ABACAB

Mr Painter can't say it any better in his review than I could ever wish to. Well actually the title track is not that bad as there is an interesting chord progression, but it is the only sign that the old Genesis ever once existed. For the rest this is pityful for progheads , full of those horrendous kbs from the early 80's, relatively dull drumming (especially comming from such an excellent drummer). We are not too far from new wave with this album.

I know Genesis had to live with the times and had taken a bold choice to evolve with this album and the number of new fans had given them right, but I cannot help but feel a betrayal ever so much stronger with this album than with all the succeding albums they will make. But somehow if this had been a Wham! album , we might think it is good

Genesis really reached the bottom of insignificance here, so that it is very hard for me to review one of the worst albums from my favorite progressive rock band. What makes this album bearable are the many present hits like "No reply at all", which contains catchy & urban horns sections, and "Man on the corner", which could easily be mistaken for a Phil Collins's song. The recipe to be popular is pretty well succeeded here, so that this record is absolutely not progressive at all.

The "Abacab" track is a total flop, as reveal the repetitive hammering of the drums and the very insignificant & minimalist keyboards. Just listen to "Who Dunnit?" and you will understand why this track is among the worst ones made by Genesis: however notice the similitudes with modern House music! "Me and Sarah Jane" is one of the best track on this record, especially the brief, ethereal & floating bit full of colorful keyboards. "Keep it dark" has a VERY repetitive & alienating rhythm pattern, and again here, Tony Banks is just in a lethargic state! "Dodo/Lurker" has good electric guitar notes in the intro, but unfortunately, it does not last at all! "Like it or not" is one of the rare tracks that have a decent melody. Many bits on this record still have the "Duke" sound. "Another record" contains good rhythmic electric piano, and it is also the case for some tracks on this record. I find this record better than Mike Rutherford's "Acting very strange".

If you want to cry "sell out" here I won't stop you. Of course GENESIS' commercial reinvention didn't happen overnight, it had been coming ever since Peter GABRIEL's departure, creeping in under the cloak of "Your Own Special Way" and "Ripples" at first, then poking its head out on "Follow You, Follow Me" and finding the light pleasant. The trio showed some discomfort moving in prog's ample mantle on . "And Then There Were Three", opting to shed the showy garments on "Duke" at times for a sleeker, tighter sound.

Following Phil's success with "Face Value", however, the band realized they could take off the prog helmets and breathe the freshly minted air of the '80s. (I know, most prog bands suffocated in the late '70s trying the same thing, but this was after all GENESIS.) The opening "Abacab" marks a clean departure from the past: noisy and relentless synthesizers from Tony BANKS create an unscalable wall of sound, barbed by Phil COLLINS' spiked rhythms and Mike RUTHEFORD's intractable bass. What it all means is anybody's guess, but the urgency speaks for itself. The same epic scale returns on "Dodo/Lurker", not coincidentally the other "long" song on "Abacab" and one that would have felt at home on . "And Then There Were Three".

Elsewhere, shades of "Cul-de-Sac" reappear on the wonderful "Me And Sarah Jane" (yet another gem from BANKS), "Behind The Lines" serves as a template for "No Reply At All", and RUTHEFORD's "Like It Or Not" echoes earlier works like "Alone Tonight". But viewing "Abacab" as an upstart "Duke" misses the point; where "Duke" was gauzy and languid, "Abacab" is wide awake. The rhythms feature crisp, left-of-center beats that draw from jazz, the keyboards trade their old magic and mystery for Orwellian overtones, RUTHEFORD's intoxicating sounds instead become musical punctuation marks. And nothing in GENESIS' past was streamlined like "Man on the Corner" or "Another Record". As good as "Abacab" is, I'd be remiss in not mentioning that "Keep It Dark" and "Who Dunnit?" sound gimmicky and could be considered unbecoming a band of GENESIS' stature.

I'm not a huge fan of "Abacab", though I recognize that for many this is a milestone (newcomers I presume). For those of us still nursing the old dream, this record represents a slight speed bump that may occasion sideward glances for The Police (whose debut album played similar games with color cover variations).

I consider this CD the band's first 'through-and-through' pop album, a point in time when COLLINS made no qualms about it and decided once and for all to make GENESIS his back-up band. Gone are the long, inspired symphonic compositions of yore. While still containing traces of the group's progressive past, the album is primarily filled with streamlined melodies and a few catchy tunes that managed to make the top 40's at the time. However, the overwhelming PHILLY influence sadly relegates a group of virtuoso musicians to a backing group and as a result, no one really cares to hear those ditties twenty odd years later. Even TONY BANKS' gem "Me and Sarah Jane" sounds contrived within this context. Don't get me wrong: "Abacab" was a fine pop album. However, when you know what the boys are capable of, it's enough to make you want to pull your progger's hair off. Aieeeee!!! (rushing out of the room, ears covered with both hands).

Call a cab

This is where it all went completely wrong. Phil Collins was dragging the band closer and closer to his solo output, to the extent that by "Abacab", it's hard to tell the difference.

It's bad enough that there is nothing progressive here, "Dodo" is as close as they get, but in fact there is nothing particularly good either. The title track, named apparently after the structure of the song, was a big hit single, and its easy to understand why. Essentially, its just another funky pop song, a million miles from the Gabriel or indeed later Hackett eras.

The rest of the tracks are in a similar vein, simple shortish soul/funk influenced songs featuring Collins vocals and little else.

Fortunately, Genesis would find their way back towards their progressive roots on parts of subsequent albums, but this is a real low point in the band's output, even the sleeve is devoid of inspiration.

When I listen a Genesis album from Trespass to Wind & Wuthering I feel joy and pleasure, when I listen ATTWT or Duke I feel nostalgia, because even though are mediocre you can still notice distant echoes of a glorious past. When I listen ABACAB I feel shame.

How could they sell out so fast? Why didn't they change the name of the band? Those are questions for which I have no answer, and to be honest I don't care, because I will hear once again some excuses like "They had to survive", "It was a different decade and Prog' was dead" , "They are better now" or even worst somebody may say "ABACAB is a real progressive album because they changed".

It's hard to comment the album because the guitar is terrible (Mike, play your bass, you're good on it), the keyboards Tony used are terrible, sound as those cheap ones you can get anywhere for 200 bucks, and Collins voice, well at least his voice is perfect for pop.

I will only comment the two worst tracks, because all the rest are bad but not as this ones.

"No Reply at All" is not the worst song of this album, but from the moment they mixed Genesis with Earth Wind & Fire (A band that represents disco music) you can expect anything.

"Who Dunnit?", well this track is simply the worst joke I ever heard, the lyrics are stupid, the music is repetitive (ad nauseam), I don't care who dunnit? I just don't want to listen this aberration.

The rest of the tracks are boring and absolutely predictable, the long songs (not epics of course) could have been done in 3 minutes with no radical change, Phil Collins was starting to turn Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford in his favorite session musicians.

I was going to give this album one star because Invisible Touch and Genesis (Shapes) are even worst, but the rating legend for one star is "Poor. Only for completionists" and ABACAB is not in this category, because I rather have my Genesis collection incomplete than mixing this thing with "Foxtrot" or "Nursery Cryme".

"Bad. Do not buy" is my honest recommendation, so I'll give 0 stars.

Seems to me that some people are content to remain fixed in a prog rock time capsule and unless an album sounds like Foxtrot or Close to the Edge then the groups have sold out. Absolute garbage! Abacab was one of the bravest moves by Genesis and it's timing was perfect. The title track itself makes the album worthwhile and the new ground with simple drum beats in parts created an exciting new decade for Genesis. Me and Sarah Jane, Dodo, Like it or Not are all great songs and Abacab produced a refreshing new theme within the music. How peope can condemn Rutherford's guitar work on Abacab leaves me dumbfounded. A great album.

I must thank GENESIS for this album. If it was not this album plus the new wave and punk era in early 80's I would never have a chance, probably, to know MARILLION. This album represented my first "disappointment" with GENESIS as I was actually one of their fans since "Nursery Crime" album.

Musically, nothing wrong with this album if we never knew before that this group was one of pioneers of prog rock altogether with KING CRIMSON, ELP, YES, PINK FLOYD,etc. If we only knew that this band is a typical pop band then it would be OK. But, if I remember how brilliant this band crafted "Supper's Ready" in Foxtrot album or the legendary "Firth of Fifth" in "Selling England by The Pound" album and dozens of other prog tunes by the band, I felt I was to vomit listening to this album Uuugggh .. What is this, Mr. Collins???

Forgetting prog boundary (which is "vague" anyway. What is prog?), some tracks of this album are good. They are straight forward rock such as "abacab", "dodo" especially if they are played live as in the "Three Sides Live" album. The rest look like Phil Collins solo albums, I think. I guess the band tried to compromise with the industry trend at that time where rock music was challenged by new wave and punk era.

I thought that prog music was dead by the release of this album in 1981. For me, it was really dark years until in 1983 I listened to the first time "So here I am once more .." from MARILLION. It was a sign that prog music would not die as a new group from Scotland dare to challenge new wave era.

Well, I could not recommend you to buy this CD with the expectation of this is a prog album.If you just want to listen to pop/rock music, then it's OK. It's your call.

This album marked several changes for GENESIS:a) After Phil Collins had success with his first solo album, he became more confident as a musician, and his mates Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford appreciated his success. Maybe they said: "Hey, this man can write successful pop songs, and we are tired of Progressive music, so let`s try that "commercial pop music direction!" To say that they became Collins` backing musicians (as some reviewers wrote before me) is underrate their contributions to the band; b) I think that their U.S. label (Atlantic) had more influence than their U.K. label in their change of style: they also wanted "hits", not another "Prog album". In the 80s Atlantic was mainly a label more interested in hits; c) GENESIS recently have built their own recording studio, so they had more time to do what they wanted, which by 1981 was mainly pop music; d)If they wanted to change their musical direction, they needed a new recording engineer. So, David Hentschel was gone, and they called Hugh Padgham, a very good recording engineer who had worked with Peter Gabriel in his third self-titled solo album in 1980, with Phil Collins in his first solo album "Face Value",with YES in "Drama", with The Police and others. He continued working with Collins as soloist and with GENESIS, and he later became a co-producer of their albums. e)They needed a new image for the 80s, so they called new cover designers, who "modernized" and updated their image. I think that all these decisions were taken as a whole band. If Rutherford and Banks didn`t like to record pop music, they simply could have win Collins by 2 votes vs. 1. This album reflects all these changes. The recording of the album is more "clear" , as Padgham recorded the drums "at the front", with his own recording techniques which he used with The Police (that`s why Stewart Copeland`s drums sound very good, apart of being himself a very good drummer). But this album is still better than their "Genesis" album released in 1983. The song "abacab" has some good things despite being a simple song with a monotonous use of the bass pedals and distorted guitars. If Collins` had some influence from his solo career in this album, this influence is more clear in "No Reply at all", with the EWF horns. It has very good arrangements. "Me and Sarah Jane" is the best song of this album, very influenced by Reggae music, and with a bass guitar part which sometimes sounds like taken from a Disco music record. Banks uses his electric piano in this song and others, and "Me and Sarah Jane" sounds like a song originally composed for the "Duke" album. "Keep it dark" has good lyrics and good percussion arrangements. "Dodo/Lurker" are the most progressive songs in this album, with good drums and keyboards. "Who Dunnit?" sounds to me like a joke, really, and it is better than the offensive "Illegal Alien" from their next album. It has some strange synth sound effects and also some sound effects used for the drums sound at the end of the song. "Man on the corner" is Collins` solo contribution as songwriter. This song is similar to other songs from his first solo album, and it is not a bad song. Rutherford`s "Like it or not" has some influence from the "old Genesis", with arpeggio guitars and bass pedals, plus good drums and vocals by Collins. "Another Record" is a pop song, really. There were other songs recorded for this album but they were released in other formats and albums. I comment some of them, at least the songs that I have listened to. In the U.S. version of "Three Sides Live" they released 3 songs: "Paperlate", "You Might Recall" and "Me and Virgil" (these 3 were released in the U.K. in an E.P. called "3x3"). "Paperlate" is another song recorded with the EWF horns, and it is a good song with good arrangements. "You might recall" is another good pop song. "Me and Virgil" is an "exercise in storytelling" which is the less interesting song of these 3 songs for me. There were other songs recorded during the "abacab" sessions which were released as B sides of singles of the same period:" Naminanu", "Submarine", etc. All these additional songs (except "Me and Virgil", which Collins/Banks/Rutherford didn`t like anymore) are now available in the "Archive vol. 2" box set. In conclusion, for me the "abacab" album is still good in some places if I compare it to their "Genesis" album released in 1983.

Genesis' "Abacab" was their first "true" pop album. It contains elements from the previous "Duke" album, released the previous year, only even more commercialised in the overall sound. The synths sounds cheap and dated too and the overall mood on this album is very straightforward. However, there are a couple of excellent tracks here. The powerful title track is great, and "Dodo/Lurker" is the best cut on the album. Both clocking in at well over 7 minutes, these tracks are excellent and the nearest Genesis ever came "progressive" at that time (1981). The other tracks aren't that good. "Who Dunnit" is perhaps their most hated song, but I kinda liked it. It get's old pretty fast though. "No Reply At All" OK, but a bit boring. Most of the other tracks are good, with Phil Collins' "Man On A Corner" being a standout.

Prog-era-Genesis fans will hate this one. Don't get me wrong, Im a hardcore 70's Genesis fan too, but I still like this album for some reason. I would still recommend it only to die-hard Genesis fans though. 3/5

Even though I consider 'Duke' the beginning of Genesis' decline, 'Abacab' is the bright spike of hope in their slow downhill slide. This is clearly a minority view. To be sure, there were radical alterations made on this album. It favors a brighter sound than before, one full of open spaces and subtle playing. There's a maxim I've heard quoted before, unfortunately I can't recall who said it first, but it goes "True artists always change". And the members of Genesis are true artists. Whether or not you enjoy the changes rests on your tastes and musical values. But to judge 'Abacab' by 'Foxtrot' standards is unfair. Did you look and feel the same at age 25 as you did at 16?

Opener "Abacab" has been called many things; I know I'm in the minority when I say it's one of the band's best-ever songs. There might be a kind of soul vibe to it, but I've always heard a sinister element lurking underneath its 7 minutes. Tony Banks plays less on this than usual, which ends up giving it more. His dominating accents in the final half play on the song's lurching pulse. Another remarkable thing about this song is Phil Collins' vocals, which are more confident and assertive than anything he'd done before. Whether that's a result of his happiness with the material, or the success of his first solo album, or whatever, it's nice to hear him at the top of his vocal form on this and many of 'Abacab''s other songs.

The hypnotic trance of "Abacab" abruptly shifts gears once the first notes of "No Reply At All" kick in. This should be a song to hate: blaring horns (yuck) and a happy pop bounce (double-yuck) are its foundation, but there's something clever about it. It features excellent bass work from Mike Rutherford which I find infectious, and the rhythms laid down by Collins are a joy to hone in on.

Third track "Me And Sarah Jane" is an interesting pastiche of moods, from the pastoral opening, which subtly shifts to a more pop/jazz melodic sequence, into the opening-up at 1:50, which is somewhere between Rush's experiments with reggae and a kind of ragtime rhythm. After this we get a more familiar Genesis, circa 'Wind And Wuthering' perhaps, with some beautiful keyboard and vocal layers. Gorgeous, one of the most intriguing songs from their '80s era.

"Keep It Dark" is one that bears no real resemblance to the Genesis of old, but its machine-like strut maintains the quirkiness and eccentricity of some of their Gabriel-era material. It rest on a bass-driven bounce that weaves in and out of Banks' repetitive keyboard line, but I've always found the moment when Phil breaks into "I wish that I could really tell you." as one of the best moments on the album. A fantastic moment in a pleasant but otherwise average song.

"Dodo/Lurker": What's the problem with this one? Nothing! It's the kind of approach I wish the band would have toyed with more, rather than the crappy pop and sugary ballads that would infect forthcoming albums. This 7-and-a-half minute song successfully reinvents the Genesis epic, moving between jazz-infected rhythms, emotionally moving vocals, weird and wonderful keyboard sounds, dark funk, and an overall excitement where you never know what's around the next corner. Great movement between dark depths and bright highs. Best song on the album (along with the title track).

"Who Dunnit?" is one of the most reviled songs of the entire Genesis catalog. And why not? It's not good. It's annoying. It's almost knowingly stupid. But it does see the boys cutting loose with some really strange rhythms, and that's a reason to give it a listen or two. The part of me that enjoys oddity and eccentricity will always give it a few points. Short enough to sit through before the next song briefly redeems the album.

I don't know if "Man On The Corner" can be considered a ballad, and it doesn't really matter. Its melancholy tale of loneliness is haunting, featuring another remarkably affective vocal performance from Phil. Immensely beautiful in an almost "Heathaze" kind of way. Maybe I savor it more than I should, because this is the end of the album as far as I'm concerned.

The final two tracks, "Like It Or Not" and "Another Record", are bland and forgettable, filler tracks that pad the end of the album. I can't find any redeeming qualities in these songs. A lousy way to end an otherwise remarkable album.

For an album often accused as a "sell out", Genesis certainly took a lot of chances and managed one of the widest varieties of songcraft on any of their albums. I think it (mostly) succeeds, but was never capitalized upon with future recordings. As much as I like it, I always wished they would've substituted the final two duds with "Submarine" (the answer to the "Dodo/Lurker" riddle) and "Naminanu". A lot of songs were recorded for the 'Abacab' sessions, and these are left-field ("Naminanu") and soundtrack-ish ("Submarine"), which would've widened the 'Abacab' scope considerably. Had that actually happened, you would fear the high marks I'd give this album! In the same way Rush's 'Signals' and Voivod's 'Angel Rat' are more respected now than when they were released, I hope someday the Genesis fanbase will listen to 'Abacab' with less prejudiced ears.for what it is, and not what they want it to be.

P.S. In my 'Duke' review, I wondered if cover art could get any uglier. The 'Abacab' cover answers that with a resounding "Yes".

Back in 1981 this album came as a shock to many fans of Genesis. Especially the trumpets seem to have done the trick. Nobody expected commercial sounds of this kind on a Genesis album. Abacab is a mixed bag with some material you should find on a Phil Collins album."No reply at all", "man on the corner" and "like it or not" are good pop songs with chart abilities but no Genesis lover was waiting for anything like that. Still there's some adventurous stuff which reminds of their glorious past. For me "Dodo" is the one to get for longtime fans since it is the best epic they wrote for years. Even if it's pompous the influences of pop and funk are present and do fit in their natural style and even enrich it. "Sarah Jane" is the other prog highlight, it seems like a leftover from Duke but nevertheless it is quite appealing. Quite surprising this romantic song penned by Tony Banks has a reggae interlude but it doesn't spoil the listening experience. The title track is another goody even if it sounds totally different from what the band had been doing before. It's obvious the writing process of Abacab started during a jam. Unlike the band of the seventies the rhythm section is most dominant. The keyboards and guitars have been simplified but sound great in their combination, there's even a jazzy atmosphere to it. Near the end the tension is building up and compared to the live version, this ends too soon as it lacks the climax it needs. Unfortunately there are other attempts to try something different which doesn't seem to work out fine. "Keep it dark" is very unlike Genesis but it has this attractive riff and some good vocals but does it have anything more ? "Who dunnit" must be the worse song the band has ever made. They must have been short of inspiration when they recorded this piece of crap. "Another record" is a tad better but not much. There's a promising intro but once you begin to appreciate the solid melody of its chorus the music already starts to fade out.

For me, this album is worthwhile cause of 3 wonderful tracks. Even tough it was a million selling album I wouldn't recommend it as a good Genesis album or even as a solid pop album. This album is one of most outdated sounding items in the Genesis back catalogue. No wonder this was the only album from their limited mini sleeve editions which was still available years after the others had been sold out. Ironic their biggest seller became their worst after two decades. I wonder if it would have sound different if the first Collins album hadn't end up in the charts a year earlier ; it's a shame that Genesis did become little more than the excellent backing band of Collins from 1981 till 1995.

For reasons lost in the hazy passage of time and money, Genesis finally simplified their art into straightforward, banal pop rock on 'Abacab', taking the weaker moments from 'Duke' and creating almost an entire album of the same poor vision. Evolution itself is not the issue - the band, of course, had always advanced their sound with each successive release, but with this record the sense of the worldly, the adventurous and the contemplative - what made them special - was lost, never to truly return. Only Banks is (somehow) still able to sound on form, but even his synth mastery and new strident playing could not lift the material here. The sound of what Genesis used to stand for can be heard fleetingly in the track 'Me And Sarah-Jane', with its ambient opening and range of firm melodies, the latter half of 'Abacab' and at certain points in 'Dodo'. Unfortunately, while instrumentally interesting, at times quite affecting and hypnotic, the lyrics of those latter two pieces sound like mere wordplay of the most insignificant kind, and in the end seem to be at odds with the music and express nothing.

At this point the band were writing mostly from group improvisations, born I fear from little more than an aim of 'getting a new record out', and so they ended up with many jams which probably felt good but are unfortunately dull, and no indication of what these three world-class talents were capable of. In tandem, the free-style of the previously mentioned lyrics does not manage to attain the level of poetry in the way that Yes' or Crimson's Adrian Belew's would, resulting instead in random lines that do not stand up to even a passing scan. The other pieces on the album have more palatable words but their impact barely registers, and would pass easily as either Phil Collins radio formula-pop ('No Reply at All', 'Man On The Corner') or ridiculous experiments ('Who Dunnit?' - a contender for the worst track the band ever produced). I hail Genesis as one of the most important music acts of all time, but as much as 'Abacab' may still be an above-average album in some respects, I could never honestly recommend it as an album worth the time and effort of those looking for something significant. And it was only going to get worse...

Disastrous downfall!

OK, this is where the disaster begins. If I say that a song "No Reply At All", which features the brass of EARTH, WIND AND FIRE and is a funky soul/pop hit, is actually one of the better moments of this album I think it says everything. "Abacab" is a pathetic crap (sorry for language) loaded with tons of synthetic sounds and lousy songs that only a techno freak or a GENESIS fanatic would like to have. Alright, I admit the title song is not too bad, it is even danceable, but what are we talking about? - if I am in a mood for nice synth pop staff of the era, I always choose ULTRAVOX or HUMAN LEAGUE or SOFT CELL for that matter. Avoid at all costs!

OK, this is probably not as bad as lots of people say, but it's definitely a come-down after the masterful DUKE. The title song has you thinking this can possibly be DUKE II, and "Keep It Dark", "Me And Sarah Jane" and "Dodo/Lurker" do little to make one refute such a conception. Not even the 100% pop-minded "No Reply At All" can really dissuade you.

The problem is, as others have put it succinctly, the line between Collins' solo career and his work with Genesis began to become blurred here. Best example: "Man On The Corner", which sounds for all the world like an outtake from "Face Value". The less said about the rest of the album (particularly the mortifyingly awful "Who Dunnit?") the better, for the sake of my sanity anyway.

Just when I thought they had made permanent amends for the tepid "And then there were Three" album with the incredible "Duke" they trotted out this spotted pony. In all fairness it is still light years better than the crud that was to follow but it was still a case of one step forward and three steps back. It starts out optimistically with the infectious jam of "Abacab" and the adventurous horn experimentation of "No Reply at All" but then slips into mediocrity with the ponderous "Me and Sarah Jane" that spends six minutes going nowhere.

A pulse returns with the progressive spirit of "Keep it Dark" and the colossal "Dodo/Lurker" that represent the best moments of the album. With the exception of the mildly interesting "Man on the Corner" the rest of this collection of tunes is wholly forgettable and is an ominous omen of the pseudo-commercial morass that was to come on future releases. This, along with the enthusiastic "Three Sides Live" marked the final semblances of progressive rock for these talented musician/songwriters. From here they turned their attention to the glittering carnival ride that was MTV and, sadly, they were seduced by its false and hollow promises. Phil, Tony and Mike became the pitiful carpet crawlers they had written about years before and we all suffered for it.

"Abacab" is better than most of their 80s output but not by much. Let's just say things got worse. 2.5 stars.

After Duke Genesis were becoming increasingly popular in the pop rock circles and this album solidified their stance in that genre of music. Abacab is often regarded along with Invisible Touch and the self-titled album as the worst Genesis album by the narrow-minded progressive rock fans, but that's solely because they weren't trying to relive the past and were moving forward rather than backward. Anyway, the first thing that should be said about this album is there is nothing terribly progressive about the album, sure they get close with the opener and Dodo/Lurker, but nothing really has that epic feel that even songs on Duke had. And when it comes right down to it, the album has no songs (except maybe one or two) that make you get a tear in your eye just for the sheer brilliance of it, it feels more like a by the numbers album that had little to no inspiration behind it despite a few very good pieces.

From the get go you can hear a more overtly commercial approach, with soft synthesizers and a droning main rhythm. The synthesizers do sound a bit dated and even a bit cheap at times but on the whole the 7 minute open Abacab opens off the album pretty well, as it is one of the better pieces on it. No Reply at All is one of the only pieces that I could have done without as it's so dire and very un-Genesis. With uninspired horn sections and rather simplistic arrangements this definitely is my least favorite piece on the album and it doesn't really offer anything interesting to the table. Me and Sarah Jane has some nice keyboard lines intertwined with a solid bass performance from Rutherford and some precision drumming from Collins, but it does go on a bit longer than it should have (just a tad over 6 minutes). Keep it Dark is another piece that I liked, with it's nice gutiar motif and some interesting synthesizer fills. Dodo/Lurker in a way can be considered along with the title track the most progressive song on the album, although in the end it isn't really that progressive. The forbidding synthesizer riffs and the precision instrumentation from all fronts of the sound is quite nice and there's even a Star Wars reference in there. One of the better songs in my opinion along with Keep it Dark and Abacab.

Who Dunnit?, well what can be said about this song? Well, I don't think it's nearly as bad as everyone says, but it isn't really that strong a track. The terribly simplistic lyrics and vocals mold fine with the simplistic drumming and musicianship but it's got a cheesy and tacky feel to go along with it. Man on the Corner, though, is a vast improvement over the previous song. Some don't like the song because of Banks' synthesizer sound but I love the heartfelt and passionate vocals from Collins and the morose feel of the song. It's actually one of my favorite Genesis songs from the 80s it's that strong a piece in my eyes. Like It or Not has a dated feel and is probably the most AORish song on the album. It isn't terribly awful, but nothing particularly special. The album ends the piece Another Record, and from the opening seconds you think there's going to be something special because of the great guitar line and some subtle what I think to be mellotron. After about a minute, though, the song loses its mysterious flare and becomes a more upbeat piece that has nothing to do with the introduction. It ends the album well but like most of the other pieces it's nothing that I would call spectacular.

In the end, Abacab would ultimately be my least favorite Genesis album thus far (I haven't really formulated an opinion on any of their studio albums that came out after this). Fans of old Genesis will want to steer clear of this album entirely as there is absolutely no connection with that sound that the group solidified around 10 years earlier. If you're a fan of the early albums with Collins as a vocalist you may like this album, but I won't make any guarantees. It's not a terribly bad album, it's just not terribly good, though. 2.5/5.

Abacab is the most controversial Genesis album, being the "big sell-out". Genesis gave up their progressiveness and started making pop-rock music. Very little progressiveness on Abacab. After the success of Duke (the last Genesis great album IMHO) and Phil Collins's debut pop album, everything changed and not for the better. "Signs" of more accessible music had been made before (Follow You, Follow Me, Your Own Special Way, Misunderstanding, Please Don't Ask Me) but "the betrayal" was committed with Abacab. Phil Collins started to be more cofident in his abilities to write songs (pop mostly) and to sing (not for the better either). It is a very good pop-rock album but it's nothing much for the prog-rock fan. Let's have a look:

Abacab: a good opener and a prog-influenced song, one of the better ones. No Reply At All: I cannot tolerate this these days, it sounds like a Phil Collins solo song rather than a Genesis song.

Me and Sarah Jane: another proggy track, one of the best song of the album.

Keep It Dark: a simple and straightforward song, quite good and enjoyable IMHO.

Who Dunnit: an insult to any listener not to mention the Genesis fan; I can't understand what were they thinking putting this "so called song" on the album. I cannot understand why a song like Submarine did not make the album being a B-side to one of the singles on the album. Dodo/Lurker: the most progressive and interesting song of the album IMHO, sign of old Genesis can be heard here; Man on the Corner: an enjoyable ballad.

Like It or Not: I like Rutherford's guitar riff on this one; another straightforward song, not simple but not complex either, pretty enjoyable and catchy.

Another Record: the intro is really fine but then it turns into a pop song, not bad at all (as some say).

Prog purists and old Genesis fans should stay away from this one. The progressiveness is pretty much gone. Three really good songs, so 2 stars this time.

I was looking forward to the release of this album, and had reserved a copy in advance. At first, I hailed it as another great Genesis album. Not on the level of their previous efforts, but still darn good. I guess it was my youthful fanboyism. Soon, a couple of the tracks started to wear thin. It was still better than the pop garbage spewing out of the radio at the time (There were no stations in my area playing any of the better '80s music). The concert was very good, but they did play a lot of their classics.

With the passage of time, this one was played less and less. There was a point where it was almost forgotten. A couple of years ago, a friend played it for me. He found out I was into Genesis, and proudly picked it out of his collection. It was nice to hear again, but the thrill was gone.

By pop standards, it's pretty good. Don't forget that these are some talented guys. However, this is prog land. I have to put it up against earlier Genesis, and other prominent artists here. With that peer group, it doesn't stand up. For some pleasant, well-done, proggy pop, there are some very enjoyable moments. With this rating system, I can't give it more than two stars.

H.T. Riekels

Genesis had manged to hold on for one album after Steve Hackett left. ...And Then There Were Three was a good album, but Duke showed trouble on the horizon. Then Abacab came out and it was pronounced that the king of prog was dead. The positive sales of the last two poppier albums prompted a change in musical direction. The Collins-led trio all but abandoned their prog roots and sold out. Now this album isn't as atrocious as Invisible Touch or We Can't Dance, and it's even a bit better than Duke. The title track retains a portion of their prog flavors and there is some jazz on it and No Reply at All. The rest of the album, however, is filled with short, meaningless songs.

Fans of Genesis should really stop with Wind and Wuthering or maybe ...And Then There Were Three. Only die-hards should collect this, since this is mediocre at best, and it only gets worse form here.

I think this album might have put Gabriel and Hackett on suicide watch. This being the first Genesis album I purchased, I was turned off of them until I read the rave reviews of their early work, even then I was timid about buying a Genesis album. After the first trip through "Abacab" I thought all it needed was a second chance, but by the fourth time I figured burning money would have been smarter than buying this CD.

"Abacab" kicks off the album, and it has some pretty decent chord progression, but it only lasts about a minute until it becomes the Phil Collins be-stupid-and-bang-a-drum-for-six- more-minutes show. "No Reply At All" was probably the track that kept this album from being thrown through my window. It gets a tad repetitive and the horns are cheesy, but hey, they were just rolling with the times. "Me And Sarah Jane" and "Keep It Dark" are two boring forgettable type tracks. Don't even bother with them, unless you are trying to invent a new sleeping pill. "Dodo/Lurker" changes the pace for a minute here, as it starts off with and excellent beat and some incredible drumming. However, a lack of meat in the middle and over-the-top cheesy lyrics ultimately kill the mood of happiness. "Who Dunnit?" is just a track that gives you a migrain and makes you want to go deaf. It's bad. The lyrics are completely non-sensical and utterly absurd, not to mention repetitive. The last three tracks are just some more forgettable commercially adapted tracks that turn you completely off.

Peter Gabriel, your band has officially sold out sir. This album was made to be commercially successful, and Genesis lost most of their fanbase because they changed their styles from getting-worse to utterly unlistenable. DO NOT BUY!

'Abacab' signifies a huge change of direction for Genesis, evident with the previous album 'Duke'. Following on the coat-tails of Phil's first solo outing, a rather huge success, the band realised they could compose and play relatively stream-lined tunes and make 'big bucks' - not that the band actually quite hit the motherlode as yet.

This album has a rather 'pedestrian' feel to it, a couple of longer tracks which aren't really 'prog' ('Abacab' and 'Dodo/Lurker') - actually, Genesis knew how to compose lengthy pop-songs, but methinks they were only paying 'lip-service' to their prog heritage, keeping only the die-hard fans pleased and prog-lovers frustrated. And Phil, bringing in the Earth,Wind and Fire horn section for the song 'No Reply at All', which only boasts a nifty bass-line from Rutherford, is quite a sad blow. 'Me and Sara Jane' is an interesting track, full of changes, it kind of sounds awkward hearing this after the previous track. 'Keep It Dark' is a basic pop-song, but the chorus section's keyboard work is pure Tony Banks (naturally), both in progression, and in phrasing.

'Who Dunnit?' may be a quirky experiment by pop standards, but I fail to see what it's getting at, a definate low-point, and a rather lame composition coming from those who helped to create such magnificent tracks like 'Supper's Ready' and 'Firth of Fifth'. 'Man on the Corner' sounds like an out-take from Phil's solo album, but is quite a pleasant tune to hear regardless. 'Like it or Not' is barely listenable thanks to its blandness, and the closing track 'Another Record', save for a lovely intro which holds promise, is pretty droll. With the two epic pop tunes ; 'Abacab' is a 'four-on-the-floor' danceable tune with a strong keyboard prescence, and the second half of the track is instrumental with some mediocre keyboard work and a brief bit of lead guitar - it's not all bad, though. With the opening bars of 'Dodo', we can all prick up our ears and get excited for a few moments, but the feeling diminishes somewhat with the vocal section, then the opening motif is repeated and we can all get excited again, and then 'Lurker' appears in all its goofiness, with some quirky keyboards and Phil's humourous vocals.

Overall, an un-even album, with very little there for prog-heads to indulge in, but I know of people who really go for 'Abacab' and dislike 'A Trick of the Tail' !!! 2 stars.

This is IMO the worst Genesis album of all times (including "From Genesis to Revelation"). With the exception of the title track, "Abacab" there is really nothing interesting here. I only give my comments about this album in my effort to cover all the Genesis production. But I suffered a lot in doing so. Like I suffered with "Big generator", "Union" and "Talk" from Yes. At least Genesis will only produce one crappy album ! Being an early fan (since 1974), it is really a pity to hear such a production. How is it possible to go that low ? I have no clue. But apparently, millions of people do think differently since this album sold like hell (Nr. one in the UK - the second in a row and Nr. seven in the US), and from then on the "Genesis Machine" was able to fill stadiums during their tours while before only small concert halls were taken into consideration with the remarkable exception of Belgium where they filled Forest National (7,000 people) as early as 1974 for the "Selling" tour. I really cannot give more than one star for this. Sorry guys.

This is the first album of a new era on GENESIS' music. Here, we have more pop tunes than ever, combined with some slightly inferior prog experiments but also some very catchy moments.

The title track opens showing all what the new decade had to offer. Very differently sounding than previous works by the band, it features a more alienated drum playing and some colder sounding keyboards, a true 80's atmosphere. But one can't refuse the fact that this song is extremely catchy. It also has a long instrumental ending, which, while being cold as i mentioned above, it is quite hypnotizing, something rarely found on pop music. The next one, "No Reply At All", is definetely weaker, and has that pure and quite mediocre poppy feel that would scare anyone who's into and only into progressive music. But i do admit i enjoy it, and remember nowadays with humour of how much i disliked this track when i first listened to it. Thanks now i have a more open mind to appreciate this one. "Me And Sarah Jane" is a short prog number which has some different sections, and really neat arrangements. This song doesn't look like it is from its decade, it has a good 70's epic feel. Phil's vocals can get a bit annoying in some parts, though, but that doesn't spoil this GENESIS' classic. I especially enjoy Banks' work here, the guy is definetely a genius! Well, then we go to the infamous "Keep It Dark". This is a very weird experiment by the band, and i can understand why many people bash it, but it is like no other thing done by GENESIS, so its originality gives it some credit. It has some nice vocal work and an alienating background electronic section, very 80's-ish. The two-part number that follows is divided on "Dodo" and "Lurker", making the album's highest point, with this amazing epic. "Dodo" has some fun lyrics and a dramatic intro, and "Lurker" segues with interesting experiments like using keyboards to imitate a bird's (?) speaking. This is the album's true climax! "Who Dunnit?" is considered by many GENESIS' worst track, and i can truly understand why. But i prefer to think of it as an interesting experiment, and while not so succesful as "Keep It Dark", it has some catchy vocal work, not being so bad as many people make it to be. From now on we have three tunes which are good, but nothing that special. "Man On The Corner" and "Like It Or Not" are quite moving, the former has a touching theme, and the latter has a really beautiful intro. The ending song, "Another Record", is a beautiful and atmospheric ballad, with a long intro.

Well, while this is obviously not classic GENESIS, but it is still far better than a lot of stuff that came in that decade, so we can't just judge it because of the cold 80's production and the fact that it is mainly a pop album. I think the guys did a good job playing pop music, but of course the highlights are the prog moments, like the title track, and the third and fifth ones. Listen to it with an open mind...

I bought this recording in the early eighties on cassette and it either got lost or wrecked I don't know, but I purchased it again on cd a couple of years ago. My memory of it from the eighties was only that it was pretty good (boy was I wrong) and "Abacab" was the only song I could remember as I looked at the song titles. It had been 20 years after all.

As I started to listen to it "Abacab" still sounded quite good, and as I would soon find out it is the only track that does. As soon as I started to hear "No Reply At All" I remembered it, but the horn section completely ruined it for me. Well it was straight down a steep hill from there, although "Man On The Corner" isn't bad. I was actually embarrassed at what GENESIS had become, these talented musicians being reduced to a pop band. Now I know why old GENESIS fans from the seventies were devastated as they listened to this album when it came out. How the mighty had fallen.

Collectors only.The rest of you run like hell !

If the definition of 'sell-out' is an attempt to simplfy music to make it appeal to a broader audience, then GENESIS' 'Abacab' is a sell-out.

What it is not, however, is a pop album. There are a couple of pop tracks on it, but the majority of the album consists of rock music. The progressive sensibility temporarily deserts the band (actually, it's most likely been deliberately laid aside) and the album exists in an uncomfortable half-way house.

The production is so beautiful one could weep, that it should be wasted on some of the material on offer here. Crisp, balanced, with real depth; if I could be granted a Christmas wish, it would be to apply these values to the GENESIS back catalogue.

There are a couple of longer tracks, but nothing extended that measures up to what the band had achieved - and would achieve again. Instead, the value in this album is found in the shorter tracks, and an absolutely sublime vocal performance from PHIL COLLINS. Between 'Duke' and 'Abacab' PHIL had begun an extraordinarily successful solo career, and the fruits of his self-confidence are to be enjoyed here. Sure, most of what he's singing isn't up to much, but he does sing it well. His expression is unparalleled in progressive music, his enunciation is superb and his control outstanding. Contrast this with the diffident voice on 'More Fool Me'.

I admire (but don't personally like) what the band were doing on 'No Reply at All', and enjoy 'Me and Sarah Jane' and 'Keep it Dark.' 'Who Dunnit' makes me scratch my head, but I don't hate it. It's just a short piss- take, that's all. The rest of the record tails off, with the strangely popular 'Man on the Corner' the most memorable of the remainder.

Because of PHIL COLLINS' influences, from soul to BRAND X's jazziness, this album sounds little like previous albums. A change of direction, sure, but not a sell-out. Had they wanted to sell out, they could have made 'Face Value II'. I become irritated with those who argue that in this period GENESIS was a PHIL COLLINS solo project. To me it's simple: the turn of the decade saw COLLINS change his personal direction, and now that he was a third of the band, not a fifth or a fourth, his influence was bound to be felt more strongly.

This is it! This is the album that changed it all. The way they wrote, the way they played and the way they perceived their audience. Gone was the stellar themes and melodies replaced by whatever it is on this CD. I always though of Genesis music as beautiful but this CD makes it ugly.

The opening track goes absolutely no where. Mike Rutherford's guitar playing is underwhelming and This is the most unadventurous Tony Banks keyboards I have ever heard. This one of the highlights of the CD!

I have listened to this album twice and never listened to it again. Genesis had changed and while I could go along with some things this was unacceptable to me. In five years they had gone from fantastic to boring. Boring is the best way to describe this album. For later Genesis fans only! Two Stars.

I just don't understand the general consensus towards this album. Why is there all of this hatred? This isn't the album where Genesis sold out. DUKE was the sellout album!!! ABACAB is an attempt to reinvent the band sound into more of a power trio. They didn't stick with it, though, and drifted back towards an updated DUKE sound to close out their career.

If a new band had released this album instead of Genesis, people might have said two things.

1. Hey, that's pretty good. 2. They sure sound like they were heavily influenced by Genesis's A Trick of the Tale.

This is a prety darn good album. Sure, there's a little cheese to "Me and Sarah Jane," but no more than to some of the tracks off Wind and Wuthering. "No Reply at All" and "Man on the Corner" have the Phil solo sound, but it's some of the best of the Phil solo sound (no motown, thank God, although we do get horns.) "Abacab" and "Dodo/Lurker" (the two best tracks) both sound like dark versions of what the band was doing on A Trick of the Tale, while "Keep it Dark" isn't far behind in quality. All of that is great stuff. "Another Record" and "Like it or Not" are mediocre, and "Whodunnit" is frankly bad, but there's an awful lot of good stuff to counterbalance that.

Genesis doesn't go on life support until the NEXT album.

This one is worth 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up this time.

Abacab is where inspiration takes a dive for Genesis. Other than Me And Sarah Jane, Dodo/Lurker, and Keep It Dark, the rest of this album is mediocre at best (Who Dunnit? and Another Record) or deeply rooted in half-decent pop rock (No Reply At All, Abacab, Man on the Corner).

This is also the album that probably started allowing the band to buy mansions, fancy cars, and toasters that talk. I guess you can't blame them for sacrificing their art for more mullah. Besides, record companies at the time were really hammering down on the "dinosaurs" of the time to make hits or else.

Abacab was pretty much the end of Genesis' progressive rock period. I guess that point could be debatable, but Dodo/Lurker to me was the last truly progressive rock moment for Genesis. In future albums they would only show what many reviewers here call "prog tendencies."

I'm going to round up a 2.5 star rating to three stars only because of Dodo/Lurker. Not essential and chiefly for Genesis fans. If you can find it cheap, it's worth it for the three top songs mentioned in my first sentence above.

Genesis, one of the bands i enjoy since i was 15, and this is the first album that i own by them way back in 1992. Well, this is one of those famous records that caused rage in the prog world in the early '80.

There are a couple of longer tracks Dodo/Lurker and Abacab the best tracks from this album, and the rest is around 5 minutes and a kind of mixt bags a la Phil Collins solo and music on Duke in a modern way, not band but not memorable.

Between 'Duke' and 'Abacab' PHIL had begun an extraordinarily successful solo career, and the fruits of his self-confidence are to be enjoyed here. Sure, most of what he's singing isn't up to much, but he does sing it well. His expression is unparalleled in progressive music, his enunciation is superb and his control outstanding, not to mention that he is among the best drummers ever. Not a bad album in my opinion, but don't reach the level of what they did in the '70. I guess 3 stars is fair, in fact this is much better then the next one from 1983 when they introduce drum machine and the sound is bad to the bone. 3 stars

The dislike for this record in the prog rock community is staggering. It is indeed the Paris Hilton of Prog. But what is really interesting is that for the simplified, heavy-synth embrace of the 80s it was, dressed in a clean white outfit and shiny new watch, Abacab is a really good album... at least mostly. Phil Collins' cringe-causing sentimentality and Motown-isms are regrettable, it's true, and a couple cuts are just downright pap (i.e. 'Who Dunnit'). But the sonic qualities they were able to create were inimitable, "sell out" or not. The result was a gorgeous but artistically disappointing venture.

Tony Banks, instead of worked into the mix as on most Genesis releases, is put right up front and leads the way showing plenty of energy with a range and quality of synthesizer settings that have never quite been recaptured. And trooper Mike Rutherford does what any good bass player would; he adds what is required, nothing more, nothing less. The set begins strong on the deliciously robotic title track and ultra-low frequencies from Banks' synths. Cold and distilled, a restrained vision of modern rock, immaculate, and pure--- simplicity raised to glory, and pop music hadn't sounded so good in years. 'No Reply at All' is a genuine, sweet and upbeat love tune, 'Me and Sarah Jane' is an ode to addiction, and 'Keep it Dark' comments on the potential of mankind despite its self-inflicted wounds (or an alien encounter, take your pick). The fun and rock of 'Dodo/Lurker' gets the blood pumping despite a painful reggae break and features a giddy keyboard part from Banks. But 'Man On the Corner', though well-intentioned, is the band at its most commercial and musically timid, and though pretty, 'Like it Or Not' is full-blown sap.

Things end with the petrified 'Another Record' as this once magnificent group says goodbye in a big way to forward-thinking rock music and hello to a proper career for themselves. After ten years of solid music, they probably deserved it.

Another record...

Abacab, considered by many to be one of Genesis's worst album. This is where the band started to concentrate on the hits rather than the music. It's clear that here they still have a little bit of prog left in them but in general, all they've done here is crammed a bunch of pop-rockers onto one album. While the two to precede this one (without Hackett) has been characterized by strong strong writing, this one is characterized by pop song writing. As though the success of ''Follow You Follow Me'' had been some kind of revelation, Genesis starts to venture very far away from where they started, turning back to look at their old fans maybe once or twice.

The album starts off (semi-)promisingly with the title track, ABACAB. This is a strong rock song that sounds like anything that could have been off the last two albums, good vocals and drumming. Other songs on the record such as ME AND SARAH JANE and DODO/LURKER are also fairly pleasing to the ear, with their eerie soundscapes and fairly long format, it almost seems as though Genesis has started to make a turnaround. The pop-intervention may need to be called off.

Then we get to the pop songs. More likely to be heard on love-song-radio than any prog compilation, some of these songs are absolute torture to the progger's ears. NO REPLY AT ALL, with it's saxophones, poppy vocals and lyrics/structure makes this song one that makes one wonder what happened to the days of dancing with the moonlit knight. Other songs like the drum machined KEEP IT DARK and the forgettable LIKE IT OR NOT and ANOTHER RECORD are better to not listen to, again deteriorating the love that so many fans have for the Genesis.

WHO DUNNIT?... Let's not even go there. If you haven't heard it, I don't recommend that you ever do. Purely annoying. Referred to by Phil Collins as ''Our punk song''.

Ending comments:

2 stars, fans only. While contemplating giving the album 1, I decided that some of the tracks actually have enough merit to save it. Only recommended to the curious, and people to genuinely like 80s Genesis.

"Abacab" is the 11th full-length studio album by UK pop/(progressive) rock act Genesis. The album was released through Charisma Records in September 1981. Genesis spend most of 1980 touring in support of "Duke (1980)", and after a short break in activities they purchased the Fisher Lane Farm in Chiddingfold, Surrey in November 1980, and began remodelling the farm into a recording studio. The advantages of owning their own studio in the UK (the three previous albums had been recorded outside the UK) where they had time to work, sparked the creativity of the band, who wrote enough material for a double album (most tracks on the album were written by all three members of the band). At this point in their career Genesis were very conscious of what they wanted though, and they discarded all material they felt sounded too much like their past material. Some of the tracks which were left off "Abacab" appeared as B-sides to the album singles, and some of the tracks would appear on the studio side of the "Three Sides Live" live/studio album from 1982.

While there had been songs here and there on previous releases by Genesis, which had a more accessible pop/rock sound, it was "Duke (1980)", that the band more fully committed to that direction. On "Abacab" they take a step further in a more commercially oriented pop/rock direction, and you´ll have to dig a bit to hear that they were once a groundbreaking progressive rock act. They´ve consciously stripped the structures of the tracks down to "regular" vers/chorus formats with strong hook laden choruses, and tracks like "No Reply at All", "Man on the Corner", and parts of the title track are very accessible material. When that is said tracks like "Keep It Dark" and "Dodo/Lurker" features progressive sensibilities, that may not sound anything like the 70s version of Genesis (or at least very little), but still signal that they were more than "just" another 80s commercial pop/rock act.

Tony Banks use of contemporary keyboards/synths do pull in that direction, as well as the at times rather simple rhythms played by Phil Collins, but there is still a sophistication to the arrangements that is at times semi-progressive. If not in compositional structure then in the songwriting ideas and in the subtility of the arrangements. "Abacab" is an album which has a bit of it all. Great humour, sweet melancholy, and a couple of epic moments (the chorus to "Keep It Dark" is for example absolutely stunning). The album features a sound production which varies between organic and more cold and clinical (electronic effects have a great impact on the latter). Sometimes it works well and sometimes it sounds a bit "empty".

So upon conclusion "Abacab" is not Genesis strongest release and it´s not their most groundbreaking release either, but it features a couple of really strong tracks and a nice alternative way of composing accessible pop/rock, which at it´s core is quite clever. It´s a relatively varied release too, so it´s for the listener who can appreciate stylistic diversity over consistency. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Like it or not

Abacab is my least favourite of all Genesis albums even though it does have a few good songs on it. The best is the title track but also Keep It Dark is strong. Dodo/Lurker is the most progressive song, but it is not great. Man On The Corner is pleasant and Me And Sarah Jane is okey even though it is too similar to Misunderstanding from the previous album. Like It Or Not and Another Record are unremarkable and frankly just dull. The worst songs are No Reply At All and Who Dunnit? These two are offensively bad and the inclusion of a brass section on the former is truly cringe-worthy. In conclusion, this is a very weak album despite a few good songs. Even the group's later albums would be more interesting than this one.

What a disappointment!I can't believe this is Genesis!This is their worst album in more than 12 years since their first,which maybe is there worst ever.It's very difficult for me to listen the whole album.It's awful!There is no music here.There is something like sound,but not exactly.They are trying to make something like new wave.But this is not even new wave.It's not even no wave,because there is that kind of musical genre.This album hasn't musical genre.Totally poor album.Some good moments from some parts of some songs like - Abacab,DodoLurker,Man on the Corner and Like It Or Not.I think this men - Phil Collins,Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford don't respect their fans,but only the money at that time of their career.Or maybe they are just lazy enough at that time to make music,but are not lazy enough to make money.I don't like when someone is laughing at me like this musicians.Where are now the real professional guys - Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel when we need them most!I shan't give 2 stars to that burlesque of album and music as whole.

I'm a huge Earth, Wind & Fire fan - but I prefer their horn section stay put...and far farrrrrrrr away from the music of Genesis. 1 star each for Abacab and Dodo/Lurker, but the rest is fairly unforgettable. The aforementioned would've sounded great on _Duke_. Admittedly, I do have a soft spot for _Like It Or Not_ (just a great Genesis song). The rest of Abacab sounds like a Phil Collins solo album. For the ultimate _Abacab_ experience, go for their live LP _Three Sides Live!_. There's a great great drum trade-off between Chester Thompson and Phil Collins. 2.5 stars for the whole Abacab album, really.

So this is where my favorite prog band went... down the toilet and never coming up for air. Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, this is where prog civilization as we know it ended. The previous two albums without Steve Hackett were at least kind of proggy, but this is when blockheads started saying Genesis is an 80's pop band, and get me really mad. This is the end of Genesis. True, Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance were worse, but when I went to my local record store to buy a Genesis album, not expecting pop music, listening to this in my bedroom was the biggest disappointment ever. True the title track is decent, and contains some other good pop music, but this is hardly even Genesis. They almost should have renamed the band.

In conclusion, die hard Gabriel-era Genesis fans will be sorely dissapointed, and so will anyone else expecting prog from a prog band. If you can shake the image that these are the guys who made Supper's Ready, you might be a little happy with it, but for everyone else, walk right past this.

Even the album art is awful!

Umm. okay. Some tracks on here are interesting and not TOO bad, like the title track and Dodo/Lurker. Otherwise, this is the beginning of the end. I do not exaggerate when I say that "Who Dunnit?" is most likely the worst track I have ever heard by a prog band. It's not even good pop! Yikes. Avoid this one except for the occasional interesting moment or decently-written pop song.

There's really not much more I can say!

The only Genesis albums worse than this are Invisible Touch and Calling All Stations. This is definitely for completionists. Not even that! This is only for people who actually want to listen to this.

Now a three-piece and sliding inevitably towards chart-friendly synth pop, ABACAB finds Collins and co in sparky, primary-coloured pop form, eschewing the long-winded prog sensibilities of yesterday and replacing them with shorter, sharper and simpler songs. While previous album DUKE(1980) mixed state-of-the-art studio pop and rock within a prog framework, ABACAB takes the band even further from their roots, in what can be seen as a rather sly attempt to win a new audience, boost sales and conquer America proper, all the time dispensing with tradition and producing an album that looks set to alienate long-term fans but win over new admirers across the globe. And the difference in tone and style has really gained momentum recently, with 1978's prog-pop effort ...AND THEN THERE WERE THREE, now seeming light-years ago, both in terms of sound and style, with the 'new', slimline Genesis, now a bona-fide hit machine in the making. If your a seething (ex)believer, you're probably not reading this; if you've stuck to your guns all along, you may find a few crumbs of comfort between the lazy pop quirks and shame-faced commercial hooks that populate this anaemic yet occasionally-catchy album. The eponymously-titled opener adds horns to the mix(courtesy of Earth, Wind and Fire), and offers one of the few hints of the past with an extended 'jam' section - that lasts around 5 mins - coming right out of nowhere to bamboozle their new-found fans. For old time fans however, it proves to be a moment of very brief respite in an album crammed with cynical commercial cuts and is probably a catalyst for dewy-eyed memories of 20-minute epics, Peter Gabriel and those simpler times when Prog ruled the 1970's. MAN ON THE CORNER, a short, sweet ballad, is a welcome slice of Collins-whimsy(and a pointer to where his career would be heading in the not-so-distant future), but like it's protagonist, it's a lonely if worthy attempt in an otherwise forgettable commercial confection of an album that dispenses with substance in favour of broad pop stylings. The title, if you're interested, is a pun on the group's now simplistic method of song-writing. The irony is palpable. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2009

Clearly, looking at previous reviews, this is the one LP where prog fans shout out SELL OUT and desert the band in the same fashion most people would treat a leper colony. But is it really that bad? No, although I have no hesitation in awarding it only three stars because of two tracks and two utter mistakes. No Reply At All is the first one - Phil should have left the horns on his solo efforts, and the other two should have stayed off the booze when he persuaded them to have them on - it's not that it's a bad song in itself, it just sounds so out of place on an English symphonic prog bands album as to be beyond quirky - and, of course, it was never meant to be quirky. The other is, of course, the utter mess that is WhoDunnit, a track so God awfully bad that it would shame a Take That album, let alone Genesis - what they were thinking of is beyond me, and it's a mess that probably deserves the removal of two stars in itself. However, I am trying to present a different slant and a charitable one to the Collins era, so I'll only take one star away.

Because, the rest of this LP is actually very good. Abacab is a continuation of the great pop/prog mixture that they had perfected. Ruthford's grinding guitars match Banks' dark keyboards perfectly, and Collins continues to demonstrate what a great drummer he is. The full length version is deservedly still a live favourite, and the instrumental section fairly rocks along.

Me and Sarah Jane is one of my favourite Genesis songs of all time. The subject matter, of the aftermath of a rape, is sensitively and delicately told, whilst the playing is superb - of course, this is a Banks song, and he takes the keyboard feel from Duke to this very well.

Keep it Dark is ordinary, but Dodo/Lurker is sheer symphonic prog genius. This is the key to these later albums - although there is a lot of commercial stuff, there are also a lot of excellent elements and progressive stuff that shines out. Banks creates a massive wall of sound, and the other two play along as if their lives depended upon it, especially Collins who proves how versatile a drum machine actually can be.

Man on the Corner, Like it or Not, and Another Record continue the vein seen in Duke - they are not progressive songs as such, but they are commercial songs with a very progressive flavour, and are all very enjoyable. The thing, of course, that separates them from the average Collins solo record (and, yes, aside from Face Value, they were all exceptionally average) is Banks & Rutherford, who retain that idealistic sense of musicianship and writing to turn an ordinary proposition into something quite a lot more.

Three stars for this. Not the finest Genesis LP by any stretch of the mark, but still enough to keep fans and newcomers to their music interested enough to stay on the journey.

This is where it became totally clear that Genesis was an entirely different band from what we used to know and love. The transition was a slow one, but it was also steady. I can´t really say I like this album, even thought for the time it seemed to fitted very well into the music scene. At least it was good prog pop music. But there are some moments I can´t stand like Who Dunnit. That was probably´s Genesis worst song ever recorded. I still don´t understand why they ever had the trouble to commit it on tape, much less released it. Go figure!

Anyway, Abacab has it moments: the title track, Dodo / Lurker, Me And Sarah Jane, Man In The Corner. I even like No Reply At All. I thought it was a good pop song. I still do. Dodo and Me And Sarah Jane are reasonable good prog tunes. But overall Abacab does not have the same balance as on other Genesis album of that period. It is hardly played at all at my home. But it is till Genesis and still has some good, although unremarkable, stuff. If only they had not included Who Dunnit things would be much better.

Rating: two stars.

In my not so humble opinion:

Abacab is the worst Genesis album.

. . .

Ok, so I should probably add a bit more, huh?

On Abacab, there are a grand total of nine songs, three of which are great, two are above average, three are pretty bad and one is so awful that it accounts for the loss of a star all in it's self.

The highlights include Dodo/Lurker which is just about the only prog related bit they do on the entire CD and the best song on the album. It's seven and a half minutes of funky prog about extinction and love. The last two minutes, the Lurker part of the song, is a wonderful groove with one of Tony Banks more memorable licks beautified by his selection of a nice fat analog saw tooth wa- sorry, beautified by a great keyboard sound.

"Keep it Dark" is an upbeat pop song addressing human paranoia, misery and aliens with a somewhat untraditional song structure. "Me and Sarah Jane" is another great wandering song with a slightly progressive structure.

Those were the three great songs, "Abacab", the song, is a decent rocker featuring a Tony Banks solo that is longer than it is interesting, "Another Record" is soft and pleasant enough to listen to. 'No Reply' is full of horns, "Man on the Corner" is long and "Like it or Not" is also on included on this album.

Which leaves one shining example of audio left. Here's my take on Who Dunnit. Tony Banks got a new keyboard and started showing all of the cool effects that it can do to the rest of the band. Unbeknownst to everyone, the recorder was on. A couple of weeks later, they turned the album into the record execs, they said 'What's this, you can't release a 44 minute album?' Being as the guys were up against a deadline and had gotten schlonkered at the pub before visiting the execs they decided to use the three and a half minutes of Tony's keyboard cause that sounded like a 'smashing idea' at the time. The word 'brilliant' was used repeatedly as well. The next morning they work up with a hangover and a suspicious chunk of time missing.

A month later, the album was released and all three of them collectively smacked themselves on the forehead.

Two stars, three if they had released the album in it's original, 'unwhudunnitted' form.

Genesis had not, comparatively-speaking, been a lucrative enterprise, and given the financial hardship the band faced during the 1970s, it's no wonder the band boarded the gravy train of 1980s mainstream music (along with many bands) and never returned. This of course disappointed fans, but at the same time generated a whole new fan base, although effectively creating two bands with the same name. While scarcely progressive rock, this album consists of pop songs, most of which are not unpleasant, with a few of them actually being highly enjoyable.

"Abacab" The title track may be the second longest, but it's a clear indication that the progressive days of Genesis are history. The best part of this song is the catchy vocals, but I can understand how they would be immediately repulsive to longtime fans. There organ is a nice touch, but Banks's synthesizers over generic sounding music (particularly the bland drumming) do very little for me. That said, I still enjoy the song very much for what it is.

"No Reply At All" A plucky number that sounds like 1980s dance party music, this is jaw-droppingly bad (mainly because compared to music of the same genre, it's still terrible). The bass grooves are good, but it'd be tough to guess that Rutherford was responsible for them. The band has Earth, Wind & Fire's horn section complimenting the sound.

"Me and Sarah Jane" There are some pleasing synthesizer arrangements contained within this semi-progressive track. Collins incorporates his electronic drums here (they sound like the same ones that would be heard on his hit song "In the Air Tonight"). Part of the music has a reggae vibe, however.

"Keep It Dark" A strange electric guitar riff forms the backbone of this track, which has bursts of quirky synthesizer and a barely compatible vocal melody.

"Dodo / Lurker" The lengthiest track has an introduction that almost hearkens back to the days of A Trick of the Tail, featuring a bombastic synthesizer opening and some organ work. The reggae-influence creeps back in throughout most of the track also. If the goofy synthesizers had been replaced with the vintage sounds Banks used on earlier recordings, this track might be one of the best things Genesis ever did after the onset of the 1980s.

"Who Dunnit?" Collins's vocals are just as shameful as the silly synthetic music backing him up. I can't hear this song without immediately thinking of the unfortunate fashion, hairstyles, and catchphrases of the silliest decade of the twentieth century, and sadly enough, it inevitably makes me nostalgic (since I grew up then). Still, this song is incredibly ridiculous, hard to follow, and foolish in every respect- quite probably the worst thing Genesis ever did.

"Man on the Corner" A radio hit to this day, I actually appreciate this one, partly because Collins delivers a convincing vocal performance. The music fits firmly in the context of this album, but does so with grace, despite an overtly simple structure.

"Like It or Not" A straightforward pop track, this is nothing noteworthy, but nothing awful either.

"Another Record" Darker music ends the album, at least for the first bit, and then it's back to pop music. This one has a harmonica involves and is closer to upbeat Sting shortly after The Police broke up.

It's strange that I, with all my recent (one year of strongly intense, one year of quite a lot intense and before this few years of rock listening) prog taste, I wonder how I can like this album at all. But I do and so I intend to find out why, because there has to be some things that are worth of my attention.

It's music, to be exact it's catchy type, really grabs your attention (if you're not one of this big group of people who hates 80's Genesis, which happens to be quite a common, so there's about 75% chance that you, my dear reader, is one of these - cheers, you're not doing anything wrong why hating them for these "albums" they were making, it's completely normal and understandable). It's still pop, as all others around here (after this year) and also does not have especially strong piece for me. However, it's first in a row of "bad" ones, so it still possess some of prog elements we like. There is even guitar solo, something very strange when looking around.

3(-), take it or leave it, because this is a way how I can express my support, or hatred, my understanding, or completely failing to understand something. How to appreciate and measure prog elements, evaluate them here and there, and finally, make a judgment.

Another very good album from the three remaining Genesis members, Tony BANKS, Mike RUTHERFORD and Phil COLLINS. This one a shorter collection of totally unrelated songs (as opposed to the band's previous effort, the Broadway musical, Duke). I liked this album pretty well, and even went to see the band on their American tour supporting it.

Welcome to the new world: thanks to Phil's work on Peter Gabriel's third eponymous album, we have THE GATED DRUM! (Which I hate. But history is history.) The songs of ABACAB seem much simpler. (More use of the A-B-A-C-A-B song form.) The band uses much less complex chord structures and much less subtleties or surprises within these songs than previous albums.

Favorite songs: "Dodo/Lurker" (7:32) (8/10); "ABACAB" (6:58) (8/10); "Man on the Corner" (4:27) (7/10) (perhaps my favorite theatric Phil Collins vocal of all-time--he really hits it hard and powerfully, even if it is a bit over the top), and the chorus of "Keep It Dark" (4:32) (7/10)

I don't like the three-chord rock, the use of pseudo-Reggae rhythms/riffs, the use of Phil's friends' horns, and, of course, the gated drums. Otherwise this is an okay record.

Wait, I LIKE Abacab??

Alright, this album gets so much bad press, and I slightly see why. Yes, it's Genesis' biggest step into the pop/rock era, but this album serves essentially as a bride, AKA a "Crossover" album. And by golly, if Genesis was a Crossover band, this would be a 5 star album. Yes, Gabriel has left Genesis and Colins liked pop music more than true symphonic prog. Yes, there are very weak tracks, but there are also fantastic tracks with a real rock and prog twist in them. This album is certainly not Genesis' best album, but it also is nowhere near their worst. That's Invisible Touch! ;)

Abacab was actually the first Genesis song I had ever heard. The synth comes in with that catchy little riff with some great guitar-synth switch offs going on. The complex vocal melody switches are fun and catchy. This song is not what I would call pop in the least. The instrumental section is fun and rocking the whole way through. Overall, this is one of the better tracks on the album, and a very strong show of Genesis' dedication to Progressive music, for it certainly is prog!

No Reply at All is a little different than Abacab. It, in short terms, is 80s pop. Earth, Wind and Fire even made an appearance (the brass section). The melody is cathcy, however, making the track not an entire failure. But, other than the catchy melody, the whole song is just a pop blowover. The album seems to have on and off moments, and this is an off moment.

Me and Sarah Jane is another one of my favorite tracks on the album. Again, a pop element is very prominent in this track, but it is certainly not your average pop song. This is a great example of how Abacab is a Crossover album. The whole outfit of the song is catchy and creative. The dynamics from soft and melancholy to a catchy and upbeet track are really fun. Yes, the lyrics are about love (GASP!!!!), but those can be easily be overlooked by that catchy proggish chorus. The whole song also forsakes the traditional pop structure, with different verses, interludes, and more great stuff. Just a great song!

Keep it Dark is another great Crossover track. It has a lot more pop, but that experimental Genesis pop-era-typical synth sound is a great little riff to bob your head to. The lyrics are humorous and fun. Overall, the track isn't spectacular, but it is a nice song. It really doesn't vary very much, which does make it a little boring, but that can be overlooked.

Dodo/Lurker is my favorite song on the album, no doubt. You can't deny this is a great prog song. Even off of Abacab, Genesis' "Sell Out" album, they weave a fantastic track like this is there. Everything about it is spectacular. The riffing and melodic dictations are creative and rhythmic, with a great heartbeat. The structure is very proggish; I don't even think there is a chorus. If what I hear is true, the track was initially supposed to have two other parts and be the second longest track the band had produced (after Supper's Ready, of course). The best part of the song, in my opinion, is that keyboard solo. It's not even very technically difficult, just every little note is placed perfectly. Every little synthesized sound sounds just right where it is and would sound odd anywhere else. Just wondrous!

Uh oh, we have happened on Who Dunnit. When this song happens, it is an automatic skip. There is nothing good about this song. It's good they put Dodo before this track, to outweigh the horrid track named Who Dunnit. It's not even pop, it's just freaking weird. And not weird like experimental or Avant-garde, just in general, musically, lyrically, melodically, rhythmic, everything really just doesn't make any sense! Such an odd track, and is really hard to listen to.

Man on the Corner isn't "bad," but it's really just a mellow pop song, similar to a lot of Phil Colins' solo stuff. It's nice, but really doesn't have any spectacular qualities. Other than that, there really isn't anything to say about it.

Like it or Not, Like it or Not isn't that bad of a track. It opens with short proggy riff, but sadly that doesn't last very long. It has a steady beat and melody, reminiscent to Spock's Beard music (which, if you didn't know, is essentially the modern Genesis). It's another mainly pop track, but the melody and proggy interludes make it again a nice Crossover track.

You can always tell the producer wanted a filler when they name the song Another Record. This track is just the same as the previous track. It's not absolutely spectacular, but it's not the most horrid thing ever recorded. The track keeps a consistent melody, confirming my beliefs that its just filler used to fill the second side. Again, not spectacular, but not horrible.

ALBUM OVERALL: An excellent crossover album. There is an obvious presence of pop in the music, which makes it obvious why many fans called it a sell out. But like any musical artist, there is always the desire to expand your fanbase. As classic prog was dying in the 80s, so was all the funding from record companies. You can see this trend in virtually every prog band from the 70s. Yes, King Crimson, Rush, you name it, they adapted with the times. So, this music really isn't that far fetched. No, it's not Foxtrot or Selling England by the Pound, but that era of Genesis had passed anyway. The album contains numerous fantastic tracks, and only one or two "bad" tracks. Overall, not really a bad album, despite what everyone in the prog world seems to think. 3.5 stars, but I'll round up because this album needs it. 4- stars.

If you go to the Abacab album page and scroll down real fast, the star ratings almost look like lights going on and off. You see 2, 4, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4, 2, etc. star ratings. Without reading the other reviews I can tell opinions on this album are very divided. Abacab for me is one of those albums I neither love nor hate. I've read somewhere that this was the only Genesis album where they could not find the original master tapes when they were remastering the back catalogue in the mid-90s. I don't know if that is true or not. This is the only Genesis album I never had on CD. I got a used original cassette copy in a book store; at least I know my copy came from the original master tapes.

This was the groups second UK #1 album and their first US top ten album. I think this album is a little bit more consistent than Duke was. But nontheless, the best songs on that album are better than most of the songs here. I never liked the last two songs on the album. After having a chance to listen to this again, I still don't like them. Originally "Dodo/Lurker" was supposed to be longer incorporating two pieces left off the album: "Naminanu" and "Submarine". They should have including those two and left the last two there now off. "Dodo/Lurker" is of course the proggiest and best song on Abacab. I think this mini-epic is better than almost anything from the previous two albums. It flows so well, being both a great composition and a great performance.

The title track is a slightly proggy pop song. The drumbeat is simple but I like it. I also like Banks' organ-like synth sounds here. The 'jam' at the end goes on a bit too long and doesn't add anything. "No Reply At All" was the big single from the album. I believe this features the horn section from Earth, Wind & Fire (Collins recently working with EWF singer Philip Bailey). This song would have been better off on a Collins solo album. Between the success of this song and "Misunderstanding", the trio decided they would make a better singles-oriented band than an album-oriented one. Hence the next album was self-titled, marking a new beginning (or 'genesis' if you will).

"Who Dunnit?".....a lot of people hate this song, but I love it. It amuses me that some will complain about this band going pop, then turn around and call this the worst Genesis song. This is not a pop song! More of an avant-nursery rhyme (or cryme?) Love that ending. I'm not sure if "Man On The Corner" was released as a single but it should have been. I like the drum machine and synths here. The lyrics forshadow Phil's later hit "Another Day In Paradise". There is a song on Justin Timberlake's last album that sounds very similar to this.

"Dodo/Lurker" proves the group could still prog it out, but most of the songs show they wanted to go in a different direction. Although there is both good singles and album tracks on the next two albums, Abacab was the last Genesis album to be of any interest to a prog fan. And no, it's not all Phil's fault; Banks and Rutherford as just as guilty of wanting to go in the direction they did. Hell, even Peter Gabriel will have some major hits of his own later in the decade. Some people act like Collins forced the other two to sell out. You can picture them both on their knees, crying and begging Phil, "please, we don't want to sell out, please". And then Phil, holding a gun at them, laughs like he does in "Mama". Anyway, this gets 3 stars.

Abacab is shows even more of a synth-heavy pop sound for Genesis. The songwriting here isn't quite as good as it was on the two previous albums, and seems to me like a mess. The synths on this album for the most part sound very abrasive and dramatic for their own good. There are a couple of songs on this album that seem like attempts to appeal to the fans of Genesis' progressive rock work - the title track and "Dodo/Lurker". These two songs are indeed mildly progressive, but still seem more like longer-than-average pop songs. Those two songs by themselves are at least worth a listen for the purpose of deciding if you like this era of Genesis, but this album isn't recommended at all.

Different prog fans mark the moment Genesis sold out at different points in their career. Some feel that the band were never the same when Gabriel left, an opinion I can understand but strongly disagree with. Others feel that when Hackett quit, the band were never quite the same, and whilst that's true enough I still think there's plenty of enjoyable - and, yes, progressive - music on And Then There Were Three and Duke.

But Abacab? Abacab is the clean break. Whilst Duke found a compromise between progressive experimentation and updating the band's sound, it's difficult to see Abacab as anything other than a calculated bid for the mainstream. (They even use Earth, Wind and Fire's horn section on No Reply at All, for crying out loud.) I've nothing against bands evolving or even radically changing their sound, but if you're going to turn your back on your existing fanbase and your own legacy as a band and reinvent yourselves so utterly, it had better be in the pursuit of a really excellent idea, a musical vision compelling enough to make the sacrifice worth it.

For a while I just didn't get Abacab - I think because to an extent I was still mourning the old Genesis, which is daft really because it's not like the old albums have exploded and it's not like there aren't plenty of bands out there ploughing the 1970s Genesis furrow. Recently it clicked for me, but it took me developing more of a taste for slick 1980s Miami Vice yacht rock - the sort of stuff that filled out the 1980s career of Hall and Oates, or Phil Collins' solo career, or for that matter Peter Gabriel's poppier moments.

And it's certainly the case that whilst there's no symphonic prog aspect to this album, there's an art pop sheen to it. Yes, you've got your lighter numbers, but then again you have stuff like Dodo/Lurker, which is hardly something which you can say is mindless bubblegum pop.

So in the end I've come around to Abacab, but I had to take a long break for it and broaden my tastes outside of the prog arena before I could.

Insufferable 80s kitsch on "Abacab"''. so Whodunnit?

Genesis kills off their prog roots officially and without fanfare with this pungent release. I'd like to say that there is at least one decent track that saves this from the expensive CD coaster category. I'd like to, but I cant. This is simply the worst album of Genesis with nothing much to recommend. It is as good as ELP's abysmal 'Love Beach', also a sell out in its own right. Phil Collins croons with his trademark ballad and occasionally sounds okay such as on melody driven Abacab, the Banks-penned Me and Sarah Jane (surely the best track if any) or No Reply at All.

Occasionally, there is a spark of genius such as on the intro to the weird Another Record, with swathes of synths and piano, but is doesn't last. Soon the whispered Collins balladeering returns, and the crystalline antiseptic cheesy synths. The melody on the title track is okay for example but is ruined by those awful machinations of cymbal heavy drums and silly harmonies. The album stinks for many reasons, not the least being its girly dancey beats that perhaps blasted inside many teenybopper's bedrooms and you can imagine them singing along and grooving in their pleated skirts and boofed out permed hair. This is genuine throwaway pop, designed to get girls dancing on their beds while dreaming of a date with Collins, as they plastered on strawberry scented lip gloss. Perhaps it typifies the 80s throwaway culture, like a disassembled Rubik's Cube, and that new synth soaked sound that dripped like honey out of every amplifier in every bedroom. The stylus crackled on the record player and the synths competed with every crackle absolutely dominating over all guitars, and bass is given a minor role; Rutherford virtually has disappeared on 'Abacab'.

Check out that horned synth solo in Abacab; a real waste of talent with a 4/4 beat that never deviates. Keep It Dark has a cool riff but is destroyed with the overall structure that is repeated. It is incredible coming from a band that used time sig changes so readily in the past; none of that seems to matter here. Reggae rhythms dominates, bright and friendly retro synth, and some awful Earth Wind and Fire rip off sounds. Disco meets 80s kitsch throughout and it is not a pretty sight. Even the album cover looks like Picasso vomited on it.

Man on the Corner is a ballad sounding like a Collins solo album with those derivative effects on the vocals, melodic synth, awful handclaps and Latin inspired rhythms. It sounds like something you could create on a cheap synth rather than a virtuoso band.

Me and Sarah Jane is one that grabs you, written by Banks featuring a time sig change! Interestingly, despite the more proggy touches, it is still as sugary as the rest thanks to some romantically focused lyrics; no signs of any Hogweeds or Slippermen here!

Dodo / Lurker is once again okay but ruined with little variation and too much emphasis on chiming synths. It begins really well but soon inundates with that annoying egomaniac humour of Collins; 'Meanwhile lurking by a stone in the mud, Two eyes looked to see what I was and Then something spoke and this is what It said to me........' This is followed by silly retro synth solos, that are just there to fill in space rather than impress.

The track Whodunit can only be described as that closing line in Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Facts in the Case of M Valdemar'; 'a nearly liquid mass of loathsome'of detestable putrescence'. The lyrics are 'Was it you or was it me? Or was it he or she? Was it A or was it B? Or was it X or Z?' It repeats ad nauseum 'I didn't, I, I didn't do it.... Oh but we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know.' Repeat another 500 times. How could Genesis and management think people would actually like this?

I could go on, but I am running out of words to describe 'appalling'. There is not a shred of symphonic prog on this and if it contains any style of prog it surely must be hidden under layers of dull 4/4 time sigs, monstrous thick 80s synths and syrupy radio friendliness. 1 star is too generous for this saccharine trash. Perhaps the lyrics of Like it Or Not sum up my feelings on this album; 'Ooh, like it or not, You have done it this time, And like it or not, I've had enough.'

I have never seen what's to hate about bands like Genesis and Yes going pop. The music is less complex but there's still more complexity than normal pop music and it's way more pleasing to the ear than some of the earlier records because of better production. Smoothness does progressive rock wonders and with Abacab it's just a structurally hated album, there are still great tunes on it. Beside Collins sounds just like Gabriel and this era of Genesis sounds just like Gabriel's "So" which is also a great album and receives less flack than this one.

Anyway, Abacab is a great record, perhaps containing more emotionally charged tunes than the supposedly "good" Collins albums like "Trick of the Tail" and "Wind and Wuthering". These tracks are enjoyable to say the least and get stuck in your head (a pleasant thing in this case) more easily than other records. This record and Duke are sadly misunderstood. Progressively, this album is really lacking but I just don't see why so many people find that to be a bad thing. Bands change sounds and if a band does that successful it's to the credit of their virtuosity. Not their big bad commercial break.

Dodo / Lurker is in my head as we speak, a real standout track. All of these tracks are very well constructed and while many progressive rock nuts will say they are not, those reviewers are misunderstood. The tracks are constructed well, just not progressively.

A real gem, regardless of such hostility towards it.

Not having an especially strong connection to Genesis' prog output, I can listen to Abacab and let its merits, flaws, and distinctively '80's vibe stand on its own without feeling cheated that one of my favorite bands just turned their backs on me. I don't think that this is a "love it or hate it" album because there isn't enough good stuff to love, and not enough bad stuff to hate; in fact, reading through reviews here seems like it's a "hate it or ignore it" album. I definitely fall into the second category.

The title track opens to a driving back beat, strong vocals, some raucous synth work. I kind of like it, actually, until we get to the song's midpoint, at which point it goes off the rails and just sort of fritters away 2.5 minutes with keyboard noodling. I can see how this song alone sets the stage for all of the hate that this album gets!

"No Reply At All" is, for what it is, actually pretty fun. It's a solid pop song - upbeat, catchy, with a great feel and strong bass grooves. The synth horns are dated and corny (and performing an ironic call-and-response with Phil), making this song fit very easily into Phil Collins' solo output. Actually, the same goes for "Man on the Corner", which almost sounds like a warm-up for Collin's hit, "In the Air Tonight". These two songs highlight what is probably the best thing about Abacab: Phil Collins being an excellent vocalist.

"Keep it Dark" and "Dodo/Lurker" are easily the album standouts, especially for those clinging to whatever few vestiges of artsy prog are left in Genesis at this point. "Dodo/Lurker" is actually very good; it's dramatic, dynamic, and interesting as it passes through different moods with engaging lyrics. A nice example of 80's prog.

Do yourself and skip track 6, which is definitely the worst song by Genesis that I've ever heard.

Abacab ends with two bland, gutless, and directionless tracks. Which is too bad, because it leaves the listener with a bad impression of the album as a whole, which isn't terrible. My average of this album worked out to 2.6, which I think is about right.

Songwriting: 3 - Instrumental Performances:2 - Lyrics/Vocals: 3 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

This is the album where the band decided to go with a different sound with producer Hugh Padgham who wanted a bigger drum sound. The influence of Phil Collins is becoming more important bringing his past solo experience with "Face Value". It did not have a success among the critics and some old fans of Genesis. "Abacab", "Dodo/Lurker", "Keep it Dark" are solid tracks and "Me and Sarah Jane" show a return to some music complexity of the past. "Who Dunnit" is a strange and funny song that came from an experimentation of Tony Banks with his synths. For the rest of the songs that have a more simple structure, i still enjoy listening to them after many years. "No Reply At All" with the addition of horns is typical of a song from Phil Collins solo material. "Another Record" is maybe the weakest track of this album.

There's a bit of a debate as to when Genesis "sold out" or "went pop." A few fans would say it happened right after The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, when Peter Gabriel left; many put it after Wind & Wuthering, with Steve Hackett's departure. But there are more than a few who feel the band was still progressive for another album or two - - or three. 

But I suspect that most fans of 1970s Genesis would say the that the band's progressive heyday was definitely over by the time Abacab was released. As someone who's liked Genesis music for decades, but who isn't a Genesis expert, I think the band still had something to offer fans of progressive rock in 1981.

The best songs here are opening numbers of each side of the vinyl: "Abacab" and "Dodo / Lurker." They're also the longest and most "progressive" tracks. In my opinion, they represent something close to an ideal marriage of prog-rock and early-1980s new-wave -  - and on these songs Genesis seems to meld the two styles effortlessly. 

The effort seems more laborious on three others songs on Abacab, "Keep it Dark," "Who Dunnit?," and "Me and Sarah Jane." Each is a reasonably good song to which some progressiveness has been added. In particular, I sense a great three-minute pop song lurking in "Me and Sarah Jane." On the other hand, "No Reply at All," "Like it or Not," and "Another Record" - - the poppiest songs here - - are played without much pretense, and while "Another Record" is little more than filler, the other two, especially "No Reply," benefit from being played straight. 

The hardest song to classify along these lines in "Man on the Corner." It is a new-wavish pop song, but it's art-pop, and like "Abacab" and "Dodo / Lurker," no undue effort seems to have been made to force "Man in the Corner" to sound progressive.

I'm erring on the side of conservatism in assigning Abacab three stars; it's probably the band's best three-star album, but doesn't quite rise to the level of, say, A Trick of the Tail. Nonetheless, it's a solid album.

Review Nº 682

"Abacab" is the eleventh studio album of Genesis and it was released in 1981. Curiously and strangely, the album was released with four different embossed art covers simultaneously across the country and all depicting the same collage but with the paper shapes in different colours. The four different covers variants are usually identified by the colour of the largest upper shape adjacent to the title lettering. This shape was being coloured navy blue, red, peach and yellow.

"Duke" showcased a new Genesis, a sleek, hard, stylish trio that truly sounded like a different band from their first incarnation. But, "Abacab" was where this new incarnation of the band came into its own. "Abacab" continues the band's sharp stylistic shift, that begun on the preceding studio album "Duke", towards to a more radio friendly pop music sound. Genesis escalated the innovations of "Duke", increasing the pop hooks, working them seamlessly into the artiest rock here. The sound on the album is as bright, bold, and jagged as the modernist artwork on the art cover.

"Abacab" has nine tracks. All songs were written by Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins, except "Me And Sarah Jane" written by Tony Banks, "Man On The Corner" written by Phil Collins and "Like It Or Not" written by Mike Rutherford. The first track is the title song "Abacab". It was the second single taken from the album. The title was taken from the structure of an early version of the song, which no longer followed that format. I like very much of this song and I sincerely think we are in presence of one of the best songs on this album. This is a song with a very simple structure but that progress in a modern sound. The second track "No Reply At All" was the song released as the first single from "Abacab". This song marks clearly a step toward the mainstream pop direction that Genesis was taking at the time, and shows perfectly well the main influence of Phil Collins in the song writing of the group. It's a nice and typical pop song in the same vein of Collins' solo studio albums. See the inclusion of horns on it. The third track "Me And Sarah Jane" is clearly one of the two best songs on the album and is also the only song with slight reminiscences from Gabriel's musical era. This is a perfect example that proves the band never cut completely with their progressive roots, and why I always considered Tony Banks with Steve Hackett my Genesis favourite band's members. The fourth track "Keep It Dark" was another song to be taken from the album to be released as a single. It's a little rock song with an unusual musical structure and a different rhythm. It's lead by a distinct and syncopated rhythm guitar sound and by the voice of Phil Collins that sings in falsetto for certain lines of the song. This is a nice and pleasant song to hear. The fifth track "Dodo/Lurker" is the other highlight of the album, with "Me And Sarah Jane". It follows the same steps of "Duke's Travels" and "Duke's Ends" of their previous studio album "Duke". This is clearly a song with many good progressive parts. The beginning of the song reminds me very much their eighth studio album "Wind And Wuthering". The sixth track "Who Dunnit?" is the biggest and true deception of this album. I have some difficulty to express really my true feelings about it. This is, without any doubt, one of the worst things I've ever heard from any one. The lyrics are completely stupid and the music is repetitively annoying, which made of this song a complete aberration. The seventh track "Man On The Corner" is another song of the album released as a single. This is a song with a very simple musical structure, commanded by a simple drum machine and by the voice of Phil Collins. This is another nice and typical Phil Collins' song, very similar to many other songs made by him. The eighth track "Like It Or Not" sounds to some old songs made by Mike Rutherford in Steve Hackett's musical era. It's a very simple song without great progressivity and made more in the Phil Collins' style. However, we are in presence, in my humble opinion, of one good track with a very good melody and it's nice to hear. The ninth and last track "Another Record" was the song chosen to be released as the B side of their second single "Abacab". It's another pop song with nice rhythm and melody, and nice to hear. This is another song clearly influenced by Phil Collins' pop style. Anyway, this song represents a nice way to finish this album.

Conclusion: "Abacab" represents definitely the last step to turn Genesis into a pop/rock band. It confirms the path started by them with their previous studio album "Duke". I don't say "And Then There Were Three?", because who read my reviews know that I consider it a truly progressive album, not as good, but in the same vein of "A Trick Of The Tail" and "Wind And Wuthering". "Abacab" isn't really a bad album. We may even say that it's a good album. In reality, it has even three very good songs, "Abacab" and especially "Me And Sarah Jane" and "Dodo/Lurker". The rest of the album is good, but we can say that it's also very vulgar for a progressive album, with the exception of "Who Dunnit?", which is absolutely awful. I had already referred to this track, previously, when I reviewed some time ago, "The Game" of Queen. Then, I wrote that "Don't Try Suicide" from that album is, for me, one of the worst songs made by Queen and that it reminds me immediately "Who Dunnit?". However, "Who Dunnit?" is even worse than "Don't Try Suicide", really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)