SPOT THE PIGEON

A game of two halves

The two lightweight songs on the first side of this EP, were not quite strong enough to be hit singles, but too pop orientated for a Genesis album. Interestingly, the band chose to omit "Match of the day" from the recent "Archives volume 2" album, deeming it to be "sub-standard".

"Inside and out" on side 2 of the EP is however more traditional Genesis, and would have sounded good on "Trick of the tail" or "Wind and Wuthering". It was recorded during the sessions for these albums, but not used. Rather than attempting to track down a copy of this now hard to find EP, the track (plus "Pigeons") is now available on the aforementioned "Archives Vol. 2".

This is the first album where we feel the real potential of Phil COLLINS's voice for pop hit. He uses very well his voice here, and it passes well through lot of acoustic rythm guitars. BANK's keyboards are less elaborated here, except some free moog solos and other patterns. This record is short and the original LP must be played at 45 RPM. The album is not progressive: it was a warning telling people: "Hey, we are now done of prog, so we gonna make stuff to be more popular".

The first two titles, "Match of the Day" and "Spot the Pigeon", are light and humorous pop tunes - nothing to crow about, musically speaking; sort of like your regular Phil Collins era GENESIS ditties ("That's All", as Philly would say a few years later). The third one, although more streamlined than your average 70's GENESIS tunes, is the best of the three. It recounts the story of a young man falsely accused of rape and coming out of jail after a 20-year sentence. Lyrically speaking, it is very moving and the music is a nice slow number with MIKE RUTHERFORD's signature all over it. However, don't expect any musical genius here. This is strictly a collector's item.

These songs were recorded during the recording sesssions for the "Wind and Wuthering" album, and were released in an E.P. in May 1977. And yes, I agree. It seems that "Match of the Day" was mainly composed and released for their British fans (it reached #13 in their record charts). It is a song which tells the story of a football match, including some "bad words" for the referee! "Pigeons" is about a man who doesn´t like pigeons because they damage the city buildings with their "natural waste". The best song of this E.P. (which was available in C.D.) is "Inside and out". The music is better than the lyrics in this song. As somebody in a previous review wrote, the lyrics are about a man who was sent to prison for false accusations of rape, who 20 years later is finally "out" of the prison. When I read the lyrics for the first time, I was surprised. But this song has very good 12 string guitars in the first part, including lead and backing vocals. In the second part, totally instrumental, there is a 12 string rhythm guitar accompanied by drums and bass, with a lead guitar (by Steve Hackett) and a synthesizer solo (by Tony Banks). This song was played live in some of the last concerts of their "Wind & Wuthering" tour in 1977. "Match of the Day" and "Pigeons" are good and funny songs, not to be taken seriously as examples for progressive music, but they showed that GENESIS (at least, Banks/Collins/Rutherford, who are listed as the composers of these two songs) was trying to indicate their fans the new style for their next albums.For me, "Inside and out" is a good example of progressive rock music, and as previous reviewers said, it could have been included in the "Wind & Wuthering" album. "Inside and out" was more influenced by Steve Hackett, but the songwriting of this song is credited to the then four GENESIS`MEMBERS (Rutherford/Collins/Hackett/Banks)."Inside and out" sounds for me as a "Farewell Song" for Hackett and for GENESIS`progressive sound of the mid seventies as a quartet (1976-77). Both "Pigeons" and "Inside and Out" were included in GENESIS`"Archive Vol. 2-1976-1992" Boxed Set. "Match of the Day" wasn`t included in this Boxed Set because Banks/Collins/Rutherford didn´t like the song anymore (mainly the lyrics).

For those who wished Steve Hackett would've hung around a little longer, this is a 3-song EP that's worth a purchase if not priced too outrageously. (It only exists in its original vinyl form, but 2 of the 3 songs can be found on the Genesis Archives 2 box.) Recorded during the 'Wind And Wuthering' sessions, you get two upbeat pop-leaning tracks and a bona fide Genesis classic with "Inside And Out". Those first two songs are fairly forgettable, hardly essential additions to the Genesis collection unless you're a completist. "Match Of The Day" is probably the weakest song, with Phil not putting much effort into the vocal performance. It's about soccer, and you can expect a lighthearted musical approach to match the funny lyrical approach. It truly sounds like filler, as if they wrote it in their sleep. "Pigeons" is a short tune recalling their 1983 hit "That's All", so if you like that sort of bounce to your Genesis, go for it. It doesn't appeal to me, but I have to admit the lyrics are a great read, typically wacky British humor at its best. Then there's "Inside And Out", so damn good it's baffling as to why they decided to leave it off of 'Wind And Wuthering'. With it's ballad- esque intro, it would've made the great 'W & W' album even better had they used this instead of "Your Own Special Way". C'est la vie. From the tranquil beginning, which builds up the storyline of the song, it then widens into a lush section propped up with acoustic guitars in the tradition of their early days, as well as Tony Banks' well-layered keyboards. Then things get a bit more kinetic, with Banks flying all over the keyboard, Michael Rutherford displaying his underrated bass finesse, and Hackett's amazing guitar voice becoming the real highlight of this exciting song. A fun little record to put in your collection as a coda to Hackett's last hurrah on the 'Seconds Out' live album, but it's only "Inside And Out" that justifies its purchase.

When Genesis "Duke" was released, I purchased the cassette format of the album and I quiet enjoyed the album. But when I upgraded the album into CD format, I was wondering why there were two songs "Match of The Day" and "Pigeons" were not included in the CD format. At the time I did not have internet access and only later I knew that actually these two songs were not part of Duke but it's part of EP called "Spot The Pigeons" which was recorded during or around the "Wind and Wuthering" album. Even though "Match of The Day" is completely a pop song, I really enjoy the melody and mood especially on how bass guitar is played. Usually, I listen to this song for a change only after listening to many heavy and complex stuffs. "Pigeons" is also another nice pop song. "Inside and Out" is probably a song that brings the soul of early Genesis especially with Hackett guitar fills at the opening part.

Overall, I would say that this is a good and memorable record. To my knowledge, this record is hard to find. But you can have two songs "Pigeons" and "Inside And Out" in the Genesis Archives vol. 2 boxed set. Keep on proggin'..!

Progressively yours, GW

This EP is Hackett his swansong with Genesis. If you listen to "Inside and out" you will be delighted by his splendid contribution. It showcases how Hackett has developped his style into a very distinctive, innovative, moving and compelling blend of classic, rock, blues and symphonic, base upon emotion, GREAT! The track "Match of the day" is a tribute to the weekly soccer BBC TV programm (I LOVE JIMMY HILL!), I wonder how many non- Europeans know what this is about? Anyway, MOTD is a British soccer institute that almost disappeared because of the commercial television in the UK but is it has survived. And Phil Collins was a soccer fan so he wrote this fine, nostalgic piece, credit to him for that but after this EP he became a bit too demanding ....

1. Match Of The Day (3:23) 2. Pigeons (3:13) 3. Inside And Out (6:44)

I’m not the Genesis guru that most of the other members of the Archives are, but I do have the rather dubious distinction of owning an original vinyl pressing of this EP (or big single, or whatever this disc is supposed to be called). I really only got into Genesis briefly about the time ‘Lamb’ was released, so when I saw this import in a local record shop nearly thirty years ago I picked it up mostly out of mild curiosity.

So with that in mind, my apologies in advance to the Genesis hard-core faithful if I overstate the obvious or tread on any sacred cows, but this is really a pretty forgettable piece of promotional fluff in my opinion.

“Match of the Day” is a silly little ditty about some hooligans (er., ‘fans’) acting out the soccer equivalence of armchair quarterbacks, cussing out the referees and generally pontificating on their expert knowledge of the sport. This is an early glimpse of the Phil Collins-inspired pop phase of the band post-Gabriel. I gather these were songs that were written for ‘Wuthering’ that didn’t make the cut. No surprise there once you listen to them. Collins shows his masterful talent for deep lyrics with lines like “each side’s eleven men with numbers on their backs” and “there’s the reds and there’s the greens… they’re accompanied by three men dressed in black”. It sounds like he plagiarized from a soccer rules book to get his lyrics. The music is just very simple pop, and one of those songs that clearly doesn’t translate very well if it travels west across the Atlantic.

“Pigeons” is another short pop tune that’s a tribute to those smelly flying rodents that congregate along city blocks to drop crap on everyone and everything. I’m guessing the tourist bureau will never come knocking to see if they can use this in a travel commercial. The music itself is pretty much monotone, as in there is a single note that basically takes up all but the few last seconds of the song.

The flip side contains just one song, the longer “Inside and Out”. This one is a bit meatier, a song about a poor guy who’s wrongfully convicted of rape and ends up spending twenty years behind bars. Once he finally gets out, he finds he can’t live down the stigma of what he’s been accused of. Not the kind of subject matter that Genesis has become known for either in their actual prog days, or after this album when they started their male-Britney pop phase, but it is certainly more substantive than pigeon sh!t or corner kicks, and in Hackett’s swan song with the band he shows off some decent guitar licks, so it’s not a total waste.

This isn’t something that would inspire me to spend any time on Amazon or in old record shops trying to find today. However, I suppose for hard-core fans of the band it makes for a necessary finishing piece to the collection if they don’t already have it, so we’ll mark it as a two star effort and put it back in the stacks so the grandkids can rediscover it someday.

peace

"Match of the Day" which inspired the sleeve, is a poppy song like the band will produce later on. It is not essential but not bad either. "Pigeon" has more flavour and was an attempt to a more commercial approach. But we know how the band will evolve... It is a fresh and light song; doing no harm. Just pleasant, I guess.

Sounds a bit like "Counting Out Time" to give you an idea. It would be impossible to write the same lyrics today though. Talking about pigeons : "Who congregate around Trafalgar Square Taking pot shots at the tourists" Then talking of an honest man saying "I want them out of here" !

It was quite premonitory since nowadays there aren't no pigeons any longer on Trafalgar ! "Inside Out" is the track I prefer. It has the mood of "And Then There Were Three" even if it was written during the "Wind" sessions.

It starts in a mellow, quiet mode with nice vocals and acoustic work in the background . The second part of the song (from 3'30 onwards) is quite rocky and instrumental (lots of nice keys).

Three stars for this good but not essential EP.

A 3-track EP featuring music that didn't make it onto Wind and Wuthering which means basically out-takes. Match of the Day and Pigeons are short, somewhat radio-friendly pieces. Nothing really exciting, but probably worth your time if you are a completionist.

Side B contains the 6+ minute Inside and Out which is more serious and would fit nicely on Wind & Wuthering or Trick of the Tail. It has some nice 12-string guitar work and some wonderful synth textures from Tony Banks.

Since the last two songs are now available on the Genesis Archives vol. 2 box set, there really is no reason to search for this EP unless you are a collector. Two stars seems fitting to me.

I was quite surprised when I learned about the existence of this EP, because I thought I had collected everything there was to collect from the early Genesis. Well a nice surprise it is, even though I fear the standard of the first two tracks are not really that good. I think they are far too pop orientated and radio friendly. Inside and Out is a very good track though and worth listening to a couple of times.

This EP makes a nice link between Wind and Wuthering and ...and then there were Three. Actually I thought these songs were outtakes from the later, but it seems they are outtakes from the Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering sessions. These are the last recordings with Steve Hackett on board, and a nice testimony to him ( even though this is not his best or most innovative work, it´s nice and melodic). Nothing special though and only for completists.

An EP you can easily live without.

...even if you're GENESIS fan (like me...to some point). Listening to this I see why Steve decided to quit. Honestly, there's nothing utterly disgusting, first two tracks are rather enjoyable even despite their pop-nature, and closing mini-epic wouldn't be out of place on any 76-78 era album. But this is not the level Gabriel's GENESIS has always been known and loved for. A collector's item for sure, it won't grab your attention much, just to complete your collection. 2,5 stars and no ''rare gem'' thing here.

It's strange for a GENESIS fan specially from the Prog era, not to have Spot the Pigeon, but to be honest, back in the 70's I heard Match of the Day and that was enough to know that not even Steve Hackett could make miracles and save the band from the POP debacle that was about to reach them.

But a few days ago while buying some DVD's, the guy from the store offered me a used copy at one buck (seems he was stuck with it), so I bought the EP immediately, and the disappointment was almost total.

Match of the Day is one of the worst and most repetitive songs that the 4 men era Genesis could release, only better than Your Own Special Way and that song is not hard to beat. I understand why Steve left the band knowing what path GENESIS was walking to.

Pigeons is even worst, reminds me of one of the comedy relief tracks by ELP (Benny the Bouncer or The Sheriff), but without any sense of humor or imagination plus Phil Collins flat vocals instead of Greg's excellent voice, at this point I was thinking in how many better things I could had done with my buck instead of wasting it in this reminder of how depressive GENESIS turned after Wind & Wuthering.

But it was time for Inside and Out, which is not a masterpiece but by far the best track of the album without any doubt, despite the boring vocals by Phil Collins, the elaborate keyboards sections and the excellent 12 string guitar by Steve, makes of this song a good reason to pay one buck for the record.

Even when Inside and out is a good track, the complete album doesn't deserve more than two stars.

Spot The Pigeon is a 3 track EP released between Wind and Wuthering and the And Then There Were Three. albums. It's really only worth owning for Inside And Out, the other 2 tracks being throwaway pop songs and not very good ones at that.

Inside And Out is an excellent song in the Genesis tradition of the era. The first half is a slow and melodic vocal section and then it explodes into a frantic instrumental finale, excellent stuff!

Unfortunately Pigeons and Match Of The Day I can quite happily live without. Pigeons skips along with a kind of jolly 1920's vibe and is pretty poor. Equally so is Match Of The Day; lightweight fluff with an almost Caribbean feel in places, a tribute to the British TV football programme of the same name.

Worth 3 stars for Inside And Out alone, without which though I'd only give it 1.

Commercially oriented Genesis EP. "Match Of The Day" and "Pigeons" ( Side A) is both pop songs with characteristic Phil Collins vocals. There you can perfectly feel that the beginning of his solo career is not too far ( and even can hear how it will sound).

Side B is one longer song, but more under the Genesis standard. I mean - Genesis without Gabriel. So - kind of pop symphonic rock. But still listenable.

I believe the target of this release was strictly commercial, so it could only make happy Genesis collectors.

A Collector's Item Only

I first heard this EP when I was in the car with my dad about 3 years ago. This was during my Genesis obsession phase, and I was a borderline fanboy for all of the Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett-era Genesis music. These were the days when I would listen to The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway on a once-a-day basis, the flute solo in Firth of Fifth lulled me to sleep, and Supper's Ready consumed every 23 spare minutes I had. I learned how to play The Knife on keyboards, and I would try all day to figure out that damn Apocalypse in 9/8 solo! All in all, Genesis has produced some of the best music I have ever heard and holds a special place in my heart.

So when I heard the EP in the car I only heard the closing track, which left a natural good impression. When I got home I listened to the EP in whole, and I was generally impressed. The first two songs, while I wasn't blown away, I thought they were generally very good. My tastes have changed a little bit since then, and I don't appreciate the first two songs as I used to. Songs like Firth of Fifth and Supper's Ready still continue to impress me, but much of this EP tires after multiple listens. Not to say that it's "bad", but I would stop at calling it above average.

THE MUSIC:

"Match of the Day"- The first song opens up with an upbeat and poppy guitar and keyboard riff. It evolves into a very poppy bassline with some nice acoustic guitar chords in background. This sounds like something that could have come off of And Then There Were Three. This song is not as high of quality of something from that album, even though this is catchy.

"Pigeons"- This song just isn't worth your time. The vocal performance from Phil Collins is irritating, and the melodies and chord progressions are mediocre at best. This is definitely a "catchy" song though, and I will give them that. However, this isn't the type of "catchy" song where I enjoy its presence in my head, and am comforted by its solid melodies and composition. This is the type of song that I want to manually remove from my head with a pair of pliers. Needless to say, this song is pretty boring and uninteresting.

"Inside and Out"- This is honestly the only song that makes this EP worth taking a look into. It sounds like something directly off of Wind and Wuthering. It starts with a pleasant acoustic guitar melodies and solid vocal lines from Phil Collins. A drum rhythm enters, and the same melodies continue. It evolves into a beautiful chorus with great mellotron sounds from Tony Banks. An instrumental section that reminds me of the Genesis glory-days soon enters. A proggy rhythm section with a solid keyboard solo opens the instrumental section. It is extremely well played, and Steve Hackett delivers a great guitar solo soon after. I wish more of the EP would be like this song. I would have easily rated it four stars if the other songs were of this quality.

Conclusion:

Spot The Pigeon is a passable EP from Genesis. This is the last Genesis piece of material with Steve Hackett present, and he didn't exactly leave on a high note with this EP. When rating this album, I am torn between giving this 2 or 3 stars. On one hand you have 2 songs that are passable at best, and on the other you have an excellent piece of prog rock. Since this really is only a collector's item, I'm going to be a little unfair and give this a 2. It is good, but you can easily get by without this EP. I still recommend this to any hardcore early Genesis fan such as myself.

2 stars.

Interesting to know about this 3 track EP. I wasn´t aware of its existence until few months ago. Upon reading about it on the Genesis biography Turn It On Again, I was curious enough to get it, since I´m a big fan of Wind & Wuthering, and Spot The Pigeon was recorded at the time. In fact, this is really a kind of leftovers from that LP and it shows. The first two songs, Match Of The Day and Pigeons are are quite popish, but still good and quite sophisticated for the style, as anything you might expect from Genesis. They are nice, but clearly not up to the W & W standards. However, the last tune, the almost 7 minute long Inside And Out, is much better, with their chiming 12 string guitars and moving lyrics about a man falsely accused of rape. Musically it could be at Wind & Wuthering, at the very least it could (and should) replace the musically silly track like Wot Gorilla, and lyrically the embarrassing All In A Mouse´s Night. It could not, I should mention, compete with that album´s best cuts.

It was also the last studio recording featuring Steve Hackett.

All in all a nice little single that is quite charming, although not essential in any way. Three stars.