The River of Constant Change: The Genesis Album-by-Album Thread

First song on Side 2. There's a repeated lyric that goes:

"And the changes of no consequence will pick up the reins from nowhere."

A really nice song I'd like to hear again thanks to this thread.

 

I love NC (although it did take me a little while to put it up there), I love HtB, and I adore the Giant Hogweed!! You all know that this last one is based on a scientific fact, don't you?

 

Who sings on Harlequin? Is it Phil with Peter on the bridge?

 

I would guess they are both singing on it. One reason Phil was able to take over from Peter so easily was that people were already used to him singing harmonies and sometimes doubling Peter's voice -- "Lillywhite Lilith" is another song where you can hear them singing the melody line together.

 

I first heard "Happy the Man" and "Twilight Alehouse" on a 1974 compilation album called The Famous Charisma Label 5th Anniversary. I've still got it but haven't listened to it in ages. I'm pretty sure "Happy the Man" has the original fade-in on this LP.

 

"Return of the Giant Hogweed" is one fantastic rocking song. I love the lyrics and especially Steve's guitar playing.

 

Mention must be made of the artwork too, very evocative and gives you a flavour of the music before you even listen - and there's the gatefold with the lyrics and pictures - better suited to the vinyl really!

 

With the arrival of Hackett and Collins, Genesis hones its sound. The only thing that could detract from the listening experience is the slugy mix.

 

Re "Seven Stones"...this is truly a standout track. Sounds like a brilliant Trespass outtake. Love those fragile vocal harmonies on the final chorus. Then that majestic mellotron line takes over the melody and takes the song out to even greater heights. Has always been one of my favorite Nursery Cryme tracks.

 

The demos that Ant, Phil, and Mike helped Peter with ca. 1976? Over at the Solsbury Hill forums, there is a thread about a cache of demos from this period that turned up recently (literally rescued from the trash) but from the discussion it sounds more like these are home demos, with Pete alone on the piano.

So true, and I think some of these actually come from Mike - his bass really drives 'The Knife' along from beginning to end.

 

Nursery Cryme... another step forward in the ever growing career of the Gabriel-era Genesis... This is the first album featuring Hackett and Collins, and the former's palette of sounds together with the latter's ability at the drums elevate the band to further heights...

Nowhere is this more apparent than on the album opener itself, The Musical Box, an incredible piece of work that already showcases the band's strengths and light/shade-soft/hard dynamics that are their trademark... It's easy to see how the new guys in the band have made it a much stronger unit...

Nursery Cryme contains a wonderful mix of gentle, acoustic guitar/mellotron driven ballads (like Harlequin, or Seven Stones...), with other harder, epic numbers (The Fountain Of Salmacis, or The Return Of The Gian Hogweed, one monster of a track with a killer, and I mean KILLER closing section...), not forgetting a piece of humour in the shape of Harold The Barrel, a fun song that gives us a glimpse into Genesis' sense of humour, something that will colour a big part of their output and will set them apart from the other prog-rockers of the era...

Having progressed even over the giant leap forward that Trespass meant, it's easy to see this band giving us much pleasure in the future, especially now that Hackett and Collins are in the band, two top players that, along with Banks, can now take care of the most demanding musical passages and put the band up there with Yes, Crimson and ELP...

 

Javimulder is sharp as a knife and on point with his view. Couldn't agree more with every point made above. Sure they would bring us so much more fun and they are arguabyl better than some of the above mentioned 3 Prog-Rock groups E,L&P , King Crimson and even Yes.
Maybe on the same level as Yes - Yes were giants, too and a killer Live Band till this very day. (Saw Genesis w Peter Gabriel in 1975 for the last Tour of Genesis and Yes ca 1977 and Yes was better). The 2003 Sattelite Yes Show w/ acoustic instruments showed how great each Yes member still is as an instrumentalist and they still sound great together.
Genesis are gone for good since 3 Decades..

 

One of many great prog-era covers by Paul Whitehead

http://www.paulwhitehead.com/

Here's an interview with him from a VDGG site

http://www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk/paulw.htm

 

Always loved that classic victorian-era style Genesis logo he designed for Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot and Genesis Live. Wish they would have continued using it on Selling England.

 

The period following the release of Nursery Cryme saw the band gigging constantly throughout England to a mostly indifferent music press and, to a lesser extent, the record-buying public. NC reached #39 in the UK. The reception was decidedly better in Belgium, where it reached #1 (and where they played their first overseas gig in January 1972), and in Italy, where the album was at #4 when the band arrived for a seven-date tour in the spring.


The songs played live during this period, and up to the autumn when the next album arrived, included

Happy The Man, Stagnation, Fountain Of Salmacis, Twilight Alehouse, Musical Box, Return Of The Giant Hogweed, Harold The Barrel, Harlequin, The Knife, Bye Bye Johnny (Can Utility And The Coastliners), Going Out To Get You, Get 'Em Out By Friday, Seven Stones

(Armando Gallo, Genesis - the Evolution of a Rock Band, 1978;
Genesis - Chapter & Verse, 2007, edited by Philip Dodd;
gig database at Genesis - The Movement)

 

Man... and just a year or two later almost NONE of those songs would be performed live again (at least not to my knowledge). Only "The Knife" and "Musical Box" would reappear in their sets.

If only I could have seen the Musical Box tribute band recreate one of those earlier sets...

 

FYI Foxtrot is coming up tomorrow so prepare all your comments!

 

NC is the one album that's taken the longest to grow on me. The longest songs grew on me the fastest, but the other songs (save "Harold the Barrel") have taken much longer to grow on me. I have to confess that my enjoyment of this album was helped greatly by hearing the DE of it.

(added five minutes later)

One thing that's always been a constant source of enjoyment throughout every phase of Genesis' career is the drumming and the sound of Phil Collins' drums. I don't think he gets NEARLY enough credit for his style, taste, sense of swing, and his technical prowess. He can rock out when necessary, but also knows when and when not to accent various beats.

Still warming up to "Seven Stones." Nothing grabs me. Has its moments, but it just sounds like it wants to be a pastoral cousin to "Musical Box" without the intensity.

Someone earlier said that this album sounds "Victorian," and I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. I would also apply that term to FOXTROT as well, but that's for a future post.

 

He was certainly respected by his peers. Here's a top notch endorsement. When they first toured with Collins as the frontman, Bill Bruford agreed to sit in. Wow, Bruford was famous and well respected by fans and musicians alike. Plus, Bruford was not the kind of guy to "fill in" for anyone, so for him to sit in on that 1976 tour spoke volumes.

 

a timely recollection

from forum member PhilHepple's post My First Genesis Concert (Treat for Genesis Fans), September 16, 2005.

 

Foxtrot
Released October 6, 1972 as Charisma CAS-1058 (UK) and Charisma/Buddah CAS-1058 (US)

1. "Watcher of the Skies"
2. "Time Table"
3. "Get 'Em Out by Friday"
4. "Can-Utility and the Coastliners"
5. "Horizons"
6. "Supper's Ready"

With critical approval of Nursery Cryme in Genesis' favor, the band toured throughout most of 1972 and took a break in August to record the followup. Foxtrot has become a fan favorite and is in general a standout in its own right as a prog rock album. Here we see Genesis going for the long, drawn out epics - a trend that would continue for many more albums - instead of more accessible material. Songs like "Watcher of the Skies" with its memorable mellotron intro and "Get 'Em Out by Friday" with its bizarre lyrics about humanoids being packed into dense cities give the album a flavor which makes it the perfect followup to Nursery Cryme, even if it doesn't rock as hard.

Where things get very interesting is side two. Side two begins with a short, not-quite-two-minute classical guitar showcase called "Horizons", then gives way into "Supper's Ready", a song which is arguably the pinnacle of early Genesis. Divided into multiple movements, each one sounds like a song on its own and it works well because it keeps "Supper's Ready" from getting repetitious, which is a problem that a lot of other songs of comparable length tend to run into.

Though I do not think this is Genesis' best album as a band, I do think it's the best of the Peter Gabriel era.

Rating: 5/5

 

Another strong album. The opening riff and melody of "Watcher of the Skies" singlehandedly attracted me to Foxtrot, and indeed the pre-1973 catalog of Genesis as a whole. My favorite song is "Can-Utility and the Coastliners," however: The instrumentation sounds almost ethereal, and the music itself is downright catchy!

Although there are many good things about Foxtrot, sonic perfection isn't one of them: The remastered CD has a somewhat harsh and muffled quality to it, and it sounds like a bad recording. That hasn't stopped me from appreciating the music, though!

 

Maybe my favorite Genesis Album.
ALways wondered what Andres Segovia would have thought of Horizons.
I also think that Can-Utility and the Coastliners might be the best track....or is it Supper's Ready?
Just a great album.

 

As much as I love Nursery Cryme, I have to say that Foxtrot is a step foreward in the production department. Someone wisely decided to take the cushions out of Phil's drums.

 

Foxtrot

Remember getting the gatefold sleeve for Foxtrot, Charisma, and then searching for the Buddah release, in the 80's.