And then there were three guys left in Genesis: Rate their albums.

[StevegSr]

From the album And Then There Were Three right up to We Can't Dance, rate the Genesis albums live and studio (including the 2007 reunion) that featured Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford.

[JKL2000]

Oldest to most recent, except We Cant Dance Might be better than Invisible Touch. Sort of. Both those albums are a very mixed bag.

[ProgArtist]

Oldest to most recent, except We Cant Dance Might be better than Invisible Touch. Sort of. Both those albums are a very mixed bag.

I'd probably put Duke and even Abacab ahead of AttWT. There's a certain blandness to AttWT that comes from the similar keyboard sounds and production choices.

[yamishogun]

Since I didn't do this when it was a topic last year:

1. Duke
2. And Then There Were Three
3. Genesis (Shapes)
----------------------------------
4. Calling All Stations
5. Abacab
6. invisible Touch
-----------------------------------
7. We Can't Dance

1. Three Sides Live (the studio tracks would be around #2 above)
2. The Longs

[simon moon]

Duke is the only one the least bit palatable to me.

All the rest do not rate at all.

[JKL2000]

Duke is the only one the least bit palatable to me.

All the rest do not rate at all.

You dislike every song on the other post-WAW albums?

[StevegSr]

Duke is the only one the least bit palatable to me.

All the rest do not rate at all.

Wow. ATTWT is the only Genesis "trio" album that I really enjoy. And I mean really.

[Facelift]

And Then There Were Three:
B-
Squishy-squashy synth tones abound. Good songs are in shorter supply. One of my favorite Genesis album covers, though.

Duke:
B+
A fine mix of pop songs and more proggier things. Genesis adapted to the '80s better than just about any of their peers.

Abacab:
A-
The pinnacle of the re-vamped Genesls, IMO. I think it's better than most of what came before it (sacrilege, I know).

ST
B
I really like the first half. The second half, not so much.

Invisible Touch
*no rating*
I'm bound to this album by nostalgia, as it's the album that came out when I got into Genesis. Objectively I think it's probably worse than any of the other Collins trio albums, but I do actually still listen to it and enjoy it from time to time.

We Can't Dance
B
It's too long. There are a number of songs that I never want to hear again. But, there are plenty of others that work just fine, IMO. Hack out the offending 23-27 minutes and you still get a '70s-length album I'm happy to play any time.

Calling All Stations
C-
Not sure how else to grade an album that I think has no good songs, yet only a few real stinkers. I really wish this had never happened.

[2steves]

And Then There Were Three:
B-
Squishy-squashy synth tones abound. Good songs are in shorter supply. One of my favorite Genesis album covers, though.

Duke:
B+
A fine mix of pop songs and more proggier things. Genesis adapted to the '80s better than just about any of their peers.

Abacab:
A-
The pinnacle of the re-vamped Genesls, IMO. I think it's better than most of what came before it (sacrilege, I know).

ST
B
I really like the first half. The second half, not so much.

Invisible Touch
*no rating*
I'm bound to this album by nostalgia, as it's the album that came out when I got into Genesis. Objectively I think it's probably worse than any of the other Collins trio albums, but I do actually still listen to it and enjoy it from time to time.

We Can't Dance
B
It's too long. There are a number of songs that I never want to hear again. But, there are plenty of others that work just fine, IMO. Hack out the offending 23-27 minutes and you still get a '70s-length album I'm happy to play any time.

Calling All Stations
C-
Not sure how else to grade an album that I think has no good songs, yet only a few real stinkers. I really wish this had never happened.

Agree with a lot of this but would probably give Duke A- and Abacab B---and Calling all stations C--some songs with potential---but they should have brought Hackett back in to make it interesting---and not a big fan of the singers voice.

[JJ88]

Abacab:
A-
The pinnacle of the re-vamped Genesls, IMO. I think it's better than most of what came before it (sacrilege, I know).
.

Hmm. After 'Dodo/Lurker' it's one misfire after another, as far as I'm concerned, so I can't agree...that section of the album is probably their weakest material up to that point. (The 2nd side of Genesis is equally average.)

I think the live versions of basically every single track were superior...even 'Who Dunnit' was at least a big production number, with all the lights and the novelty of Mike Rutherford on drums! Fair enough, but I think it's particularly marked with Abacab. All the songs have much more energy, and 'No Reply At All' loses that shotgun wedding EWF horn arrangement.

I like EWF and I also like them on Phil Collins' records, I just don't really think it worked on that track. Phil Collins in interviews sort of talked up the shock factor of it and that's how it sounds- it clashes. IMHO.

[Facelift]

Hmm. After 'Dodo/Lurker' it's one misfire after another, as far as I'm concerned, so I can't agree...that section of the album is probably their weakest material up to that point. (The 2nd side of Genesis is equally average.)

I think the live versions of basically every single track were superior...

If a band *can't* make the live versions of all or most of their studio work sound better, I'm probably not very interested in them to begin with.

[JKL2000]

^Fair enough, but I think it's particularly marked with Abacab. All the songs have much more energy, and 'No Reply At All' loses that shotgun wedding EWF horn arrangement.

The EWF Horns = not prog

[JKL2000]

I like EWF and I also like them on Phil Collins' records, I just don't really think it worked on that track. Phil Collins in interviews sort of talked up the shock factor of it and that's how it sounds- it clashes. IMHO.

I agree

[miamiscot]

And Then There Were Three and Duke were pretty great.

I can do without the rest. Just not my cup of tea.

ATTWT B-
Duke B
Abacab C-
s/t D+
Invisible Touch D-
We Can't Dance D
Calling All Stations F

[SteveSly]

Off the top of my head I would go:

1. Duke
2. And Then There Were Three
3. We can’t Dance
4. Shapes
5. Invisible Touch
6. Calling All Stations
7. Abacab

[philsunset]

The EWF Horns = not prog

Bingo.

[yamishogun]

but from this era, I would usually listen to

1. Three Sides Live
2. Archives #2

and occasionally

3. The Way We Walk: The Longs

That covers my post 1978 Genesis needs quite well.

[Progatron]

I love And Then There Were Three. As I always say when the subject comes up here, it has a mood to it that is unlike any other album they made. "Down And Out" is a fantastic album opener, and stuff like "Burning Rope" and "The Lady Lies" is pure Genesis IMO. I listen to this album often, have done for many years.

Duke is another very solid album, and not just because of the strength of the opening and closing. Some of those forgotten middle tracks are favourites of mine. Lush, romantic stuff like "Heathaze" for example, or "Cul-De-Sac". Even "Turn It On Again", despite being so overplayed, is a really solid tune whenever I hear it. I have no problem with a short, accessible piece of music, and Genesis did it very well to my ears.

Abacab has its moments ("Dodo", "Keep It Dark", the title track) but is not one of the stronger albums of this bunch. I like it when I'm in the mood for it, but would much prefer it had they opted to include "Submarine" (a beautiful instrumental) and "You Might Recall" in place of two of the 'stinker' tracks.

Genesis is worth it for "Mama" and "Home By The Sea" IMO... incredibly strong atmosphere to those, and I've always loved "Silver Rainbow" and even "Just A Job To Do". Not wild about most of the rest of it. The good stuff is great, the bad stuff... meh. Contains a song in the 'bottom three' of their career for me in "Illegal Alien".

Invisible Touch may have a few eye-rollers on it (I can't listen to the title track), but I think "Tonight Tonight Tonight", "Domino" and "The Brazilian" are pretty fine tracks considering it was the mid-80s. Selling England it ain't, but it's a good example that I can find something to like on every album they made.

We Can't Dance suffers from too much music being stuffed on the CD. In the older days, a few of those tracks would have been left off for a more concise album. I could do without ever hearing "Since I Lost You" again (it's also in that bottom three I mentioned earlier). My #1 criticism of this album is that it absolutely should have kicked off with "On The Shoreline", which they stupidly left off. "No Son Of Mine" is okay, but is certainly not an essential album opener. I do like "Dreaming While You Sleep" a lot, and I think there are some good emotional moments in "Driving The Last Spike" (does anyone remember the 'radio edit' CD single of that one, where it simply started with the "...we worked, how we worked like the devil for our pay" section? talk about a hack job!) ... the album ends beautifully with "Fading Lights" too. Overall though, the weakest of the lot.

[JJ88]

Yeah, WCD is a funny one. Some of it is a very good Genesis album, some of it is a bad Adult Contemporary album.

[yamishogun]

Yeah, WCD is a funny one. Some of it is a very good Genesis album, some of it is a bad Adult Contemporary album.

Apart from 'Driving the Last Spike', which were the good parts again? 'Fading Distance Lights' was almost a good song.

[Proglodite]

Funny to see The Longs/The Shorts get trashed. They cater to the prog fan by not forcing them to buy the crappy pop songs...and prog fans STILL complain

Peter

[JKL2000]

I like The Longs - was it getting trashed here?

[chescorph]

I love And Then There Were Three. As I always say when the subject comes up here, it has a mood to it that is unlike any other album they made. "Down And Out" is a fantastic album opener, and stuff like "Burning Rope" and "The Lady Lies" is pure Genesis IMO. I listen to this album often, have done for many years.

Duke is another very solid album, and not just because of the strength of the opening and closing. Some of those forgotten middle tracks are favourites of mine. Lush, romantic stuff like "Heathaze" for example, or "Cul-De-Sac". Even "Turn It On Again", despite being so overplayed, is a really solid tune whenever I hear it. I have no problem with a short, accessible piece of music, and Genesis did it very well to my ears.

Abacab has its moments ("Dodo", "Keep It Dark", the title track) but is not one of the stronger albums of this bunch. I like it when I'm in the mood for it, but would much prefer it had they opted to include "Submarine" (a beautiful instrumental) and "You Might Recall" in place of two of the 'stinker' tracks.

Genesis is worth it for "Mama" and "Home By The Sea" IMO... incredibly strong atmosphere to those, and I've always loved "Silver Rainbow" and even "Just A Job To Do". Not wild about most of the rest of it. The good stuff is great, the bad stuff... meh. Contains a song in the 'bottom three' of their career for me in "Illegal Alien".

Invisible Touch may have a few eye-rollers on it (I can't listen to the title track), but I think "Tonight Tonight Tonight", "Domino" and "The Brazilian" are pretty fine tracks considering it was the mid-80s. Selling England it ain't, but it's a good example that I can find something to like on every album they made.

We Can't Dance suffers from too much music being stuffed on the CD. In the older days, a few of those tracks would have been left off for a more concise album. I could do without ever hearing "Since I Lost You" again (it's also in that bottom three I mentioned earlier). My #1 criticism of this album is that it absolutely should have kicked off with "On The Shoreline", which they stupidly left off. "No Son Of Mine" is okay, but is certainly not an essential album opener. I do like "Dreaming While You Sleep" a lot, and I think there are some good emotional moments in "Driving The Last Spike" (does anyone remember the 'radio edit' CD single of that one, where it simply started with the "...we worked, how we worked like the devil for our pay" section? talk about a hack job!) ... the album ends beautifully with "Fading Lights" too. Overall though, the weakest of the lot.

I think you left one out, intentional?

[yamishogun]

I like The Longs - was it getting trashed here?

It is weird that they put 'Tonight, Tonight, Tonight' on "The Shorts" as a 4 min song when the original is 9 min.

[ProgArtist]

"The Longs" was my first Genesis album, and works really well as a compilation of Genesis' 80's/90's prog numbers. I'm usually a studio album kind of guy, but I actually prefer most of these (not the old medley) to their studio counterparts, especially part two of "Home by the Sea", where the original is marred by the overbearing drums.