I find that I listen to the Night Ride tracks more often than Trespass. Stagnation, Dusk & Looking For Someone are classic Genesis in almost-full-form, but I don't really like the sound of the album (I do enjoy the 2007 remix). I've always been puzzled by Tony Banks (and other fans) who claim that Nursery Chryme was really no better or no different than (or no improvement upon) Trespass, which I don't find to be true in any sense. Still, I enjoy the pastoral moments of very early Genesis... On Trespass, the band were "terraforming," if you will: building the world in which they (and we) could inhabit for the next decade or so.
Probably the most liked song by people who dont really like the album in general. Its a good finisher though, and thankfully its not very muffled. Very dynamic and punchy on the first press as well. Very much the opposite side of the spectrum compared to the opening track. I think it really completes the album.
I enjoy the Trespass album a lot, especially since looking at it more closely. I find it strange that the band didn't see Nursery Cryme as any different, because I see it as being wildly different in so many ways, and it is probably among my favourite Genesis albums, if not the favourite.
To a degree I can see that. I just find that by the time we get to Nursery Cryme the band knows how to rock, in no small part due to Collins mastery of the drums and Hackett's mastery of the guitar. It is always sad to see important members of a band disappear, for whatever reason, and Phillips leaving is obviously a big thing, but I think that it actually worked out better for the band and those two guys really completed the picture in terms of moving the band onward and upward. I think the structures are more developed and even when dynamics change radically, it seems more smooth. It is interesting to me to learn how much of a democracy the band were in terms of writing in these early stages. I had always assumed the Gabriel wrote all the lyrics etc etc, .... Anyhow. To my ears the band grew a lot by the time they put Nursery Cryme down. Although I do see a connection between all the Gabriel albums, except Lamb, which although being the nail in the coffin of the original band, was certainly something essential and quite brilliant.
I see that as a natural progress of the band that would have been even with Ant, but I still think those three albums sound very alike, I don't see that much of a difference that you do, but that's what interesting about music, we all hear it differently for various reasons.
I was thinking about the rock factor in The Knife and the paradox that while Trespass passed on to general knowledge as "the album that has The Knife in it" and pretty much every other song was quickly dismissed by live setlists, still the song seems to be the one that belongs less to the otherwise gentler and dreamy album. There's no other song with that rhythm, that educated rage, that rock punch, and even violent lyrics (White Mountain is about wolves, if nothing else). It doesn't have literary references or seem like a fairytale or a myth! It sticks out, but putting it as the last song doesn't disrupt the flow and provides with a (maybe needed) end with a bang. But it's still Genesis and couldn't be anyone else's: the use of a minor scale in a rock context instead of the usual pentatonic, the minor major variation towards the end and of course the narrative structure with the pause in the middle still calls very clearly for its writers' identities. The weaker link here, more than Mayhew, I see it in Phillips' lead guitar. It's ok in the riff-ish sections but the proper solo still has some stiffness to it, here and there. Nothing major, of course, it works in the end. Strangely, I don't think Hackett was able to improve the solos that much in the live version. He made 'em more technical and demanding, but lost the original freshness, that was possibly itself a direct consequence of Phillip's technical limitations. I feel that whenever Hackett adds or replaces something, the solo goes meandering, loses direction. It's like he's not really comfortable with material he didn't write himself and tried to "hacketize it" as much as he could, but knowing he couldn't actually do much. The solo was encapsulated in its limitations and maybe there was not enough space to make it better, just different.
Good point, though I'd substitute Trespass with Selling England because this album uses many motives from NC and Foxtrot (especially in Epping Forest) before Genesis totally went into another direction with Lamb. Plus, Phil's drumming is essential to these three albums AND he gets to sing on both NC and Selling England, truly making it sound like a rounded-out trilogy for me. Cheers
Yeah same, Id put NC, Foxtrot and SEBTP in a trilogy group. I would actually pair trespass more with The Lamb.
Especially with all three sporting Whitehead covers. I see Selling England as the final result of the prior three. -- The culmination and apex of that era.
Knife is great. Really gets your blood pumping. Nice organ from Tony. Almost Sabbath like in its heaviness. I dont think theres anything wrong with John Mayhews drumming. I think he did a nice job throughout the record. Especially on The Knife.
A bit late joining in on this this thread. I might as well cover FGTR and then Trespass. FGTR I first heard in 1976 when it was newly reissued as Rock Roots. I seem to remember that it retailed at a very low price (£1.49?) and it represented great value for those fans who were curious about that first album with the bonus of the non album singles that had been long out of print. Of course it sounded nothing like the Genesis I was used to hearing and I was therefore initially quite underwhelmed by it but as I only owned a small number of albums at that point (less than 20) it got quite a few spins and gradually parts of it grew on me. Today that album means more to me as I learned more about the band's initial stabs at writing songs and their school concert performances through Armando Gallo's books and the Archive Box Set and so on. My favourite track by some margin is Where the Sour Turns to Sweet which would grace any personal best of compilation. Having bought a large number of copies of the album in its various reissues, I finally took the plunge and bought the stereo pressing in the original artwork for £13 sometime in the late nineties which is not in bad shape and eventually bought the mono pressing about 18 months ago for considerably more! Not so long ago I had a concentrated period of collecting music paper clippings of this album from its initial appearance and although it didn't register with many folk back then Decca clearly tried to an extent to get the album into people's homes - but compared to records issued around the same time FGTR was clearly out of its depth being issued around a week after Led Zeppelin I (based on research I have done on both, I reckon that LZI appeared on 21 March 1969, with FGTR arriving on 28 March 1969). Some time ago, on separate occasions, I interviewed original drummer Chris Stewart, guitarist Anthony Phillips and Peter Gabriel and got further insight into how they viewed this material (Stewart only played on the singles of course) and am pleased to report that Gabriel in particular spoke fondly of the album and defended its simplistic and naive charm which I hadn't expected. Those meetings mean that I have one copy on CD that is autographed by those three but I haven't had the opportunity of completing the set unfortunately. So not one of their greatest works but it provides an all too rare example of what a bunch of school kids with ambition to match their talent can achieve in remarkable circumstances and it forms an important part of the Genesis story.
Awesome. Envious that you got to speak with them. When The Sweet Turns to Sour is probably my favourite also. It has a really nice feel and arrangement.
Tony didn't own any synth until SEBTP, that and the albums much better production has me with the cutoff there too - they got way more serious with Selling England. It's definitely a leap from before.
Actually it gets better right on Side 2 of Foxtrot. You can clearly hear how side 2 is better sounding in general, on all copies I tried, from later German to Classic Records reissue, which really highlights the difference. Its also mentioned in an interview I believe. The funny thing is my first thread on this forum was asking if my Foxtrot copy just had a worn side A. But no one could figure out that it actually just was the recording, so it seems like a very unknown fact.
The Road To Nursery Cryme There is a little crossover information here, but I think it works as a good lead in to the album .... The search for a new guitarist and drummer began with advertisements placed in copies of Melody Maker. The invitation was spotted by drummer Phil Collins, formerly of Flaming Youth who already knew Stratton-Smith. He recalled, "My only knowledge of Genesis was through seeing the ads for their gigs. It seemed like they were constantly working. ... I thought 'At least I'm going to be working if I get the gig'."[48] Roger Taylor, subsequently of Queen, turned down an invitation to audition.[49] Collins went to the audition at Gabriel's parents' house in Chobham, Surrey with his Flaming Youth bandmate, guitarist Ronnie Caryl. As they arrived early, Collins took a swim in the pool and heard what the other drummers were playing. "They put on 'Trespass', and my initial impression of a very soft and round music, not edgy, with vocal harmonies and I came away thinking Crosby, Stills and Nash".[50] Gabriel and Rutherford noticed the confident way Collins approached and sat at his drum kit and knew he would be the right replacement. Banks said, "It was a combination of things. He could make it swing a little bit ... he could also tell good jokes and make us laugh ... And he could sing, which was an advantage because Mike and I were not very good at back-up vocals".[51] In August 1970, Collins became the new drummer for Genesis. Caryl's audition was unsuccessful; Rutherford thought he was not the player the group were looking for.[50] After a short holiday, Genesis began to write and rehearse as a four piece band in Farnham, Surrey. The now empty guitar sections in their songs allowed Banks and Rutherford to expand their sound and play what Gabriel described as "interesting chords".[51] As they had not found a new guitarist, Genesis resumed as a live act with Rutherford adding bass pedals and Banks playing lead guitar lines on a Pianet through a distorted fuzz box amplifier in addition to his keyboard parts, something that he credits in helping him develop his technique.[52] In November 1970, after a second audition with Caryl fell through, Dave Stopps, owner of Friars club in Aylesbury, suggested they use Mick Barnard of The Farm, who joined the band for their gigs which included Genesis's television debut on BBC's Disco 2.[53] After two months of performances, the band found Barnard lacked in expertise and wished to try someone else.[54] In December, Gabriel spotted a Melody Maker advert from Steve Hackett, formerly of Quiet World, who wanted to join a band of "receptive musicians, determined to drive beyond existing stagnant music forms".[55] Gabriel advised Hackett to become familiar with Trespass and attend their upcoming gig at the Lyceum Theatre in London.[55] Hackett auditioned with the group in a flat in Earls Court and formed an instant rapport with Rutherford through a common interest in inverted chords.[56] After Hackett joined in January 1971,[57] Stratton-Smith organised a UK tour with Genesis opening for fellow Charisma acts Lindisfarne and Van der Graaf Generator.[58] Their first overseas dates took place in March with gigs in Belgium[59] followed by their first of three consecutive appearances at the annual Reading Festival on 26 June.[60] Rehearsals for the band's third album, Nursery Cryme, took place at Luxford House near Crowborough, East Sussex that Stratton-Smith had owned.[61] Recording began at Trident Studios in August 1971 with Anthony and Hentschel reprising their respective roles as producer and assistant engineer. The band's sound evolved with Hackett's more aggressive electric guitar work and Banks adding a Mellotron previously owned by King Crimson to his set of keyboards.[62] The opening track, "The Musical Box", originated when Phillips and Mayhew were in the group. The band developed the piece further including the addition of new guitar parts from Hackett.[63] The album marks the first instance of Hackett using the tapping technique which is featured on "The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed".[64] Hackett and Collins wrote "For Absent Friends" and marks the first Genesis track with Collins on lead vocals. Whitehead depicted scenes and characters from the lyrics to "The Musical Box" and a Victorian manor house based on Gabriel's parent's home on the album's cover.[65] Nursery Cryme was released in November 1971 and went on to reach No. 39 in the UK in 1974.[36] Though the group still had a minor cult following at home, they started to achieve commercial and critical success in mainland Europe, with the album reaching No. 4 in the Italian charts.[66] From November 1971 to August 1972, Genesis toured to support the album which included further visits to Belgium, and Italy for the first time where they played to enthusiastic crowds.[36] They recorded radio sessions for BBC's Sounds of the Seventies program in January[67] and March[68] and performed at the Reading Festival that was praised by numerous critics who attended.[69] During the tour Genesis recorded "Happy the Man", a non-album single, with "Seven Stones" from Nursery Cryme on its B-side.[70]
Trespass was the album from the Gabriel era that I heard last, buying it with a record token given to me for Christmas 1976. I remember reading the credits on the inside Gatefold and feeling straight away that this might be less of an album compared to what came later. On that first play the stand out moment was Banks’ organ solo during Stagnation which is where my ears suddenly picked up. Regular plays revealed the album to be on a par with Nursery Cryme but not in the same league as Foxtrot, Selling England and The Lamb. My favourite song on Trespass is Stagnation followed by Looking For Someone. The Knife is ok but not as strong as the version on Genesis Live. That first copy I bought came without the lyric sheet and it wasn’t until 1980 when I became friends with a few Genesis fans a couple of years younger than me did I realise that my copy was deficient. Years later I picked up a Pink Scroll copy of Trespass at a record fair for just £4, complete with grey lyric insert. I discovered only this week that my copy is a third label design from the Trespass Pink Scroll era that spanned 1970-72. The differences are minimal but noticeable when pointed out. The album is still one of my favourites - and the tracks that perhaps didn’t stand out as special initially all have their moments, particularly Dusk which in Dec ‘76 was probably the weakest track to my ears. The Nick Davis remix is not so impressive though, and on that I particularly don’t like what they did to The Knife and I rarely play it. But Trespass represents a major breakthrough for the band and provided them with a significant amount of exposure compared to their debut. A slow burner when it came to sales but a great way for the prog version of the band to find its early steps to success.
Nursery Cryme Released November 1971 Recorded August 1971 Studio Trident Studios (London, England) Length 39:26 Label Charisma Producer John Anthony Nursery Cryme saw the band take a more aggressive direction of some songs, with substantially improved drumming. The opening piece, "The Musical Box" combined the band's trademark mix of twelve-string guitars with harsh electric guitars and keyboards. The song, a macabre fairy story set in Victorian Britain, became the inspiration for the album cover, and went on to be a live favourite. Collins brought a new dimension to the group, covering the majority of the backing vocals (including his first lead vocal with Genesis on "For Absent Friends") and bringing in a sense of humour on tracks like "Harold The Barrel". Banks made more prominent use of the Mellotron at Hackett's suggestion and used it prominently on several tracks. The band toured the UK and Europe for one year to promote the album, which raised their profile in both territories. The tour included a successful Italian leg in April 1972, where the group played to enthusiastic crowds. Nursery Cryme was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry in 2013. Phil Collins joined as the new drummer in August, also becoming an important backing vocalist, but they were unable to find a suitable replacement for Phillips, so they completed the first half of their 1970–1971 tour as a four-piece with Rutherford playing rhythm guitar and bass pedals and Banks playing lead guitar lines on a Pianet through a distorted fuzz box amplifier in addition to his own keyboard parts, something he credits in improving his technique as it required him to play two keyboards simultaneously.[3][4] The group felt that Collins' was easily the best drummer they had worked with at that point, and his playing style and musical tastes gave a new dimension to their sound.[5] Some songs were not practical to play live as a four-piece, so they decided to look again for a lead guitarist. In November 1970, Mick Barnard joined the group on recommendation from Friars Aylesbury's David Stopps, and "The Musical Box" was added to the live set.[4] However, the rest of the group quickly realised that Barnard was not up to the same standard as the others, and they kept a look out for a better player.[6] Rehearsals took place at Luxford House Genesis recruited Steve Hackett after Gabriel spotted an advert he placed in Melody Maker in December 1970, which read "Imaginative guitarist/writer seeks involvement with receptive musicians, determined to drive beyond existing stagnant music forms". He saw Genesis play a concert at the Lyceum Theatre, London on 28 December, and was told by Gabriel that Barnard would have to be replaced.[7] Hackett quickly developed a rapport with Rutherford, sharing their love of twelve-string guitars and new musical ideas, and joined the band in early 1971.[8] With the addition of Hackett, Genesis continued touring which included the "Six Bob Tour" with Lindisfarne and Van der Graaf Generator,[8] their first overseas shows which occurred in Belgium[9] and the first of three appearances at the annual Reading Festival.[10] Early attempts to work on material for their next studio album in what Hackett described as "the odd day in a windy church hall" while on tour were unproductive, causing the group to dedicate time. In July, they began a three-month break from touring to write and record which was Hackett's first experience of rehearsing with a group to a professional standard.[11] At the suggestion of Tony Stratton-Smith, the owner of their label Charisma Records, the five retreated to Luxford House, a 16th-century Grade II listed building that he owned in Crowborough, East Sussex.[12] The group nicknamed the house "Toad Hall".[13] The group was apprehensive about writing without Phillips, and both Collins and Hackett were unsure of what level of musical contributions they would be able to make.[14] Hackett was keen to explore new sounds and musical ideas, and suggested the group buy a Mellotron, which Banks used as his main instrument, along with the Hammond organ, instead of the piano. Some material had been written when Phillips and Mayhew were still in the band, and were reworked by the new members. Collins was a particular workaholic and was happy to jam with anyone at any time.[15] The album features Hackett playing a Les Paul guitar which the band had bought him with a Hiwatt stack amplifier. He recalled some difficulty in understanding what Banks and Rutherford were talking about as the two had devised their own sayings, for instance a passage that they had played was referred to as a "nice guy".[17] "The Musical Box" was a lengthy piece that described a macabre story placed in Victorian Britain. A young boy, Henry, is accidentally decapitated by his friend Cynthia while playing croquet. Returning to the house, Cynthia plays Henry's old musical box, which unleashes the spirit of Henry as an old man. Henry has become sexually frustrated and attempts to seduce Cynthia. The nurse enters the room, hurls the musical box at the wall, destroying both it and Henry.[18][19] The song originated when Phillips was in the group who would often write with Rutherford on 12-string acoustic guitars. The latter had begun to experiment with unorthodox guitar tunings and had the top three strings tuned into F sharp which provided the jangly sound heard in the opening and the chord that signalled the start of the electric guitar solo.[20] The tuning influenced the title of an acoustic piece, "F#" (pronounced "F sharp") that became the basis of "The Musical Box",[21] which was developed further after Phillips's departure. The opening section of the song features both Rutherford and Banks on twelve-string.[22] The guitar solos originated from Barnard's brief tenure in Genesis.[4] Hackett modified sections that Phillips and Barnard had written while adding his own arrangements to the song.[15] He realised that neither member had made a sound that resembled an actual musical box, so he took the opportunity to record a guitar lick that is heard before the lyric "Here it comes again".[23] Gabriel, a big fan of The Who at the time, pushed for Rutherford to come up with a "ballsy, attacking" section in a similar style to their guitarist Pete Townshend. Gabriel incorporated themes of violence and sex into the lyrics.[24]Collins was inspired to play a rolling drum part during the middle section from hearing "The Weaver's Answer" by Family, and put it to the rhythm. "All of a sudden", speaking about "The Musical Box" at this point, "It's 'wahey we're off!'".[25] The song became a live favourite during Gabriel's tenure with the band. He first decided on the idea of wearing costumes at a gig in the National Stadium, Dublin in September 1972, leaving during the instrumental break and re-appearing at the conclusion wearing his wife's red dress and a fox's head.[26] Later, he would wear an "old man" mask for the song's ending, acting out the part of the aged Henry.[27] "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" described an outbreak of Heracleum mantegazzianum attacking the human race. "For Absent Friends" is an acoustic song that marked Hackett's first significant writing contribution for the group, and the first Genesis song with Collins on lead vocals.[28] After coming up with the music himself and the lyrics with Collins, Hackett recalled being shy when he presented it to Gabriel as they were the new members of the group.[29] "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" warns of the spread of the toxic plant Heracleum mantegazzianum after it was "captured" in Russia and brought to England by a Victorian explorer. Though the real plant is extremely toxic and dangerous, the song's lyrics are a humorous exaggeration, suggesting the plant is attempting to take over the human race.[28] Both "The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" feature Hackett's first use of guitar tapping, a technique whereby the index finger of the plucking hand is applied directly to the guitar fret board. The opening to the latter features Hackett and Banks playing triplets in harmony.[30][a] "Harold the Barrel" showed a humorous side to Genesis, which was encouraged by Collins. The lyrics show black humour of a man contemplating suicide by jumping off a building, with wordplay influenced by John Lennon's In His Own Write.[32] The track was recorded with Gabriel and Collins singing the song as a duet. Their vocals were mixed onto the same audio track so they cannot be separated.[33] "The Fountain of Salmacis" tells the story of Salmacis, the Greek mythological Naiad who became the first hermaphrodite. It originated from a short rundown passage that Banks had come up with while at university. The track makes use of the Mellotron, with an influence from King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King. Banks thought the instrument greatly complemented his piece when combined with the organ. It became the basis for "The Fountain of Salmacis" which was taken further to a complete song as the result of group jams.[35] Hackett particularly enjoyed the time he came up with his ending guitar solo, which occurred around midnight at Luxford House during a rare moment when the group were up for recording.[13][28] The album's sleeve was designed and illustrated by Paul Whitehead who had also designed the cover for Trespass and the band's next album, Foxtrot.[36] The cover depicts characters and scenes based on "The Musical Box" and Coxhill, the manor house with a croquet lawn, itself based on the Victorian home Gabriel grew up in.[37] The inner sleeve resembled an old photo album, with a panel for each song along with an illustrated picture.[38] Whitehead later picked his design for Nursery Cryme as his favourite of the three done for Genesis, noting: "It just works very well with the music. It fits perfect. It's the right colour, the right vibe".[39] Nursery Cryme was released in November 1971.[40] Charisma promoted the album less than Trespass since the company was busy with Lindisfarne's Fog on the Tyne. The group felt discouraged by the general indifference from the record company, and believed songs like "The Musical Box" could have been as popular as "Stairway to Heaven", released at the same time.[41] The album did not chart in the UK until May 1974, when it peaked at No. 39,[42] and charted there again when reissued in 1984, reaching No. 68. Though the group still had a minor cult following at home, they started to achieve commercial and critical success in mainland Europe, with the album reaching No. 4 on the Italian charts.[43] The album continued to sell, and reached Silver certification by the British Phonographic Industry on 22 July 2013 for sales in excess of 60,000 copies.[44] From November 1971 to August 1972, Genesis toured to support the album which included further visits to Belgium, and Italy for the first time where they played to enthusiastic crowds.[42] During the tour Genesis recorded "Happy the Man", a non-album single, with "Seven Stones" from Nursery Cryme on its B-side.[45] The group played a thirty-minute set on Belgian television to promote the album, which is the earliest surviving full broadcast of the group and has been repeated numerous times. Gabriel had yet to develop his on-stage costume attire and performed the show in a more straightforward frontman role.[43] It has been one of Genesis' most popular bootlegs.[46] Critical response to the album was mixed. Richard Cromelin of Rolling Stone summarised that its "main problem lies not in Genesis' concepts, which are, if nothing else, outrageously imaginative and lovably eccentric, nor with their musical structures—long, involved, multi-movemented frameworks on which they hang their narratives—nor even with their playing, which does get pretty lethargic at points. It's the godawful production, a murky, distant stew that at best bubbles quietly when what is desperately needed are the explosions of drums and guitars, the screaming of the organ, the abrasive rasp of vocal cords." He nonetheless remarked positively on some of the songs, and noted that he saw promise in the band.[49] In a full page advert published in Melody Maker, keyboardist Keith Emerson wrote a positive summary: "This is not the start for Genesis neither is it the end. No ********: Their new album really is incredible".[51] Retrospective reviews have been mildly positive. BBC Music praised the two new members of the band as fundamental to Genesis's artistic success, remarking "Collins' snappy drums were augmented by his uncanny ability to sound not unlike Gabriel ... Hackett's armoury of tapping and swell techniques really broadened the palette of the band, giving Tony Banks more room for his Delius-lite organ filigrees, not to mention their newly purchased Mellotron", and gushed that "Genesis had virtually invented their own genre, Edwardian rock".[52]Although Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic deemed the album highly uneven, he considered "The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" to be "genuine masterpieces", and concluded that even if the rest of the album "isn't quite as compelling or quite as structured, it doesn't quite matter because these are the songs that showed what Genesis could do, and they still stand as pinnacles of what the band could achieve".[47] Robert Christgau's brief review consisted entirely of sarcastic exclamations.[48] Geddy Lee of Rush included this album among his favourites in a list from an interview with The Quietus.[53] Tony Banks – organ, Mellotron, piano, electric piano, 12-string guitar, voices Mike Rutherford – bass, bass pedals, 12-string guitar, voices Peter Gabriel – lead voice, flute, oboe, bass drum, tambourine Steve Hackett – electric guitar, 12-string guitar Phil Collins – drums, voices, percussion, lead voice on "For Absent Friends" (uncredited) John Anthony – production David Hentschel – assistant engineer Mike Stone – tape jockey Paul Whitehead – sleeve design All songs composed and arranged by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, and Mike Rutherford.[16] Side one 1. "The Musical Box" 10:28 2. "For Absent Friends" 1:46 3. "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" 8:12 Side two 1. "Seven Stones" 5:10 2. "Harold the Barrel" 2:59 3. "Harlequin" 2:56 4. "The Fountain of Salmacis" 7:55 ------------------------------------------ As much as I like and have enjoyed going through the first two albums, this is where it all gets special for me. The first two Genesis albums I ever had were Nursery Cryme and And Then There Were Three, picked up within a day of each other (and I'm not sure which way around) from different second hand record stores. I find both to be magnificent (unlike most people lol) I was pretty much instantly taken by the Musical Box and The Giant Hogweed. The others took a little more getting used to. I was used to straight rock bands and lots of guitars. Genesis would be the band that introduced me to leading keyboards, and it wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be. This is a magnificent album that covers a lot of Musical territory. The dynamics of Trespass are taken to the next level, and the arrangements and structures are a lot more fluid. The band itself is raised to the next level. I get the feeling that Collins commanding drumming and Hackett's guitar playing, being a step above Phillips', raised all the band to a new level. It also helps that Collins being a very good singer, and sympathetic harmoniser, bolstered Gabriel's vocals an awful lot. Most folks I know weren't even very aware that Colin's had done much singing in the band until Gabriel left. I have to agree with Whitehead that the cover introduces the album visually perfectly and may well be their best album cover. Inside the gatefold were a series of unusual little pictures and stories accompanying the lyrics and the whole package inside and outside the grooves was fantastic. Though it will probably never get on any of those lists that everyone likes to compile, if I was putting together a seriously considered list of best albums of all time, this would get a pretty high placing from me. Anyhow. What do you think of this album? When did you get it? How did the complete and well designed package strike you? Do you have any stories about the album the would be fun to share? Let us know what you think of this album and we'll hit the first song in the morning. Cheers, Mark
Nursery is a great album. Its a shame I rarely want to play it with how worn my copy is. Its never really had an emotional connection like their other albums have had on me. From what others tell me it rarely seems like a favorite album to others either.
Let me be the first to post some of the songs performed for the John Peel BBC session 9 january 1972: The Fountain Of Salmacis
This is the true beginning of Classic Genesis, imo. This would have been the third or fourth Genesis album that I picked up as a teen in the late 80s or very early 90s, and it still reminds me of summer nights. As stated earlier, I never understood why some people don't immediately regard NC as a giant leap forward from Trespass, but that's just me. Harlequin is a lovely tune, and I enjoy Harold The Barrel a lot. I prefer all the songs on Genesis Live (1973) in their live incarnations. Steve's guitar solo at the end of Salmacis is sublime. Production-wise, I do think the drums sound kind of "pudgy," lacking any real grit, but the drum playing is excellent. But I prefer all the other areas of sound production on this album to Trespass or even Foxtrot (which is a different, weird kettle of fish altogether!). And unlike Foxtrot, I do actually like the Paul Whitehead artwork on NC.
