Well, on the jpg pic, the Knight should definitely have been Moonlit
Ahh...
Well, on the jpg pic, the Knight should definitely have been Moonlit
Ahh...
What are the errors exactly?
My personal favorite is Queen of Darkness.
I have to say, I've been familiar with the song "How Long" since long before I knew who Paul Carrack was, and until seeing this thread I never knew he wrote and sang it! (Side note: I always thought the line "I ain't quite as dumb as I seem" was kind of interesting.)
While this is not one of my favorites from STRICTLY INC. -- I much prefer "Something to Live For" and "Don't Turn Your Back on Me," among others -- I like it better than anyone else does who has commented so far.
The AllMusic review of the album makes an interesting comment about the song: "'"The Serpent Said' especially shows some courage on the part of Banks." I've never quite understood what's meant by that, but I guess it means that Tony was daring to be unconventional on this track?
Phil's good intentions in the lyrics aside, I really don't think of this as a "long" (or "progressive") song. It's actually two pieces -- connected lyrically but not musically -- joined by an instrumental link that's not really related to either (although it does get referenced at the end of the second).
It's almost as if Peter started out with the kind of thing fans might have expected from him -- weird & witty, with lots of character voices -- before moving on to other things.
As a fan who came to the group via DUKE and ended up with TRICK & WIND as my favorites, I'm a bit less fond of the post-DUKE material than of what came before it. Basically, I consider the later works to be "good" rather than "great," and the "Shapes" album is certainly no exception. "That's All" is a well-crafted pop song, to be sure, but it doesn't represent what I hoped to hear when buying Genesis albums.
As a side note, I like how the song's last repetition of the title phrase seems to be saying, "Well, that's the end of the song."
Definitely one of the best Genesis "leftovers." Would have been a fine inclusion on ABACAB.
He's waiting for her to show up for a date, and she hasn't. So he's trying to put the best interpretation he can on it. Surely she wouldn't dump me! There must be some misunderstanding - hope against reality.
Thanks, but my comment was in reference to "Hold the Line," not "Misunderstanding."
Toto's "Hold the Line"
Speaking of which, I recently heard this and it's been (annoyingly) stuck in my head. Anyway, am I the only one who doesn't see any logical connection between the lyrics of its chorus and those of its verses?
As to its meaning, no doubt there was some intended but it doesn't come across much.
I often find that to be the case with Banks lyrics.
A good "deep cut" from what I consider a very even album. The "old man" is, to me, one of the more interesting characters to be found in Genesis songs.
Yesterday I played the CD for my wife. I normally don't play much music for her since she has different musical tastes than I do, mainly preferring standard, familiar commercial stuff; but she is usually open minded about hearing different things. I've played her various Hackett albums before, even though I would think they'd sound strange to her.
Anyway, the only part of the disc she commented on was "Taking You Down." Apparently recognizing that it wasn't Steve's voice on the song, she suddenly asked, "What is this, and who's singing it?" She also said it was more "hard rock" than what I'd normally play for her, and (without coming up with the exact word) described it as sounding "devilish."
My own opinion on the song is basically that it's the most memorable track on the disc, and that's a good thing.
I'm currently in a situation where I don't have much opportunity to listen to anything, but I managed to listen to the new Ant album over a couple of days. My first impression is that the first half is better than the second. Most of the disc really didn't do a lot for me but I suspect it will grow on me in subsequent listens.
the live versions were lacking and that added vocal bit seemed to miss the point. Why write a nice simple pop song and the extend it with needless clutter? - that was certainly not classy.
I agree. This is high on the list of Genesis songs that were worse when played live.
What first got me into Genesis was hearing "Turn It On Again" on the radio in 1980, but hearing "Misunderstanding" on the radio as well also contributed to that. Both were influential in getting me to check out DUKE, even if the latter didn't end up being one of my favorites from the album.