Trick of the tail at the time

There was a lot of question whether Genesis would survive at that time, and thankfully they did. I had a love-hate relationship with Trick of Tail when it came out. Dance on a Volcano and Squonk were great; Squonk also got a lot of airplay. Robbery, Assault, and Battery got on my nerves, and it took me a while to appreciate Mad Man Moon. I had difficulty adjusting to their new sound, which seemed antiseptic compared to the more edgy Gabriel era. But I was in love with the material by the time Wind and Wuthering came out, and I loved that album, too. 

I knew of Genesis, but that was about it.I visited my cousin and he took me along to visit some friends.They were all 4 or 5 years older than me.They played Trick  several times, passing the cover and the chillum around.I remember them laughing about the lyrics and how the 'stuttering' was printed too.Do do do you want to dance, do do do you want to dance with me. They certainly liked it.I liked it too after the repeats.

At a friend's place they had Nursery, Foxtrot, SEBTP and The Lamb, all of which we loved. I didn't know Trespass nor FGTR yet. At my place there was no Genesis until I started buying all their albums shortly afterwards, my brothers were more into ELP, Yes, the Beatles, the Who, Oldfield and others, but for some reason not Genesis.

They were not my favorite band, but I do remember all of this. Phil Collins' star was rising at the time due to his drumming with Brand X and Eno. The merger of fusion and prog rock was a big deal then and Phil was starting to be considered part of the big leagues with Cobham and Bruford. The music and production on the new Genesis album definitely gave him a stronger drum presence.
As for the vocals, at first he sounded a lot like Peter and I guess many of us assumed that was on purpose. Musically the band was a bit more pop, but also better organized and more contemporary sounding.

I remember it well.  What struck me was how much less ornate it was than Gabriel Genesis.  Much more accessible and instantly likable (with a few exceptions that I find on pretty much every Genesis album, even SEBTP).  Like with Sean Trane, it made me go back an listen to older Genesis with fresh ears.

In 1976, I was -12 years old, so I can't tell you .

Relieved because of it's total accessibility. Something that was missing on the previous albums regardless of how good they were.

miamiscot wrote: First reaction was a resounding: "Peter Who?" What a record. And Wind & Wuthering was almost its equal. Too bad the four man Genesis didn't last. It could have eclipsed the Gabriel era - if Steve hadn't left...

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - September 18 2019 at 11:27