Genesis - Duke

Just wondering, did Tony Banks still have his Hammond T102 organ on Duke ??  I'd swear I can hear it (esp. on Dukes' Travels') but I thought he mothballed it after ATTWT ???

zravkapt wrote: Apparently Abacab is the first album where he doesn't use any organs.

Thanks.  I knew this is a trivial question, but I was curious as I've read somewhere that Banks had ditched his Hammond by the time of DUKE but that amazingly swirling tone he had was present.  He got a similar sound on, say, 'It's Gonna Get Better' (probably through his Prophet synth), but I always loved his 'newer' Hammond sound (Afterglow is a good example).  And it annoys me when you read the credits on an album and it just states 'blah' - keyboards.... - again, trivial because 99.9% of folks don't care, but I love to read a detailed list of what equipment was used. 

That's an informative list - many thanks.  Looks sweet to me.  I just love that Hammond sound of his - Duke is such a perfect 'transition' album from them - I've had my LP since 1987, still neat and shmicko, I've always liked it but all of a sudden it has totally blown me out.  Abacab, not as exciting.

I used to think the same about the 'soft ballads', but I came around to "Please Don't Ask" eventually. The "it was easy to say I love you" part in the chorus is a bit obvious, but the bridge ("maybe we could try") makes for a nice twist and I think the song has some emotional poignancy to it. "Alone Tonight", the other 'soft ballad' is one of the low points of the album though, even though I like the "say that you'll help me" part.

But then again, what do I know? I seem to be the only person in the entire world who likes "Man on the Corner".


Edited by HarbouringTheSoul - February 12 2013 at 02:28

HarbouringTheSoul wrote: I used to think the same about the 'soft ballads', but I came around to "Please Don't Ask" eventually. The "it was easy to say I love you" part in the chorus is a bit obvious, but the bridge ("maybe we could try") makes for a nice twist and I think the song has some emotional poignancy to it. "Alone Tonight", the other 'soft ballad' is one of the low points of the album though, even though I like the "say that you'll help me" part. But then again, what do I know? I seem to be the only person in the entire world who likes "Man on the Corner".

Hey there !!  No, you can't take that title - Man on The Corner is a very pretty song - it really kicks in with that part "you, and me, we're just like all the rest...." - a bit Collins-solo styling but a very decent track.  Dodo has a fair bit of Prog-appeal to it.  Still, DUKE is the better album.

Tom, I was thinking of you when I mentioned that bit about the doco lol!

`Heathhaze' has very evocative lyrics and quite a somber melody, it's a wonderful track on a terrific album.

Great, Harbouring, never noticed that before, but I'll notice it everytime now!

Some great highs on Duke, and some lows too. I find Misunderstanding to be bland to the point of pointlessness. Alone Tonight has some nice monets but it's basically a pretty unremarkable effort. Please Don't ask is a nicely crafted song, but it's just not really what I want to hear on a Genesis album. Phil should have probably saved it for a solo album, especially as it was such a personal lyric.

But overall I think Duke was their last great album as a prog rock band.

Tom Ozric wrote: Does anyone hear similarities between some parts of 'Alone Tonight' with 'Snowbound' (from ATTWT) ??

HarbouringTheSoul wrote: I used to think the same about the 'soft ballads', but I came around to "Please Don't Ask" eventually. The "it was easy to say I love you" part in the chorus is a bit obvious, but the bridge ("maybe we could try") makes for a nice twist and I think the song has some emotional poignancy to it. "Alone Tonight", the other 'soft ballad' is one of the low points of the album though, even though I like the "say that you'll help me" part. But then again, what do I know? I seem to be the only person in the entire world who likes "Man on the Corner".