Posts by Dr. John

I think the melody and the musical accompaniment is lovely. And Phil's vocal performance is great. The lyrics are less arresting. Still a pleasant listen overall.

I am a big fan of the era of Beggar's Banquet through to Exile. Beyond that, I like many of the earlier singles and a smattering of tracks from the rest of the 70s and early 80s. After that, I admire that they can still have craft and energy, but nothing has made me want to buy more recent material. What I have heard from this album so far is similar: sounds pretty good, but nothing that sticks with me enough to pursue further.

There are proverbs that have been coined more recently. "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" is attributed to Harry Truman for example. I think "It's easier to get forgiveness instead of permission" is also somewhat more recent - within the last century.

I think it is very unlikely that we will ever get further jams and works-in-progress a la Mama. What is more within the realm of possibility is properly recorded live performances that have not been released, perhaps for "deluxe" editions of existing live albums. I still think this is unlikely as they had the chance to release more of these for the Archive editions and the box sets.

I gave it a 15. It is a pop masterpiece. It is not as challenging as some of his other great songs, but I can't think of many better expressions of joy. I far prefer the extended version, which he plays live and I think was the originally intended vision for the song as there is also a studio version with similar structure.

In terms of the recorded live versions, I love the version from the So tour with N'Dour joining in to sing his classic part. However the version from the Secret World tour is also magical. Paula Cole and Papa Wemba's vocalizations are lovely. I dig Jean-Claude Naimro's keyboard break. Shankar's haunting violin adds great atmosphere. And Katche's wonderful syncopated drumming adds all the right surprises. I am puzzled that Gabriel left in his vocal flub for one of the choruses, given his tendency to "cheat" and fix these problems.

This a great Genesis song. Such an energizing opener to the album.

Although overall, I still happily listen to Seconds Out from beginning to end (admittedly skipping RAaB), I share some of the opinions about its limitations.

The performances are from a band operating at the top of their game:

Phil sings wonderfully throughout. He hasn't yet achieved the grit and heft of his vocals a few years later, so tougher passages are maybe less convincing. But he can soar on the high notes and is transcendent on passages such as As Sure as Eggs Is Eggs. His drumming is of course amazing, highlighted when he gets behind the kit for instrumental sections.

Steve is in his ghostly tonal phase, which can be magical in quiet sections (e.g., Carpet Crawlers, parts of Supper's Ready). I do miss his more muscular and aggressive tone from earlier years, which would have made Firth of Fifth and other songs truly soar.

Tony has one of my favourite keyboard arsenals with the Hammond, the mellotron, and the ARP for the lead lines. His playing is great throughout.

Mike is playing wonderfully, whether on bass or 12-string. I wish his bass tone had more edge, particularly for songs like LLDOB. However his 12-string sound is sublime.

Tony and Mike should also get props for their tight harmony work on Carpet Crawlers (and on Entangled, released separately).

Chester is a great addition, adding a depth and authority that solidly backs everything up. He integrates incredibly well with Phil. However he also pulls off remarkable fills on his own - the kit-covering roll following "Jerusalem" is a fine example.

As noted with some of my comments above, I do wish the sound overall could have had more edge and power. Boots from the tour are evidence that the band did have more of this live. Squonk, LLDOB, FoF, and DoaV all needed a bit more of this. But the softer, ethereal sound really works wonders for the quieter passages. Cinema Show is magical right up to that tasteless ending that they tacked on in lieu of Aisle of Plenty.

I too wish the song list was a little different. I can understand they choices they made at the time. I still wonder why we can't have some kind of deluxe release with all the potential extra tracks, several of which have been released from these two tours: Entangled, White Mountain, It/Watcher of the Skies, The Lamb medley, Eleventh Earl of Mar, Your Own Special Way, One for the Vine (even though I don't like it), All In a Mouse's Night, ...ITQE, and Inside and Out. That would be a package I would be happy to buy.

14 for me, losing one point for the silly noises which undercut the poignancy of the rest of the song. The acoustic guitar part is sublime and the flute-like tone for the melodic phrases in the verses made me think of his flute playing in Genesis. A really wonderful melody and lyrics that reflect some kind of journey of self-actualization, whether that was about leaving Genesis or something more general.

I would rate the live versions similarly, for different reasons. I really miss the acoustic guitar part. But his vocals are stronger and more assured from about 1980 onward. Even if there wasn't any bass in the original, I certainly don't mind what Tony Levin adds. And I don't mind the "ho-ho-ho-ho..." part at the end as it's at least better than the silly noises. I do miss the anchoring power chord in the outro of the studio version.

I too love the industrial-ness of Darkness and see the resemblance to NIN. His vocal tone is edgy like his vocals on Melt. I also picked Signal to Noise and More Than This, the latter for its melodicism.

I've always assumed that Us and Them was commentary on the futility of war. It seems to emphasize that both sides are the same and are "ordinary men". It also comments on how the generals are safe at the back and send the front line men to their doom. I also thought the lines moving from side to side and the round and round bit suggest that nothing really changes in a meaningful way.

I can't say I find any other song explicitly anti-war.

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

Around 1982, on vinyl.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

5.

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

Yes.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

5th.

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Firth of Fifth.

6. Which track is your favourite today?

The Cinema Show.

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

The Cinema Show.

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

5 - vinyl, original CD, remaster, box set (remix and SACD).

I remember my friend bought the Mama 12" and we gathered around the turntable to give it a listen. I remember us all thinking "Well this is different!" Definitely different from Abacab and way different from Firth of Fifth and the like, which is what we high school kids were into. I can't say we liked it right away, but we played it multiple times and began to appreciate it for the masterpiece that I now think it is.

Overall I like the album. Unlike rkive above, I think the melodies are quite catchy. Although I have always found Illegal Alien to be cringey from a lyrical perspective, it is very catchy. That's All is very catchy and I like the country-ish groove - very different from their other songs. Just A Job to Do, Taking It All Too Hard, and (especially) It's Gonna Get Better also have catchy melodies for me.

Second Home by the Sea is a wonderful instrumental - not a retread of older-style instrumentals and yet very engaging and interesting. Silver Rainbow is the oddball song and I like it a lot.

Like others, I have had no interest in this album and have only heard a few tracks. I respect that Phil loves this song catalogue (as do I) and enjoys singing these songs. I don't care to hear him be a Motown cover artist.

This is peak Genesis for me. Great pile-driving groove from Phil. Colouring 12-string chords from Mike. Ever-shifting tension and release chords from Tony on the mellotron. Steve painting in accents and shades just enough. And Peter introducing everything with a poignant vocal.

The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto last night. We had great seats (2nd row centre) and they put on a spirited performance, with great musicianship as usual. They mainly featured their latest album, but reached back to key songs from their early albums. We first saw them in 1999 at Lilith Fair and have been fans ever since. Here they are doing a version of their very first single:

My 3 are Playing for Time, Olive Tree, and i/o. I'm seem to be a bit in the minority on the last one, which I find very positive and uplifting. It also has great energy live.

I think it is good. It is enjoyable and catchy. I don't mind hearing it and I like that Peter wanted to venture into his love for soul music and R&B. It is a far cry from his most powerful, haunting, and poignant work. The video is fantastic. And Tony Levin's bassline is awesome.

I enjoyed the show a lot. He is still in very good voice. The visuals are creative and interesting. And the band mixes amazing veterans with newbies who add different textures to the arrangements (cello, violin, brass). Nice that he mentioned meeting Tony and recorded his first album in Toronto. I do wish there had been at least one song from 2 or 4, but oh well.

I prefer most Genesis tracks as live performances. Squonk is one of the few that I prefer the studio recording. There's a crispness to the attack of the guitars and drums that gets softened on Seconds Out. Later versions reachieve some of the aggression, but Phil can't quite sustain the high As the way he could on the studio version.

I also want to acknowledge Robbie Robertson's passing. The Band have been one of my favourite artists for decades and I regret never seeing them perform as they were at their best live. Robbie was a great songwriter and a guitarist who played from the gut. I got to meet him briefly many years ago and we had a brief chat and he signed my copy of his first solo CD.

In his memory, here is one example of great songwriting and one example of great playing: