Posts by Witchwood

    After Cured and Highly Strung, I didn’t really have an appetite for any offering that would have a similar sound. I was starting to question if I would continue blindly buying Steve’s albums as I had up to then.


    Then somehow in that pre-internet era, I learned that Steve had just released an all-acoustic instrumental album. Well, I definitely had to get that one.


    It was a very welcomed, organic change in direction and I took it in like a breath of fresh air. To this day it’s my favourite of the acoustic albums and easily among my Top 10 Hackett releases.

    I was chatting to someone last night who turned out to a Genesis fan. His favourite album is ATTWT. I think it's a brilliant album but doesn't make my top four. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say it's their favourite.

    It was my introduction to Genesis and for a while I cited it as my favourite, particularly early on when I had a small collection that included ATOTT, SEBTP and W&W.

    I'm fairly certain the next one after that I got was Nursery Cryme and that's when ATTW3 was usurped and my rankings began to shift.

    1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

    1979


    2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

    9


    3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

    It was my 3rd. ATTW3 and ATOTT were my first two Genesis albums.


    4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

    2nd


    5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

    Cinema Show


    6. Which track is your favourite today?

    Hard to choose. It would be a toss-up between Firth Of Fifth and Cinema Show


    7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

    Dancing With The Moonlit Knight


    8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

    Initially bought it on cassette, was given the vinyl by a brother who didn't like the album, and then eventually bought the CD

    What do we think of the live versions of it? It's an odd one for me in that of course it's great seeing him do his classic first hit, everyone loves it, how can he not do it. But it's never anywhere near the equal of the original.

    I love both the studio and virtually every live version I've ever heard though I particularly like the way it was performed from '78 to '83. During that stretch, it seemed, to my ears, it was performed more tightly and even that improvised bit at the end had a certain consistency to it that I liked.

    The Procol band members who are scheduled to attend are from the band’s last album released in 2017. I suppose they’d be upstaged if any of the surviving classic members (Robin Trower, Matthew Fisher or Chris Copping) showed up – though I'm also mindful that those individuals are all in their late 70s so perhaps they have their reasons for not being there.

    Sad to learn of the death of Geoffrey Davies, the suave Dick Stuart-Clark in the various versions of the 'Doctor' sitcom - Doctor In The House, Doctor On The Go, etc which those of us of a certain vintage will remember. Those series occupied most of the 70s for him and he's understandably well-remembered for them but he had an active career either side of that, mainly on TV and on stage.

    Hadn't seen Doctor In The House or any of the other Doctor series on TV in decades (it aired here on public television in the 1970s and '80s) but I revisited several episodes of the first series on YouTube a few months ago. I don't recall seeing Davies in anything outside of the Doctor series but he was certainly memorable to me as both he and Ernest Clark played my favourite characters.

    I'm sorry to learn of his passing.

    I'd say you'd be better with the digital source! Can't understand the vinyl obsession, there is no area in which it beats a decent digital source (eg/ CD which is 16/44, or other sources with higher numbers like Flac etc, which can go up to 24/96 if available. Even good mp3 like 256k/b or higher is better.)

    People swear by them and claim vinyl albums have a warmer, fuller sound.

    What stands out in my recollection of playing vinyl are the crackles, occasional skips and the sound of surface wear from albums played repeatedly.

    I thought CDs were a blessing in comparison, and I haven’t moved on from that format - though I know most others have.

    Roger Waters places a lot of value in his own lyrical depth and on that level, there is a vast difference between what he and Phil Collins have to offer. So, it’s hardly surprising that he is so disparaging.


    What Waters overestimates is the value fans place on words over sounds when it comes to music.


    That was never more obvious than with Pink Floyd where, with the exception of perhaps The Wall, it was primarily the instrumental passages and the combined sounds of David Gilmour’s guitar and Richard Wright’s keyboards that appealed most to fans.

    I am a long-time fan but not a devoted follower.


    I think their output from 1968 (Beggars Banquet) to 1978 (Some Girls) was consistently solid. I would almost say flawless. I thoroughly enjoy every Stones album released during that stretch.


    Prior to ’68, I think they released some of the most memorable singles in rock music history, but I am far less enthralled by their early albums. Very much hit and miss for me, sort of the way I feel about very early Who.


    I’ve heard a lot of fans say Tattoo You (1980) was the last album that was fairly decent in its entirety and I’m inclined to agree.


    Since then, I’ve enjoyed the odd song off later albums, and I actually didn’t mind Blue & Lonesome (2016), which was comprised entirely of old blues standards. But to be honest, I find most of the post-TY albums bland and part of that rests in the fact when I listen to Ron Wood, I immediately find myself missing the fluid playing of Mick Taylor or the deft slide guitar of Brian Jones, both of whom I thought were far more interesting and creative lead guitarists.

    Gary Wright (Sept 4, age 80)

    A couple of articles I read today about Gary's passing highlighted his solo career, his two hit singles, and his guest appearances on George Harrison's albums, but made no mention of his being the co-founder and co-lead singer in Spooky Tooth, which by far was the high point of his career for me.

    Nice little Genesis pop song in its original version. Ruined in live versions by Phil's silly "de-da-ray" stuff and his messing up the line "someday you'll be sorry, someday when you're free" (saying "someday when you're sorry" instead).

    There are several audience participation things Phil did from about the mid-80s on that I didn't care for.

    But this was one I actually did like, and like quite a bit.

    I'm always up for an extended intro (or outro) and this one is melodic and it transitions nicely into the song.

    Given the choice, I prefer the live version because it has just a little more to offer.

    Randy Meisner, a founding member of the Eagles, died this week.

    I always felt he was an integral part of the band's sound, particularly in their harmony vocals.

    He also wrote and sang lead on what I thought was by far the best song on Hotel California, which was "Try And Love Again."