From the Bottom of a Well was recorded at Advision Studios in London in august 1967, and it was intended as the original b-side to Where The Sour Turns To Sweet 7'' single, before being replaced with the album track In Hiding. It's a pity From the Bottom of a Well remained unissued, since the tape is now considered 'lost'. I already said it once a few days ago, but i believe all those missing tapes aren't really lost, they're just lying somewhere at The Farm or in Anthony Phillips' attic, since nobody ever dug for them deeply enough when they had the right opportunity (Archive 1967-75 release or the Green box set in 2008).
Gabriel is all over the place on this track. It's the one song on the record I never found interesting.
That's where I find this thread interesting, because to me the way Gabriel puts across the narrative is a highlight
AFAIK, you get notified only when you've read all posts. If you stop reading before the last one, you won't get notified. The trick is, you might get to the end and somebody may post right then, but you skip it and the software records it as unread... Long story short: try refreshing the page a couple times before you leave the thread. Worked with me so far.
If it's alright I'm going to go ahead and post what I think is the definitive show from the Foxtrot tour, the Reggio Emilia show, which I'm fairly certain was one of the last times they played The Fountain of Salmacis until the ATTWT tour. This is a great show in good quality (not as good as the original Genesis Live test pressing boots out there, but Salmacis makes up for it imo). Here's the link:
Those rich kids who want to play rockers... Long legs. He'd be sitting in an uncomfortable position without it. Source? Phil: "There's no space!" And yet another case where Pete put vocal melodies where they were not supposed to go, I guess...
Get 'em Out By Friday is IMO the least good track on this masterpiece, I used to think it was Time Table, but not any longer.
I’m late to the party here but I’ve been lurking in this thread since it started. Foxtrot might be my favorite Genesis lp and I’m surprised that Get em out by Friday is getting such a tepid reaction. It’s one of my favorites despite the off the wall subject matter. The bass lines are bonkers and Peter Gabriel’s approach to the vocals it great. The meter of the lyrics is very rhythmic/percussive to my ears. Given that he’s been referenced as a ‘frustrated or part time drummer’, it makes a lot of sense to me. The band employs an effective dynamic relationship between the music and the characters. Switching gears, I’ve never quite warmed up to Nursery Cryme, apart from the Musical Box, although I tend to go for the live version. That said, you all have inspired me to revisit the album since many of you rate it so highly. Perhaps I just need to give it more time. Props to @mark winstanley for taking lead on this thread.
get em out by Friday is a personal favorite of mine I just love the twisted little tale and everything about it. similarly I love epping forrest which I think gets similar complaints from some.
Totally agree with all of this. Get ‘Em Out By Friday is great, and so is Epping Forest, both similar style. Will say, I prefer Epping Forest though.
Glad you popped your head in. I think what I am finding with this thread, is that as I get to an album, for example "Selling England", that I think I don't consider one of the better albums and actually stick my head in it for a bit, and find that to be a bit of a fallacy. Just three listens and Epping Forest went from "yea, that's ok" to "this is actually really good" ..... I came into this knowing I love the band, but also knowing I have had particular albums that have been reached for a lot more than others over the years. I reckon my favourite albums, probably won't change too much, but certainly some of the albums I may have left hanging, somewhat, will be more highly rated ... I already like Foxtrot and Selling England more than (I thought) I did ... It has me wondering to a degree if anyone else has found this, or if memory is where the opinions come from.... Just thinking aloud really I love these threads because it forces me to dive in rather than float around in old ideas.
I guess I'm in the camp that rates Get "Em Out By Friday near the bottom of the 'great' meter, though I find some days I enjoy it more than others. It depends on my mood. I just think it ambles a little too long, but most of all I don't find it all that interesting melodically. Its certainly not bad, but honestly - if I'm listening to Get "Em Out By Friday, I'm listening to the Genesis Live version. But even on that record I find it a bit plodding. I'm also a bit put off by the silly subject matter, and don't find sci-fi stories about housing all that riveting. But to each their own.
This is really good given it's structure, I think it needs a lot of listens for someone to pick up on it though. It's lyrically incredibly layered however any song where you can hear Mike killing it on the bass is awesome for me, plus that end section where Tony uses the flutes on the Tron with Peter's real flute works really well.
I think I have heard these albums so many times that the opinions I present here are opinions I have had for a very long time. I did find in PW's Joni Mitchell thread that I found new things to appreciate in many of those songs, because many of those albums have not been in my collection for all that long.
I know these albums 'inside and out' (heh) so there aren't going to be much in the way of 'revelations' (heh) for me. The only album that I'm hoping this exercise in review will help me gain more appreciation of is "Duke". I know, I know... everybody tells me "Duke" is a great record. And I'm sure it is. But for me, personally, I rank it near the bottom, only above "We Can't Dance", Invisible Touch", and "Calling All Stations". I don't know what it is... It's like, it's right in the middle between the 70's stuff and the 80's pop stuff, both eras which I appreciate, and because of that it doesn't scratch either itch for me. I'm left unmoved. I know I'm wrong, I want to be right! Tie me to a chair! Waterboard me! We'll get through this together!
I would have always said Duke was one of my favourites, but last time I listened to it (and I may have just been in the wrong mind zone) it didn't work for me ... So i'll be right there with you on that one
My formula (and I know we're a long way off): ditch "Man of Our Times," "Alone Tonight," "Cul-de-sac" and "Please Don't Ask"; then replace them with "Evidence of Autumn" and "Open Door". I've probably managed alienate everyone with this recipe, but it makes it a much better album, to my ears.
Get 'Em Out By Friday This is one of the weakest epic-length tracks that this era of Genesis ever did, but it's still very enjoyable and doesn't feel like a waste of time at all. It gives the band a chance to embrace their weird side for a full eight and a half minutes. The lyrics are strange even by Peter Gabriel's standards; It's as if he was trying to tell a more gritty, story, but couldn't help diverting to campy sci-fi weirdness. In that respect, I guess it was something of a warm-up for The Lamb. It also gives Peter Gabriel a chance to show off his collections of campy voices to differentiate between characters. The rest of the band plays brilliantly as usual, but the song lacks an overall sense of grandeur and purpose that gives their best epics so much of their appeal. That's not necessarily a bad thing - not every song needs to be "The Musical Box" - but it does make the song a bit less memorable by comparison.
The fact that you started this thread has my undying appreciation! Everybody has their opinions and often they match up, but I hope people aren't hurt or discouraged if they do not. I am learning a lot from everybody. - Genesis can be quite polarizing. Just wait 'til we get to the post-Gabriel, and then the post-Hackett stuff.! I'm looking forward to it all!!
me too ... to be honest I've only listened to Invisible touch and We can't dance a couple of times each and Calling all Stations once, so it will be interesting to have a dig in so many years down the track, uncluttered by expectations or popular opinion.
Agreed. I think it's decent, but not on the same level as most of the rest of the album. In terms of it being a warm-up, I think it presages some of the things done with Battle of Epping Forest on the next album (which I feel pretty much the same about - decent song with some interesting things going on, but not up to the same level as the rest of it. Like you said, they can't *all* be Musical Box/Knife/Supper's Ready .
