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Thread: Holy Mother Of God

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    Member PotatoSolution's Avatar
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    Holy Mother Of God

    Arguably the most essential album of the post-Gabriel Genesis, A Trick of the Tail was released in February 1976 ... 40 years ago this month.

    This album proved to the fans (and the band themselves) that not only could they carry on without their charismatic front man, but that they could achieve international success that had previously eluded them.


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    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Great thread title--I always thought that was a ballsy way to kick off an album.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    And a great way to disguise another Genesis thread! Not that I mind another!

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    It's also one of my favourite Genesis covers. maybe not as pretty as Selling England, and not as deep and meaningful as The Lamb... but honestly, whoenver did that artwork must have spent hours going over it again and again checking that every song was referenced in some way or other.

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    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    It's also one of my favourite Genesis covers.
    Agreed. I never liked the Gabriel-era covers that much, particularly not the Whitehead ones. This one has a nice storybook quality without being too twee, a good dash of humor, and great, tasteful execution.
    Last edited by Mister Triscuits; 02-02-2016 at 01:31 PM.

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    Possibly their best album...hard to credit really, given that Gabriel had become the 'face' of the band. But on a songwriting level they were really firing on all cylinders...as they had to be.

    Lots of truly magical moments on here, but I'd particularly single out the instrumental sections of 'Entangled' (horribly bungled in Nick Davis' remix...for goodness' sake, guys, get the originals back out there!) and 'Ripples'. I think 'Robbery Assault and Battery' and 'Squonk' are better on Seconds Out but that's a very minor quibble.

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    Member Hyfi's Avatar
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    Trick
    And Then There Were Three
    Wind and Wuthering

    3 of the best all time Genesis releases after Foxtrot. Collins vocals are an instrument itself and way more emotion than most any Gabriel vocals.
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    After Gabriel left I thought they were done-for. This album proved otherwise, and in brilliant fashion as well! It remains one of my favorite Genesis albums. They started losing me after "And then there were three," which i thought was some sort of cruel joke.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    It's also one of my favourite Genesis covers. maybe not as pretty as Selling England, and not as deep and meaningful as The Lamb... but honestly, whoenver did that artwork must have spent hours going over it again and again checking that every song was referenced in some way or other.
    Like the album a lot, but think the cover is pretty lame - definitely twee.

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    Genesis album covers have, alas, been pretty hit and miss over the years. This is not one of the worst, but not one of the best either.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post
    Lots of truly magical moments on here, but I'd particularly single out the instrumental sections of 'Entangled' (horribly bungled in Nick Davis' remix...
    I'll have to pull out my original CD and the remix, but can you (or anyone else) try to explain what they did to change it? I'm not questioning it at all, I just know it will be a while till I get around to doing an A/B. I know it might be hard to put it into words.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Facelift View Post
    Like the album a lot, but think the cover is pretty lame - definitely twee.
    Do you consider England itself (herself?) to be "twee?"

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    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    My favourite album by my favourite band. I love every second of it, and I include the b-side "It's Yourself" (full version) as well - although I wish they had stuck with the working title of that song, "Beloved Summer".

    As for the cover, I like it although it's awfully unlike what Hipgnosis usually did. Storm Thorgerson must have been rolling his eyes at that one.
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    Member DoubleDrummer's Avatar
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    I vaguely remember reading a story regarding the departure of PG and the search for a replacement.
    Many were auditioned before they decided to use PC for the lead vocal.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    I'll have to pull out my original CD and the remix, but can you (or anyone else) try to explain what they did to change it? I'm not questioning it at all, I just know it will be a while till I get around to doing an A/B. I know it might be hard to put it into words.
    The twelve string in the instrumental section has an 'echo'. It sounds like the synch was off here. The original was NOT like this.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Do you consider England itself (herself?) to be "twee?"
    No - why?

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    Great album, and I love the cover. They really had something to prove with this one, and they came through spectacularly.

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    Their best post-Gabriel album and one of their best overall. I sort of missed Gabriel's zaniness, but not a lot; it's great album! The best sounding album of theirs as far as recording/production too!

  19. #19
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Do you consider England itself (herself?) to be "twee?"
    Quote Originally Posted by Facelift View Post
    No - why?
    Sorry, I should have included a smiley face. It's just that the cover seems so much like so many English illustrations (the ones from Dickens, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland, etc.). But I guess that's the kind of place "twee" comes from.

    To be honest, while I basically always liked the cover, I don't think the execution is quite as good as it could have (or should have) been.

    When I was in college I was introduced to hard-core Genesis fandom by a friend whose girlfriend had made an "ATOTT" t-shirt for him, and the cover design wrapped all around the shirt. She did a really good job.

    This is definitely one of my favorite Genesis albums too, and I often have a hard time deciding amongst Lamb, Foxtrot, and ATOTT for my favorite. When it comes right down to it, I love Lamb, but Foxtrot and ATOTT are where it's at for this kind of music, and what really, IMO, unleashed a deluge of bands inspired by classic Genesis, so they're really my favorites.

    Surprisingly, to me, my son prefers Nursery Cryme to Foxtrot, and we're both surprised by the other's preference. I do like Nursery Cryme ALMOST as much as Foxtrot, but Foxtrot edges it out because side one is pretty much as perfect as perfect gets.
    Last edited by JKL2000; 02-02-2016 at 02:42 PM.

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    The only thing that I find to criticise about ATOTT is the ending. I know Los Endos is very popular, but I think it's a rather lame way to end the album. "Afterglow" is the way an album SHOULD end.

    Hence, I find that it works very well to play ATOTT and W&W back to back, thinking of it as a double album.

  21. #21
    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    The only thing that I find to criticise about ATOTT is the ending. I know Los Endos is very popular, but I think it's a rather lame way to end the album.
    Totally disagree. I've always liked the idea of having a final track that calls back themes from earlier in the album.

  22. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Sorry, I should have included a smiley face. It's just that the cover seems so much like so many English illustrations (the ones from Dickens, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland, etc.). But I guess that's the kind of place "twee" comes from.
    .
    Right, but using such illustration devices on the cover of a rock music album in 1976... there's an affectation there. Those were not contemporary English illustration styles. And the whole thing with trying to have an image that represents each song - not really my taste. Rush's album covers aren't twee, but I don't like it when they try to do similar things, either.

    Anyway- I don't hate it or anything, I just don't particularly like it. Wind and Wuthering was illustrated in a similar style, but I prefer that. SEBTP was as "English" as you can get, but I thought that painting was a great choice for that cover.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Triscuits View Post
    Totally disagree. I've always liked the idea of having a final track that calls back themes from earlier in the album.
    I don't mind the fact that it reprises themes. I just think it ends unsatisfactorily. It fades out, and while that's also the case on Wind and Wuthering and Foxtrot (among others), the fadeouts on those albums bring a sense of closure. On Los Endos, it's as though the engineer said "Right, we need to cut it somewhere."

    It's OK, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

  24. #24
    They reached their plateau of greatness with Foxtrot, and remained there all through Wind and Wuthering.

    They quickly fell off after Wind and Wuthering.

    The only song on Trick of the Tail I do not like is Robbery Assault ult and Battery.
    And if there were a god, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence - Russell

  25. #25
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Facelift View Post
    Right, but using such illustration devices on the cover of a rock music album in 1976... there's an affectation there. Those were not contemporary English illustration styles. And the whole thing with trying to have an image that represents each song - not really my taste. Rush's album covers aren't twee, but I don't like it when they try to do similar things, either.

    Anyway- I don't hate it or anything, I just don't particularly like it. Wind and Wuthering was illustrated in a similar style, but I prefer that. SEBTP was as "English" as you can get, but I thought that painting was a great choice for that cover.
    Now you have me realizing that Genesis just really doesn't have very good album covers...

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