Posts by thewatcher

  • RIP Thread!!

    Jim Steinman 😢


    This shocked me when I saw the headline. He was only 73 but apparently had been sick. He has written some of the most enduring songs of the past half century including Bat Out Of Hell and Total Eclipse of the Heart. He seemed to have a love-hate relationship with Meat Loaf, in that they frequently ended up in court suing each other, but they always seemed to come back around and did their best work together.


    If I recall correctly, he was also going to sing some early song himself (maybe even Bat out of Hell, or more likely an earlier song from some stage production) but a female biker broke his nose so he was unable to and the job fell to Meat Loaf. The favor was somewhat repaid when Meat Loaf ruined his voice touring Bat out of Hell, and was unable to sing the follow up album (Bad for Good). Steinman lost patience waiting for it to recover, and sang it himself. It was a relatively minor hit; when Meat Loaf was finally able to sing again, they released Dead Ringer which was much more successful that Steinman's solo attempt.


    Anyway, a larger than life character, a nice guy too by all accounts, and a certified giant in the songwriting world of rock. RIP.

  • Genesis influence on other artists

    Have you noticed a specific influence of Genesis or the members on a song or other artist?


    Two come to mind for me. Nine Inch Nails "She's Gone Away" from Twin Peaks The Return episode 8 heavily derives from Mama, I think. 'ha ha ha ha'... Etc. Check it out https://www.google.com/url?sa=…Vaw0VTJzWxrN8ZFOD4xbU2nov


    And much less specific, I think Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins liked to compare Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness to The Wall of their generation, but I always thought The Lamb was a much more accurate comparator. Mellon Collie was a lot less monolithic than the Wall, and a lot more varied and melodic, like the Lamb. I think The Fragile was The Wall of the 90s.

  • Re-arrange Genesis albums

    Not for nothing but Silver Rainbow would be a very odd song to end an album on.


    That said, it's a very odd song no matter where it falls in the running order. I'm very fond of it.

  • Genesis Fans.

    Quote from LiquidLen

    I agree that everyone in this forum seems pretty cool and accommodating. I’ve only been a member on here for maybe a week and half. I’ve never seen Genesis live but it doesn’t seem like that is a qualifying factor for having to be apart of this forum. For me, I was two young in ‘86 and ‘92, and just couldn’t get to a concert in ‘07 because of where I was at in my life. I think a lot of people In their late thirties and early-mid 40’s may be in the same boat. If they do come to the states on this next tour, I’m determined to see them. In the end, it doesn’t diminish my love for the band.

    I'm in the same boat except I was lucky to see them on the CAS tour. I had tickets to two shows in Germany in 2007 but wasn't able to go, something I will regret forever. The concert footage of them in their prime makes me envious of the people who saw those shows, but I totally agree - doesn't make me like the band less, in fact they're my tied-with-two-others favorite band ever!

  • Nursery Cryme - most underrated album

    Quote from Christian

    true


    nevertheless, I see Nursery Cryme (and also Trespass) as some kind of prototype / test bed for their perfect prog albums that would follow (Selling England and Trick Of The Tail). Nursery Cryme is sometimes a bit rough and also it's not top notch a-z, I never liked Harlequin or Harold the Barrel.

    I love that NC is a bit rough. It's energetic, raw and unvarnished in a way those other albums you refer to are not. I prefer Trick if I'm forced to choose, I just think that album is quite special, but Selling England, despite it's standouts, feels lacking in edge to me. A bit too smooth.

  • 25 years ago today: GENESIS announce Phil Collins had left the band

    Quote from LiquidLen

    I remembering buying CAS when it was released. Also here in Philadelphia, local stations played the hell out of Congo. I really enjoyed the album, and still to this day feel that they gave up too easily on their new sound. To me, CAS was darker and heavier than what came before it, and they could have really ran with that mood. The music reminded me of Brother Cain, Fools Shine On. It had that type of feel to it. It was the late nineties after all, alternative music was darker and heavier than the some of the music of the earlier part of the decade. I also love The Dividing Line, and the Title Track. Not About Us is my favorite ballad on the album.

    They absolutely should have stuck with it. Had a great sound, very promising tracks (CAS, Dividing line, Run out of Time) and a big fan base. Ray and Tony were in.


    Thanks Mike.

  • General appreciation of PC

    Ok, it's hard to imagine now but Phil was in the same category as Michael Jackson and Madonna in 1986 - 87. But he was also playing drums on Apocalypse in 9/8 with Genesis *at the same time*.


    What. A. Legend.


    Seriously incomparable. No one was as good in so many different domains as he was. He had soul and he rocked. He was inventive and technically gifted. He somehow managed to be pretty funny too.


    Flawless? Of course not. But "we'll never see the likes of him again!"


    Also, this isn't an obituary. The dude is still alive. I just felt the urge to say nice things I believe are true about PC.

  • Nursery Cryme - most underrated album

    I agree, if you ranked Genesis albums from most underrated to least, NC would be close to the top. I think Trespass and Abacab are more underrated, but NC is up there. I prefer it to Foxtrot and SEBTP. I adore Seven Stones. And with tracks like Harold the Barrel and For Absent Friends it feels like it has hidden corridors and back doors. Musical Box, Hogweed and Salmacis are major achievements, all on one album.