Posts by Thelawnmower

Yes that should have been ‘a bit of fun in rehearsal’. ‘C’mon people make some noise!’ Oh dear….

Full marks from me. One of my favourites. One of their best openers to one of their best albums. I think it strikes the perfect balance between the longer and shorter songs in that it has sophisticated patterns within a straightforward overall structure. I love the opening, revisited at the close, punchy verses which tell a story and a break in the middle beautifully sung by Phil. I couldn’t single out a best player on this one, they are all playing brilliantly as individuals and as a band, including some superb bass from Mike. The atmosphere created sets up the album perfectly.

I didn’t! Thanks, I knew a lot of it was played backwards but had never looked into it. Makes perfect sense now.

I think Do the Neurotic has good bits but sounds like a jam that might be raided for bits at a later date. The Brazilian sounds like it was worked on until it was a finished piece. I’m sure they could have done the same with DTN but perhaps chose not to.

Could list lots of lovely Ant stuff but for a little song I’ve always liked Wind Tales at the start of The Geese and the Ghost. About a minute long but there’s a lot going on and it draws your attention as it sounds so different. Good opener for the album

Quote from Backdrifter

I don't know, I've never heard any explanation of the title but would guess it was one of their in-studio working titles that stuck. The heavily percussive nature of it possibly put them in mind of Brazilian festival music? But I'm reaching a bit - for all I know some aspect of its development made them think of pubic hair removal.

I've just recalled a line from the text of an IT Tour magazine of some kind (I don't think it was the actual tour proprogramme) which listed the set with descriptive notes and for this one said something like "The music brings to mind a steam train making its stately way up through the Brazilian hills". I thought at the time - does it?!

When they were on BBC Radio 1 announcing the LD tour, some listeners' questions were read out. One was "Will you be playing The Brazilian?" which drew a laugh from Collins, a weary "God, no" from Rutherford and a muttered "That's not a bad idea" from Banks.

Thanks Backdrifter- that gave me a laugh. Actually I can sort of see the train going through the hills a little bit, just not Brazil. I know Zoe Ball has gone on about this track on more than one occasion and raves about it, and Tony is fond of it. So quite a broad appeal!

Quote from Backdrifter

They do?! Like you, that's never occurred to me that it's a kind of prog return.

well perhaps I over-egged that a bit but I’ve read a few reviews over the years which suggested it, one saying ‘Tony’s got his way again’ in relation to The Brazilian.
I’ve always been a little puzzled by the title as well, it’s a good title but I’m not sure it goes with the music. Does anyone know why they chose it?

I know some people rave about this and see it as some sort of return to prog ways. I've never seen it like that, it seems to me to fit perfectly on Invisible Touch and, along with TTT and Domino, provides a balance to the shorter songs. I quite like it and I thought it was a good decision to play it live. Good skittering drums over a nice track and Tony having fun with his noises. Good, but not top drawer for me.

Like the rest of us, I don’t really know what the sale of the rights means. I imagine the company has the ability to endlessly repackage the three man era stuff but we don’t know what extras, if any at all, that includes. It wouldn’t apply to The Lamb, which is ideal for a fiftieth anniversary box set, but is still under the old arrangements. Would love to see it, but I’m not holding my breath. I’d love to see whole gig recordings, but my breath is far from bated. I have all the archives and box sets but I really feel for those who want them and can’t get them, so I wish the band would at least reissue those. Again, most of that is outside this new deal so it’s down to the band and their management again and we know what that probably means.

Thanks Jonathan, a superb piece of writing and a very enjoyable read.

Ten from me. I agree the female vocals are fine but nothing special. But as mentioned above it fits with the sound of medieval songs, with a couple of minstrels with half decent voices singing after a feast- only joined by two superb string players. I like the sudden ending as well.

Yes, that got me thinking, but I think it means you can't lend it or pass it on in any other form than that in which it is published i.e. you shouldn't put another cover on it or change it and then pass it on. So I think you are safe! I've just started reading it and I think it is very well researched and put together. There are little bits I didn't know and some interesting theories. I know the fact that it was written in German and then translated shows through - I suspect the original German is very well written and sophisticated, which can make for a tricky translation experience. But overall I like it and glad I bought it.

I enjoyed reading that, thanks

Once again, superb work.

Many thanks

13 from me. It’s a cracker. Very complicated and possibly only works because Phil’s arranging skills rescued it. The sort of stop/start chopping and changing suits the little playlet style of the lyrics and different characters so it doesn’t become clever for its own sake. My intro to Genesis came from a hand me down copy of Genesis Live and it does pack more of a punch there than on Foxtrot. Likewise, Steve’s recent live version is excellent. Great playing and vocal performance, a complex structure needing tight playing and a vocal tour de force from Gabriel. I really like the flute as well!

I am similarly placed. Would love to do this but have never been able to follow the various layers of instructions. I suspect this is partly because a tech manager where I used to work advised against it as you leave your PC open to threat whilst downloading and uploading. Now I may have misunderstood him and/or he may be wrong but it was enough to put me off, alongside my technical incompetence. Any enlightenment gratefully received!

Quote from jaydubya

One thing I will ask is what does 2nd Home By The Sea sound like to anyone else. Specifically during Mike's guitar solo. Can't make my mind up if the CD is glitching, if there is a glitch on the recording or there was glitching as Mike performed the solo?

Have listened to that solo a bit now. Sounds fine to me in that it is as played and was a rare moment of breaking loose a little bit. The guitar is good, rough and not too anchored to the beat which is how Mike wanted it I imagine. He’s a totally different player to Steve and it works well here (although I’d have liked to hear what Steve would have come with…). There is an odd half drum lick which I’m not sure was intended or perhaps was abandoned before it got going and it is a bit naff. It follows a really nice sort of shuffle with the beat a few bars before but this time doesn’t do anything other than provide a slightly jarring little skip which probably would have been better left out. Maybe a little error, perhaps starting to go somewhere and realising it wasn’t the right place, more likely just a slight improvisation which wouldn’t be repeated. But I like the slightly spontaneous feel to the section.

Yes, a good track, nice, upbeat mood with a bit of class shot through. The drumming is a highlight for me and I liked the involvement of Earth, Wind and Fire. I agree about the keyboards, it’s what makes it sound like Genesis as opposed to Phil. Not quite as punchy as No Reply so I thought the EP was the ideal place for it. Good to see them Top of the Pops as well, with Phil drumming and miming singing.

I enjoyed listening to this today. I met Richard at a Musical Box gig and had a long chat to him, lovely bloke. He comes across on this show as charming, knowledgeable and a bit scatty. Amanda was great but I’d have liked

to hear more from her. Richard chatted a lot and perhaps could have allowed her to say a bit more. She chose some great tracks, all in all a good listen.

Very early days and I’ve only listened to the Lyceum stuff so far but very happy with that. Sounds is as good as I’d expected/hoped. I’ll have a good listen to that Rutherford solo but he can be a bit rough round the edges- not a problem, in fact it’s part of his charm, but I don’t know until I hear it if that’s all it is. I’ve got a lot of this stuff already but I’m very pleased with the package so far. Like most others here I’ll always want more!