Posts by dodo

  • Your latest music acquisition.

    A few months ago I went on an eBay vinyl spree, snagging all four cover variations for Abacab, a copy of Duke, and Three Sides Live.


    Most recent CD is the new box-set release of Elton John's "Madman Across the Water".


    Just purchased Phil Keaggy's new "Hymnsongs 2" on download from Bandcamp.

  • GENESIS - 40th anniversary of "Three Sides Live"

    3SL was my first Genesis album and hooked me on the band, especially the Abacab/Duke era... and that wild song about a cage ;-) This was in my walkman era, and the original cassette I had bit the dust a long time ago. "I don't recall" listening to side 4 all that much other than Paperlate, which was a popular radio staple at the time. It was nice to get the "4th SL" when I bought it on CD many years later. Does anyone have a CD version where the tracking isn't all screwed up on "side 4"?

    Quote from Backdrifter

    ...While I actually love M&SJ on Abacab - for me, it's a classic - the 3SL version is poor and somewhat clunky.

    M&SJ is one of my all-time favorite Genesis songs. Odd lyrics, but the multiple layers of keyboard parts and through-composed construction always takes me on a satisfying musical journey. Early 1980s keyboard technology wouldn't let Tony reproduce all those layers live on stage, so I agree that the live recording lacks much of the impact of the studio version.

  • The Rock Orchestra performs Genesis - Delaware, USA

    I'm glad you & your girlfriend enjoyed the show, MoonlitKnight! "Duchess" is one of my favorite Genesis songs, and last night was definitely the best we've played it so far.


    This is our last scheduled performance of this show. We're planning to play it once more in our rehearsal space in a couple weeks to get a decent multi-track recording for posterity.


    When we were breaking down after the show I mentioned to my bandmates that I had a flashback during "Abacab"... as a teen I'd often browse through the local Sam Goody store browsing through sheet music books. I frequently picked up the Abacab sheet music book & tried to memories a few more chords because I didn't have enough cash to buy the book. Never would have expected I'd have the chance to play the whole album on stage some 40 years later!


    One thing the band all agreed on - these songs took a lot more work to get under our belts than we expected. There are plenty of poppier moments on both Duke & Abacab, but also quite a lot of tricky bits!


    One minor correction - my name in "real life" is Brian :-)

  • Genesis, Genesis Album

    Yes, always interesting how opinions can vary widely! I much prefer Genesis to IT. "Just a Job To Do" and "It's Gonna Get Better" remain two of my favorite Genesis tracks from the 80s. "Illegal Alien" was corny fun at the time but obviously hasn't aged well. "Silver Rainbow" is a good song, but for some reason it didn't grab my attention back in '83 when I had this cassette in frequent rotation.

    I don't dislike "Invisible Touch"; I was quite enthusiastic about the then-new Genesis songs at first, but about six months after its debut the US airwaves were so oversaturated with IT tracks that I grew tired of it. It didn't help that "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was picked up for beer ads... felt like a sell-out (Selling the US by the Dollar?) ;-)

  • Most Technically adept Genesis album

    Do we mean "technical" as in cutting-edge use of music technology, or as in proficiency of musical technique? If the former, I think we can look at Duke/Abacab/Genesis/IT as the era of the most (then) cutting-edge use of technology: creative use of drum machines, guitar synthesizers, midi controllers, "ducks" (!), early samplers and sequencers... If the latter, I still find "The Lamb" to be extraordinary among the Genesis catalog, but also plenty of highly skilled playing on Trick & WaW.

  • The Rock Orchestra performs Genesis - Delaware, USA

    Thanks for sharing your review OneForTheVine ! For this project we were going for a mix of the studio & TSL live versions of the songs - usually taking the TSL live ending, but bringing as much of the studio arrangement as possible.


    Those “di-di-di-di” sounds (I voice them as “chit-chit-chit-chit”) are made with a vocoder. I use a Behringer VC340, which is a clone of the old Roland VP-330 model that Tony used in the 1980s. That unit replaced Tony’s mellotron - in addition to the vocoding it also has circuits to generate “human voice” and “string synth” sounds at different registers and combinations. I used the strings on “In the Cage” and the voice in the first two bridges of “Afterglow”.


    Genesis have always been very creative sonically, and the approach to vocoding is no exception. The “wo-oa-AH!” following all the “di-di-di-di”s (when they do it, when they show it, Abacab) is also the vocoder - hold down a G7sus4 chord and make odd sounds into the mic! A similar effect comes at the start of the 1st “reggae verse” in Dodo. Tony ad-libbed vocoder syllables during the final chorus of Duchess, too. “Me and Sarah Jane” has "more typical" vocoder use, echoing the lyrics in a few places during the “swirly bit”.


    I absolutely love all of the percussion overdubs on Abacab, so was very happy our group had the instruments to bring them to the stage! Our percussionist, Jill, has an amazing array of noise-making gizmos - she was actually striking a cookie tray for some of the "Keep It Dark" sections! Joe used the "ratchet" on KID (and Another Record) and Chris used another percussion tool that looks like a cross between a "Rubik's snake" and a DNA molecule to great effect in Lurker - hold it in both hands and give a quick wrist snap, and all the wooden slats clack together in succession to make a wonderful sound! Chris plays additional keyboard parts on a few songs and that brings even more of the studio overdubs to a live setting.


    This was the first time we played this show live. It's always fun to move to "the big stage”, and while that brings a number of upgrades vs our rehearsal space, it can also bring a few unexpected issues… such as the lead vocal mic going dead during “Behind the Lines”, or me accidentally knocking one keyboard off its stand when I tried to move my vocoder mic-stand out of the way! In moments like that we try to keep eye contact and keep playing, trusting that things will fall back into place!


    MoonlitKnight I'm afraid the stage at Milton isn't big enough to bring the horns with us, but we still plan to keep those two songs in the set.


    Puma02uk the show was recorded, so I hope we will eventually have some good videos to share, but it's likely some months down the road. In the meantime there's a decent audience video from "No Reply At All" - I'll see if we can get it up on YouTube to share.

  • The Rock Orchestra performs Genesis - Delaware, USA

    Quote from OneForTheVine

    This is definitely a show worth catching! I’m very glad I went. I heard excellent live versions of songs I had never heard live before...


    I wondered in the “Your Next Gig” thread if “Tony” would have the snorkel mask on during “Who Dunnit?” Well, you/he did! 🤿 You even had a regulation Tony Banks early-80s striped rugby shirt on - that’s true attention to detail! 👍...

    Glad you enjoyed our show! I like rugby shirts, too, so tried to find one that was similar to the ones Tony wore in that early 80s era. Also figured that if seemingly-staid Tony Banks donned a snorkel for "Whodunnit?" then I should give it a go as an homage for any die-hard fans... 10 seconds into the song the lens fogged up terribly, making it rather difficult to see my notes! 🤓 Looking forward to our reprise on the 27th!

  • Perfect albums.

    Genesis: The Lamb

    Yes: The Yes Album, Close to the Edge

    Chicago Transit Authority

    Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out

    Asia - debut album

    Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

    Rush: Signals