Music Banter - View Single Post

TheNiceGuy · 12-16-2011, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

"Invisible touch" is not one of my favourite Genesis albums, in fact sometimes I dub it "Invisible talent"! There are some good songs on it, but you're right in that it's really a continuation of the annoying pop sound they inflicted on us with the shocking "Abacab", which was so bad and such a shock to the system that I almost went entirely off Genesis. Luckily the follow up was miles better, and in fairness I was pleasantly surprised by "We can't dance", but then "Calling all stations" hammered in the nail into the coffin. Well, to be accurate about it, if I'm honest, "Abacab" pushed Genesis into the coffin, "Genesis" was their desperate attempt to get out of the box -- "We're not dead! Really we're not!" --- "Invisible touch" pushed them back down, hammered in some nails, "We can't dance had them banging on the inside of the lid (but no-one really heard them) and of course "Calling all stations" knocked in the final nails and allowed them to be lowered into the ground. You're dead now, guys!

For me, the last great Genesis album was "and then there were three", though "Duke" is a fine album too, but you could see the slow leanings towards pop with songs like "Misunderstanding" and "Turn it on again", not surprisingly the biggest hits on that album, and some of Genesis' biggest recent hit singles too.

I hated the pop sound of IT with a few exceptions: I like "Tonight, tonight, tonight" and "Domino/The last domino", and indeed "In too deep" is a great ballad, probably a result of Collins' by then successful solo career. But I must take issue with you over Tony Banks' keyboard style: sack him? Well, pointless now of course, but the guy virtually held the band together imo and he's a keyboard genius! Listen to his solo albums "A curious feeling" or "Seven: a suite for orchestra" and see if you disagree. Now Collins --- there's a man who almost single-handedly plotted (if subconsciously) and eventually achieved the fall of one of the mightiest prog bands the world has ever seen...

I agree that Banks was quite a good keyboardist technically and certainly in the prog days he was a good songwriter as well. However a lot of that keyboard playing nous is wasted in the late Genesis albums as a lot of his synth work comes out badly. He was more of a prog keyboardist then a pop keyboardist in other words. Mind you his prog playing wasn't always great either; ala Wind and Wuthering.

I have nothing major against Phil honestly; he did a pretty good job as vocalist for what 16 years? And his drumming has always been to a high standard pre-1986. However my only real gripe with him at times is his songwriting which certainly strays a bit too far in to that 'adult contemporary' style which was a hallmark of his solo career. Sometimes it works (In Too Deep, Against All Odds) but this isn't often. BUT Phil isn't only to blame for the poor pop that came out at times for '80s Genesis. Banks was the dominant instrumentalist and he deserves some of the blame for it as well.