The Album Genesis Discarded for ABACAB

I liked Abacrabs when it first came out though I didn't get a CD copy until 2002.  I still don't have Genesis or Invisible Touch on CD and have no plans to add those.  I've never had a copy of We Can't Dance on vinyl or CD.

Abacrap!

Dellinger wrote: I don't know if what Genesis was trying to do before they went on the direction of ABACAB was a parody of themsleves... but I just can't imagine it being any worse than ABACAB ended up being. Except for the Dodo thing, there's just nothing I enjoy on that album. Even "Invisible Touch", another rather disliked album around here, had some moments I really enjoy. I guess I should be checking out those Archives box-sets, I'm rather interested in the extended version of Dodo.

I quite agree with this. Abacab is imo a two star album, the only one beside their prematurely launched debut, with Dodo/Lurker as the only great song. I have heard these other songs and I think this would result in an album on par with Abacab but without any great songs. Paperlate is catchy, Me & Virgil is a nice one, You Might Recall the best of the bunch and the rest is crap.

Edited by someone_else - February 03 2014 at 03:58

^ ABACAB is worth revisiting. Try it in vinyl and boogie with Earth , Wind & Fire on No Reply At All

M27Barney wrote: richardh wrote: I always thought Yes-  Going For The One (the whole album) was exactly this. Its when bands turn in on themselves instead of growing through external influence. That's how I see it. (btw I do like GFTO) Aye - But this is amongst their finest releases - perhaps third behing Close and Tales...and is certainly up amongst the best 20 symphonic prog albums in history! Awaken is surely in the top 10 symphonic prog sub-epics of all time also !!! (sub-epic = track less than 18 minutes long but greater than 12 minutes)

SquonkHunter wrote: Time to get hold of them and see what they are about.

^ Funny how we mark the albums of change. GFTO used to be my fave Yes album and I always felt Tormato was the one that changed. In terms of Genesis, IT, there seemed to be some stagnation with the sound. All subjective of course. Most people would agree with Abacab yet I find it to be a bold move after Duke 

Thank You all for the replies. It gives me a direction to pursue. I was really puzzled by the expression "a parody of ourselves". Strange way to phrase it. I believe I read it somewhere in an old interview with Mike Rutherford. He said that they were not satisfied with the material they had written and he was the one who suggested scrapping it all and doing something completely different, hence came ABACAB. 

I don't really mean to beat too hard on ABACAB. I tried to like it, really wanted to like it, but it just didn't do anything for me. I understand the desire to grow and do different things. No one wants to keep doing (or re-doing) the same thing over & over & over. This one particular album just didn't appeal to me, that's all. Strangely enough, I actually liked the single Paperlate even though it sounds like it should have been on ABACAB. Go figure, eh? Some of the other previously mentioned songs I am familiar with but many I am not. Time to get hold of them and see what they are about. 

Abacab was a brilliant album, the best album they ever did as a trio. So count me happy.

Nov wrote: Moogtron III wrote: Interesting. And I like most of the B-sides from the Duke/Abacab period, definitely including "The Day The Lights Went Out" but also "Vancouver" Both great songs but, as mentioned above, they date from the ATTW3 period