NURSERY CRYME

The Musical Box... what more is there to say about The Musical Box. Well for one thing it's Hackett's best performance on any album, since the guitar dramatically kicks in with a building riff at least 3 times (don't make me count, please)... each of these riffs build to a frenetic orgy of instruments that also showcase the wonderful *drummer* Phil Collins on occasion. These incredible insturmental portions are the loudest Genesis ever gets, with the possible exception of the end of "The Knife" from Trespass. Even in the quieter parts, however, Hackett and Collins prove brilliant nonetheless (Rutherford doesn't show up much on this song).

In addition, my persoal favorite... anything... by Genesis is the part around 5:45 in The Musical Box... "And I know, and I touch, and I feel... her WARMTH!!!" which is positively nailed by Gabriel and then the entire band shows us how it's done. Ow... it just gave me a headache. It's too good!

The rest of the album? Pretty damned good. Second is For Absent Friends, a wonderfully contrasting quiet ditty sung by Collins. For anyone who thinks they're put off by Collins' singing, never fear: I didn't even know it was him for the first 20 times I listened to the song. The lyrics fit the music well.

The Giant Hogweed is a genius song lyrically, while the music seems a bit calm compared to Gabriel's fevered singing and wild stories. I still don't know what a hogweed is, but I don't think I'd like to find out. It gets old after a bit, but not by too much.

Seven Stones is not a very noticeable track, sandwiched between two equally fervent songs that clamor for attention. Still, it's usually the case that when I have a Genesis lyric stuck in my head that I can't place... it's usually from Seven Stones. A beautiful, subconsciously catchy song that works well here on the album but might have worked better elsewhere (maybe after Harlequin?).

"You must be joking! Take a run and jump!" Strangely funny... almost like it shouldn't be. Harold the Barrel is slyly funny from its title right through to the end, with amazing lyrics, from the witty: "The crowd was getting stronger, and the Harold getting weaker" ... to the pensive: "if I was many miles from here, I'd be sailing in an open boat on the sea / Instead I'm on this window ledge with the whole world below me..." His mother tells him he can't jump because "your shirt's all dirty / there's a man here from the BBC" and says "If your father were alive he'd be very very very upset." Gabriel is a good satirist because Harold jumps at the end. He's a good songwriter because the lyrics don't tell you that. Only the out-of-place slow fading echo at the end... which sound like someone falling. People miss that part of this song and think it's all "fun" -- the guy dies! Listen next time!

After finding out that Collins sings For Absent Friends, I thought he sang this one too. You really can't tell Gabriel and him apart on this album. Harlequin is commonly pointed out as the album's weak song... and it is. It's not bad, there's just nothing to recommend it. The same goes for another song many Genesis fans swoon over, The Fountains of Salmacis. It's very good, more than up to the standards of the album. There's just not much to it. The acclaimed rising/falling noise employed often in the song are beautiful, but the instrumentation is run-of-the-mill in most other spots (except for an ELP-esque keyboard solo (there you go, Rutherford... I finally mentioned you)). The singing is good, but it doesn't draw me in for some reason and I get bored with this song easily.

Nursery Cryme should be 5 stars just for The Musical Box, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The Musical Box is certainly one of the best progressive rock songs ever made, if not THE best, but the rest of the album does not follow suit. There are some very good songs here, but there are also a few that don't interest me, and to me that's not what 5 stars should be.

Share this GENESIS review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to nursethisviper
• Report this review (#84723)
• Buy GENESIS music online with PA partners
• Show all GENESIS MP3/Stream
• Go to GENESIS page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Nursery Cryme page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for GENESIS related discussions