GENESIS

This is the worst Genesis album (yes, worse than Calling All Stations), this will probably change since i'm still unable to understand why some people love this album... being the worst Genesis album, is not that bad and it's also not saying much, you just have to live here in latin america, hear the most modern radio and then you'll know what horrible music is.

This review will be per song, so here i go:

1.- Abacab: 8/10 My favorite song in the album by just a little, it doesn't feel as repetitive as the rest of the songs and its really catchy, sometimes i hear something that starts similar and i want to sing this simple yet interesting song. The other thing that enhances this song is the live version done in 1987, it is a lit better than the studio version, so i think this song its over this album.

2.- No Reply At All 6/10 This song feels like Phil, it has the trumpets, its catchy and really well executed, not that very prog but its a great song, that also doesn't feel like it should be in the album.

3.- Me and Sarah Jane 6/10 I really like how it starts, i like the lyrics and the song in all changes constantly, its a really pretty song and also very complex, but i don't feel like all the instruments are doing the work they need to do with the song, including the voice, it feels like a mess sometimes, but it is not bad, and also it is played in a much better way live... or i should say "Three Sides Live".

4.- Keep it Dark 4/10 I don't like it, it starts interesting, but then is it as if Abacab struck into the song and then it just gets repetitive quickly, this song should be like 1 and a half minute, not more than 4 minutes!

5.- Dodo/Lurker 7/10 This was the other song in the album that almost got to be my favorite, its really catchy and it starts with a bang, shoutouts to the aweosome drum work here, i think that this song acomplishes the objective of the album better than Abacab itself, but Abacab its just a better song... by a little.

6.- Who Dunnit? 1/10 I can't even listen to it, its the worst song that Genesis has ever done, this is the main reason why i think Abacab is the worst Genesis album, its silly, it sound horrible and its badly executed, why Tony Banks, why?!?

7.- Man on the Corner 3/10 Its a boring song with boring and effortless synths.

8.- Like it or not 5/10 An average song , it feels like an average 80s rock song.

9.- Another Record 5/10 Starts interesting, but it's just average, what a way to end this album, the same way that it is.

The album overall gets a 50/100 points, wich translates to a 2.5 stars here, but i'll give it 2, it doesn't deserve to be higher than any other Genesis album.

By convention, I speak of 'extra tracks' (disc 5) only. Like the 'extra' disc of the 1976-1982 box set, there's no surprise here, no previously unreleased and unknown songs. The disc 5 could be entitled 'The Tracks That Didn't Fit In'. Indeed, On The Shoreline and Hearts On Fire didn't fit in We Can't Dance, the next three tracks didn't fit in Invisible Touch, and the last three in Calling All Stations. And a couple of them could add something essential to a respective album; I think it's quite enough reason to give the box set 4 stars.

On The Shoreline was recorded during the We Can't Dance studio sessions and first released on the promo 12 inch maxi single I Can't Dance in 1991. Many of us agree that in 1991 Genesis released their worst studio album ever. But On The Shoreline could seriously pull it up if included. Yes its sound faintly differs from the sound of other album tracks, yes it's nothing but 'beach' poppy prog, or rather proggy pop. But it's much tastier, more distinctive and better done.

Hearts On Fire is another We Can't Dance studio outtake, it first appeared on the 1992 single Jesus He Knows Me. The track is done in the same antsy and fussy manner as Domino or (why bother to go too far?) Jesus He Knows Me just mentioned above.

Do The Neurotics and I'd Rather Be You were first released on the 1986 single In Too Deep, Feeding The Fire first appeared the same year on the single Land Of Confusion. While I'd Rather Be You and Feeding The Fire can be considered a sort of 'tissue matrix', something mediocre and unessential, Do The Neurotics could make Invisible Touch less commercial and even less poppy if included in the album.

And finally, the three Calling All Stations studio outtakes. Let's be clear: I like Calling All Stations. I think that it's overall a good album. I don't care about Phil Collins (though he is of no doubt one of the very best drummers on our Globe and an excellent vocalist) or Peter Gabriel (though he wrote very intricate lyrics). I even don't care too much about Steve Hackett (though the authorship of a number of beautiful Genesis tracks belongs to him). The two band members who really interest me as a dedicated listener are Michael Rutherford (less) and Anthony Banks (much more). To me, the question number one is always 'who wrote the music'. And voila - both Banks and Rutherford are here, most of the musical material was written by Banks, there's a lot of material from Rutherford as well - so, why people say this is not Genesis? Just because the singer's voice differs from what we used to hear, and drums are operated by hired employees? Yes the difference is audible. But, on the other hand, don't you find that the overall music picture had changed to better as a result? Of course the band's last studio album is not a full recovery, not a true return to prog. But musically it's much closer to what we call 'genuine Genesis' than the two previous albums with Collins. I think the reason was restored musical leadership of Banks. Of course in 1997 he was not the same as in 1973 but remained Banks nevertheless.

Anything Now, Sign Your Life Away and Run Out Of Time were all first released officially on the 1998 maxi single Not About Us, but almost a year before all the three appeared on the unofficial (bootleg?) 'promo' CD issued in UK - it had a monstrously long title (I even don't remember it) and contained non-album songs and alternative (including acoustic) versions of some album tracks. Musically, I'd say Run Out Of Time has a number of attributes of instant Genesis style and could make an asset to the album if included, while Anything Now and Sign Your Life Away are quite primitive and faceless. But anyway I'd prefer to see all the three on side four of the vinyl version instead of etch...

Unlike the 1970-1975 box set, this time there's no discovery here. All the 1976-1982 extra tracks were previously officially released and are more or less well-known. For example, Paper Late, You Might Recall, Me And Virgil, Evidence Of Autumn and Open Door staffed the fourth (studio) side of Three Sides Live 2LP released in June 1982. The first three tracks were recorded during the Abacab sessions and saw the light of day in May 1982 on the 7-inch single entitled 3 X 3. The last two were recorded for (but didn't fit in) Duke in 1979 and first released on 7-inch singles in 1980, Open Door with Duchess and Evidence Of Autumn with Misunderstanding.

There's not much to say about the three non-Abacab tracks. All would be lightminded enough for Abacab, Paper Late sounds like simplified No Reply At All, Me And Virgil sounds like spoiled Me And Sarah Jane. And it's OK that You Might Recall wasn't included in the album, perhaps it would be too good for Abacab...

Open Door and especially Evidence Of Autumn are IMHO both masterpieces. Of course they do not correspond to the music of Duke and should be rejected from the album, but anyway both are outstanding. Open Door is a slow guitar-dominated philosophic ballad in the best traditions of late 1970s' Rutherford, Evidence Of Autumn is a profound and sophisticated keyboard-dominated slow composition in the best traditions of late 1970s' Banks.

Match Of The Day, Pigeons and Inside And Out formed the track list of the 1977 EP Spot The Pigeon, it was the band's last studio release with Hackett. All the three songs sound rather rocky than progressive, Inside And Out is a ballad typical for Rutherford, musically and lyrically humorous Pigeons is an undoubted highlight.

The Day The Light Went Out and Vancouver were released on the 7-inch single Many Too Many. It was issued a few months after the band's 1978 studio album And Then There Were Three, and some copies of the first German vinyl press of the album (gatefold with insert) were distributed together with the German tour edition of the single (for example, I had a copy completed with insert and tour 7-inch). Vancouver is just another Rutherford's ballad, The Day The Light Went Out was written by Banks but being compared to the album tracks composed by him (Burning Rope for example) seems plain and hastily made.

It's Yourself was released on 7-inch single with Ripples in 1976, and partially served as a draft: the short theme in the middle of the track was reworked into the first bars of Los Endos.

And finally, two amazing instrumental pieces, Naminanu and Submarine. Both were first officially released on singles in respectively 1981 and 1982, but some people told me that both were recorded in 1976, during the Wind And Wuthering studio sessions. I failed to find any confirmed information on this, and the booklet in the box set provides only the official releases' credits. But indeed, both sound very much in the vein of mid 1970s Genesis and absolutely not in the band's early 1980s manner, so there's a chance that it's true.

Now, the solids content: strong 4 stars. It's great that all those tracks are collected on one disc, and probably some day we'll see them reissued as a separate compilation album. Maybe even on vinyl. They deserve it.

Another nota bene is that in fact there was no 'Gabriel era' in the band's history. I.e. of course there was a period when Peter Gabriel was a member of the band (who will dispute this?), but musically Genesis was never 'Gabriel-dominated'. Until Duke, the band was musically 'Banks-dominated'. The myth about Gabriel as 'main songwriter' conquered the prog world, and when Tony Banks mentioned in a 1990s TV interview that he played major role in the band in 1970s, nobody paid attention, all the more that authorship of the music was not detailed on the band's early albums. But when Gabriel left the band and started a solo career, the things cleared. Even in his earliest solo albums you can hear absolutely no hint of Genesis of his era. Yes he was the band's main lyricist, but as for the music, just listen to A Curious Feeling (Banks' 1979 solo), and you'll clearly hear massive echoes as of mid and late 1970s Genesis so of Selling England By The Pound and even Nursery Cryme.

But let's keep to the point. What about the ten 'extra' songs?

Happy The Man is a non-album track first released in 1972 on 7-inch single. A classic song, though it rather belongs to ballad-type compositions not typical for Genesis of that period. By the way, its title gave a name to one of the greatest US prog bands of late 1970s.

Twilight Alehouse is another non-album track, first released on 7-inch in 1973. A masterpiece. Was written and recorded in the same time as most of the tracks for Selling England By The Pound but didn't fit in the album.

Going Out To Get You is a studio demo from August 1969. Remained unreleased until 1990s. Somewhat raw. Almost 5-minute long but perhaps would better be 3-minute. Sounds as a rejected track from the band's debut album From Genesis To Revelation. (Just to make the things clear: I like the album itself very much!)

Shepherd, Pacidy and Let Us Now Make Love are taken from the 1970 BBC Night Ride and were never released either on albums or on singles but often performed by the band live in 1970-1972. Musically all the three are transitional fossils between From Genesis To Revelation and Trespass.

Provocation, Frustration, Manipulation and Resignation are in fact sketches. All were recorded in London for BBC TV on 9th January 1970 and remained unavailable on the band's official releases until 2007. Most of the themes were later reworked and used in Trespass (Provocation, partially Resignation), Nursery Cryme (Manipulation and a short fragment of Provocation) and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (Frustration). All the four sound quite raw but charming.

Anyway, no matter if the musical material is raw or mature, the sound quality good or poor, production strong or weak etc, all the ten are of great interest as 'unknown (or at least not too well-known) Genesis', and I'd say the disc 6 is a pearl of the box set.

'Wind And Wuthering' is another studio album of Genesis that closes one more musical cycle in the life of this great band. This is the album that closes the Steve Hackett's cycle. Hackett left the group in 1977 after their acclaimed second live album 'Seconds Out' released in 1977, which became his final release with Genesis. Once again, the group decided not to replace the lack of another band's member. So, Mike Rutherford took the guitar and bass duties in the studio. During their live performances, he alternated guitar and bass duties with the American session musician Daryl Stuermer, which became with Chester Thompson a permanent live band's member. This represents also a landmark in Genesis' career, because for many fans, 'Wind And Wuthering' represents the last truly great and prog album of them.

'Wind And Wuthering' is the eighth studio album of Genesis and was released also in 1976, like their seventh studio work 'A Trick Of The Tail'. The album has nine tracks. The first track 'Eleventh Earl Of Mar' written by Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett is a typical Genesis opening track. It's a fantastic song to open the album and the music was composed in the basic style of Genesis' music. Musically, it's a complex song and is a kind of a return to their musical past. The second track 'One For The Vine' written by Banks is another fantastic song, totally different from the previous one, but with the same quality level. It's a wonderful and melodic song where the music is very rich in arrangements and that combines various styles. For my taste, this is one of the best and most beautiful compositions written by Banks. This is the main reason why Banks is with Hackett one of my favourite elements of Genesis. The third track 'Your Own Special Way' written by Rutherford is, for me, the weakest track on the album, and despite being written by Rutherford, looks more like a song composed by Collins. However and despite be a very good ballad with great melody, is like the title track of 'A Trick Of The Tail'. Both are in an inferior level and both are somewhat out of the high quality of both albums. The fourth track 'Wot Gorilla?' written by Banks and Collins is an instrumental track and is the smallest song on the album. It's a great instrumental track which gives to each band's member a chance to show what they really can do musically, and it reminds us, how great and brilliant these four musicians are. The fifth track 'All In A Mouse's Night' written by Banks is one of the band's more interesting songs and is one of my favourites too. Musically, it's a complex song with excellent combination of high and low points and it has also delightful lyrics. It's the kind of songs that use the very typical progressive method created by Genesis. The sixth track 'Blood On The Rooftops' written by Hackett and Collins is another fantastic song of this album, and is, as I remember, one of the best songs co-written by Collins on the band. This is a very pretty track with beautiful classical guitar introduction very well accompanied by the mellotron and the melodious Collins' voice. This is a very English beautiful and melancholic song. The lyrics are very contemporary and satirical. The seventh track 'Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers'' written by Hackett and Rutherford and the eighth track ''In That Quiet Earth' written by Banks, Hackett, Collins and Rutherford are in fact a single song that are only split because of its copyright. This is really a fantastic and energetic instrumental track, is one of the favourite songs of the fans and is one of my favourite tracks too. We even can say that this instrumental song is in the same vein of 'Los Endos' of 'A Trick Of The Tail'. The ninth and last track 'Afterglow' written by Banks represents the grand final for this fantastic and unforgettable musical work. This is one of the most majestic themes ever composed by Banks, and so, no wonders that this is for him one of his favourite Genesis' songs. We can consider that 'Afterglow' is the atmospheric, relaxing and magical moment of this great album. It's the third and final part of three fantastic suite pieces of music which closes this album with a really great musical atmosphere.

Conclusion: 'Wind And Wuthering' always was one of my favourite albums of Genesis. It's one of the most perfects, complexes, progressive and beautiful albums released by them too. Unfortunately, it's also the last studio album with the participation of Hackett, which would prove to be fatal for the end of the progressive music in Genesis. 'Wind And Wuthering' is also the last masterpiece of the group, and surely it wasn't irrelevant the presence of Hackett on the album. If we compare 'Wind And Wuthering' with 'A Trick Of The Tail', the only two studio albums from Genesis without Gabriel and still with Hackett on board, we will realise that 'Wind And Wuthering' is probably better arranged, less romantic and less gentle than its predecessor. With the last notes of 'Afterglow' ends a wonderful book that began with the words 'Looking For Someone' on 'Trespass', and panned seven years full of glorious tales. Soon enough, the remaining trio would already to seal the story with pop music with good quality and sometimes, with a touch of prog. However, it never was the same. They achieved a lot of success in their career, but prog was almost dead from now on.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

'A Trick Of The Tail' is the seventh studio album of Genesis and was released in 1976. This is another album that represents another turning point into their discography. It's even considered by some people the first neo-prog album in rock history. After the release of the sixth Genesis' studio album 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' in 1974 and during the live tour of that album in May of 1975, Peter Gabriel announced that he was leaving the group. At the time, and after the band auditioned over 400 lead singers to find a replacement front man to the group, and because Phil Collins had already provided some vocal work on Genesis, they decided that he was the right man to replace Gabriel.

So, that change transformed the band from a quintet to a quartet. If the problem of the singer became resolved, it raised the problem of a drummer for their live shows. So, they decided to engage Chester Thompson which is an American drummer and session musician who played with Weather Report and Frank Zappa, to perform on their live shows.

'A Trick Of The Tail' has eight tracks. The first track 'Dance On A Volcano' written by Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins is a great opener for the album. This is a very progressive song full of frantic rhythmic variations. It's also a song with a beautiful melody and complex musical changes which correspond completely to the great expectations created around this new studio work. The second track 'Entangled' written by Banks and Hackett is a very beautiful pastoral piece of music that features a superb acoustic guitar work by Hackett accentuated by a fantastic mellotron work by Banks. It's a wonderful and melodic song that makes us glide and dream. The third track 'Squonk' written by Banks and Rutherford is a song with a fantastic and memorable opening and it has also a remarkable fantastic drumming work made by Collins. This is a very simple song with great choral work. The fourth track 'Mad Man Moon' written by Banks is one of the most beautiful songs of the album and is one of my favourites too. We can even say that this is one of the most beautiful songs ever created by Genesis. It's also a song with beautiful chorus and a wonderful keyboard work by Banks. It became as one of the most beloved songs of Genesis, especially in Hackett's musical era. This is really a truly fantastic progressive track. The fifth track 'Robbery, Assault and Battery' written by Banks and Collins is a very good song and particularly it has great imaginative rhythms and time changes. It's a song also with a fantastic instrumental middle section with great individual performances by all band's members. The sixth track 'Ripples' written by Banks and Rutherford is a very calm and beautiful song. It's a song with nice guitar and keyboard musical textures. In reality, Hackett's guitar work is absolutely stunning, accompanied by a soft and wonderful keyboard work by Banks. This track represents the quiet and calm track on the album. The seventh track is the title track 'A Trick Of The Tail'. It was written by Banks and represents a very accessible track with very interesting lyrics. However, this is, in my humble opinion, one of the less progressive songs on the album and it sounds more like a song made to be released as a single hit. So, despite be a very nice song, I sincerely think this is the weakest and less interesting track on the album. In reality, it seems to be more a pop song than a track of a progressive album. The eighth track 'Los Endos' written by Banks, Hackett, Rutherford and Collins, is a fantastic instrumental progressive piece of music and represents my favourite track on the album. I even dare to say, that this is undoubtedly one of the favourite tracks of all Genesis' fans. It's the track that serves to resume the all album because it has some musical elements of all the other tracks. This is a very energetic track that closes the album wonderfully. It's interesting to note that 'Los Endos' became an emblematic song for the group and for the fans too. It became part of the alignment of the songs chosen to be part of almost all of their live shows and became commonly used to close almost all of them.

Conclusion: 'A Trick Of The Tail' is the first album released by Genesis as a quartet and without their front man and song writer Peter Gabriel. I have no doubt in saying that it was, for sure, a horrible moment for them. Certainly, Collins was very nervous wondering if Genesis' fans would accept him as the new front man of the group. However, and despite the loss of Gabriel, the group continued to deliver excellent musical moments for their fans, and 'A Trick Of The Tail' represents an excellent example of that. With this album, Genesis found new musical direction instead of simply revisited their musical past work. As I wrote above, some people consider that 'A Trick Of The Tail' was the first neo-prog album in the history, but others consider that was 'Market Square Heroes', the debut EP of Marillion released in 1982. Anyway and furthermore, 'A Trick Of The Tail' remains as an important milestone in the progressive rock music and in particular to the neo-prog sub-genre. It reveals also and undoubtedly that this is an album with great quality of Genesis. This is in reality an essential album for everyone who really loves progressive rock music with great beauty.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)