And Then There Were Three...

I bought it the day it was released and I expected more like W&W but it didn't deliver the goods in any way shape or form.  I remember I kept listening to it expecting to all of a sudden discover it's greatness but it never happened.  I just kept thinking I should like it because I loved Genesis so much.  Finally I realized that it was a bad album, which is okay.  Not every slugger hits a homer every time he steps to the plate.  There was a lot of turmoil in the band's individual lives at that time and I think the resulting sub-par compositions reflect that fact.  The real irony is that they got their breakout single from it and it turned their attention away from prog and towards the MTV generation for the rest of their career.

70sSoundquality wrote: You know what song really rules on "And Then There Were Three" ? Say It's Alright Joe.   Man, that song is suicidal. I like the weird stuff.   Also, "Get out of the way fat man, you've got something to do", ughh...it's called......can't remember. Something like "Go West Young Man". Really killer killer Rutherford song. Deep in the Motherloade? Is that it?

Well...

Although there's some good material on ATTWT it sounds unfocused, almost like a set of demos for 3 seperate solo careers polished up with a few collaborative pieces padding it out.

Not a big fan, I do rather like abacab though.

Quite a good album, with some great tracks like "Burning Rope", but also some rubbish like "Follow You Follow Me". The same with the album "Duke". I think it would be a good idea to choose best tracks from both of them and record on a one disc. Then it would be a fantastic "album"

Although taste is subjective, I honestly cannot see how anyone can say that Abacab is a better album than ATTWT.  The only truly stand-out songs on Abacab are the title track (maybe), Me and Sarah Jane (maybe), Dodo/Lurker (unquestionably), and Like It or Not (maybe).  No Reply At All is Collins-pop, Keep It Dark is silly, Who Dunnit is out-and-out stupid, Man On the Corner is Collins-pop again, and Another Record is uninspired and weak.

maani wrote: Although taste is subjective, I honestly cannot see how anyone can say that Abacab is a better album than ATTWT.  The only truly stand-out songs on Abacab are the title track (maybe), Me and Sarah Jane (maybe), Dodo/Lurker (unquestionably), and Like It or Not (maybe).  No Reply At All is Collins-pop, Keep It Dark is silly, Who Dunnit is out-and-out stupid, Man On the Corner is Collins-pop again, and Another Record is uninspired and weak. Meanwhile, as noted, ATTWT offers Down and Out (an excellent "heavy"), Undertow (among their best "ballads"), Snowbound (another excellent ballad), Burning Rope (a "classic" extended composition), Deep in the Motherlode (a solid rocker), Many Too Many (another good ballad), Say It's Alright, Joe (one of the most emotional quasi-Gabriel-esque songs they've done), and The Lady Lies (a reasonably good story-song).  Only Ballad of Big, Scenes From a Night's Dream and Follow You Follow Me are questionable.   With the exception of the fact that Dodo/Lurker kicks butt on anything in ATTWT, song for song ATTWT seems better thanb Abacab.   But, as they say, opinions are like noses...   Peace.

70sSoundquality wrote:  Only Ballad of Big, Scenes From a Night's Dream and Follow You Follow Me are questionable.     Peace.   No they aren't!! Ballad of Big is friggin' amazing. I love the arranging, vocals and harmonies are amazing, and I die everytime I hear that CP-70 piano intro with analog chorus. It's a trip! Scene's is another well written piece, and a really great rhythm. Follow you Follow Me  is the only song that I might consider "pop", but still, it doesn't really count as pop. It still has a "hippie" sort of feel to it, the synthesizers just kind of exclude it from standard pop in my opinion as it also uses classic Banks chord transitions.      I don't understand how so many people can say there is "pop" on this album. Typically, I don't speak ill of an album unless I know I could do better. Better of course, is subjective. I dislike 90125 by yes, tremendously, but I'll never say its "rubbish" or "watered down" because I know I could never write melodies and songs like that. I think what is needed here is perspective. If the trio said "f**k it, no more Genesis...we'll start a separate three piece band" and recorded ATTWT, I'm sure people's opinions wouldn't merely be based on what Genesis recorded 4 years prior when they were a completely different band. It's my favorite album by them, but I know that Lamb is just as good. It's just made with a completely different goal in mind. If they were "losing inspiration" I'm sure they would just not make an album. It's not like they needed the money. The creativity flows on this album, on every song. Just like all of the previous efforts as well (I've not heard anything past ATTWT, except the Tony Banks solo album from 1979 which is all badass).

     Easy my friend, It's O.K. It is a good album. The point is that it is Genesis, and is not as strong as their previous releases. You have to compare when talking about one band's output. It is a better album than others in the genre, just not one of Genesis' best. Of course, it is all subjective. If it's your favorite, great, but don't get hurt when others don't feel the same way. As a prog fan, it comes with the territory.   

I happen to like Duke as well (only slightly less than ATTWT), and agree that it was the last truly listenable Genesis album (though Invisible Touch did have Tonight Tonight and the truly brilliant Domino suite to recommend it...)