GO WEST YOUNG MAN (IN THE MOTHERLODE)

"Go West Young Man (In the Motherlode)" is an alternate title used for some singles releases for Mike Rutherford`s song "Deep in the Motherlode" from GENESIS`s "...and then there were three,,," album from 1978. If I remember well it was released with that alternate title also in the U.S. some weeks before their 1978 album was released there, saying in the record label :"From the Atlantic album "...and then there were three..." ". (I saw a scan of the single`s label in the web one day). I don`t know if the use of this alternate title caused some confusion for some fans of the band, or if the single was successful under that title. I also don`t know if it was the same version from that album or if it had some mixing differences.

Anyway, "Go West Young Man (In the Motherlode)" (or "Deep in the Motherlode") has lyrics about the "American Gold Rush" of the U.S. of the 19th century. So, the lyrics are about a young man who goes to the west side of that country looking for gold, as many people maybe did it then. So, the subject of the lyrics is very U.S. related, so maybe that was the reason for the use of the alternate title mainly there. The song is very good musically, still with some very good Prog Rock arrangements, which include a distorted guitar, the combined use in some parts of bass guitar and bass pedals, maybe a bit of guitar synth playing (as Rutherford can be seen using it in some live videos from 1980), a very good synthesiser part played by Tony Banks, and very good drums by Phil Collins. This song was played live during their 1978 and 1980 tours only.

As he said in an interview from 1982, "Scenes from a Night`s Dream" was the first song on which Phil Coliins contributed to all the lyrics of a GENESIS`s song by himself. The song was composed by him and Tony Banks. This song also has some very good Prog Rock arrangements, but it also has some Pop Rock influences, mainly in the style of the backing vocals. This song was inspired by "Little Nemo", a character from a tale for children, if I remember well. Maybe this song could have been also released as an "A" side of a single. This song was never played in concert by the band.

Their ".., then there were three..." album has been considered by many people as GENESIS`s first Pop Rock album. Well. While there are some real justifications for that point of view, I still like that album a lot. In fact, it was the first album from GENESIS that I bought in 1979. It still has some very good Prog Rock arrangements, but the songs are shorter in comparison to previous albums. I also like the recording and mixing of this album in its original form, but maybe the sound of the drums is not very good as they were mixed more in the background.

A last note for update: Yes. The U.S. single had an edited version (3:35) of "Deep in the Motherlode" (available for listening in youtube). I don`t like the edited version. I prefer the original version. So... a two star rating for the edited version....a three star rating for the original version.