genesis ( abacab )

richardh wrote: I was musing on this and thinking its probably the only real Genesis 'experimental album'. They were in a strange moment and knew they wanted to do something different but didn't know what. It's very much throwing out the old formula and replacing it with something more punchier and 'cleaner' sounding. It was not well received by anyone generally but by about 1983 they had enough money and they stopped really caring about musical innovation and bothering much what people thought I believe.

I was musing on this and thinking its probably the only real Genesis 'experimental album'. They were in a strange moment and knew they wanted to do something different but didn't know what. It's very much throwing out the old formula and replacing it with something more punchier and 'cleaner' sounding. It was not well received by anyone generally but by about 1983 they had enough money and they stopped really caring about musical innovation and bothering much what people thought I believe.

Edited by richardh - February 07 2021 at 02:41

Earl of Mar wrote: Sorry,I didnt like the album when I bought it on release and I have little love for it now.

richardh wrote: Keep It Dark is one of my favourite Genesis songs and so for that alone I'm prepared to cut this album some slack. Yes as mentioned its a bit of a mess and very uneven , perhaps an EP at 20 minutes would have been the best option. Not convinced that the extended version of Dodo/Lurker would have helped although it would have been nice to have it on the deluxe release. Overall one of those albums that is not as bad as it's reputation. Perhaps add Love Beach and The Big Generator to make a trio

Steve Wyzard wrote: Still my favorite Genesis album - flawless! I will admit this opinion is probably heavily influenced by the fact that Abacab was also my first ever Genesis album!

As is my opinion of And then there were Three, as it was my first first Genesis album.

For a long time, I didn't understand why so many seemed to dislike it.

From a prog perspective I think the title track is one of the most underrated things they have done. Dodo/lurker would be not too far behind it in that regard. I think just about any prog attempts they made after Steve Hackett left is underrated though (at least among prog fans).

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - January 22 2021 at 23:46

SteveG wrote: What's good on it is really, really good, but what's not is really forgettable. 3 stars sounds about right.

Agreed

Love the title track, but not a lot else. 

I love Genesis' pop stuff. To me, Abacab is the first record where Phil and the guys get up the nerve to step out of their prog comfort zone and try out new sounds and snappier songs. It pays off brilliantly, as well as showing their collective knack for being weird. Keep It Dark? Dodo/Lurker? Man On The Corner? Me And Sarah Jane? Heck even the title track is really quite unusual. The only duds here are the less than exciting Another Record (though I appreciate the thought of having that message at the end of the LP) and the perhaps misguided, but eye-roll smile inducing Who Dunnit.