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P.S.: I'll admit that my fondness for THE FUGITIVE is based on the original version without the 2 bonus tracks. They don't contribute to the high rating I give it, but they're also not enough to bring it down to 2nd place.
I always felt there was something very Genesis-esque about "K2," one of the two bonus tracks.
It is probably my second-favourite song on the album, behind "Man of Spells."
The story I heard was that the intro was played for part of the SEBTP tour, but Tony had a major bungle one night and they removed the intro portion of the song after that. If anyone has some additional info, would love to hear it.
I read that before as well.
But I've heard at least half a dozen recordings from that tour (including the last show at Academy of Music), and they all have that intro.
So I don't know if it got dropped at some point and then brought back in again, or if it's just untrue - but I can confirm the last performance on that tour did have that intro.
^^^ Do we know for certain that they didn't do the intro live, and it was just lef off the recording (for whatever reason)?
The piano intro was dropped when they resumed playing FoF from the Trick tour on and that's evident from unofficial live recordings.
To my tastes, Tony and Ant pull off the vocals substantially better than the other two.
Wise After The Event is far and away my favourite of the four albums. It’s the only one of this bunch that would probably be in my Top 10 or top dozen G-men solo albums.
The Fugitive is a decently balanced album - one which doesn’t seem to suffer from the highs and lows of some of Tony's subsequent releases, IMO.
Cured isn’t horrible but I think any of its redeeming qualities are brought crashing down by the studio-enhanced vocals and the cheesy-sounding drum machine.
Speaking of redeeming qualities, I do like Mike’s vocals on “Hideaway” – it is the only song on AVS that I actually do like. The rest of album for me is intolerable.
My ranking:
1. Wise After The Event – Anthony Phillips
2. The Fugitive – Tony Banks
3. Cured – Steve Hackett
4. Acting Very Strange – Mike Rutherford
Several of my favourite tracks in Genesis are ones where Steve Hackett either co-wrote with one other person, or made a suggestion that resulted in a monumental musical highlight.
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No. 6.
Blood On The Rooftops
I made that comment in reference to "Entangled" but I had at least two more songs in mind when I wrote that, including this one.
Classical guitar, mellotron, a beautiful melody. What more could I ask for? This is a heavenly piece of music, my favourite track of the post-Gabriel era - which I suppose says something about my top five.
A lot of my favourite songs are non-album tracks like Don’t Let Me Down, Rain and Revolution, that ended up on the original Hey Jude album and more recent compilations like Past Masters Vol. 2.
Favourite album is Sgt. Pepper’s.
A Beatles related sidenote …
For ages, I had this childhood recollection of my two older brothers rushing into the living room and taking over the TV because The Beatles were going to be performing a song. I recall my brothers standing and hovering over the TV, pointing out people seated behind the band, “Oh, look there’s… and there’s…”
Even though I was three years old, I still remembered the repetitious chorus which years later I was able to identify as “All You Need Is Love.”
And then well into adulthood, with his hazy memory fading, I started to question whether it really happened – because I knew by that point in their career, the Beatles didn’t perform live. So it didn’t seem to make sense to me that they would be on TV playing that song. Did I just imagine it?
It wasn’t until the internet and specifically YouTube this mystery was answered.
One day when that memory popped into my head, I searched YouTube for "All You Need Is Love" and what do I find, but a world premiere performance of that song that aired on TV at the time of its release.
As you can imagine, it was a revelation to have this faint memory materialize clearly before my eyes, right down to the celebrity guests seated in the background and singing along.
I like it.
Yes, it's a sweet song and in my books that doesn't necessarily make it a bad song, even within the context of a progressive rock album.
It's just another of those songs like "More Fool Me" that seem to trigger a curious reaction amongst a certain segment of fans - sudden ire in the midst of what for them might be an otherwise enjoyable album.
"A bit harsh imo. I would agree, as Tony I believe has said many times that the whole story , the concept leaves a lit to be desired but some individual lyrics are imo just brilliant..."
I can see how my intended meaning may have been misunderstood.
When I wrote "There is nothing on The Lamb that compares lyrically or stylistically..." I meant it in terms of being dissimilar in lyrical content and style.
I didn't mean it to suggest one was inferior to the other.
Well for one thing, I disagree that it's the "most sacred of cows". I've always known it to be a quite divisive album and you are far from alone in disliking it. I think that, ironically in a sense, you've elevated it beyond the point most Lamb-admirers place it.
For me it indeed is my favourite Genesis album, and one of my top 10 albums ever by anyone. But I'm going to disappoint you - I feel no particular need to "challenge" you on your dislike of it! What a peculiar idea. If you regard it as no better or more significant within their output than Ummagumma is within Floyd's, so be it. I regard it as their best album by quite some distance, but it and no album or track by Genesis or any artist is a sacred cow.
I concur on multiple points.
Even though it is one of my favourites as well, I can totally understand why some Genesis fans aren't as keen on it, especially when you compare it to the four albums that preceded it and the two albums that followed.
It is a different-sounding album that doesn't have a lot of the "classical" elements that are often associated with early Genesis.
There is nothing on The Lamb that compares lyrically or stylistically to Stagnation, The Musical Box, Fountain of Salmacis, Cinema Show, Can-Utility, Blood On The Rooftops..
So if there is an appearance of complacency, it is due to the fact that it is neither unprecedented nor unfathomable that someone who loves Nursery Cryme or SEBTP may not be as huge of a fan of The Lamb.
As is often the case with Ant's music, I play one album and I want to hear more.
Played Geese And The Ghost yesterday.
Listening to Wise After The Event this evening.
And I've set aside a couple of early PP&Ps for later.
It's bloomin' awful! I think Phil said that he's personally signed every copy that was bought. It's worth a listen and - like FGTR - there are some good ideas in there but it sounds very dated. It's worth noting that the band themselves didn't come up with the concept; that was the brainchild of Howard and Blaikley (who had written hits for The Honeycombs and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich).
I agree, it is very much a product of its time.
The last time I played it which was probably over a decade ago, I recall for some reason being reminded of the band the Fifth Dimension ("Age of Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In").
It's an interesting curiosity item, I'll give it that.
It's not too much like "Selling England," both share a medieval aesthetic and some other aspects but are totally different albums in the end. It's not that easy to find, you know how Robert Fripp is with protecting his music. I blindly bought my copy, the 40th anniversary CD+DVD pack, at a now-closed Borders in Sterling, VA back in 2010. And I'll give you this sampler from DGM's official YouTube channel itself, from the Lizard suite. If you like this, you might like the album overall.
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Agreed. To my ears, Lizard has a cacophonous and occasional carnival-like quality that I certainly don't hear in SEBTP.
It is arguably the most divisive album among KC fans. Some hail Lizard as a complex work of genius. Others think it's one of their weakest or worst albums.
I'm firmly in the latter camp, though I'll concede there are a few fleeting bits on it I do like.
There is a Terry Kath biography I watched recently where his wife is interviewed, and she states he was cleaning his gun, not knowing it was loaded, when it went off. I too had always believed it was Russian Roulette gone bad. Even though the truth has come out, it's not any happier an ending. Yes, Terry Kath was one of the great guitarists. Imagine where he could have gone with that talent. At least we have a few albums that show how amazing a guitarist he truly was.
Whether in hindsight it is true or not, I recall it being reported at the time of his death, that his last words were something to the effect of, "Don't worry, it's not loaded."
It was a tragic loss.
No. 7
Entangled
Several of my favourite tracks in Genesis are ones where Steve Hackett either co-wrote with one other person, or made a suggestion that resulted in a monumental musical highlight.
"Entangled" causes me to imagine what ethereal magic Banks and Hackett could create if they agreed to collaborate and release an album together. If I could choose a duo in Genesis to work together, that would be it.
Lead Guitar: Carlos Santana
Keyboards/Guitar/Lead Vocals: Steve Winwood
Flute/Sax: Chris Wood
Bass: John Entwistle
Drums/Vocals: Phil Collins
Burning Rope, Calling All Stations and The Knife seem to be frequently hailed as one of the best, if not, THE BEST songs off their respective albums.
I don’t mind any of them but for me they're closer to the bottom – and in the case of The Knife, it’s actually my least favourite song on Trespass.
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Give him the real thing and blast him with Firth. If he's the sort of kid that likes instrumental solos he'll gobble it up. Then tell him to listen to the whole England album - it's got three rock solid epics. ...
He does like some Camel and Yes (the other week he asked me if I liked "Close To The Edge"), so the door is certainly open to present some older epics. He already has all of Duke and I think the title tracks from Abacab and Invisible Touch. He asked me to provide him with a selection of songs from the same era plus a sampling from the Gabriel era, so, among other things, I provided him with a couple of tracks from The Lamb.
That's really sad to hear. I know he had been in poor health and had battled personal demons for quite some time.
In his prime, he was a highly talented guitarist and I thought he and Peter Green were simply magical together.
After Green left, by default, Kirwan was the star of Fleetwood Mac in my mind.
I longed to hear of Kirwan's re-emergence as a solo artist, just as Peter had come out of the shadows in the last decade or so.
I am a great fan of early Fleetwood Mac and will have to make a point of playing some Kirwan-era albums in his honour this weekend.
RIP Danny.
No. 8
Carpet Crawlers
Not sure what to say about this other than my teenage son recently expressed a growing interest in Genesis, with a keen focus on the three-man era.
He is aware of the fact there was a previous singer and asked me if I could provide him with a small sample from the Gabriel era.
The song that immediately came to mind was Carpet Crawlers, not only because it's my favourite track off The Lamb, but it’s a melodic tune with a nice chorus and no abrupt chord changes which to me makes it an ideal gateway into that earlier period, though admittedly not entirely representative of the Gabriel era.
A change is as good as a rest, and has a way of recharging your batteries and adding stimulus in your life.
If you were feeling disillusioned about where you were, then seeking a new opportunity was probably the best decision to make for your overall psyche.
Be happy and move forward.
Good luck in your new job.
