NURSERY CRYME

I first heard Genesis thanks to my dad watching the classic MTV videos of the band, like "Land Of Confusion" or "Abacab", and I always liked those songs, but also knew that the band had an edgier, complex and rich past featuring Peter Gabriel (Which I also knew the classic "Sledgehammer" video thanks to my dad) and another guitarist, using weird resources like costumes and elaborate stage shows.

I knew that era from Genesis like when I was 13 years old, but it was until quarantine and myself having 20 years that I finally listened to the classic Genesis (and also my dad listened to it, not knowing any classic era song).

My first impression with classic Genesis was with Nursery Cryme and their first big song "The Musical Box", needless to say that I was blown away with that bizarre lyrics, balance between calm and heavy sections and every band member doing their job and making their personality into the songs. Great sections, great parts and this song is pretty heavy, loved it in my first listen, I was so impressed that this had absolutely nothing to do with "Invisible Touch". "For Absent Friends" is a good calm track, the first Phil Collins voice showcase, a good rest considering the heavy first track. "The Return of Giant Hogweed" is hilarious with its lyrics recalling an english plant that I as a mexican I'm totally ignorant of. New members Phil Collins and Steve Hackett shine in this song, and also is the first song where Mike Rutherford's bass is actually strong. "Seven Stones" has lovely mellotron and chorus layers, very underrated song and the hidden gem of the record. "Harold The Barrel" is a fun little track, the black humour in this is kinda funny, and "Harlequin" may be the weakest point of the album, but it sounds like a warm up to "Supper's Ready". "The Fountain of Salmacis" is my least favourite album closer, but is still a strong song, kinda an evolved version of "Seven Stones", with one of Tony Banks's first great performances with his early keyboard rig. The upsides of the album are the good showcases of new members Phil Collins and Steve Hackett, the first really effective bass playing by Mike Rutherford and a more tight songwriting compared to "Trespass". The downsides are Gabriel's voice, which sounds strained in some of the songs and not as powerful as in "Trespass" and Tony Banks's distorted keyboards, I like those sounds but I'm glad that Genesis scrapped them

The album cover is very strange, and so are the lyrics and themes of the record, and while I don't like fantastic topics, I find the Victorian ambience to be very interesting.

Not the best Genesis record (as they do nothing but improve and surpass themselves) but the best starting point when listening to classic Genesis, and while the band found it's sound in "Trespass", they found their identity in this record, paving the way to a streak of classic prog records by the band.