ABACAB

Abacab (1981) is a very odd Genesis album: on the other hand it's very poppy, minimalistic, synthetic and distanced far away from traditional prog, on the other hand it's very brave and experimental in some way. The trio wrote the music more collectively, with a jam-based approach, than usual. One could almost say it's so bad that it becomes good (or then not: I used to listen to it for some time in the 80's but haven't bothered to borrow it again). This single includes the deliciously silly title track featuring some weird synth playing, and 'Another Record' which is one of the more ordinary pop songs on the album, reminding some material from their next eponymous album (1983). The latter track (or album, for that matter) maybe stands better repeated listenings but has less score for originality.

They did quite many singles at that era (from Duke, Abacab and Genesis). Did they really aim at the single market or were they told to release singles by the record company, I don't know. If this was on a jukebox - and it was the early eighties - I would rather play The Police, U2 or Dire Straits for example. And it's not necessarily the worst possible single from Genesis.