Firth of Fifth, Supper's Ready and all that

Post by **Sheriff Lytton** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 2:26 am

I stopped smoking pot a while ago. And then and only then did I start listening to old Genesis albums, which I'd previously never had a taste for.

A) I'm sure it's meant to be smoking pot that makes you listen to old Genesis albums, not giving it up. I always knew there was something odd about the way my brain works.

B) My God they were bloody brilliant, weren't they ? (Althogether now, old hippies... "YES !")

C) It wasn't quite the same after Steve Hackett left though was it ? (The roar of the hippies is deafening now)

I appear to be unable to listen to any other music at the moment.

Is anyone else out there madly in love with this unfeasibly weird but amazingly talented band. Or am I just losing my mind ?

Answers on a Giant Hogweed to Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid c/o Can Utility and the Coastliners. Get 'em out by Friday !

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:03 pm

I'm a huge Peter Gabriel fanatic, so I love early Genesis. FoF is an awesome song! All that stuff is so different, often weird, but just great!

Post by **Edge** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:41 pm

Heh, now I have 'Selling England By The Pound' stuck in my head.

Not that I'm complaining...

Post by **Dragonlily** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:46 pm

Yes, it was the weirdness I was attracted to. Great texture.

I'm a Peter Gabriel fan, too. *puts on "5" album*

Post by **Dragonlily** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 7:12 pm

It's been ages since I listened to this tape. It also has on it:
Blue Bell Knoll - Cocteau Twins
A - Jethro Tull
A Walk Across the Rooftops - The Blue Nile
Islands - Mike Oldfield
and Gold And Poison - SPK

Any of you Aussies remember SPK? Gold And Poison was one of my fave albums for a long time, second only to Jean-Michelle Jarre's Zoolook.

Post by **Sheriff Lytton** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 2:33 am

Well, I'm glad to see that I'm not alone. I'm madly in love with the "Foxtrot" album at the moment.

If I'm going to have isomnia, I can think of no better way to pass the time than listening to that album.

P.S. Fist and Faith - Agreed. Different, weird, but good. very, very good.

Edge - I hope that's not on vinyl 'cos it will leave a really big scar

Dragonlily - I've only got the "1" album (Moribund the Burgermeister, Solsbury Hill, etc) - It'll be a while before I get onto his others. Any you'd recommend ?

Post by **Dragonlily** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 2:49 am

Don't know, Sheriff. Just listened to "Gold and Poison," and it seems like these here songs have gotten themselves dated a little.

Post by **matrixman** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 7:24 am

I did not start with the Peter Gabriel era. I didn't get into Genesis til the Phil Collins era of the 80's. (Hears derisive laughter in the background)

Many of you may not care for the 80's incarnations of your favorite 70's bands like Fleetwood Mac, Yes and Genesis. But it was in the 80's that I discovered these great bands for myself, and their respective 80's albums remain among my all-time favorites. I appreciate these artists on my own terms, not through the lens of their 70's work.

I love Genesis's self-titled 1983 album. It brings back memories of my junior high days, when Genesis, Yes, and The Police (among others) were rocking my world with their great 80's songs. To you, it may be crap. To me, it's classic rock.

I acknowledge that for any artist, it's probably better to keep loyal fans than to drive them away; but if a group like Genesis perhaps alienated its early fanbase with Gabriel's departure, at least the band also gained new fans with Phil Collins as the front man. And besides, Gabriel as a solo artist has turned out to be a bigger force in pop music than Genesis ever was, so Gabriel fans should have nothing to complain about.

Just for the record, I have nothing but praise for Gabriel as well--though I'm only familiar with his 80's output, naturally. His song Shock The Monkey mesmerized me the first time I heard it on the radio, back in the early 80's. It was a rhythmic powerhouse of a song--a disturbing piece of music distinct from much of the fun pop or jock rock on the airwaves at the time. The amazing music video for Shock The Monkey was just as powerful and unsettling as the song. Then a few years later Gabriel came out with Sledgehammer and another incredible music video. WOW.

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 4:40 pm

MM, you sound rather defensive.

I never heard of Genesis until Gabriel was gone. I think Collins is a great songwriter. Lots of great stuff over his many years.

Gabriel, obviously, is of a different type altogether. Apples and oranges.

Post by **matrixman** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 6:32 pm

Me, defensive? Nah...

Post by **Sheriff Lytton** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 1:29 am

Matrixman, prepare yourself for an affirmation of your good taste. In the 80's I got into post-Gabriel Genesis in a big way. The album you refer to was in my stereo for a long time purely on the strength of "Mama", "That's All" and "Home by the Sea" (both parts). I saw the live video from the tour and really liked "In the Cage", "In That Quiet Earth" and "Afterglow" but found the Gabriel era stuff just a bit too much. Mind you, I was only about 12 at the time so it's not hard to see why. I got the next 2 albums as well as "Duke". I enjoyed some tracks and found others dull.

Anyway, this Christmas just gone I found myself stuck with a voucher to spend and no CD's I liked the look of. And then I saw "The Platinum Collection" sitting there. Even then, I umm'd and ahh'd for a good 5 minutes before getting it. I'm bloody glad I did though, as the Gabriel/Hackett era stuff I'd previously dismissed as hippy madness has given me more pleasure than anything I've heard in a very long time indeed.

And as for the Police... that was the first band I ever got into ("get into" = "become absolutely obsessed with their music to the point of mania") They were absolutely incredible and I was gutted when they split up, as their all of their albums (especially the last two) really did it for me.

As far as I'm concerned you're a fellow of impeccable taste and discernment and you're welcome to come and destroy my neighbour's stereo/CD collection anyday.

Post by **Cail** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 1:57 am

I've heard Genesis both ways, and seen them in 1987 on the "Invisible Touch" tour, and I can say they were a great band. The self-titled album is one of my top 20 favorites, "Home By the Sea" is an absolute killer.

I'm with y'all on the Police as well. It's a shame they couldn't keep their egos in check.

As for Yes....I vote no.

Post by **danlo** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 5:30 am

Home by the Sea is definately an awesome song!

I kling to Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway desperately!

"It's one o'clock and time for lunch, bumdedumdedum..."

As for Yes I vote a resounding YES!

Post by **matrixman** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:12 am

Cool, others here like the Collins-era Genesis! Encouraging to know I wasn't the only nut who thought their '83 album was damn good.

Cail wrote:I'm with y'all on the Police as well. It's a shame they couldn't keep their egos in check.

Yes, there was still potential for further great music in the Police, but they did themselves in. One reason why I respect U2 so much is that the foursome have stuck together through the years because they are friends first, and rock stars second.

Sheriff Lytton wrote:As far as I'm concerned you're a fellow of impeccable taste and discernment

Egad, please don't pin me in a corner like that. I'm, er, entitled to my guilty pleasures as well...

Post by **dANdeLION** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 2:51 pm

I know what I like, and both the Gabriel and Collins Genesis are way up high in that list. I still need to get "Seconds Out" and "And Then There Were Three" to finish out the 70's stuff, and well as "Abacab" and "Genesis" from the 80's cds (when I started to upgrade my albums collection to cd, I guess I missed those). "Stagnation" is an early fav of mine, from Trespass. The only artist I have more cds of would be Rush, which I've liked forever too.

As some of you know, I've lately gotten into a modern prog band called Spock's Beard. One of the things that I fing interesting about this band is their similarity to Genesis. You're not gonna believe this, but after their 6th cd (a double cd titled "Snow" - it's freaking unreal!), the lead singer quit, and the drummer has taken up the lead singer position. Talk about your deja vu......oh, and BTW, that drummer is Nick D'Virgilio, who some of you might recognize from Genesis' "Calling All Stations". I just did a double-take when I saw that on the Genesis website! Guess I better go get that cd too!

Post by **Sheriff Lytton** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 1:29 am

dANdeLION wrote:The only artist I have more cds of would be Rush, which I've liked forever too.

Ohhh, now you're talking my language.

dANdeLION wrote:As some of you know, I've lately gotten into a modern prog band called Spock's Beard. One of the things that I fing interesting about this band is their similarity to Genesis. You're not gonna believe this, but after their 6th cd (a double cd titled "Snow" - it's freaking unreal!), the lead singer quit, and the drummer has taken up the lead singer position. Talk about your deja vu......oh, and BTW, that drummer is Nick D'Virgilio, who some of you might recognize from Genesis' "Calling All Stations". I just did a double-take when I saw that on the Genesis website! Guess I better go get that cd too!

Wow ! That definitely reminds me of another band... can't think who though...

Post by **dANdeLION** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 1:43 pm

Uhh, the Eagles are the only other band I can recall that the drummer is the lead singer in.

Post by **Sheriff Lytton** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 6:42 pm

This could be the shortest game in history.

Ok then - The Carpenters (yuk)

Post by **Cail** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:06 pm

Even worse....Night Ranger

Post by **dANdeLION** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 3:25 pm

Heh, I think that covers it.

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

Firth of Fifth, Supper's Ready and all that

Firth of Fifth, Supper's Ready and all that