I asked one question. I really don't care if you like it.
Oh, excuse us.
You asked one question. You also said "forgot how underrated this record is", which I think most people would take as a licence to give a response as to whether they agree or disagree that it's underrated.
Might also be an idea to give some appreciation to those who HAVE answered your question. Just sayin'. Makes it more likely that people will bother answering your questions in future.
The original cd version sounds the best.
The beginnning of the end for me. I saw the tour, and enjoyed all the material before Abacab.
I agree this album is underrated. "Me and Sarah Jane" is bloody brilliant. "Keep It Dark" is pretty cool also. The only two songs I don't care much for are "Who Dunnit" and "Man On The Corner".
The following self-titled album I don't like very much at all, except "Second Home By The Sea", and "Its Gonna Get Better", (and "Silver Rainbow" isn't bad either), but I can't stand "Mama".
Keep It Dark is easily one of my favorite Genesis songs. Glad to see Simon Collins (and Squids?) pull this song out from obscurity. I really like No Reply At All as well. I'd rate Abacab pretty low compared to the rest of their catalog, but I really like every song on it.
My gateway to Genesis. I was aware of them before but only the radio hits. Next album was Duke and then the Shapes album came out. It was right around this time I learned that this odd Peter Gabriel fellow used to be in the band... anyway, this one of those albums I would go on to physically wear out on cassette (bought it twice on cassette I played it so much).
Yes, I agree the previous albums I prefer, but I rate it higher than the 3 albums that followed it. I think what hurt those albums was always doing group material. There's a reason "Me & Sarah Jane" is so fantastic, and that is that Tony could spend so much time on all the subtleties, something that seems to be lacking with their group stuff on those later albums.
And "keep it dark" is cool how the guitar melody repeats itself, but with the chords changing on top of it. And then the chorus is glorious. To me they never did anything like this song either before or after. As to "No Reply", I didn't think I'd like it at first, and then it really grew on me. On the next album, "Just A Job To Do" has a bit of a similar tight quality, but unlike "No Reply...", it never really grew on me. Also I finally came to grips with how the song "Abacab" fades just as it is getting really interesting. It leaves me wanting more-in a good way-again something later albums don't do.
To my ears, "Abacab" and "Genesis(Shapes)" are cut from the same cloth and are basically interchangeable. I enjoy them the same, which is to say waaaaayyy more than the albums that followed them.
My guess is that if you don't like it, you haven't given enough time to actually which version or reissue is the best (read worst) sounding. So ny telling you how dreadful the album,we're telling that not only do we not know which reissue is the best/worst, but that we also don't give a slightest hoot. siffle.giflmao.gif
Jk, of course
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
As an aside, is there any Genesis song that actually uses the rhyming scheme A-B-A-C-A-B? Or those notes of the musical scale, in that sequence? Can't think of any, but I haven't thought too hard.
Well, as others have mentioned Abacab has 'Me & Sarah Jane', their last masterpiece, in my opinion. And there is a sort of cutting edgeness to much of 'Abacab'. I do find the shapes album a bit bland, there are no songs I dislike-or strongly like either. But I always felt there was something I was missing with that album. I actually like 'Invisible Touch' a bit more overall. 'Abacab', I've always said would have been a great album had 'Naminanu', 'You Might Recall' and 'Me & Virgil' been included.
Good album
Someone correct me, but I'm pretty sure that is where the name came from. From what I recall from old interviews, the song had that sort of structure in an early version, which is where the name originally came from. It morphed during development into the form we know of, and I'm assuming the lyrics were written to the name fairly late in the game.
I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.
That's a bit like saying "I'd be a rich man if I only had a million dollars in the bank".
As for "Shapes", I think it has three great songs: Home By the Sea (Pt 2 more than Pt 1), Silver Rainbow, and It's Gonna Get Better. The rest of them - I enjoy them without considering any of them essential. I seem to be one of the few people who like Illegal Alien.
I think it's pretty good over all. I don't understand why everyone seems to say Duke was their last proggy album when this one was imo just as proggy(not as good but nonetheless just as proggy).
Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays....always doors to lock away your dreams (To Be Over)
I like Silver Rainbow but the lyrics are kinda stoopid.
This is a great album ruined by lousy track sequencing. They opted to emasculate a double album of wide-ranging vision in the name of something more hip and mod. A great example of a brilliant business decision that happened to be an awful artistic decision.
A pretty good attempt at the Dodo Suite - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEatqARfZgM
I made my own version of Dodo/Lurker/Submarine (no Naminamu) a few years ago and I was unprepared for how moved to tears I could get by the end of it. Dodo/Lurker is still pretty cool on its own but the whole suite is a surrealistic wonderland with intense emotional content.
I also buy the hype about Hugh Padgham's drum production. Pretty exciting drums.
There are often different masterings for different issues of cd's, based on year released and country of origin.
For Abacab, I believe these are the different-sounding cd's:
1980's Charisma disc UK
1980's Atco disc USA
1980's Vertigo disc Germany
1994 Atlantic Gold Disc
1994 Definitive Edition Remaster
2007 Nick Davis Remix/Remaster
I only have the British lp. Which has Navy Blue where the US release has that awful green. Fave tune:Keep It Dark. I never appreciated No Reply At All until a few years ago in here when someone informed me that Mike was playing a fretless bass on it. Me And Sarah Jane is the closest this album gets to anything resembling prog. And I don't know why exactly but on the chorus of the title song I always hear "Grab A Cab." lol
Dodo has a very distinctive Reggae beat,did you notice?
Not one of my faves by Genesis. Btw, I don't understand why some refer to the next one in 1983 as Shapes. The album has a title,it's called Genesis. I feel the same way about The Beatles aka White Album. I go with what the artist had in mind.
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