Lines


    Very exciting intro and I love the way it just snaps into that cool pop song second half. I could have gone with Duke's Travels/End, which packs a bigger emotional punch, but to be honest I don't find myself that gripped by the first 5 minutes or so of Duke's Travels. It's good but it doesn't have the sharpness of the first track.


    8. Eleventh Earl of Mar


    Otherworldly intro, great verses with fun lyrics, but for me it's all about the acoustic middle section with its intricate layers - and of course the awesome way the song gets going again.

  • Who wrote what

    Quote from Backdrifter

    Side note to the latter - when Brian Eno produced one of Coldplay's albums, as is his method he initially observed them at work and decided Chris Martin was dominating proceedings too much and physically barred him from the studio for a while, to allow the other three to express themselves a bit more in writing and developing songs. It led to what is in my view by far their best album, Viva La Vida.

    Thanks for this bit of info - I totally agree about Viva La Vida being streets ahead of any other Coldplay album, and this is an interesting tidbit! I think there's much more musical ambition on that album - especially with the likes of "42" and "Death and All His Friends".


    Err anyway, sorry for posting about Coldplay in a Genesis thread!

  • Who wrote what

    I found a list on a thread in a forum called Progressive Ears that has a go at all PG-era credits, but I can't speak for its accuracy and I haven't looked through all the comments to see what else has been suggested:

    Regarding Trespass, I have a feeling that "Looking for Someone" and "The Knife" are Banks/Gabriel compositions rather than whole group ones - as does this guy, who goes through all of Gabriel's contributions, but I don't know where he gets his information from!


    There's also a page on Hackett's website where he talks about each song on Genesis Revisited II, and mentions a few bits of info on composition for a couple of them. Specifically, there is Horizons (solo Hackett of course), The Lamia ("[a] song we co-wrote", he claims - not specifying who is meant by "we"), and Can-Utility ("I was looking for poetical lyrics and the idea of not being deceived by flattery, " says Hackett, suggesting that the lyrics were indeed his).


    There is also an interview out there where Hackett indicates that he used a piece that his brother John had written for a section of "Get 'Em Out by Friday" - sorry I can't find it now, but I think it was the "after all this time they ask us to leave" bit. Other than that, I want to say that the waltz that takes up most of the second half sounds like Banks chords, and Gabriel must have written the lyrics at the very least. Whether Rutherford and Collins contributed anything, though, I couldn't say.


    Aside from those, I'm not sure why the post I quoted gives Hackett a credit for "Apocalypse", but generally there's probably a lot of good guesses going on.

  • Who wrote what

    Quote from Backdrifter

    No, I suspect you probably do and that quote indicates as much and I now remember that. Certainly the first part does have that 3-man jam feel to it, but Hackett's typically economical lines suggest it was a 4-man jam. The other thing that had seemed to support the notion it was one of his was that in his pre-Genesis Revisited Every Which Way tours, it was one he did from time to time which made me think maybe it was one of his. Which has made me recall that, similarly, I'd heard Hairless Heart was one of his.

    I seem to remember reading that Hackett came up with the key change part at the end of Fly to lead into Broadway Melody. But I may be mis-remembering as I don't know where I got that from.


    We had a few discussions like this on the old board (I think I tried to list writers for FGTR-SEBTP and someone else made a Lamb thread) - it would be interesting to see if there was a way to look through the old posts.

  • Nick Mason resurrects early Pink Floyd | Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets live

    When I read the first post in this thread I honestly thought it was just an April Fool that had been bouncing around for too long... How did I miss this?! I hope they play some more gigs!


    I can definitely understand why Mason wanted to play some of the old stuff. They were a very exciting band back then, particularly live as far as I can tell, and very different to the band that emerged out of Dark Side.