 Winter Wine wrote:
FragileDT wrote:
XTChuck wrote:
Winter Wine wrote:
Fragile by miles, stronger songs, better atmosphere, just SOUNDS
better. Nursery cryme's shabby production and weak tracks bring it down
too much. Fragile is the clear winner
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<FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3>Yeah, I
think that just about hits the nail on the head.......
<FONT face=Verdana size=3>
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I think that couldn't be further from the truth. I am a big fan
of Fragile myself but can't chose it in this one. Nursery Cryme is just
composed better overall. The four songs that are short and written by one
member each just bring down the album a bit. You can't tell me that
Fragile wins by miles because of stronger songs and better atmosphere.
Genesis was known for their atmosphere and emotion in their songs. Eh, I
guess it could be considered opinion. Well at least you know mine now...
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I think the overall QUALITY of fragile is better, the songs heart of the
sunrise, roundabout, south side of the sky and even long distance
runaround wipe the map with EVERYTHING on nursery cryme! and the
short numbers from each member of the band very much DO add to the
atmosphere because in between these longer more structured songs
you've got snippets of beauty that really bring the album together
excellently "we have heaven" leading into "south side of the sky" is a
perfect example of this. i would love to know what you mean by nursery
cryme is "composed" better. not being sarcastic just curios.
I do like nursery cryme, i was glad the day i bought it and still am now,
but fragile is the sound of a band getting in their stride, and when yes
were in that stage of their career, nothing could match them.
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Here is my review of Nursery Cryme:
"This album opens up with "The Musical Box." A beautiful album opener
(as we know how good Genesis was at opening albums. It starts off with
Gabriel singing quietly and very emotionally ("All your hearts now seem
so far away...) The song follows the quiet and very emotional feel until the
instrumental break at about 4 minutes. The song explodes as Hackett
solo's perfectly to embody the emotional buildup. The next part ("The
clock, tick tock..") is even quiter than the beginning until Gabriel sings
"the wall" powerfully. This instrumental break is long and inspiring. The
final buildup begins after this instrumental break. This is one of the most
emotionally powerful conclusions (if not, the most) of any song that I've
heard. Hearing Gabriel sing with all his power "Why don't you touch me,
touch me" and repeating "NOW" gives me chills everytime. The song was
based on a young girl Cynthia (9) who "gracefully" removed Henry's (8)
head while playing a game of croquet. The story of the song begins with
Cynthia discovering Henry's musical box that included the figure "Old
King Cole" when she opened it. Cynthia saw the lifetime of desires go by
as Henry aged with nothing but a child's mind and vision. Henry was
attempting to have Cynthia persue his romantic desire when she threw
the musical box at the elderly looking child and destroyed them both.
(This story can be found in the inside booklet of the "Nursery Cryme"
album.) The album cover is also a depiction of this song and story. You
can also find the album cover of Nursery Cryme imbetted in the back of
Foxtrot if you look carefully (with a few interesting tweaks.)
The follow up to the Musical Box is "For Absent Friends" sung by Phil
Collins. This is the one song sung by Collins that I can actually say that I
enjoy. It's very short but is emotional and a well written, piano driven
song (though many fans tend to dismiss it.)
"The Return of the Giant Hogweed" is yet another Genesis masterpiece.
It's a rather guitar-bass heavy song and comes in very strongly vocally.
This is a great example of how Genesis' use humor in their music. The
giant hogweed either depicts a set of corrupt rulers or the media-
damaged people from society (could be interpreted in many ways but
that's the direction that I tend to lean.) Gabriel's singing really stands out
in this song. His quiet singing and heavy vocal during the verses contrast
very well and keep the song very interesting. The piano break by Banks a
little more than half way through the song also adds a lot to the song.
"Seven Stones" is, in my opinion, a very under-recognized (I will not say
underrated) Genesis song. The sea in this song (as Gabriel likes to use a
lot) represents emotion (the sea and water is an old symbol for emotion,
and we know how Gabriel is with symbols.) This song has some of the
best melodies that I've heard (my favorite being "Despair that tires the
world, bring the old man laughter...")
Next we have "Harold the Barrel." Many people consider this song a
"joke." This couldn't be farther from the truth. They are using the Genesis
humor that is present in a lot of songs, but the song is by no means a
joke. It is a very complex and well written song with a brilliant melody. It
talks about a man that is contemplating suicide and the news makes a big
story of it where they tell Harold "We're all your friends, if you come on
down and talk to us son." It really is interesting how Genesis is depicting
the media's effect on suicide. This is definitely a standout track that fits
well and adds some diversity to the album.
My personal opinion is that "Harlequin" is the weakest track on the album,
though it is still far from weak. Gabriel and Collins sing this song
together in it's entirety and the harmonies are done well. The album
concludes with "The Fountain of Salmacis." This song really defines the
"Symphonic" part of Symphonic Prog. The buildup is very strong (even
from the very beginning) and makes me think that there are more than
just 5 guys playing here. The lyrics are brilliant (as always when talking
about Gabriel-era Genesis.) This song talks about Hermaphrodite (a
flower/person/animal containing both male and female organs) using the
Greek mythology where it was originated. It was interesting to learn
where the word hermaphrodite came from, since I had no idea until
reading this song. The emotion for Hermaphroditus is very strong and
displayed well by Genesis vocally and musically."
The magic atmosphere that is present while I listen to Genesis' music is
unmatched. Their compositional skills are above that of Yes IN MY
OPINION (keep in mind.) They wrote the musical parts to reflect the
emotions of the lyrics. This is what made Genesis so emotional and gave
them that sort of "magic" sound about their music. If you don't hear it,
that's fine, but you're just missing out.
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Nursery Cryme vs Fragile
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Fragile was the breakout album, for the definative prog group.
like them both! but you have to hand it to fragile! 
