Posts by raelway siding

Came across this wonderful description of early Genesis by Chris Welch, in the book "The English Difference" from 1974. The book is a celebration of all that is unique about "Englishness", but is a bit more thoughtful and critical than that description might suggest.* And probably more thoughtful and critical than it would be if it were published today. (Also striking how much of what supposedly made England unique in 1974 no longer exists) -

"While a rock 'n' roll band might appear to the casual, disinterested observer as a disorganised bunch of incompetents, Genesis are the antithesis of this concept. Four of them are ex-public-school boys, while the fifth, their drummer, Phil Collins, is an East Ender. Here the two class structures meet with mutual benefit.

Their songs, expanded into long arrangements, give scope for exceptional use of dynamics, light and shade, key and time changes, and a wide range of instruments, powder flashes, and finally the wires and harness which whisk Peter Gabriel, their shy, stuttering but courageous leader into the roof at the climax of their show. Genesis have created a supra-musical entertainment without parallel in theatre or rock music."

*come to think of it, this is a pretty good description of Selling England by the Pound.

Quote from Noni

I know Rick Wakeman(Yes) has a huge collection in his name around 80 albums and that does not include his live albums.

Really? I had no idea. I'm only aware of his big 70s albums I suppose.

I'd guess Ant Phillips must be the most prolific of Genesis members, in terms of albums in his name?

Quote from DecomposingMan

6 members? There have been 7 Genesis members making solo albums (though whether or not you'd call all of them "incredible talented members" is up to you).

ha ha, it wasn't a deliberate snub I assure you! Ray just slipped my mind. I don't personally think of him when I think of Genesis, but he was of course a member with a solid solo career of his own.

Title says it all really! Has any other well-known band produced so many solo projects and albums? I can't think of another, but then I know Genesis inside and out, more than any other band. With Genesis you had 6 incredible talented members all producing high quality solo work over several decades. Is there any comparable band?

Very interesting, and a nicely put together vid

Quote from Witchwood

I really like the three albums he did with Jean Luc Ponty (Aurora, Imaginary Voyage and Enigmatic Ocean).

He is the lone guitarist on the first two albums I listed.

On Enigmatic Ocean, my favourite of the three, he shares lead guitar duties with another superbly talented guitarist, Allan Holdsworth.

thanks- that's the stuff I was thinking of. Will check it out

Quote from Backdrifter

Interesting. As I said, I do want to investigate more AP. I know Invisible and thought it was sort of ok in parts, but don't know Slow Dance at all let alone that it's a fan favourite so I shall give it a go at some point.

FWIW I'd say the first Private Parts and Pieces albums is one of his best. More varied, arty and experimental than a lot of his other stuff.

I was probably initially just as big a fan of Peter Gabriel as I was of Genesis (this was in the early 90s, as a teenager). His first four albums are still really special to me, although I can't listen to them too much due to overfamiliarity. His peak during the So era is really something to behold, an amazing concentration of talent.

For a very long time I was dismissive of Phil's work, seeing it as mostly sappy ballads. In recent years I've come to appreciate it a lot more, as well as the huge input he had in the sound and sheer musical quality of Genesis. Both Sides was a bit of a revelation for me - I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did when I picked up a cheap ebay copy a couple of years ago.

Tony Banks' work I mostly enjoy - it's very patchy but there's something about it I always come back to, even if it often feels a bit like half-strength Genesis. I've really enjoyed his classical work - I don't think they're works of genius, but they're very pleasant.

I started off as quite a big fan of Steve Hackett, especially his first few albums. That's cooled in recent years as I find they don't stand up to much relistening, and his recent work hasn't interested me at all. I still think the 70s releases are solid art rock albums and I'll probably enjoy exploring them again in a few years, when hopefully they'll feel fresh again.

I'm a biiiig Ant Phillips fan. I have nearly everything he's ever released (except the library stuff). I don't consider him to be a world class composer, musician or singer BUT he has a very unique feel, which is there in nearly everything he does - an emotional depth maybe? I find it irresistible, whatever it is. (although I seem to go against the grain a bit in thinking that fan-favourite Slow Dance is one of his worst albums, and the reviled Invisible Men project is one of his best!)

Very much go along with what's been said about Mike and the Mechanics. I give them a try every now and then but they're just so bland. The first M&M album is quite an enjoyable listen I suppose. I also do like Smallcreep's Day, and the B-side Compression is a real favourite of mine.

Brand X - top stuff. Really like the first few albums. Not up there with some of the more well-known American fusion bands, but top stuff none the less.

Ray Wilson - have no interest. Seems like pretty bland/cringey rock-bloke stuff to me.

Chester and Daryl - don't think I've ever heard anything solo. But would like to hear some of the music Daryl was involved in prior to Genesis

Quote from Backdrifter

No it wasn't officially called that. As far as I know if it had an official name it was just the And Then There Were Three tour. Many fans refer to it as The Mirrors Tour because, yes, it was the tour that had the big mirrors.

So I take it it's just because "the And then there were three tour" is a bit of a mouthful? (Why not just call it the '78 tour?)

was this tour officially called the "mirrors tour", like on posters etc? And why - just because of use of mirrored lighting?

Quote from DecomposingMan

OK, here's a question related to opening songs: Do you prefer "Where the Sour Turns to Sweet" or "Calling All Stations"?

For me, it's the first one -- best song on FGTR IMO.

I almost didn't buy CAS because of the initial impression I had of the title track. It's one of those songs that took me a while to warm up to. (Once I heard the whole album I was glad I bought it, though.)

I like both, but CAS is better - it's a good, dramatic, emotional song. (But it's not in the same league as e.g. Behind the Lines, Watcher, TLLDOB.) My opinions are kind of the reverse of yours - for me CAS is one of the best songs on that album, and WTSTTS is one of the weaker songs on FGTR

Quote from Barrowlad

I have no idea who this release is supposed to appeal to. Existing fans of the band? Hardly, as they already have everything on it, in all likelihood. New fans? Seriously, there are more white rhinos in the wild than there are new Genesis fans.

This is just the lamest release, which may as well have been titled “We’ve run out of ideas of what to do with the music of Genesis”.

Look at King Crimson. Unbelievable riches. Sets based around a single album that run to 20+ discs. Look at Jethro Tull. Fantastic book-sets that explore each album at length, with around 100 pages of interesting reading, and discs of additional material (studio and live). I’m a fan of the band, but this is poor. It seems only five minutes ago that they put out R-Kive.

Why this? I’ve no idea, in all honesty. Maybe had one glass of wine too many tonight, so feel free to correct me...

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Can certainly understand your disappointment. But it has to be said, there's no way in hell the record company would put this out if they didnt think there was a market for it.

I suppose it's quite nice to have an official "best of" on vinyl for the first time. Well, it would be if I could afford it

Some sites (e.g. louder sound) have the track for Domino listed as "Domino medley". I assume that just means it's the full version of Domino, but could possibly mean something else?

Quote from thewatcher

My memory of the documentary where his involvement regarding Whodunnit was mentioned is that when he heard the track, he said "that's got to be on there" or something to that effect. Ie not that it should be on instead of another track, just that it had to be on the album. I think the band were unsure. I never remember hearing anything about YMR being in the equation.

I'm sure someone with detailed knowledge will be along to clear things up...

That's how I remember it too. I got the impression it was just a throwaway comment - just that he liked it and thought it should be on there. Not like an order or anything. Genesis just happened to agree I guess, and/or felt that his opinion was worth respecting.

Quote from foxfeeder

Ahmet, the man who made Phil add drums to In the Air Tonight, to create the single version, which you NEVER hear now. Even Phil's "Hits" album uses the album version. So, perhaps his judgement was not that good, after all.

I actually didn't know this, or had never noticed the difference. However, the single version was a massive hit all over the world and made PC a superstar, so I don't see anything wrong with his judgment there. He WAS wrong about Whodunnit though!

Quote from Christian

Do you think so? I think it was Ahmet Ertegun who suggested not to include YMR in favor of Who Dunnit, just to give this album more edge and make it more interesting. I assume he thought the inclusion of a "safe" track instead of something controversial such as Abacab would have made this album less ... special?

Did he actually suggest replacing YMR with Whodunnit, or was it just that he really liked Whodunnit and wanted them to put it on the album, without any particular idea of which track it would be replacing?

It's funny that I started off being a big Genesis fan after really getting into Three Sides Live and loving the Abacab tracks on it, but then when I finally got around to getting Abacab itself it quickly became one of my least favourite Genesis albums. Looking at the tracklist I'm not even sure why. Out of all the songs I only dislike Whodunnit and Another Record and really rate everything else. I think it's probably because most other Genesis albums have a strong movement from beginning to end, and by the time you get to the last track you feel like you're coming to the end of a sort of satisfying narrative. I didn't like that there was nothing to look forward to at the end of side 2 of Abacab - just the slightly odd and boring Another Record.

I'm convinced that if they'd swapped Another Record for You Might Recall (and maybe got rid of Whodunnit completely, or replaced it with Paperlate?) it would have had that satisfying flow from start to finish, and it would be considered one of the best Genesis albums (or at least their best pop/rock album)

good thread - has to be TLLDOB for me. Just perfect scene-setting and their most powerful and catchy song to that point of their career.

One which is often overlooked is Down and Out, one of their heaviest songs. Love the way it starts off as if it's going be another Earl of Mar but then hits you like Mar on steroids. It always makes me think that Rush were taking notes - the sound they perfected by the time of Moving Pictures

I find Island quite emotional and powerful. It certainly does have a sort of meat-and-potatoes rock sound but it rises above it quite admirably in my opinion. I've never really enjoyed Another Murder that much - it just seems to hang around not doing very much while Fish strangles the life out of the lyrics. I don't mind One Man's Fool but it's not a favourite.

Quote from Liquid Len

The battle between good and evil. It’s ongoing. That’s why the song fades out.

Yeah.. I guess. Seems like a bit of a stretch but could be the intention. I suppose it is meant to refer to the song fading out, but it still seems odd to me. It doesn't fade out on a repeated vocal refrain, so not sure why it's signposted in the lyrics.