The Official Genesis Thread

[chemistry1973]

This is an excellent pick for a marathon!

 

For my part, I am a very recent -- as in quarantine/shut-down recent -- convert to Genesis. At my age, I associated Genesis with "Land of Confusion" and "Invisible Touch" from the MTV of my teens, but in response to posts by Entre Perpetuo and Tony R (among others), I thought I should get to know the band better. I started with Seconds Out, and worked my way back to Nursery Cryme -- and it's wonderful! That whole Hackett-era from 1971 to 1977 is so great.

 

I think I've come to the decision that Foxtrot is my favorite album, as it has "Watcher of the Skies," "Time Table," and the awesome "Supper's Ready," which I think belongs with "Echoes" as a truly awesome epic prog accomplishment.

 

The '80s stuff still leaves me cold, but the '70s stuff is so brilliant that I don't feel any diminishing of my fascination for their talent.

 

Me too - i was exposed to 80s genesis first. But that’s a great introduction to a dense catalog, including Peter Gabriel’s solo work.

 

The first Gabriel Genesis I heard was “Selling...” and that floored me. I thought everything from the early 70s sounded like shit up to that moment.

 

IMO, great production in the 70s generally sounds better than great production in the 80s, Moving Pictures and Signals aside. There's just a warmth and artistry to much of it I think gets dumped by many 80s records in favor of flash and style.

 

For sure - at the time though everything from the seventies to me sounded muffled and underwhelming. But of course production of the 70s was incredible and the 80s brought about tech that made things easier - and didn’t necessarily make things sound better.

 

 

[The Cat 3]

Continuing on today with the Banks - Collins - Rutherford lineup...

 

...what an amazing transition they made in just a few short years.

 

A completely different direction whilst still remaining distinctly Genesis.

 

http://www.ferhiga.com/progre/portadas/genesis-3sides-live.jpg

[The Cat 3]

T.S. Eliot said, "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper".

 

So, it is as I listen to the last Banks - Collins - Rutherford album, "We Can't Dance".

 

While it does have some good "Genesis" songs, the bulk of it sounds like a Phil Collins solo album.

 

The "highs" are very high, but the "lows' are very low.

 

It also sounds like Phil wishes he was Barry Manilow...no disrespect to Barry Manilow, of course.

 

(Or perhaps songs that were written for a Mike and The Mechanics album).

 

The second half of this record just drags and drags.

 

People will argue that their first studio album, "From Genesis to Revelation" or their last studio album, "Calling All Stations" are their worst albums.

 

I have to humbly disagree and offer this as the prime candidate for that honour.

 

There really is nothing wrong with this album, it just seems half-baked to me.

 

Thank goodness for the two live albums they released after this, I would hate for this to be the last musical word from them.

 

This album makes me look forward to "Calling All Stations" which is upcoming in my current Genesis marathon.

 

All of this is just my opinion, and no offense to fans of this album is intended.

 

 

(Even the "soft rock" cover is quite off).

[chemistry1973]

T.S. Eliot said, "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper".

 

So, it is as I listen to the last Banks - Collins - Rutherford album, "We Can't Dance".

 

While it does have some good "Genesis" songs, the bulk of it sounds like a Phil Collins solo album.

 

The "highs" are very high, but the "lows' are very low.

 

It also sounds like Phil wishes he was Barry Manilow...no disrespect to Barry Manilow, of course.

 

(Or perhaps songs that were written for a Mike and The Mechanics album).

 

The second half of this record just drags and drags.

 

People will argue that their first studio album, "From Genesis to Revelation" or their last studio album, "Calling All Stations" are their worst albums.

 

I have to humbly disagree and offer this as the prime candidate for that honour.

 

There really is nothing wrong with this album, it just seems half-baked to me.

 

Thank goodness for the two live albums they released after this, I would hate for this to be the last musical word from them.

 

This album makes me look forward to "Calling All Stations" which is upcoming in my current Genesis marathon.

 

All of this is just my opinion, and no offense to fans of this album is intended.

 

 

(Even the "soft rock" cover is quite off).

 

Agreed. The album mostly sucks. It sounds like edgy Phil solo material of the time.

[Entre_Perpetuo]

T.S. Eliot said, "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper".

 

So, it is as I listen to the last Banks - Collins - Rutherford album, "We Can't Dance".

 

While it does have some good "Genesis" songs, the bulk of it sounds like a Phil Collins solo album.

 

The "highs" are very high, but the "lows' are very low.

 

It also sounds like Phil wishes he was Barry Manilow...no disrespect to Barry Manilow, of course.

 

(Or perhaps songs that were written for a Mike and The Mechanics album).

 

The second half of this record just drags and drags.

 

People will argue that their first studio album, "From Genesis to Revelation" or their last studio album, "Calling All Stations" are their worst albums.

 

I have to humbly disagree and offer this as the prime candidate for that honour.

 

There really is nothing wrong with this album, it just seems half-baked to me.

 

Thank goodness for the two live albums they released after this, I would hate for this to be the last musical word from them.

 

This album makes me look forward to "Calling All Stations" which is upcoming in my current Genesis marathon.

 

All of this is just my opinion, and no offense to fans of this album is intended.

 

 

(Even the "soft rock" cover is quite off).

 

If you kept the hit singles and the extended length pieces and dropped everything else this would be a reasonable follow up to Invisible Touch, probably about the same length too. One of the first casualties of the CD era, and such a shame because I really enjoy some of the songs and the artwork.

[The Cat 3]

T.S. Eliot said, "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper".

 

So, it is as I listen to the last Banks - Collins - Rutherford album, "We Can't Dance".

 

While it does have some good "Genesis" songs, the bulk of it sounds like a Phil Collins solo album.

 

The "highs" are very high, but the "lows' are very low.

 

It also sounds like Phil wishes he was Barry Manilow...no disrespect to Barry Manilow, of course.

 

(Or perhaps songs that were written for a Mike and The Mechanics album).

 

The second half of this record just drags and drags.

 

People will argue that their first studio album, "From Genesis to Revelation" or their last studio album, "Calling All Stations" are their worst albums.

 

I have to humbly disagree and offer this as the prime candidate for that honour.

 

There really is nothing wrong with this album, it just seems half-baked to me.

 

Thank goodness for the two live albums they released after this, I would hate for this to be the last musical word from them.

 

This album makes me look forward to "Calling All Stations" which is upcoming in my current Genesis marathon.

 

All of this is just my opinion, and no offense to fans of this album is intended.

 

 

(Even the "soft rock" cover is quite off).

 

If you kept the hit singles and the extended length pieces and dropped everything else this would be a reasonable follow up to Invisible Touch, probably about the same length too. One of the first casualties of the CD era, and such a shame because I really enjoy some of the songs and the artwork.

 

My goodness, at 71 minutes long this album is near torture to get through.

 

Many of the songs on the second half all sound the same...pretty Phil Collins ballads, which isn't a bad thing, but too much for a Genesis record.

 

But what do I know, it sold over 9 million units.

[chemistry1973]

T.S. Eliot said, "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper".

 

So, it is as I listen to the last Banks - Collins - Rutherford album, "We Can't Dance".

 

While it does have some good "Genesis" songs, the bulk of it sounds like a Phil Collins solo album.

 

The "highs" are very high, but the "lows' are very low.

 

It also sounds like Phil wishes he was Barry Manilow...no disrespect to Barry Manilow, of course.

 

(Or perhaps songs that were written for a Mike and The Mechanics album).

 

The second half of this record just drags and drags.

 

People will argue that their first studio album, "From Genesis to Revelation" or their last studio album, "Calling All Stations" are their worst albums.

 

I have to humbly disagree and offer this as the prime candidate for that honour.

 

There really is nothing wrong with this album, it just seems half-baked to me.

 

Thank goodness for the two live albums they released after this, I would hate for this to be the last musical word from them.

 

This album makes me look forward to "Calling All Stations" which is upcoming in my current Genesis marathon.

 

All of this is just my opinion, and no offense to fans of this album is intended.

 

 

(Even the "soft rock" cover is quite off).

 

If you kept the hit singles and the extended length pieces and dropped everything else this would be a reasonable follow up to Invisible Touch, probably about the same length too. One of the first casualties of the CD era, and such a shame because I really enjoy some of the songs and the artwork.

 

My goodness, at 71 minutes long this album is near torture to get through.

 

Many of the songs on the second half all sound the same...pretty Phil Collins ballads, which isn't a bad thing, but too much for a Genesis record.

 

But what do I know, it sold over 9 million units.

 

It did? Holy shit/

[ytserush]

Calling All Stations didn't sell, but I like it better than We Can't Dance and most of Invisible Touch. Why is that a lot of the B-sides are better during this period?

[Derek19]

With Phil Collins, and Peter Gabriel as the lead singers, I'm glad you were able to enjoy listening to Genesis' releases. Now, and next is: "Calling All Stations".