Genesis - ...And Then There Were Three... Their masterpiece?

The beginnings of the Phil Collins-inspired descent to mediocrity.

 

Deep in the Motherlode is a fantastic song, but the album is not very consistent.

 

The only parts of Duke I like were beautifully done all in one suite on the 1980 tour, Behind the Lines/Duchess/Guide Vocal/Turn It On Again/Duke's Travels/Duke's End played without pause. Fantastic suite of music but the rest of Duke I could do without.

 

I agree there. Heathhaze is my favorite 'pretty' song that the trio ever recorded. Gets me emotional.

 

Might be my favorite track off of Duke.

As for ATTWT, it might be my least favorite Genesis album (from Trespass up to and including We Can't Dance). A lot of boring material. I'm not fond of Trespass either, but at least it's bookended by two of Genesis' best Gabriel-era pieces.

 

It's definitely not their masterpiece (which is Selling England, imho). But I still love some songs (Down And Out, the Lady lies) and I hate some (Ballad of Big).
And it has some extraordinary drumming on it, really. I remember focussing on the drums, when I listened to it. I liked the drums, for example in "Undertow".

 

This particular album was probably least influenced by Collins than any other, including the ones that came before.

 

Huh? I hear nothing on And Then There Were Three that sounds like the strong will of Phil Collins. That would begin on the next album, Duke, particularly with Misunderstanding--a blueprint for much of the simpler pop music that would follow.

 

Phil didn't inspire it. If anyone did it was Mike Rutherford. Not that I agree with the mediocrity bit. But the 'blame Phil' thing is old, very old. High School old.

 

Word. Mike was the one who brought "Your Own Special Way" to the table. Not to mention "More Fool Me".

I like the guitar solo on "Burning Rope" where Mike seems to channel Hackett, reminding us how much better this record would be with the added dimension Steve brought to songs.

 

OK. The beginnings of the Mike Rutherford-inspired descent to mediocrity. Candy pop - and IMO not as good as either Duke or S/T - which are higher quality pop.

 

I have this on vinyl and I played it last weekend (regular late 70's French Polygram pressing). I liked it. I need to listen to it again because it sounded interesting, unlike latter-day Genesis which I have completely lost interest in.

 

Not a big fan of ATTWT. However, Calling all stations, We Can't Dance, and Trespass are worse IMO. I haven't listened to it in a long time.

 

Wrong again.

The perception that any one member influenced the more stripped down and accessible music that they produced in their later period has been long debunked. The impression that this direction in their music was somehow less inspired is a matter of personal preference. The idea that the music in itself was not worthy of consideration and interest is utter nonsense.

 

Ah well, you're missing out on a lot of great music.

 

Weak melodies kill this album. It's not compelling to listen to in the way that Wind & Wuthering and A Trick of the Tail are, in spite of the similar sonic qualities.

Sorry to post the 2007 remix, but it's the only full version of the album on YouTube:



The opening track, "Down and Out," tries to be like "Eleventh Earl of Mar" and "Dance On a Volcano" but is weak melodically. It really doesn't get better for most of the album. As a result, it's just boring. Duke destroys this album because of its interesting melodies. I like Spot the Pigeon far more than I like ... And Then There Were Three.

I think the cover is the weakest of the bunch too, specifically because a part of my brain is telling me that the twilight sky is actually volcanic lava. It's an ugly cover.

 

There's a thought. To both improve the album and shorten it for better sound quality on vinyl, they could have done another three song EP of Misunderstanding b/w Alone Tonight and Open Door, then put Evidence Of Autumn on the Duke album and either toss Please Don't Ask in the trash, bury it on the b-side of a single, or give it back to Phil to record for a solo album.

That resulting Duke album would have been perfect (or as perfect as can be given the pool of songs available).

 

They really seemed burnt out when ... And Then There Were Three's music was composed. We went from ear-catching music to a lot of uninteresting songs in the span of a year.

 

Maybe in another dimension...not this one

 

It's not their masterpiece (that would be either Lamb or Foxtrot IMO) but it's still a good collection of music. These days I would rank it above their self-titled album, Trespass or Invisible Touch.

 

Substantially agree. These are my fave Genesis lps by a wide margin, with ATTWT way down my list. Selling England #1 for me, esp. Firth of Fifth, absolutely beautiful.

I feel that Steve Hackett was also a key member behind the Genesis sound that I love. That sound changed dramatically with ATTWT, never to be found again.

 

I have a soft spot for And Then There Were Three. It's not my favorite by a long shot, but I love the mood it sets and holds for nearly an hour.

It was one of the first of the "earlier" records I heard when I was really getting into Genesis, and it was also in the month of January, which may be why I not only have that soft spot, but it may also explain why I prefer listening to it in the winter.

SecondHandNews... I have to ask: Now that you've heard all their other stuff, any particular reason why you don't have Foxtrot? It is a classic.

The Lamb is my all-time favorite record by anyone, but I can understand how it might not be to everyone's liking. Took me a while to really get into it, but once I did, there was no going back.


My rankings of the Genesis albums are unique to say the least: (studio albums only)

1) The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
2) Duke
3) Trick/Wind/Selling (too close to rank)
4) Foxtrot
5) Invisible Touch
6) Nursery Cryme/Trespass/And Then There Were Three/Genesis (too close to rank!)
7) Abacab
8) We Can't Dance
9) From Genesis to Revelation
10) Calling All Stations

That said, I like songs on all of them. And then there's the B-sides......and the live albums....etc etc etc....

 

Not a masterpiece in my opinion. It's a textbook example of a transitional album and as such neither fish nor flesh. Has some decent tunes, but nothing really memorable (except Follow...which is hard to get out of one's head - not necessarily a good thing.)

 

I find "And then there were three" boring for the most part -- it has some good songs (Snowbound, Deep in the Motherlode, Follow you Follow me, Down and Out) though.

Most of the songs on the album are "over-arranged" but unsubstantial.

If someone's is to blame for the mediocrity of this album it is Banks, not Collins. It's essentially his record.

 

Love it. I prefer it to Trick or Wuthering, and I think it has aged better than both. Plenty of their post-Gabriel/pre-Abacab lyrical identity crisis in evidence here, but I think Three's weakest moments are more "likable" than the some cringe-worthy moments on the previous two studio albums. The LP cover is abyssal & the the album title is pretty dumb.

I happen to love the "overly rich" production, especially the layers of keyboards. Duke was much more sparse and open sounding, but I've never been as pleased with Duke's sound.

And Then There Were Three, Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound and Genesis Live (1973) are my go-to favorites, although I adore much of their music from 1970-1982.