I was a fifth grader and an avid top 40 listener at the time. Had Misunderstanding on a tape of various songs I'd recorded off the radio. (I think some of the other songs on that tape were Funkytown, Train In Vain, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and (gulp) Do That To Me One More Time.) Misunderstanding is obviously maligned by many fans, but it was my "gateway song." I still think it's a solid blend of Motown, Toto, and Banks' distinctive keyboard sound. Had Turn It On Again been a hit, I might have heard that too, bought the album, and become a big fan. But that didn't happen until the next album. When I really got into Genesis a few years later, Duke was always a favorite, probably 2nd behind Trick in terms of favorite Phil albums. A lot more power and energy than the previous two albums; maybe the first time since Windshield or Volcano they'd captured the live Genesis energy on record. Best part of the record for me is the eerie sound they achieved with the long drum machine / keyboard intro to Duchess. One of the more unique Genesis moments. The two B-sides that ended up on 3SL are actually stronger than many of the album tracks.
Man Of Our Times This track starts of really well, with a very nice riff playing over some aggressive drums. I like the slightly odd feel, and the drum accents. I think this is a really good song. Interestingly to me this is a very unusual verse matched with a very singable pop chorus. The guitar is very cool and works well. The keyboards have an interesting life through this song. Also I guess that Mike is giving his bass pedals a chance to play during this song. For me this is one of the better tracks on this album, as it has a bit more power and interest for me.
Man of Our Times----there are some interesting bits in the verses, but the chorus is like nails on a chalkboard for me, can't stand it. At the time this album came out, I probably would have considered it my least favorite Genesis song of all time. It would probably be in my top 5 least favorite if not for the We Can't Dance album. Every time I listen to Duke (which is rare), I think I've underestimated this song....and then the chorus comes in and I remember why I dislike it.
Let me just add that whenever I hear this song, I wonder if the Tonight Tonight section inspired the later song of that name
Back in the early days of the CD era, I picked up a book of album reviews focused on the CD format. Funny what you remember: it praised the Virgin/Charisma Duke release, singling out how only on CD could the dense arrangement of Man of Our Times be done justice. But A/B-ing the original Atlantic CD with the 2007 remix, the latter wins out: there is more bottom end and a wider sound stage to accommodate that density in the Davis mix. As someone else noted, the early trio albums benefit the most from the 2007 remixes. My only ambivalence with the Duke and, to a lesser extent, Abacab, remixes is that there is some revisionism with the drum sound. With Behind the Lines and Man of our Times in particular, the drums sound so different from the original mixes to be jarring. I like the more muscular drum sound; I think it matches Phil’s style of playing at the time, but it does beg the question of how much of that new sound was always there on the multi-tracks but previously masked, versus new reverb being added. Did Nick Davis ever comment on that?
... pretty much sums up this whole boring and over rated album for me, which I dislike even more now - I'll be back when we're at Abacab - can't stand the discussion and attitudes here the last couple of days.
I used to hate Man Of Our Times - but skipping a track on vinyl isn't as easy on CD, so I always sat through it. I'm not sure when it clicked for me, but now I consider it one of the better non-suite songs on the album. It's such an unusual melody, with the keyboards doing those little bits that somehow work together as a whole - then it suddenly changes from minor to major and smacks you over the head. I think the thing that turned me off in the beginning was the really harsh quality of Phil's vocals on the original vinyl release. When he sings "and in the beating of your heart..." it's mixed way too loud and in-your-face. My Japanese vinyl pressing really tones this down quite a bit.
Always liked the contrast between the messy and syncopated verse and the singable chorus that opens up and releases the tension. Anyway this track always felt too congested to me. I have a CD that, while being one of the old ones, still has some clipping on the ladder parts that can contribute make them sound a little more messy. But I understand that is mostly the wall sound ish mixing technique that is responsible for this sense of congestion. That works well on the song anyway. Somebody early in the thread defined this song as sort of an instrumental with dropped words on top of it. Never thought about it in this turns but I admit they work. I have always been more captivated by the backing tracks, not that much by the vocal parts. Another curious thing is that while this is a Mike's song, I hear a lot of solo Tony in it, especially in the keyboard riffs and answers here and there, not to speak of the general sound which reminds me of things you can find in the soundtracks album. this is certainly the effect of working arrangements together instead of bringing them in, which again I think is the best way Genesis could work.
Man Of Our Times is an extremely 80s sounding song - and I'm not sure if this characteristic 80s spund was actually prevalent this early or if this track was groundbreaking in that regard. Definitely a sharp chance of approach for Genesis, and for that reason about the most progressive track on the album in a sense. But I really do not enjoy it, and I consider it my least fav Genesis track to this time. The verses are jarring, aggressive and devoid of appealing melodies or chord progressions. The chorus seems to have nothing to do with the verse and is overly repetitive. The best thing I can say about the "Tonight Tonight" refrain (clearly the basis for the IT tune) is they at least did not stretch it out into a 10 minute track.
Man of the Times. I am happy with the multiple tempo changes, I can deal with the, at times, discordant beats. I love the percussion transitions. The depth of individual lyrics isn't an issue for me, but don't miss the lyrical tapestry. You have different voices saying different things, building on the theme of the album. This harkens back to older Genesis. Its a tapestry of different sounds and textures. But it can't be as complex or strong with (only) the trio producing it. Others have said you can identify the holes in the trios work where some more guitar (Hackett) would add a missing layer, and you can feel it here. This album was the last concept album from the band, it is kind of a demarcation. We can point at the majority of the songs here telling the tale. After this point, at best we got one or two songs in an album that harkened back to the old days. Those would have the tempo changes and other familiar riffs and tones that we find familiar and welcome. We relish in those songs and then deflate when the next track is just pop songs of varying quality.
I'm another who simply does not like this track. To the criticisms others have already made, I would add the overuse of cymbal clashes. Do they have to appear in every goddamn bar of the song? It turns something that could have neem slightly interesting owing the the shifting hard-to-nail time signature changes, into something that just sounds bombastic
Man Of Our Times is fantastic, one of their most successful prog-pop crossovers. Even my upstairs neighbour who I dislike, due to hypocritical noise complaints, must appreciate it as I've heard him blasting it. Mike gets a lot of stick for being the 'sentimental' guy behind Your Own Special Way, Alone Tonight, the Mechanics etc. but he was clearly a chief contributor of a lot of their harder-edged rhythmic stuff like this, Back In NYC, etc.
This one doesn't work that well as a pop song. I like the drumming but the entire song sounds like it's cranked to 11 the entire duration and not in a good way. Tolerable though not amazing. They'd get this better next album. I love the Banks only footage.
Man Of Our Times ... love the verses, which are kinda like Back In NYC. Heavy, syncopated, lots of interesting effects. Then the chorus comes in but it's pedestrian and boring: "He's a ... maaaan of our times. Oh. Oh. Oh" ad nauseum. --Geoff
“Tonight” must be one of the ten most commonly used words in songs... there’s another song on this album with tonight in the title... Phil had just written “In the Air Tonight”... it evokes either the anticipation or the actuality of something exciting or significant or sexy happening. I think Bono sings it in every U2 song. I suspect it’s a word that pops out easily when people are improvising lyrics.
It is sung in a very similar way in both songs. Not that there is anything wrong with re-using ones own ideas.
Well it wouldn’t be the first thing Phil rehashed in a song ... soon his “all my life” fixation would start.
Yeah well, how many Genesis songs use the refrain.. "...all (of) my life..." Ha, someone beat me to it. Its also in the song "Dreaming While You Sleep" which is a Rutherford lyric.
Yea, to me, the verses set up this really interesting piece of music and lyrics, and then the chorus brings it all into focus
