On the one hand, I want to be surprised should I get tickets.
On the other hand, I'll probably download a boot beforehand to hear if the show is good enough to justify paying the insanely high prices. Thank God I worked towards a bonus to see them and Dead & Company this year.
The best Rolling Stones song Phil ever wrote.
(Seriously, the riff gives me "Brown Sugar" vibes.)
A triumph. They tackle an incredibly emotional and difficult subject matter and nail it, right down to the musical arrangement. It's up there with "Home by the Sea" as a song that vividly comes to life before your eyes.
I have such a special relationship with "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven." For a long time this was my favorite song ever and it's still way up there. That horn intro is an instant mood lifter and the whole song is a thrilling, uplifting blast with a sublime outro with that roaring guitar from Darryl cascading against the horns.
"I Wish It Would Rain Down" is Phil's best ballad / breakup song...Clapton's wailing guitar and the best vocal he ever laid down after "Mama." Just moves me to tears.
"I know in my heart of hearts...I know I'm never gonna hold you again." Jesus, what an absolutely shattering line.
"Hang In Long Enough" has similar qualities for me to "SHOTWTH," not quite as good but the horns are again on fire and it's a rousing start to the album.
Overall, I love pretty much every song on here. It's a terrific album with great tunes and Phil at his most thoughtful and motivated.
"Don't Lose My Number"
"I Don't Wanna Know"
"Take Me Home"
It's a top heavy album, they lead with three of their greatest songs and the rest ranges from pleasant to the absolute worst song they've ever recorded.
"Mama" is up there with "Oh! Darling," "Since I've Been Loving You," and Dio's "Stargazer" as one of the single greatest rock vocal performances of all time, and the whole song is a masterpiece. Probably my single favorite Genesis song just based on the vocals, although the musicianship and general atmosphere are perfect as well.
"That's All" is pop, but it's intelligent and dark with a charming McCartney-esque feel and melodic sensibility. Again, Phil was at his peak vocally and he delivers big time here.
"Home by the Sea" is a masterpiece in musical storytelling. It's better than most visual horror movies; the way they build the world of this song through their playing and production is exquisite.
Then it all just kind of goes nowhere.
I really hope the band is embarrassed by "Illegal Alien." What were they thinking with this one? Phil's racist-tastic accent, the cringe-y lyrics, that annnoying hook, everything about it is revolting. I absolutely hate this song.
The rest is ok; "It's Gonna Get Better" is actually quite nice and lovely, and Phil's vocal are again out of this world on "Just a Job to Do." But "Taking It All Too Hard" and "Silver Rainbow"...eh. Had to listen to them again just before writing this because they didn't stuck with me at all.
Comfortably near the bottom of their catalog, but not bad by any means.
I missed the encore series when it was still a thing in 2007, so the soundboard of the MSG show I attended would be my absolute holy grail. Also I can't find the 1992 Southampton show with "Carpet Crawlers."
Live I have to go with the Mama Tour. They found the balance between the more intimate, intense flavor of their early shows with the more accessible, arena friendly vibe driven by their burgeoning commercial success. Phil, as I mentioned in another thread, was at his peak vocally. Whenever I go for a live version of "Mama," the "In the Cage" medley, or "Home by the Sea" among others, it's usually from this tour (and it usually is 11/27/83 in Philly).
Studio, I'd say every album from Foxtrot through Abacab is remarkably rock solid and consistent. The Phil-Peter debate aside, every album in this run is fantastic. If you judge by sheer consistency, their studio pinnacle is 1972-81 for me.
A Trick of the Tail
Lamb
Invisible Touch
There's days where I prefer Selling England by the Pound to Invisible Touch. Overall, I think IT is as good as a pop album as TLLDOB and SEBTP are prog albums.
I'm kind of addicted to fantasy set lists, so here's my go at it:
23 songs is a bit unrealistic, but given what I've read has been rehearsed and what has supposedly been pushed, I think some of these have a shot. I do realize stuff like "Counting Out Time" and perhaps even "Squonk" are absolute long shots, but hey, a man can dream.
My main concern, as it was with everyone, is Phil. His mobility issues aside, his voice is my main point of worry. He sings these days like he has a kazoo in his throat if he ventures even slightly out of his mid-range, and I don't see him having the breath support or stamina to sing the more fast paced portions of "Home by the Sea" and "In The Cage" - especially if he's seated for them - even though I think those and other demanding songs will ultimately be there just because they're so part of their live show DNA. Phil can get away with his limited abilities in his solo shows but Genesis have always been about their intensity and musical showmanship for me, and something's going to be missing with Phil not being able to partake in at least one aspect of that.
Much as I love it, I don't see how "Mama" is going to be pulled off without lowering it to the point where it loses all its intensity and drive. It was good in 2007 when Phil could still move around and project properly as his voice was still rich enough to use his lower register to his advantage, but now I don't see him having those capabilities.
I prefer the earlier shows in the tour when "Follow You, Follow Me" was in the set and "Apocalypse in 9/8" was part of the oldies medley. I find myself gravitating towards the 10/15/86 Forum show a lot. "Apocalypse" sounded so damn good and seemed to be in there as a not so subtle reminder that Genesis weren't going to forget their roots in the face of commercial success.
While I do enjoy this tour, it kind of reminds me of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." tour, where the scope of the supported album's success turned the shows into less intense, more crowd pleasing affairs. Certainly Genesis approached most songs with the same attack they always had, but's there's a more polished, stadium ready sheen to some of the later performances.
Already on this tour, which also makes it not quite a favorite of mine, is that Phil was already past his prime vocally midway through. I know that sounds weird and a casual listen still shows he sang with the same power he always had, but compare "Mama" and "That's All" from this tour to the 1983-84 versions. On the former he's nailing every part of these songs: the gritty distorted screams, the high belts, everything is on point. Fast forward to the Wembley shows and he can't hit the "my eyes!" scream or the "one bite" modulation on these respective songs. I think this may also be part of the reason "Apocalypse" was dropped, and I think they even lowered keys beginning with this tour. As a performer, Phil's charisma and energy was still off the charts here.
Overall, a very good tour but not up there with the previous runs. Some great shows and some songs that were consistent highlights, and obviously one of the more significant periods in the band's history.
