142-481: Abacab is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Genesis , released on 18 September 1981 by Charisma Records . After their 1980 tour in support of their previous album, Duke (1980), the band took a break before they reconvened in 1981 to write and record a new album. Abacab is the first Genesis album recorded at The Farm , a recording studio bought by the group in Chiddingfold , Surrey . It marked
284-510: A Mellotron previously owned by King Crimson to his set of keyboards. 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. "The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" are the first recordings in which Hackett uses the tapping technique. Hackett and Collins wrote "For Absent Friends", which
426-455: A Prophet-5 analogue synthesiser, he obtained the track's distorted keyboard sound by changing its presets as he played the notes. He pushed Collins and Rutherford to record what ideas he had for the track, to which Collins wrote a lyric. The band improvised on top of the track for 30 minutes, which was cut into a three-minute arrangement. Padgham wanted the drums on the track to sound loud and exciting, and not like typical drum recording sounds of
568-467: A 30-minute track based on a fictional character named Albert, but the idea was cancelled to avoid comparisons to "Supper's Ready" from Foxtrot . In November, the band recorded Duke at Polar Studios with Hentschel reprising his role as producer. Its cover was by French illustrator Lionel Koechlin and featured the character Albert. Released in March 1980, Duke was the band's biggest commercial success at
710-659: A Friend " from the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album. "Funeral for a Friend" featured an early analogue synthesizer, the ARP 2500 , to create tonal feeling and effect. After leaving Trident in 1974, he produced his own album Sta*rtling Music for Ringo Starr's short-lived record label, Ring O' Records , consisting of a song-by-song, instrumental cover of Starr's album Ringo and featuring performances by Phil Collins , David Cole , Ronnie Caryl , John Gilbert (the son of Lewis Gilbert ) and Starr. He then began
852-401: A change in the band's sound with songs becoming more pop-oriented, including the group-written track " Follow You Follow Me ". Collins recalled it was the only song on the album written from scratch during rehearsals. Rutherford felt comfortable taking on lead guitar duties in addition to his usual rhythm and bass roles, although the band had considered auditioning replacement guitarists or using
994-412: A compromise by removing their name from the album cover, resulting in a minimalist design with the album title printed on a plain black background. When the album was released in March 1969, it became a commercial failure because many record shops filed it in the religious music section upon seeing the title. Banks recalled that "after a year or so", the album had "sold 649 copies". A third single, "Where
1136-629: A considerable amount of writing sessions due to difficulties with his wife's first birth was something about which Rutherford and Banks "were horribly unsupportive". Gabriel also left the group when director William Friedkin asked him to write a screenplay, but returned after the project was shelved. In August 1974, production moved to Glaspant Manor in Carmarthenshire , Wales with Burns as co-producer, operating Island Studios' mobile equipment. Further work and mixing took place at Island, where Brian Eno contributed synthesizers and effects that
1278-567: A cottage owned by Macphail's parents, in Wotton , Surrey, to write, rehearse and develop their stage performance. They took their work seriously, playing together for as much as eleven hours a day. Their first live gig as Genesis followed in September 1969 at a teenager's birthday. It was the start of a series of live shows in small venues across the UK, which included a radio performance broadcast on
1420-450: A demo tape at a friend's home-made studio, inviting Banks, Gabriel and Stewart to record with them in the process. The group recorded six songs: "Don't Want You Back", "Try a Little Sadness", "She's Beautiful", "That's Me", "Listen on Five" and "Patricia", an instrumental. When they wished to have them professionally recorded they sought Charterhouse alumnus Jonathan King , who seemed a natural choice as their publisher and producer following
1562-715: A demonstration at The Farm, the band and Smith showed an immediate interest in the technology and became shareholders of the company. In May 1982, three tracks recorded during the Abacab sessions – " Paperlate ", "You Might Recall" and "Me and Virgil" – were released as an EP in Europe, 3×3 , which peaked at No. 10 in the UK. Its cover is a homage to the Twist and Shout EP by the Beatles , with sleeve notes written by that group's former publicist Tony Barrow . Basically, we reached
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#17327838446001704-426: A drum machine while Rutherford and Collins played a guitar and drum part, respectively; the band played until they found ideas and sequences that worked. Collins had the idea of writing a song that The Jackson 5 would have wanted to record, and directed the band in a direction that they had never gone in before. Collins wrote the lyrics. "Me And Sarah Jane" originated from takes that the group had recorded as early as
1846-439: A farmhouse with an adjoining cowshed near Chiddingfold , Surrey, as their new rehearsal and recording facility. The building was remodelled into a studio in four months before recording for Abacab began in March 1981. The new environment had a productive effect on the writing process as the band wrote enough for a double album, but they discarded one hour's worth of songs that sounded too similar to their past albums. Banks said
1988-676: A fox's head. The incident resulted in front cover reports in the music press, allowing the band to double their performance fee. In December 1972 Stratton Smith organised the band's first gigs in the US, with a show at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts and one at Philharmonic Hall in New York City with openers String Driven Thing , in aid of the United Cerebral Palsy Fund . They were well received despite
2130-471: 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. 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
2272-428: A long time. Genesis recorded Abacab in 14 weeks, and they typically worked between 12 and 14 hours a day while making it. The new studio environment had a productive effect on the writing process and the band had enough material for a double album , but they discarded one hour of music because they considered the songs were too similar to their past albums. Though the band did not alter the way in which they approached
2414-600: A more humorous rapport with the audience, unlike Gabriel's theatrical approach, which was successful. The shows in Glasgow and Stafford were filmed for their concert film Genesis: In Concert , released in cinemas in February 1977 as a double bill with White Rock . In September 1976, Genesis relocated to Relight Studios at Hilvarenbeek in the Netherlands with Hentschel to record Wind & Wuthering . It
2556-437: A new Genesis... but Abacab was where this new incarnation of the band came into its own." He also argued that although the album is far richer in pop hooks and accessibility than the band's previous works, at its heart Abacab "is truly modern art rock , their last album that could bear that tag comfortably." Genesis toured Abacab with a European and North American tour between September and December 1981. The tour marked
2698-658: A new album, Genesis recorded Selling England by the Pound at Island Studios in August 1973, the second Genesis album that Burns co-produced. Much of it was written at Una Billings School of Dance and Chessington . Gabriel contributed lyrics based on the idea of commercialism and the decline of English culture and the rise in American influences. Its title refers to a UK Labour Party slogan to make it clear to music critics who may have thought Genesis were beginning to "sell out" to
2840-400: 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
2982-512: A number of tribute bands recreating Genesis shows from various stages of the band's career. In 2010, Genesis were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . The founding members of Genesis, Peter Gabriel , Tony Banks , Anthony “Ant” Phillips , Mike Rutherford and drummer Chris Stewart , met at Charterhouse School , a public school in Godalming , Surrey . Banks and Gabriel arrived at
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#17327838446003124-547: A one-off concert with Gabriel at the Milton Keynes Bowl under the name Six of the Best . The concert was organised to raise money for Gabriel's World of Music, Arts and Dance project that was, by that point, in considerable debt. Hackett, who flew in from abroad, arrived in time to perform the last two songs. Work on the twelfth Genesis album, Genesis , began in March 1983 with Padgham returning as engineer. It
3266-457: A pastiche of the Bee Gees , one of King's favourite bands, which was recorded with orchestral arrangements added by Arthur Greenslade . The group exchanged various names for the band, including King's suggestion of "Gabriel's Angels", before taking King's suggestion of "Genesis", indicating the start of his production career. King chose "The Silent Sun" as their first single, with "That's Me" on
3408-800: A period of inactivity as Collins's marriage was at risk of collapse after touring had made him frequently absent from his wife and children. Following a meeting with Banks, Rutherford and Smith, Collins went to Vancouver, British Columbia , Canada, to try and rebuild the family. He explained: "I was never going to leave the band. It was just that if I was going to be living in Vancouver then we'd have had to organise ourselves differently." Banks and Rutherford decided to put Genesis on an extended break and make their respective debut solo albums, A Curious Feeling and Smallcreep's Day , at Polar Studios in Stockholm , Sweden . In April 1979, Collins returned to
3550-456: A period of rest, in November 1980 the band bought Fisher Lane Farm , a farmhouse with an adjoining cowshed near Chiddingfold , Surrey , as their new private rehearsal and recording facility. In the process of remodelling the building into a studio, the trio reconvened in the farm house to write and rehearse new material, which initially took place in the living room, and they started recording
3692-494: A result. The music press took note that Collins's success as a solo artist made him more popular than Genesis. Before the release of No Jacket Required , Collins insisted that he would not leave the band. "The next one to leave the band will finish it", Collins told Rolling Stone magazine in May 1985. "I feel happier with what we're doing now, because I feel it's closer to me. I won't be the one." He added, "Poor old Genesis does get in
3834-427: A riddle in "Lurker". In a 1997 interview, he said: "There is no real solution [...] It was a bit of a joke [...] I honestly didn't really have a specific idea in mind." Early arrangements of the song including two songs later released as b-sides - "Naminanu" and "Submarine" - suggest that perhaps "submarines" were a basis for the lyric. Banks described "Who Dunnit?" as a "real one-off piece". Featuring drums, guitar, and
3976-505: A semi-regular member whenever Genesis were on down time for the next five years. Collins's idea of Genesis continuing as an instrumental group was quickly rejected by the others as they thought it would become boring. Rehearsals for A Trick of the Tail took place in Acton where material was quickly written and with little effort; most of "Dance on a Volcano" and "Squonk" was put together in
4118-468: A session guitarist on the album. Collins later saw the album as "a very vocal, solid album" that lacked more rhythmic tracks like "Los Endos" or songs from Wind & Wuthering , as coming up with ideas on the drums while living in his flat in Ealing with his family was difficult. ...And Then There Were Three... was released in March 1978. It received some mixed reviews from critics at the time owing to
4260-418: A spiritual quest to establish his freedom and identity while meeting several bizarre characters on the way. Gabriel wrote the story with influences from West Side Story , "a kind of punk" twist to Pilgrim's Progress , author Carl Jung and the film El Topo by Alejandro Jodorowsky . Most of the album's lyrics were written by Gabriel, leaving much of its music to the rest of the group. His absence from
4402-486: A successful collaboration with the band Genesis which resulted in four albums beginning with A Trick of the Tail in 1976 and continuing through to Duke in 1980. In 1975, he recorded 'Oh My My', an instrumental/keyboard version of Ringo Starr's 1973 song. In 1980, Hentschel worked closely with Mike Oldfield on his album QE2 , with a writing credit for the title track as well as album credits for synthesizers, drums, vocals, and horn arrangement. QE2 would become
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4544-469: A trio, in September 1977 at Relight Studios with Hentschel as producer. It was then mixed at Trident Studios in London. In order to put across a greater number of musical ideas, the album is a collection of shorter songs. Most of its eleven songs were written individually; Banks contributed four, Rutherford three and Collins one while the remaining three were written collectively. Their new material signalled
4686-506: A year; Gabriel and Phillips stayed at Charterhouse to finish exams, Banks enrolled at Sussex University and Rutherford studied at Farnborough College of Technology . They regrouped in mid-1969 to discuss their future, for their offers in further education might result in the group splitting up. Phillips and Rutherford decided to make music their full-time career, for they were starting to write more complex music than their earlier songs with King. After Banks and Gabriel decided to follow suit,
4828-468: Is a rhythm and blues style track that features the Phenix Horns of the American band Earth, Wind & Fire . This marked the first instance of Genesis using outside musicians for one of their tracks since a string section was used on their debut album, From Genesis To Revelation (1969). The band wanted to emulate the brass keyboard sound that was used on some parts on Duke , and Collins had used
4970-402: Is formed of group written material with an individual song from each member. " No Reply at All " features the Phenix Horns , the horn section of American band Earth, Wind & Fire . Abacab was released in September 1981 and reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in the US. Three singles from the album entered the top forty in both countries; " Abacab " reached No. 9 in the UK and No. 26 in
5112-646: Is less restrained than previous Genesis albums. "Who Dunnit?" was described as "an Ian Dury like tongue-twister", yet deemed "Dodo/Lurker", "Like It or Not", and "Another Record" as "less noteworthy". Bohen concludes, however, that the album "drags this trio of art-rockers into the 80s at last". A positive review was published in The Pittsburgh Press by Pete Bishop. He named Abacab a "state-of-the-art" album and picked "Abacab" and "No Reply at All" as particularly good tracks despite Collins's vocals not being "the world's strongest". Bishop said "Who Dunnit?"
5254-435: Is the first of four Genesis albums designed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis . From November 1974 to May 1975, Genesis completed 102 dates across North America and Europe as part of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour . Their set included The Lamb... performed in its entirety with an encore, a decision that was not supported by the entire band considering most of the audience were not yet familiar with
5396-416: Is titled after an early ordering of the sections of music the group had for the song, which at one point spelled "ABACAB". Rutherford said that the final version of the track is not the "ABACAB" order at all, "it's like 'Accaabbaac'." The song developed from a group jam session that had them playing along to a looped electronic drum track until the tape they were using to record on ran out. " No Reply At All "
5538-619: The Abacab sessions can be found on other releases: Credits are adapted from the album's sleeve notes. Genesis Additional musicians Production Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Citations Books DVD media Genesis (band) Genesis were an English rock band formed at Charterhouse School , Godalming , Surrey , in 1967. The band's longest-existing and most commercially successful line-up consisted of keyboardist Tony Banks , bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and drummer/singer Phil Collins . In
5680-543: The B-side , released in February 1968. It achieved some airplay on BBC Radio One and Radio Caroline , but failed to sell. A second single, "A Winter's Tale" / "One-Eyed Hound", followed in May 1968, which also sold little. Three months later, Stewart left the group to continue with his studies. He was replaced by fellow Charterhouse pupil John Silver . King believed that the group would achieve greater success with an album. The result, From Genesis to Revelation ,
5822-822: The BBC 's Night Ride show, on 22 February 1970, and a spot at the Atomic Sunrise Festival held at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm a month later. During this time the band met with various record labels regarding contract offers. Initial discussions with Chris Blackwell of Island and Chris Wright of Chrysalis were unsuccessful. In March 1970, during the band's six-week Tuesday night residency at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho , members of Rare Bird , whom Genesis had previously supported live, recommended
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5964-537: The Lewis Gilbert films Operation Daybreak (1975), Seven Nights in Japan (1976), The Squeeze (1977) and Educating Rita (1983). Relocating to Los Angeles in 1985, Hentschel established one of the first dedicated MIDI studios and worked with Ensoniq on developing instruments and custom sounds. He eventually moved back to Great Britain and continues to produce, compose and arrange on both sides of
6106-707: The Lyceum Theatre in London. Hackett auditioned with the group in a flat in Earl's Court and formed an instant rapport with Rutherford through a common interest in inverted chords . After Hackett joined in January 1971, Stratton Smith organised a UK tour with Genesis opening for fellow Charisma acts Lindisfarne and Van der Graaf Generator . Their first overseas dates took place in March with gigs in Belgium followed by their first of three consecutive appearances at
6248-491: The 1970s, during which the band also included singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett , Genesis were among the pioneers of progressive rock . The group were formed by five Charterhouse pupils, including Banks, Rutherford, Gabriel and guitarist Anthony Phillips , and named by former Charterhouse pupil and pop impresario Jonathan King , who arranged for them to record several singles and their debut album From Genesis to Revelation in 1969. After splitting from King,
6390-553: The 1970s. Rutherford played the drums alongside Thompson during live performances of the song on the album's tour. While the group were deciding the final track listing for Abacab , Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun believed "Who Dunnit?" should be included. At one point, Genesis considered releasing "Who Dunnit?" as a single. Among the songs that were left off the album were three that were picked for release on Genesis's second EP, 3×3 . This contained " Paperlate ", "You Might Recall", and "Me and Virgil", which were included on
6532-612: The 1977 tour, Bruford declined an offer to return as second drummer, leaving Collins searching for a replacement. He heard American drummer Chester Thompson , of Frank Zappa 's band and Weather Report , play a drum passage on " More Trouble Every Day " from Zappa's live album Roxy & Elsewhere . Collins said, "It floored me completely ... I had never met him. I rang him up and said, 'Hi Chester, I've heard your stuff, would you like to play with Genesis?' ... He didn't even audition!" Genesis toured Wind & Wuthering from January to July 1977 across Europe, North America and, for
6674-634: The Grammy Award-winning album Politics , by the jazz fusion band Yellowjackets . In the 1980s and 1990s, Hentschel coproduced, engineered, and/or played keyboards and synthesizers on five albums by Police guitarist Andy Summers : the rock vocal album XYZ ( MCA Records , 1987) and the primarily instrumental albums Mysterious Barricades (just Summers and Hentschel, Private Music , 1988), The Golden Wire ( Private Music , 1989), Charming Snakes ( Private Music , 1990), and Synaesthesia (CMP Records, 1995). Hentschel composed scores for
6816-471: The Phenix Horns on Face Value and suggested to Banks and Rutherford that they use them for the track. Collins thought the horns was a good move to "suddenly jar people and take them off automatic pilot" from the preconceived notions they had about Genesis. Their involvement created some initial reservations from Banks, but he grew to enjoy the track by the time it was complete. In rehearsal, Banks played
6958-473: The Pigeon , an extended play of three tracks left off Wind & Wuthering . It peaked at No. 14 on the UK singles chart. It was the final Genesis release before Hackett left the group. He had been writing more material on his own and found it increasingly difficult to contribute more of his ideas within a group context. He wished to embark on a solo career and "take the risk in order to find out just how good I
7100-546: The Pops . The group thought this would not suit their image and they declined the offer. In June 1974, Genesis started work on their double concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway . This marked a point at which Gabriel's relationship with the rest of the group became increasingly strained, which contributed to his departure. The album was written at Headley Grange in East Hampshire , where upon their arrival
7242-658: The Skies " and the property-development-themed " Get 'Em Out by Friday ". Foxtrot was released in on 15 September 1972 and reached No. 12 in the UK. It fared even better in Italy, where it went to No. 1. Foxtrot was well received by critics. Chris Welch of Melody Maker thought Foxtrot was "a milestone in the group's career", "an important point of development in British group music" and that Genesis had reached "a creative peak". Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought Foxtrot marked
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#17327838446007384-510: The Sour Turns to Sweet" / "In Hiding", was released in June 1969. None of the releases was commercially successful. The lack of commercial success led to the band's split with King and Decca. King continued to hold the rights to the album, which has seen numerous reissues. In 1974, it peaked on the US chart at No. 170. After the album was recorded, the band went their separate ways for
7526-569: The UK after his attempt to save his marriage failed. With time to spare before working on a new Genesis album, Collins rejoined Brand X for the album Product , played the drums on former bandmate Peter Gabriel's third album and started writing his own first solo album, Face Value , at his home in Shalford, Surrey . In 1979, Banks and Rutherford moved into Collins's home in Shalford to write and rehearse material for Duke . The three found
7668-508: The UK and Selling England by the Pound (1973) reached number three, featuring their first UK hit " I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) ". The concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) was promoted with a transatlantic tour and an elaborate stage show, before Gabriel left the group. Collins took over as lead singer, and as a four-piece the group released A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering (both 1976) with continued success. Hackett left Genesis in 1977, reducing
7810-632: The UK and No. 70 in the US. By this time, Genesis had made little effort to organise their finances and were £150,000 in debt (equivalent to £2,291,300 in 2024). . They hired promoter Tony Smith as their new manager to improve their fortunes and published the band's subsequent music through his company, Hit & Run Music Publishing . The Selling England by the Pound tour visited Europe and North America between September 1973 and May 1974. Their six shows in three days at The Roxy in Los Angeles were well received by audiences and critics. The success of
7952-462: The UK in 1984. "The Knife" was released as a single in May 1971. Rolling Stone briefly mentioned the album unfavourably following its 1974 reissue: "It's spotty, poorly defined, at times innately boring". "Genesis seemed to be dying a death around our second album", Gabriel told Mark Blake . "We couldn't get arrested. So I got a place at the London School of Film Technique ." That was
8094-521: The US, "No Reply at All" reached No. 29 in the US, and " Keep It Dark ", a European-only single, went to No. 33 in the UK. Abacab was supported with a tour of Europe and North America from September to December 1981, ending with shows at Wembley Arena and the NEC Birmingham. The tour marked the band's first use of the Vari-Lite , a computer-controlled intelligent lighting system. Following
8236-406: The US, their highest-charting single in both countries since their formation. Its success introduced the band to a new audience, including a larger female interest, helped by its music video airing on Top of the Pops . Its success caused some fans to accuse the group of selling out to more commercial music. A follow-up single, " Many Too Many ", was less successful, for it had already appeared on
8378-455: The US. " Firth of Fifth " features an extended electric guitar solo from Hackett. The album's cover is a modified version of a painting named The Dream by Betty Swanwick who added a lawn mower to tie the image to the lyrics of "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". Selling England by the Pound was released on 5 October 1973 and received favourably by critics, though slightly less enthusiastically than Foxtrot . The album reached No. 3 in
8520-575: The US. The Mama Tour ran from late 1983 through to 1984, covering North America and five UK shows in Birmingham . The latter shows were filmed and released as Genesis Live – The Mama Tour . In February 1984, Genesis took a break in activity to allow each member to continue with their solo careers. Rutherford formed his group Mike + The Mechanics , Banks worked on his solo album Soundtracks and Collins released No Jacket Required , which achieved worldwide success and increased his popularity as
8662-443: The aid of electronics such as a drum machine. The home studio allowed the group to stop working on a track if a rehearsal failed to produce any desired results and switch to another, which was not possible at a professional facility due to the limited time available. The band's shift in direction was also underlined in their production with the departure of producer and engineer David Hentschel , who had worked with them since 1975. He
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#17327838446008804-468: The album in March 1981 once the studio was operational. Abacab marks the first Genesis album that was recorded in England since A Trick of the Tail (1976). The success of Collins's debut solo album Face Value (1981) had gained momentum by the recording stage; Banks claimed it did little to alter the sound or style of Abacab or the relationship towards him or Rutherford as they had been friends for
8946-494: The album is "by far more promising" than Duke or ...And Then There Were Three... . Ken Kubernik of the Los Angeles Times wondered if the success of Collins's solo album Face Value was an influence on the group, to which he replied, "Yes and no." He praised the album for its "thick, resonant instrumental passages, quaint imagery in the lyrics, and superb production", but "beneath the surface are some new wrinkles in
9088-555: The album led the group to disband. Banks, Rutherford and Collins reunited for the Turn It On Again Tour in 2007 and again in 2021 for The Last Domino? Tour . With between 100 million and 150 million albums sold worldwide, Genesis are one of the world's best-selling music artists . Their discography includes 15 studio and 6 live albums. They have won numerous awards (including a Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video with " Land of Confusion ") and have inspired
9230-469: The album only containing short songs, which excited new fans but disillusioned those who had been used to the band's previous work. Chris Welch wrote a positive review in Melody Maker , citing a "remarkably powerful" album. It was a commercial success and peaked at No. 3 in the UK and No. 14 in the US. "Follow You Follow Me" was released as its lead single and reached No. 7 in the UK and No. 23 in
9372-603: The album reaching No. 4 in the Italian charts. From November 1971 to August 1972, Genesis toured to support the album, including further visits to Belgium and, for the first time, Italy, where they played to enthusiastic crowds. In January and March 1972 they recorded radio sessions for BBC's Sounds of the Seventies programme and later in the year performed at the Reading Festival to some critical acclaim. During
9514-438: The album spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 3 in the US, and became the best-selling Genesis album with seven million copies sold. The album's five singles – "Invisible Touch", " Throwing It All Away ", " Land of Confusion ", " In Too Deep " and " Tonight, Tonight, Tonight " – entered the top five on the US singles chart between 1986 and 1987 with "Invisible Touch" topping the chart for one week. Genesis became
9656-639: The album were released on the EP 3×3 . The album was reissued with a new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mix in 2007. In June 1980, the Genesis line-up of drummer and singer Phil Collins , keyboardist Tony Banks , and guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford , with touring drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist and bassist Daryl Stuermer , wrapped their 1980 tour of the United Kingdom and North America in support of their tenth album, Duke (1980). Following
9798-522: The album's sleeve credits as "Enossification". When Gabriel asked Eno how the band could repay him, Eno said he needed a drummer for his track " Mother Whale Eyeless ". Collins said, "I got sent upstairs as payment". Gabriel was pleased with Eno's work but Banks was less enthusiastic. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was released in November 1974 and reached No. 10 in the UK and No. 41 in the US. "Counting Out Time" and " The Carpet Crawlers " were released as singles in 1974 and 1975, respectively. Its sleeve
9940-487: The album, the most successful being " Abacab " and " No Reply at All ". The album was certified gold in the UK and double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling two million copies in the US. The Abacab Tour visited North America and Europe in 1981, recordings from which formed most of their 1982 live album and concert video Three Sides Live . Three tracks left off
10082-467: The album. In the search for a new touring guitarist, Rutherford tried out Pat Thrall and Elliot Randall , followed by Alphonso Johnson of Weather Report, but he was primarily a bassist and could not play Hackett's lead guitar parts comfortably. Johnson then suggested American guitarist Daryl Stuermer of Jean-Luc Ponty 's jazz fusion group, who was more comfortable with various guitar styles. During Stuermer's rehearsal in New York City, Rutherford
10224-441: The annual Reading Festival on 26 June. Rehearsals for the band's third album, Nursery Cryme , took place at Luxford House near Crowborough , East Sussex , which Stratton Smith had owned. 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
10366-404: The band began touring, signed with Charisma Records and became a progressive rock band on Trespass (1970). Phillips departed after the album's recording, with Banks, Rutherford and Gabriel recruiting Collins and Hackett before recording Nursery Cryme (1971). Their live shows began to feature Gabriel's theatrical costumes and performances. Foxtrot (1972) was their first charting album in
10508-415: The band complaining of technical issues. Gabriel's costumes expanded in the following months to include fluorescent face paint and a cape fitted with bat wings for "Watcher of the Skies", several guises throughout "Supper's Ready" and a mask of an old man for "The Musical Box". An album of recordings from the following UK leg, initially recorded for the American radio programme King Biscuit Flower Hour ,
10650-504: The band for their gigs; which included Genesis's television debut on BBC's Disco 2 . After two months of performances, the band found Barnard lacked in expertise and wished to try someone else. 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". Gabriel advised Hackett to become familiar with Trespass and attend their upcoming gig at
10792-445: The band made an effort to keep melodies as simple as possible, which signalled further changes in their direction. The shift was underlined in its production when Hentschel, their producer and engineer since 1975, was replaced by Hugh Padgham after Collins liked his production on Face Value and Gabriel's third solo album . Production duties were solely credited to the band for the first time with Padgham as their engineer. The album
10934-410: The band settled on John Burns and a new producer, Dave Hitchcock . The album features the 23-minute track " Supper's Ready ", a suite of various musical segments. The track included an opening acoustic piece, a Gabriel-penned song called "Willow Farm" and a piece derived from a jam by Banks, Rutherford and Collins called "Apocalypse in 9/8". Other songs were the science-fiction -themed " Watcher of
11076-583: The band to a three-piece of Banks, Rutherford and Collins. Their ninth studio album, ...And Then There Were Three... (1978), contained the band's first major hit " Follow You Follow Me ". Their next five studio albums – Duke (1980), Abacab (1981), Genesis (1983), Invisible Touch (1986) and We Can't Dance (1991) – were also successful. Collins left Genesis in 1996, and Banks and Rutherford replaced him with singer Ray Wilson , who appeared on their final studio album Calling All Stations (1997). The disappointing commercial and critical reaction to
11218-437: The band to producer and A&R man John Anthony of Charisma Records . Anthony attended one of their shows and enjoyed them enough to convince his boss, label owner Tony Stratton Smith , to watch their next appearance. Smith recalled, "Their potential was immediately apparent ... the material was good and their performance was good ... It was a long shot, because they needed time to find their strength ... but I
11360-549: The band with portfolios from various illustrators, but the group did not find anything that they liked from them. Rutherford took Smith's sketchbook and spotted an abstract design initially made for a book, which featured an arrangement of torn inch-long pieces of paper from a Pantone swatch of colours with squiggly black lines. The band chose it as the cover, and Smith reproduced it in four different colour schemes with an embossed finish. The band liked all four, and thought it would have an effective presentation on shop displays. Three of
11502-573: The band's development from their progressive roots into more accessible and pop-oriented songs, and their conscious decision to write songs unlike their previous albums. Abacab enjoyed a mostly positive reception from critics and was a commercial success for the band, becoming their second No. 1 LP on the UK Albums Chart and their first to reach the top ten of the US Billboard 200 , peaking at No. 7. Genesis released four singles from
11644-496: The best-selling album of 1981 in Germany. In 1982, Hentschel collaborated with lyricist Don Black on a song cycle album for Marti Webb to follow her success with Tell Me on a Sunday . I'm Not That Kind of Girl was released in 1983. Despite including the talent of Phil Collins on drums and Kiki Dee on backing vocals, it failed to chart and was Webb's last album for Polydor . In 1988, Hentschel produced and engineered
11786-415: The building had been left in a very poor state by the previous band, with rat infestations and excrement on the floor. Gabriel objected to Rutherford's idea of an album based on The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , thinking the idea was "too twee". He proposed to the band a less fantastical and more complicated story involving Rael, a Puerto Rican youth living in New York City who embarks on
11928-477: The closest we came to busting up. For some reason we felt so close that if one left, we thought we couldn't carry on. Of all the changes we've been through, surviving Ant leaving was the hardest. —Mike Rutherford. After Trespass was recorded, ill-health and developing stage fright caused Phillips to leave Genesis. His last show with the band took place in Haywards Heath on 18 July 1970. He felt
12070-429: 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". In August 1970, Collins became the new drummer for Genesis. Caryl's audition
12212-504: The copyright to his work. In a contrast to previous Genesis albums, the sleeve is absent of lyrics. Banks reasoned this would reduce the emphasis on the words, which he thought had been overdone on previous albums, in order to make them more of a part in the album's overall sound. Abacab was released on 18 September 1981 in the United Kingdom by Charisma Records and 24 September 1981 in the United States by Atlantic Records . It
12354-424: The designs had a limited print, after which their label Charisma Records selected the original montage to remain in stock. Smith recalled the difficulty in persuading Genesis manager Tony Smith and staff at Charisma that "these tiny scraps of coloured paper" was to be the album's cover, but he was successful from having the group's backing and noted it became "his best paid job ever." Genesis allowed Smith to retain
12496-526: The drums to the forefront of a song caused Banks to change his usual approach of writing and playing, which he found exciting. The band praised Padgham's fresh approach to recording; Banks recalled the attractive ideas he had for recording drums and his lack of knowledge in handling keyboards gave Banks the freedom to explore and obtain sounds that interested him. The band considered Abacab an album that closely represented their natural live sound. The band would produce different mixes of finished songs and selected
12638-543: The first appearance of the Vari-Lite automated lighting system in which Genesis invested $ 1 million towards its development. Recordings from shows in New York City, Uniondale, New York, and Birmingham, England were included in the band's third live album, Three Sides Live , and the same-titled concert video , both released in 1982. All music written by Tony Banks , Phil Collins , and Mike Rutherford , except where noted. All songs arranged and performed by Genesis. Lyricists specified below. Additional songs recorded during
12780-425: The first group and foreign act to achieve this feat, equalling the five singles record set by Michael Jackson , Janet Jackson and Madonna . After Collins was parodied by the British satirical television series Spitting Image , he commissioned them to make puppets of the band for the video of "Land of Confusion". Nearly 300,000 people at Wembley ... I thought at the time, and I still think now, that moment
12922-467: The first three days. Recording began in October 1975 at Trident Studios with Hentschel as producer. As a replacement singer had not been found, the band decided to record the album without vocals and audition singers as they went. They placed an anonymous advertisement in Melody Maker for "a singer for a Genesis-type group", which received around 400 replies. Collins proceeded to teach selected applicants
13064-606: The first time "Genesis attacked like a rock band, playing with a visceral power". The Foxtrot tour covered Europe and North America from September 1972 to August 1973. Gabriel surprised the other members of the band at the National Stadium in Dublin on 28 September 1972 by wearing a costume on stage, following a suggestion by Charisma booking agent Paul Conroy . He went off stage during an instrumental section in "The Musical Box" and reappeared in his wife's red dress and
13206-447: The first time in their career Genesis filmed promotional videos for their songs, including "A Trick of the Tail" and "Robbery, Assault and Battery". Before the upcoming tour, Collins sought a drummer he felt comfortable with while singing; he chose Bill Bruford who offered to do the job. From March to July 1976, Genesis performed across North America and Europe with the A Trick of the Tail tour , to enthusiastic crowds. Collins adopted
13348-509: The first time, Brazil . The stage show cost £400,000 (equivalent to £3,139,000 in 2024). which featured a new PA system , lasers and smoke, and lighting supplied from two rows of Boeing 747 aircraft landing lights. Touring began on 1 January with three sold-out shows at the Rainbow Theatre in London, where 80,000 applications were made for the 8,000 available tickets. They returned to London for three nights at Earls Court , then
13490-504: The four returned to Regent Sound in August 1969 and recorded four more demos with Silver: "Family" (later known as "Dusk"), "White Mountain", "Going Out to Get You" and "Pacidy". The tape was rejected by each record label that heard it. Silver then left the group to study leisure management in the United States. His replacement, drummer and carpenter John Mayhew , was found when Mayhew looked for work and left his phone number "with people all over London". In late 1969, Genesis retreated to
13632-548: The fourth comprising the 3×3 tracks and two from the Duke sessions. The European release contains a fourth side of extra live tracks. The album coincided with the home video release of the Three Sides Live concert film recorded in 1981. A tour of North America and Europe followed that ran from August to September 1982, featuring guest appearances from Bill Bruford and the Phenix Horns. On 2 October, Genesis headlined
13774-584: The gig'." Roger Taylor , subsequently of Queen , turned down an invitation to audition. 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 ". Gabriel and Rutherford noticed
13916-412: The greatest threat to the band and the most difficult to overcome. Gabriel and Rutherford decided the group should continue; Banks agreed on the condition that they find a new drummer that was of equal stature to the rest of the group. Mayhew was therefore fired, though Phillips later thought Mayhew's working-class background clashed with the rest of the band, which affected his confidence. The search for
14058-401: The group to develop: Banks put forward "Heathaze" and "Cul-de-Sac", Rutherford used "Man of Our Times" and "Alone Tonight" and Collins had " Misunderstanding " and "Please Don't Ask". All three wrote the remaining five tracks, including " Duchess ", the first Genesis song to feature a drum machine , specifically a Roland CR-78 imported from Japan. In its original form, the album was to contain
14200-424: The increased number of gigs affected the group's creativity and several songs he wrote were not recorded or performed live. He had contracted bronchial pneumonia and became isolated from the rest of the band, feeling that it had too many songwriters in it. Banks, Gabriel and Rutherford saw Phillips as an important member, being the most instrumental in encouraging them to turn professional. They regarded his exit as
14342-429: The international edition of their third live album Three Sides Live , both released in 1982. Two other songs, "Naminanu" and "Submarine", originally part of a four-song suite with "Dodo"/"Lurker", were released as B-sides on the album's singles. The cover was designed by English artist Bill Smith, who recalled that the group were difficult to work with as "they only ever knew what they didn't like". He first presented
14484-468: The large amount of new material. The stage show involved new, more elaborate costumes worn by Gabriel, three backdrop screens that displayed 1,450 slides from eight projectors, and a laser lighting display . Music critics often focused their reviews on Gabriel's theatrics and took the band's musical performance as secondary, which irritated the rest of the band. During their stay in Cleveland during
14626-601: The largest arena in Britain, supported by Richie Havens . The band's growing popularity in North America led to television appearances and concerts organised in larger venues than previous tours, including Madison Square Garden in New York City. Their Brazilian dates were attended by over 150,000 people and a proposed 100,000-person gig was cancelled over rioting fears. An armed bodyguard accompanied each member throughout their stay. In May 1977 Genesis released Spot
14768-523: The nine-minute song " The Knife ". Trespass is the first in a series of three Genesis album cover designs by Paul Whitehead . He had completed the design before the band decided to include "The Knife" on the album. Feeling the cover no longer reflected the album's overall mood, the band persuaded Whitehead to slash a knife across the canvas and have the result photographed. Released in October 1970, Trespass reached No. 1 in Belgium in 1971 and No. 98 in
14910-448: The omission of songs that were too familiar to what they had done previously was required to avoid Genesis becoming a caricature of itself, and so the change in direction was therefore necessary. He picked the songwriting periods for Duke and Abacab as a "rethink" of Genesis' approach. Collins said the group adopted what they had done for Duke and took it further for Abacab , specifically with group improvisational jams and writing with
15052-462: The one they all liked best. Abacab is formed of nine tracks, six of which are group written with the remaining three solely credited to one of each member: "Me and Sarah Jane" is from Banks, " Man on the Corner " by Collins, and "Like It or Not" by Rutherford. The group decided to have the album consist mostly of collective songs as they thought such tracks became the strongest on Duke . " Abacab "
15194-400: The point ... where we either became a caricature of ourselves, and settled into a rut, or we changed. There was no doubt in our minds that change was the answer. —Mike Rutherford on the band's change in direction In June 1982, Genesis released the double live album Three Sides Live in two different versions. The North American edition contains three sides of live recordings with
15336-429: The remaining tracks. My real worry was actually what to say to the audience, because Peter had always had this offbeat charisma that gave the band a strange aura. I was much more friendly and approachable ... I spent more time ... worrying about what to say between songs than I did about what I was going to do once the songs started. —Phil Collins. A Trick of the Tail was released in February 1976 and
15478-549: The school in September 1963, Rutherford in September 1964 and Phillips in April 1965. The five were members in either one of the school's two bands; Phillips and Rutherford were in Anon with singer Richard Macphail , bassist Rivers Jobe and drummer Rob Tyrrell, while Gabriel, Banks and Stewart made up Garden Wall . In January 1967, after both groups had split, Phillips and Rutherford continued to write together and proceeded to make
15620-438: The second day of recording. "Keep It Dark" tells the story of a man who gets abducted to a surreal and peaceful alien planet but does not tell anyone as he thinks no one would believe him. Its original working title was "Odd", and became a favourite for Banks. It features the band taking two bars of a drum pattern previously recorded and playing the song on top of it. "Dodo"/"Lurker" features lyrics written by Banks, who included
15762-461: The situation, "We just wanted to use what we agreed was the strongest material, irrespective of who wrote it". Wind & Wuthering was released in December 1976 and reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 26 in the US. Rutherford's track, " Your Own Special Way ", became its sole single and went to No. 43 in the UK. Its B-side is "It's Yourself", originally intended for A Trick of the Tail . Prior to
15904-440: The songs; Witches Brew frontman and flautist Mick Strickland was invited into the studio to sing, but the backing tracks were in a key outside of his natural range and the band decided not to work with him. Having failed to find a suitable vocalist, Collins went into the studio and attempted to sing "Squonk". His performance was well received by the band and they decided that he should be their new lead vocalist. Collins then sang on
16046-416: The songwriting for Abacab , Banks said a conscious effort was made by the group to avoid "Genesis cliches" such as using tambourines during a chorus, reprises, extended solos, lengthy instrumental passages, and keeping melodies simple, which signalled further changes in their direction. Because of this, Banks considered Abacab to be the least technical Genesis album at the time of its release. Rutherford said
16188-406: The sound system, light and laser displays and additional effects from six computer-controlled mirrors, all of which took eight hours to set up and five to dismantle. One of their shows featured a guest appearance from Gabriel, who sang "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". In June, Genesis headlined the year's Knebworth Festival , their only UK show that year. In December 1978, Genesis began
16330-443: The sound" on "Man on the Corner" and "No Reply at All", but "he does not have it all his own way". Colbert, however, thought Genesis had produced "a couple of Frankensteins" such as the latter half of "Abacab", which he deemed "unstructured" and "uninspired" compared to their past instrumentals. He named "Keep It Dark" and "Who Dunnit?" as "the most exciting and innovative music" the band had produced for several years, and concluded with
16472-697: The success of his 1965 UK top five single, " Everyone's Gone to the Moon ". A friend of the group gave the tape to King, who was immediately enthusiastic. Under King's direction, the group, aged between 15 and 17, signed a one-year recording contract with Decca Records . From August to December 1967, the five recorded a selection of potential singles at Regent Sound Studios in Denmark Street , London, where they attempted longer and more complex pieces, but King advised them to stick to more straightforward pop. In response Banks and Gabriel wrote " The Silent Sun ",
16614-457: The time as a strong period creatively for the band, with ideas "flowing out of us". " Invisible Touch " was developed in such a way, when the group were working on "The Last Domino", the second part of " Domino ". During the session, Rutherford began to play an improvised guitar riff to which Collins replied with an off-the-cuff lyric – "She seems to have an invisible touch" – which became the song's chorus hook. Following its release in June 1986,
16756-512: The time of release, spending two weeks at No. 1 in the UK and peaking at No. 11 in the US. The album spawned three singles; " Turn It On Again " went to No. 8 in the UK, "Misunderstanding" reached No. 14 in the US, and " Duchess " peaked at No. 46 in the UK. Duke was supported with a UK and North American tour from April to June 1980, which began with a 40-date tour of the UK for which all 106,000 tickets were sold within hours of going on sale. In November 1980, Genesis bought Fisher Lane Farm ,
16898-448: The tour earned the group the "Top Stage Band" title by readers of NME . At its conclusion, Macphail resigned as their tour manager as he wished to pursue other interests. " I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) " was released as a UK single with "Twilight Alehouse", a non-album track recorded in 1972; it reached No. 21 following its release in February 1974. Its success led to an offer for Genesis to appear on BBC's national show Top of
17040-460: The tour, Gabriel told the band he would leave at its conclusion. He wrote a statement regarding his departure to the English press that was published in August 1975 titled "Out, Angels Out", explaining he had become disillusioned with the music industry and wanted to spend extended time with his family. Banks later stated, "Pete was also getting too big for the group. He was being portrayed as if he
17182-543: The tour, Genesis recorded "Happy the Man", a non-album single, with " Seven Stones " from Nursery Cryme on its B-side. Following rehearsals in a dance school in Shepherd's Bush , Genesis recorded Foxtrot at Island Studios in August and September 1972. During the early sessions, disagreements between Charisma and Anthony contributed to the end of his association with Genesis. After two replacement engineers were tried out,
17324-487: The track originated from " The Message " by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five . Released in October 1983, Genesis went to No. 1 in the UK and peaked at No. 9 in the US, where it reached Platinum by December that year and went on to sell over four million copies. Three tracks were released as singles; "Mama" reached No. 4 in the UK, their highest-charting UK single to date, and " That's All " reached No. 6 in
17466-410: The trademark Genesis sound", noting a reduction in harmonies for more simple vocals and Collins's drum sound replacing Banks's keyboards as their "vortex". Kubernik did, however, praise Collins's vocals. Jim Bohen for Daily Record recognised Abacab had largely taken its direction from Collins's Face Value with its structure based around a "a huge, booming drum sound". He noted the instrumentation
17608-527: The way sometimes. I still won't leave the group, but I imagine it will end by mutual consent." In June, Collins spoke of the band's intention to start work on a new album that year, ending rumours to a false announcement that aired on BBC Radio 1 suggesting Genesis had split. Genesis reconvened at The Farm in October 1985 to start work on Invisible Touch , which lasted for six months. They continued their method of songwriting used on Genesis by developing material from group improvisations. Banks remembered
17750-435: The writing process easier and less complicated than And Then There Were Three . Rutherford reasoned that this was the case because they were "getting back to the basic stage of ideas being worked on jointly". Banks put it down to their break in activity, resulting in "good ideas ... which hasn't happened for some time". Duke continued the band's transition into writing shorter songs. Each member contributed two songs for
17892-636: Was 'the man' and it really wasn't like that. It was a very difficult thing to accommodate. So it was actually a bit of a relief." Following the Lamb tour, Hackett recorded his first solo album Voyage of the Acolyte as he felt unsure that Genesis would survive following Gabriel's departure. He reconvened with the remaining group members in London in July 1975. During this time, Collins began drumming with instrumental jazz rock band Brand X , with whom he would be
18034-491: Was a commercial and critical success for the band. The album reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 31 in the US. The title track was released as a single, though it did not chart. In June, the album was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Institute for selling over 100,000 copies which helped the band clear the £400,000 of debt (equivalent to £3,636,500 in 2024) they owed when Gabriel left. For
18176-496: Was born in Sussex . His career began at Trident Studios in London where he was initially an assistant before rising to become one of the in-house producers. In addition to engineering and production credits, Hentschel also played early synthesizers with a diverse range of bands including Nazareth , Pilot and Byzantium . He played synthesizer on several high-profile recordings, including Elton John's " Rocket Man " and " Funeral for
18318-446: Was done at Trident Studios that October. Hackett, having already released a solo album, enjoyed the greater amount of control over the recording process that working within a group could not provide. He felt his songs, including "Please Don't Touch" (which he later released on his second album Please Don't Touch! ) were rejected from the final track order in favour of material that Banks, in particular, had put forward. Collins spoke of
18460-485: Was on my own". News of Hackett's departure coincided with the band's double live album Seconds Out , recorded in Paris on the A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering tours and released in October 1977. It reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 47 in the US. By the time Seconds Out was released, Banks, Rutherford and Collins had already recorded ...And Then There Were Three... , the first Genesis album recorded as
18602-595: Was prepared to make that commitment". He agreed to a record and management deal within two weeks, paying Genesis an initial sum of £10 a week (equivalent to £200 in 2024). Genesis stayed at Wotton until April 1970, by which time they had enough new material for a second album. Recording for Trespass began in June at Trident Studios in London, with Anthony as producer and David Hentschel hired as assistant engineer. The album included longer and more complex songs than their first, blending folk and progressive rock elements with various time signature changes, as in
18744-455: Was produced at Regent Sound in ten days during their school's summer break in August 1968. King assembled the tracks as a concept album , which he produced. Greenslade added further orchestral arrangements to the songs, but the band were not informed of this fact until the album was released. Phillips was upset about Greenslade's additions. When Decca found an American band already named Genesis, King refused to change his group's name. He reached
18886-470: Was put together in a short amount of time and a considerable amount of material was written beforehand, of which the most suitable songs were picked for development. Rutherford spoke of the band's conscious effort to distance themselves from songs inspired by fantasy, something that their past albums "were full of". The band spent roughly six weeks writing the album with a basic form of each track put down in twelve days. Additional recording and production work
19028-405: Was released as Genesis Live in July 1973. It reached No. 9 in the UK and No. 105 in the US. In the summer of 1973, Genesis re-signed their contracts with Charisma. Stratton Smith said they got "a much improved deal" despite them being able to get a better one with a bigger label, but the group were loyal and trusted the label with their careers. With a new contract and thus a green-light for
19170-461: Was replaced by Hugh Padgham , who had worked with Collins on Face Value and former Genesis singer Peter Gabriel 's third solo album which featured Collins on drums. Gabriel's track " Intruder " features a gated reverb effect on Collins's drums that Banks and Rutherford liked, and wanted Padgham to do the same on Abacab . The album marked the first time Genesis produced an album on their own, with Padgham credited as engineer. The decision to bring
19312-453: Was satisfied with his performance after they played through "Down and Out" and "Squonk". When Stuermer was chosen, he familiarised himself with a list of 26 songs he was asked to learn by going through five per day. The ...And Then There Were Three... tour ran from March to December 1978 and visited North America, Europe and, for the first time, Japan. It cost an estimated £2 million to stage (equivalent to £14,492,800 in 2024). which included
19454-468: Was simultaneously released in four different colour schemes. In 2007, Abacab was remastered with a new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mix and bonus features as part of the Genesis 1976–1982 box set. In a review for Melody Maker , reporter Paul Colbert thought the album was the band's least consistent and therefore, least predictable in three years. He recognised a "heavy PC [Phil Collins] twist to
19596-833: Was the album's only "dud", yet believed overall the album would please Genesis fans. An uncredited review in The Coshocton Tribune in Ohio predicted the album would be Genesis's first top ten album in the US due to its similarity to Face Value , but rated it ahead of "the dreary Duke ". David Fricke of Rolling Stone praised the album for shedding the "ivory-tower artistry" of their previous albums, turning to sparse arrangements and "highly rhythmic interplay" and drawing inspiration from popular contemporaries such as XTC and The Police . In his retrospective review for AllMusic , critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine echoed this sentiment with greater emphasis, declaring " Duke showcased
19738-449: Was the first Genesis track with Collins on lead vocals. On the album's cover, Whitehead depicted a Victorian manor house based on Gabriel's parents' home, and scenes and characters from the lyrics to "The Musical Box". Nursery Cryme was released in November 1971 and reached No. 39 in the UK in 1974. Though the group still had a minor cult following at home, they started to achieve commercial and critical success in mainland Europe, with
19880-511: Was the first album written, recorded and mixed at the remodelled studio at the Farm. Banks remembered the band were scarce for new musical ideas that "felt at times as though we were stretching the material as far as we could". " Mama " concerns a man's obsession with a prostitute at a Cuban brothel. It originated from a beat Rutherford came up with on a LinnDrum machine that was fed through his guitar amplifier and an echo gate. Collins's laugh on
20022-485: Was the peak of our career. David Hentschel David Hentschel (born 18 December 1952) is an English recording engineer, film score composer and music producer who engineered on George Harrison 's All Things Must Pass and Elton John 's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road , as well as for such artists as Genesis , Tony Banks , Ringo Starr , Queen , Nazareth , Marti Webb , Andy Summers , Mike Oldfield , Renaissance , Peter Hammill and Ronnie Caryl . Hentschel
20164-457: Was unsuccessful; Rutherford thought he was not the player the group were looking for. 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". As they had not found a new guitarist, Genesis resumed as
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