Genesis after 1976 and responsibility

Tillerman88 wrote: tdfloyd wrote:   Waters seemed to want total control. Gilmour is all over Animals and The Wall and only has a couple of credits. It is something that Gilmour has occasionally complained about in the past. Those solos were his, Waters didn't write them out for him. Some of Wrights best playing was on Animals. That 2 plus minute intro on Sheep is mostly all him. I would imagine Waters didn't write it out and instead said I need something here, what do you have.   How does Wright not get a credit?   Just one more time a bit off-topic, if I may......... Frankly, more than casually I see Floyd fans forgetting how such a sensible guy Rick Wright was, and the fact that he was not such an egocentric member as Waters nor of such strong a character as is Gilmour or even Mason. This fact alone put clearly on evidence how overlooked was his essential contribution to the band as a whole, and i've always felt his greatness very present, especially when his sounds most seemed overshadowed by the other members works, that's exactly when his subtleties took the 'laurel'. . ..

Wright was as important to the sound and success of the band as any other element you may want to think of. Waters may have given the lyrics and thematic cohesion to the band, but Wright gave the sonic and ambient cohesion.

I have just read the Collins autobio, 'Not Dead Yet'.  Following the departure of Gabriel, Collins proposed at least twice to the rest of the group that they become an instrumental band - imagine that!

And the song 'Trick of the tail' was, in part, inspired by the book 'The Inheritors' by William Golding. Tony Banks was evidently well read and it informed many of his lyrics. A bit too wordy in many cases.. 'all in a mouse's night' and (the marvellous) 'Watcher of the skies' are two that come to mind.

I think that the move towards a shorter and simpler 'more accessable format mixed with the occasional longer, slightly more complex songs was just an inevitability; 'Down and out' is one of the standout tracks (along with 'Burning Rope') and just repeats the well worn A&R trope of the late 70's.. look at what was around at the same time- Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, ELP (Love Beach.. Yuch!!).. buckloads of coke.. lots of bands spent the 70's sticking to their principles and being ripped off and if they had survived at all, were just tired out from slogging tours and endless creation of the next lp. I think the three remaining members had a strong survival instinct, all had a personal love of 60's pop and an actual chemistry (a lot of 'Lamb' was played out by Banks/Collins/Rutherford and seeing the 3 take flight during 'Cinema show' made you realise just how tight they were. Although i still, personally, prefer to listen to pre-77 Genesis, i agree that all of the later albums had something to offer and an element of that indefinable spark.

Banks once objected in an interview many years ago that the Pop direction was always there, that as early as Nursery Cryme, they tried short songs, but they didn't know how to do them. I disagree with him totally. Harold the Barrel could have made an excellent hit. But if it doesn't get recognized and given airtime, well we'll never know. The question isn't so much who made them Pop. I can forgive them for an occasional hit, after all (BTW the first hit was actually I know What I Like...). The question is, or should be; Why did they abandon Prog? We're they still capable of doing Prog as a trio? I'm left wondering about that when I hear the Neo-Prog attempt of Second Home By the Sea.

Squonk obviously came from that book---the whole of Trick is a series of fractured fairy tails----but it was stated many times--Squonk was written in reference to Peter leaving the band and crying backstage a lot during the Lamb tour ----having a lot of problems at the time.

Edited by twosteves - February 01 2017 at 20:42

Just to add my 2 cents here, I love all of Genesis and the solo bits.  But my favorite Genesis era is 1976-79, so:

Edited by cemego - February 02 2017 at 01:29

HackettFan wrote: Banks once objected in an interview many years ago that the Pop direction was always there, that as early as Nursery Cryme, they tried short songs, but they didn't know how to do them. I disagree with him totally. Harold the Barrel could have made an excellent hit. But if it doesn't get recognized and given airtime, well we'll never know. The question isn't so much who made them Pop. I can forgive them for an occasional hit, after all (BTW the first hit was actually I know What I Like...). The question is, or should be; Why did they abandon Prog? We're they still capable of doing Prog as a trio? I'm left wondering about that when I hear the Neo-Prog attempt of Second Home By the Sea.

Rednight wrote: HackettFan wrote: Banks once objected in an interview many years ago that the Pop direction was always there, that as early as Nursery Cryme, they tried short songs, but they didn't know how to do them. I disagree with him totally. Harold the Barrel could have made an excellent hit. But if it doesn't get recognized and given airtime, well we'll never know. The question isn't so much who made them Pop. I can forgive them for an occasional hit, after all (BTW the first hit was actually I know What I Like...). The question is, or should be; Why did they abandon Prog? We're they still capable of doing Prog as a trio? I'm left wondering about that when I hear the Neo-Prog attempt of Second Home By the Sea. Harold the Barrel a possible pop hit? What an offbeat suggestion.

Tony Banks ruined Brand X

zravkapt wrote: Tony Banks ruined Brand X