GENESIS

No album frustrates me more than this one. In 1974 Gabriel was felt his talent growing stagnant in the confines of Genesis. He decided to try and create his magnum opus, a double album that told the �story� of Rael. Calling this a �story� is a little misleading, its more of a serious of vignettes that propel a lose story along but focus on the deep parts of Gabriel�s psyche. Halfway through the making of the album, Gabriel was lured away by Hollywood and tried to quit the band when the other members got angry at him for wanting to do so. Eventually Gabriel returned and finished writing lyrics to the jams and musical tracks that the rest of the band had already laid down.

The first �half� of the album is flat out brilliant. From the mysterious fading in of piano on the opening title track to the closing rock of �The Chamber of 32 Doors,� the music oozes creativity. The best part of it being �Fly on a Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974" where it starts out soft giving off the feeling of a gathering storm till it literally explodes into one demonic riff with quite possibly the creepiest set of lyrics ever in �as the song and dance begins/the children play, with needles/needles and pins.� The rest of the songs all hit a perfect balance of hooks and are lyrically strong with Gabriel including some of his best puns and word play he�s ever done. Also the story remains largely coherent here (coherent as in barely understandable, there are tons of websites on the internet that try to interpret the play, good reads).

However, the second half of the album is where it all falls apart for me. I�m sorry, but it is incredibly boring to me. The story gets even weirder and weirder (castration anyone?) and the tunes start to become more and more mindless atmospherics with lyrics thrown in. The closer �It� should be some anthem that wraps it all up on a high note, instead it is dull as well. Life just disappears from the album on this second disc. Another problem is that there are too many instrumentals on the second side. Don�t get me wrong I like a good musical piece, but not when it is just going to be weird sound effects �The Waiting Room� or an instrumental in disguise �Riding the Scree.� Overall, too much nonsense narrative, not enough interesting melodies.

Final Comment: Buy if only for the first half, it�s worth the full price, just consider the second disc a freebie.

First Half: *****

Second Half: *

Score:***

A Trick of the Tail (1976)

Coming Soon

Wind and Wuthering (1977)

Hey a concept album based off of Emily Bronte�s classic novel Wuthering Heights! Oh Heathcliff� It�s me Cathy! I... *shoots self in face*

The year: 1977. The ring leader of Genesis: That balding drumm-. Actually no. Tony Banks was the main force leading Genesis between their Gabriel and stadium filling pop eras and on no album does he dominate the sound as much as on this one. Washes and washes of Banks synths overtake every song on this record (bar �Blood on the Rooftops�) and if one cannot get used to the sound of his squeaky and squishy keys one might as well just build a time travel machine and go back in time to kill Tony Banks in the cradle. Or avail themselves of their wonderful invention and participate in some other useful assassination (Mama Cass? After all choking to death on food is always funny).

Anywho, �Eleventh Earl of Mar� is actually based on real English history and is a competent workout. �One for the Vine� also happens to be based on real English history, where a savior of people finds himself lost in an ice land and talks to a vine and....wait a second. This makes fun of supposed Messiahs...*uber right wing part of Bill takes over* BLASPHEMY! Listen to that middle section with all that interesting percussion. Hmmm sounds like something an industrial band would do, and all industrialists (music wise, not that good Mr. Goodbar. Or whoever that Monopoly guy is with his child pornography) are Satanists! Therefore Phil Collins = Satan! *uber right wing part of Bill goes up in smoke of ridiculous logic and from the act of flogging a dead horse* Well this �Your Own Special Way� song is ok, nothing special in all of its synth glory *snickers* What ho? An instrumental? What fancy name could we give such a song...oh �Wot Gorilla�. Oh.

�All In a Mouse�s Night� has to be the worst song on here. Not only is it boring and awash in horrible sounding keyboard sounds but its also about a FREAKING MOUSE. Steve Hackett and Phil Collins get together on �Blood on the Rooftops� and create the best song on the album with gorgeous classical guitars. Lucky for the listener it appears they recorded it while Tony Banks was out sucking on a fag *Hah!* or shopping for new striped polo shirts or whatever Mr. Banks does in his spare time (Chutes and Ladders) and therefore Banks only had time to add...TASTEFUL TOUCHES OF SYNTH!...to the song! Oh ho, here are the Wuthering Heights songs. Oh wait, �Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers� and �In That Quiet Earth� are also instrumental pieces. But nice soothing ones at that which combined together make a nice lead in to bombasticity with �Afterglow.� Actually the whole album feels like a leadup to this one cathartic moment when the song begins. What a swell song, with a nice sentiment about um...finding ones way home? nuclear war? A loved one? 1992's classic film Cool World?

Final Comment: Well this one is the hardcore fan favorite one so be careful when discussing it with a diehard fan so that you don�t look like a tool. If you can get used to and actually grow to enjoy the sound of the synths on this album, then chances are you will be sold. If you at all care about decent film making and Brad Pitt, you will go to your local video store (rental or bricks and mortar store), find copies of Cool World then urinate all over them while playing David Bowie�s title track from the movie in a stunning twist of irony.

Score: ** �

...and Then There Were Three (1978)

Steve Hackett left the band after the Wind and Wuthering Tour for good reason. Tony Banks� keyboards were slowly pushing Hackett�s guitar playing out of the mix and Hackett felt his talent was better suited for his solo career. Plus he hadn�t really done squat ever since Gabriel left and Banks took over creatively. Therefore this album is entitled And Then There Were Three in a bit of self deprecating humor. The major problem with this album is the production, everything is lost in washes of synthesizers, with a little more �space� in the mix this one could definitely go up in my eyes.

The material here can mainly be divided between the long proggish songs mainly written by Mr. Banks, and the shorter more poppier ones written by Rutherford and Collins. The shorter songs are partly made up by tales of the west in �Deep in the Motherlode� and the �Ballad of Big.� Or bizarre tales about the fate of a snowman in �Snowbound.� (Yes you read that right, and it�s a strangely moving song in its own stupid way). �Scenes from a Night�s Dream� is easily the biggest throw away track on the album. Nothing of interest happens during this pedestrian track. Rutherford�s �Say It�s Alright Joe� sounds like it belongs on a Phil Collin�s solo album, as does this albums most famous (or infamous) song �Follow You Follow Me� which clearly shows the pop direction that Genesis was heading in. I personally find the song catchy and resonant...in a sick way.

Big pompous long songs fill up the other part of this album. �Undertow is a thing of beauty as is the epic long �Burning Rope.� The only problem is that Tony Banks wrote them in full post Gabriel �what the hell is our purpose� way for the lyrics are trite and full of cliches. The lame lyrics really detract from the pretty moods Bank�s synth work manages to invoke. �The Lady Lies� is another epic that I find a little boring for my tastes, it just doesn�t draw me in with its lame melody and atmosphere. The opener �Down and Out� fares much better even though it is practically just a rewrite mixture of the previous two albums openers. Oddly enough my favorite Banks song on here is the shortest one �Many Too Many� and its my favorite on the record. The song hits all the highs with an emotional vox by Collins and inspiring instrumental work by the group. This song I wouldn�t have minded had it been longer.

Final Comment: Often referred to as transitional, I prefer to refer to this album as �Mediocre with the possibility of greatness ruined by arrogant bloated prog rock lyrics which made Punk possible, but because I�m a whore for Genesis I�m going to rate this higher than I should�. Damn you.

Score:** 1/2

Abacab (1981)

Coming Soon

Three Sides Live (1982)

Coming Soon

Genesis (1983)

Ah 1983, David Bowie was cool, my sister was born, and Genesis dropped a pop masterpiece into the laps of the public. Well two outta three ain�t bad. First off, the cover is sweet. Remember those block and ball thing you used to play with as a kid? The one you had to fit the shapes into the shaped holes in the ball? Well those shapes are the album cover and signifying a back to basics approach seen in the album. The title is even simple �Genesis.� Coming off the experimentation of abacab, Genesis went for more of a straight pop sound and succeeded, growing in popularity even more. However, this doesn�t mean they left their progressive roots behind, as �Home by the Sea� and its counterpart attest to. I think of this record as Genesis evolving even more and is another in a string of easily 5 star albums.

The haunting �Mama� kicks things off, with perfect synth noises, a great drum pattern and quite possibly Phil Collins best vocal performance ever. This song absolutely kicks and oozes sickness with Phil�s evil laughs of �HA HA HA ooooowwwww� and ranting about an older prostitute. Live this song was even better, easily one of Genesis� best songs in their catalogue. The tight perfect pop number �That�s All� is next with its bouncy piano lines and an awesome hook. �Mama� was a big hit in England, �That�s All� was the big hit in America, I wonder what that says. The progressive epic of �Home by the Sea� and �Second Home by the Sea� ends the first side, creating a spooky atmosphere that leads into the instrumental second part. Based around disco rhythms, the band is able to keep it incredibly interesting and varied.

�Illegal Alien� kicks off side two with much hilarity. Sure the lyrics about the Mexican man�s plight are stereotypical and offensive, but its delivered with such humor and a funny Hispanic accent its hard not to love. Not only that but its main vocal hook is the catchiest hook of all time. This song has literally been stuck in my head for about 5 weeks. A typical Phil ballad comes next in �Taking It All Too Hard� and its about average, the weakest point on the album. �Just a Job to Do� was used on Miami Vice and with its paranoid lyrics about spies and the people they hunt it easily fits in. Mike Rutherford�s power chords during the chorus make this song, and I feel like getting out my powder blue jacket and rolling the sleeves up just to get the full experience. �Silver Rainbow� is a very interesting song with really whack lyrics (probably about losing ones virginity) and it has a moody bombastic chorus. �It�s Gonna Get Better� is lyrically a typical 80s �feed the hungry/save the people� type song, but musically this song is great. The booming bass and backwards keyboards/violin, make this a great listen and the end chorus is a great uplifting way to end to the album.

Final Comment: Oh yeah, perfect pop. I could listen to this stuff forever. Now where is my remaster!

Score:****

Invisible Touch (1986)

I absolutely hated this album on first listening. I had gone on a bit of a shopping spree with Patrick and purchased 5 Genesis albums and this one was sort of an afterthought as I was more interested in their 70s material. After going through those other albums first I put this one on and was shocked. I knew that Invisible Touch was supposed to be a pop album but I was taken aback by all the songs here that I thought were Phil Collin�s solo songs but turned out to be Genesis songs. This album clearly demonstrates Genesis drifting towards an adult pop sensibility, and they were rewarded for this with hits galore, a lengthy tour, and a quickly expanding fanbase. Usually this means that the older fans become alienated and for that this album is generally looked down upon, and I was willing to follow that example.

However, after a few listens and an angry rant to my friends (who could care less) the songs on here really started to grow on me. The title track opener �Invisible Touch� may be simple, but it is extremely catchy as are �Anything She Does,� and �Throwing it All Away.� If these tracks weren�t so darn catchy they would just be banal filler. �In Too Deep,� was the song that I would have sworn was a Phil Collins solo song. I had been hearing this song for years on Sunday afternoons at home (Nothing quite like your �lite classics� station on Sunday afternoons) and I always thought it was a nice enough ballad, and like the rest of these tracks, gets under your skin after a few listens.

�Tonight Tonight Tonight� was Genesis� attempt at a prog pop song and while it�s nice enough it drags for way too long and has an absolutely dull middle jam section. A little better is the instrumental �The Brazilian� which creates a unique sound, almost like that of an impending storm, and �Land of Confusion� which is catchy, though lyrically heavy handed. (And no I haven�t seen the video but I swear I will someday.) The high point of the album for me is the �Domino� suite. Using oblique imagery of nuclear war and the message of Determinism (the theory that every event in the universe is dependent on another event: so Dominos fall, Clever eh? Philosophy comes in handy! Thank you Spinoza!) and starting off as a hook filled ballad that segues into a more rocking section, this song plain kicks ass. The live version is pretty killer as well.

Final Comment: Well this album is darned catchy, if you don�t like it at first listen to it more, it�ll grab you at some point

Score:***

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