ABACAB

I dislike reading those closeminded comments about "this is not prog" and "it sucks" stuff. It's just ridiculous. Abacab is not prog. It was never meant to be prog, by the way, but it's experimental, fresh and new. Looks like our "prog" friends are enemies of those words - they all want to hear the same old songs over and over again. Here's what I think: making another Selling England on 1981 would have been SO innovative... just like those neo-prog bands. Sure, they added so much more to music...

Back to Abacab. The title track is fantastic, featuring its meaningless and abstract lyrics and a solid rhythm section, plus the jam at the end. Say what you want about it being "cold" and "without magic" and "boring", it's all subjective. I think it's great and nothing's going to change my mind about it.

No Reply At All. I like this song. A lot. OH NOSSS!!! HE LIEKS A PHIL COLLINS POP (in bold) NUBMERRS!!11. Damn, guys, enjoy the song for what it is. By the way, Phil Collins didn't force anything in the band, they all agreed to put some songs on record and THIS WAS ONE OF THEM.

Now onto the (arguably) best song on the album. Me and Sarah Jane begins quietly with a drum machine and some piano notes, Phil's voice singing softer. Then, the thing gets louder and we have some cool grooves with a nice keyboard solo (if you can call it that). After that, we have the reggae-influenced (I think) chorus, with its ever nonsensical lyrics (courtesy of Mr. Tony Banks). Onto the next verse, nice and short, and finally, the anthemic ending. It's just too good.

Oh, keep it dark! Mr. Rutherford wasn't/isn't a great guitarist, imho (his strength was bass playing and arguably the 12 strings guitar). On this track he provides the "rhythm" (?) section with some quirky riff repeated ad infinitum. The chorus and the catchphrase are great. I still have the sound of the "machines" (?) during the "keep it dark" part. Cool song, though a bit different of the rest of Genesis' catalogue (as the rest of the album).

The epic, Dodo/Lurker, delivers. A tour-de-force with grooves (thanks, Phil, you shine on this track), amazing keyboards and... guess what - nonsensical lyrics again!! I love this song and it reminds me of Squonk (BLASPHEMY!!! OH NOS!!!!111) because of the first lines and how it's sung and even the rhythm. Then it goes to strange pseudo-rap territory in "Lurker", with a very odd keyboard melody (I kinda like it, but it's not one of my favourites) and once again, lyrics with almost no meaning at all. It's a goddamned riddle!

We have finally arrived to the most hated Genesis track ever (at least from what I've heard), and I have to say - I really like it. Whodunnit has horribly bad lyrics repeated ad nauseum, basic musicianship and bizarre performances. But I still like it. Why? Because it's stupid, it was meant to be like that. It's just some guys having some fun, noodling around with their instruments and having this finished in an hour! Ok, you don't have to like it. It's fine.

The three last tracks are somewhat uneven and monotonous, so I'm not going to waste the space here describing them. Another Record, by the way, started in a very good way only to become a soulless, boring and one of my least favourites tracks ever. Quite possibly the worst Genesis closer ever.

So, all in all... my veredict:

As an album - 3/5. As a prog album - 0/5