Genesis

CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
I vehemently disagree!
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Then perhaps you have an alternative to offer?

Harold the Barrel
Watcher of the Skies
Get 'Em Out By Friday
Supper's Ready
Moonlit Knight
Broadway Melody
In The Cage
Domino (that's right!)

These are all excellent Genesis lyrics. It's probably a 3-way tie for "best": Watcher, Supper, Knight.
 
While saying Supper every time might be a bit lame, I'd say it by far has the best lyrics. So much vivid story telling and convincing delivery of the lyrics, it perfectly highlights what made Gabriel great.
 
I'd say the exact same about Watcher (of course agreeing about Supper too), but in Watcher they get it done in a third of the time. It's proof they don't need the epic length to hit that quality.

Gabriel always had that "strange visitor" persona, and no song embodies that more than Watcher.

Knight captures something that I can't put into words. Unlike all the others I mentioned, it's not a straight-up story. It stands out from the rest but it's hard to articulate the reason.
 
I'd add Get 'Em Out by Friday to that as well. The story is so focused and detailed that the music almost serves as background. I can't listen to that song without giving it my full attention.
 
Friday is one of those entirely English songs. Same thing I love about Harold: totally English, entirely ridiculous, and yet engrossing. Again, I think the fact that Harold packs into just a few minutes is a point in its favor. There's no instrumental dead weight in Harold: it's just nonstop absurdity.
 
I'm not sure where to put Cinema Show. I didn't forget it. It's probably top 20, for the creative use of mythology alone. It gets some bonus points for brevity and concision, because there's so few actual words. Most of the song is instrumental.

But now the opposite argument balances it out: for a song of that length, there's almost too few words. The big middle section between the two Tiresias choruses is just Musical Box II. If they had just done a bit more on Cinema Show, it would be near the top.
 
Agreed on Harold. One of their more underrated tracks.

I love The Cinema Show, it's my second favorite on that album. The instrumental section always sends chills down my spine. I get the Musical Box II thing but honestly I think it's more refined on The Cinema Show. Lyrically The Musical Box definitely takes the cake, but musically I'm partial to Cinema Show. The fact that most of the song is instrumental is part of what makes it so great. The keyboard playing is so lyrical, it's as if Tony Banks is now telling the story.
 
Most complex Genesis song? We all know Genesis is a progressive rock band. But what is their most complex song ever?

......you're asking me?! I don't know myself!
 
I got Reddit Gold today for posting this over there...

What is the mean, or average, time signature of 'Firth of Fifth'? Please remember to show your work.
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The time signatures for the intro, which are repeated full-band later in the song:

2/4 - 4/4 - 2/4 - 13/16 (repeat)

2/4 - 13/16 x 4 - 15/16 x 4 - 2/4 then 13/16 x3 - 2/4 - 4/4

repeat opening section

2/4 - 4/4 - 2/4 x3

Source[1]

The remainder of the song contains:

First vocal section: 31 measures of 4/4 with one 2/4 in the middle ("let it BE RE-vealed").

Piano/flute duet: 4/4 x 19 - 2/4 - 4/4

Buildup to intro repeat: 8 x 4/4 - 2/4

Guitar solo: 57 x 4/4

Final verse: 9 x 4/4

Fadeout: 9 x 13/16

The totals are thus: 131 x 4/4, 20 x 2/4, 31 x 13/16 and 4 x 15/16. This gives (4 x 131) + (20 x 2) + (31 x 3.25) + (4 x 3.75) = 719.75 beats over 186 measures, indicating an average measure length of 3.8669 beats.

The closest number of beats which can be expressed as a playable time signature is 3.875 beats per measure, which would be a time signature of 31/32. A more accurate (but unplayable) average time signature is 1981/2048 (3.869 beats per measure).

For my next trick, I will calculate the first derivative of The Cinema Show's keyboard solo, and then prove the Broadway Theorem of 1974. :smartarse:
 
Stardust Reviews: Genesis - Foxtrot (1972)

Well, I bet you didn't expect an review of a Genesis album! Maybe you did...but hey, that's not a big deal! Sooooooo, this is a review of Foxtrot, obviously. I have a lot of things to say about this album. This album remains to be a fan favourite and an immortal classic over the years. And you know, it deserves that praise. It's a amazing album, no joking but it's my fifth favourite Genesis album due to me liking four Genesis albums more...what? Did you expect a huge explaination of why I love four albums more than this? I simply like them more...nothing more, nothing less!

But back to Foxtrot. This album is one of the most important albums in the Genesis discography due to the things around it. You see, the album tour started the infamous trend of Peter Gabriel wearing costumes during certain songs. Liked by some, hated by others...I find myself in the middle. The eye-catching costumes remain to be memorable even to this day but I don't think the music really needs them. I mean, the music already sucks me in to it's little world anyway without the costumes! So, they're not needed. Okay?

Anyway...on to the album's songs itself. The album's six songs all rank from great to amazing and they are all so fun to hear.

The first song I will talk about is Watcher Of The Skies, the opener to the album. The lyrics for me, are simply hilarious. I find enjoyment in every line of the song. Plus, musically, the song cooks. It's a rocking classic, that's what it is. It starts out with some really moody and atmospheric Mellotrons that sets the stage for the rest of the album. After that, we build up to the first verse. The first verse goes by so quickly, you probably won't even notice. In fact, that's one of the more peculiar things about the song. The song feels like a three-minute song but it's indeed a seven-minute song. We get into some more verses which includes another verse of the same kind as the first verse. Then we head to a bouncing verse where I headbang to the rhythm, no matter what I do. After that it repeats the same process again and we head to the lengthy climax to the song. The Mellotrons return with a bang and the song ends, leaving me burned out. It's a terrific song. It's even a lock for my Top 10 Genesis Songs. It's that good. And it deserves all the praise it gets.

So, the logical way to continue is write about the next song, right? Yes, of course. Time Table is really underrated in my opinion. It's the album's poppiest song with amazing hooks in the chorus. It also features a cute electric piano solo by Tony. It repeats twice which only increases the song's beauty. It's fairly short in my opinion, the song I mean. The song feels like a pop song. There's nothing more to it, I'm afraid, though.

Two amazing songs in, and the next song is...wait, let's save that one for last. Let's tackle Can-Utility And The Coastliners instead. Now, this is the definition of underrated. Considered to be worthless filler by some, I feel it's simply a great song. Not that memorable in the end. But it keeps me very entertained the entire time. And that's all the song does. Nothing more, nothing less.

Horizons is a brief acoustic guitar piece that sets the stage for the final track. It's nothing special to be frank. But the very next track, which is the final track, is Supper's Ready.

.................no, I'm not writing about that song! NOT YET. Supper's Ready as a song is a subject way too big for my puny mind to handle. I'll do it later when my mind feels ready.

Since I skipped Supper's Ready, the next song to talk about is Get 'Em Out By Friday. And now, prepare for the ultimate plot twist. Are you ready for it? Okay, here it comes...

1...

2...

3.....
..........I like this song more than Supper's Ready.

WOW STARDUST REALLY.

But seriously, this song is friggin' incredible. Never before has a Genesis song made me THIS engrossed in the lyrics and the music. The music almost takes a backseat as the lyrics tell the weirdest tale I've heard in a while. Basically, some people want to shrink people to a four-foot restriction to fit more people in one house. That's the gist of it. It's not even the beginning of it. But like Supper's Ready. my words can't do it justice. It has to be seen/heard to be believed. My third favourite Genesis song. And the best rock theater song ever. Well...aside from a upcoming song.

So, that's my thoughts on Foxtrot. Please note that I'm not a professional reviewer but just someone who's still in training. So, the review might suck, okay? Got it?

Well...what do you guys think?
 
After hearing Calling All Stations again and watching people defend the album. I started to think that I had been way too harsh on the album. So I listened to it one more time and the results may shock you...I HATE THIS ALBUM MORE THAN EVER!
"What the hell is THIS SHIT? Horrendous zero-tone music serving as cosmic rock lullabies?" [George Starostin]

That quote explains this album quite perfectly.

Let me check here...

Absolutely NO melodies? YUP!

Extremely generic? YYUP!

ADULT CONTEMPORARY?! YYYYYYYYYUUUUUPPPP!!!

The lyrics...I mean, what lyrics? Bland, bland and even more bland.

If Small Talk isn't considered a atrocity, well, might as well consider myself the next Messiah. Oh, wait. Tony Banks already did that with Wind & Wuthering's One For The Vine! And that song was actually pretty good, by the way.

For all it's worth, there are two tracks here that just pass mediocre. Those are Congo and The Dividing Line! And even those bore me to no end. Where was this album made? In space? That might explain the cosmic rock lullabies!

It's just too bad that my friends' first taste of Genesis was this atrocity. I refuse to call it a album...I'll call it a thing. Yes, a thing!

And to think, two other prog groups outdoes this album in terms of bullshit.

Union (I prefer the title Onion) by Yes and my least favourite album ever...*shudders* Emerson, Lake & Palmer's The Power Of Three.

..................I'll better calm down. Too much negativity there. Next time...I will write my new opinion on Wind & Wuthering.
 
I still haven't been able to bring myself to listen to all of it.
 
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Collins
In May 2015 Collins signed a deal with Warner Music Group to remaster his eight solo albums and release unreleased material in his music vault. Collins also announced that he has officially come out of retirement and is exploring the possibility of recording new music as both a solo artist and with Genesis.
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Also, I've never really checked out much of their music. I'm going to start to get into some. I'm starting with A Trick Of The Tail which is the first album with Phil on vocals
 
I think he's been active here and there for a few years already. His "out of retirement" is as serious as the normal rock star "retirement" announcement.

Remember, this is a guy who named one of his albums "But Seriously".
 
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