....October 1981'...
"This is fucking crap" - my thoughts after listening to 'Abacab', the latest album from Genesis, my favourite closet band at the time.
It was Autumn or Fall as the Americans call it and I had paid full price for this 'thing' at the local Woolworth. There had been several varieties of the 12' to buy, different colours, but I didn't care about that.
...'music was my form of escapism before the advent of the personal computer. I could listen and forget this cunt ever existed'...
Cash was scarce; I was working at Kwiksave and enduring a life of suffering and cruelty due to the evil tyrant, 'Mort'..., and deserved some respite after working my arse off at that cesspit every day.
I wanted more 'Duke', the previous album that had engaged me so much the vinyl had almost worn out. I knew every track inside out, so where were the great tunes?
Abacab, the single was good, had been released six weeks beforehand and had dragged me in, lulling me with a false sense of security but even that turned out to be a load of bollocks.
...'too long is not always preferable, this is the version that caught my ear in the dwindling summer months of 1981'...
The 7' cut was decent, but the album version had been extended to almost 7 minutes and consisted of lame electronic filler.
You might be thinking 'Abacab' - the album sucks, well it still does... and in 1981 it did but I have visited it in more recent years and it does contain a few gems, though it visibly pales when compared to the masterpiece named 'Duke'.
Genesis – Dodo / Lurker (Abacab – 1981)
This is undoubtedly the standout track on this album and why did I miss it back in the day? Perhaps I listened to 'No Reply at All' which follows the title track with its horns…, what HORNS, BRASS..., ridiculous... and turned it off quickly.
Next would have been 'Me and Sarah Jane' which we will come to shortly…
...'1981 was a long time ago; did I jack it in halfway through 'Me and Sarah Jane'?, I think I might'...
Clocking in at over seven minutes, this is not your radio-friendly song, though it starts with a bang and draws you right in. Looking back at the order of songs, this was the first one on side two. Did I even reach side two, or did I disgustedly shove it on the shelf to collect dust?
Anyone with vinyl experience will know it's not a simple procedure to hit the next song easily. You pick up the needle and drop it, hopefully near the black groove, and not too hard or it's a free scratch. You listened to the lot, and did not skip tracks.
The Dodo part at the end does not compete with Lurker, and does contain some strange progressive-type sounds, though not reminiscent of their earlier material.
Genesis – Me and Sarah Jane (Abacab – 1981)
If I rack my brains I remember the first listen of ‘Sarah Jane’ and getting positively limp down below. I had endured that crap... 'No Reply at All' and this was not getting any better.
A quirky start was doing it no favours, where were the catchy riffs? This was a Tony Banks product and all I was hearing was this stupid plonkety piano, was that more brass?
In retrospect, 'Me and Sarah Jane' is one of the better songs on this mostly shit album, but it took me many decades to realise it. A slow-growing, non-repeatable song is not something one can easily digest.
'Sarah Jane' lacks the standard chorus, verse chorus, verse repetitive narrative that catches the ear of the idle radio-public ear and takes many listens to get anything out of it.
Listening to this song while I write this, I can now appreciate what they were trying to achieve…, something different, and after many listens I finally caught on.
Genesis – Like it or Not (Abacab – 1981)
It’s stinks of a Phil song but written by Mike. I wonder if Phil had a hand with the lyrics? I was going to have to get used to these as more and more were going to appear. I have a theory that Phil’s separation from his ex-wife, ‘Andrea Bertorelli', played a large factor in his rise from relative obscurity to being a mega-star in the 1980s.
On Abacab, we would be subjected to 'Man on the Corner' and 'Like it or Not' with the latter being my preferred choice.
This was not new, as on 'Duke', we had 'Please Don't Ask' and 'Alone Tonight', both soppy weepy tracks, and not my preferred 'Genesis' sound, but I can't deny that it was working.
Source
...'did this split result in Phil's and Genesis' meteoric rise to success?'...
The ladies were taking more notice, and their audience was now more than a bunch of progressive degenerates with long hair that took a bath every three or four weeks.
Perhaps that's a little harsh and I am trying to emphasize a point. I didn't bathe as much as I should have in 1980 and my hair was on the long side.
Did his split with Andrea result in Phil’s rise to stardom and him being both extremely popular and simultaneously hated for being just that?
As for the song, Phil is still proclaiming ‘there’s a chance to hold on to our love', and this is after 'In the Air Tonight' with the paintbrush proclamation.
Listen to the lyrics, and make your fucking mind up Phil.
Guitar Image - Source
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