Genesis - Duke

[trurl]

That's All is the Yamaha.

[Troopers For Sound]

I rarely listen to 80's Genesis much...but I still consider the opening 2 mins or so of Duchess to be some of my favourite music of the entire decade.

And I love the CP70 too

Matt.

[No Pride]

I love "Behind the Lines," "Man of Our Times," "Guide Vocal" and "Duke's Travels/Duke's End;" the rest of it, not so much (though "Misunderstanding" and "Turn It On Again" are okay). And yes, it's a shame "Evidence of Autumn" wasn't on there; it's among my favorite Genesis tunes. I liked a smaller percentage of ABACAB and after that, well, I was done with Genesis. No hard feelings, they gave us a great run of fantastic prog albums.

[Progbear]

If I remember correctly, though, Banks said he used the Synclavier for the "organ" solo on That's All.

Prophet 10. Did Tony use the Synclavier? I know that for IT he got an Emulator II.

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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

"Siento que debemos saber para el sueño de quién brillará esta luz
o consagrar una propia estrella" --Alberto Felici

N.P.:“House and Car”-The Mothmen/One Black Dot

[Vic2012]

What keyboard is that on ABACAB (the song)? Love that sound.

[Scott Bails]

Me too, Vic.

[GuitarGeek]

What keyboard is that on ABACAB (the song)? Love that sound.

The "organ" sound (heard throughout the song) is the Prophet-10. The synth on the intro and the bridge section is the ARP Quadra. I think it's the Quadra that he hear mostly in the instrumental ending. The little melodic phrase you hear just as they segue into the instrumental after the last vocal chorus I think is also the Prophet-10.

[GuitarGeek]

Prophet 10. Did Tony use the Synclavier? I know that for IT he got an Emulator II.

Yes, he used a Synclavier, but not as a sampler. He the Synclavier's FM synthesis section. He had it on the 84 tour and I think also the 86-87 tour. He used a first generation Emulator on the 84 tour, but swapped up to the Emulator II by the time of the 86 tour. If you check out the Mama Tour, you can see him playing parts of the Cinema Show and In That Quiet solos on the Synclavier.

I could swear that he said in that Keyboard magazine interview from 84 that he used the Synclavier for the organ solo on That's All, but I could be misremembering. I do know that the Prophet-10 was the instrument he usually used in the 80's for his organ sounds, though.

[arise_shine]

It's a great album made merely "decent" by some rather uninspired filler in the middle. The "Duke" suite is solid, and a handful of songs in the middle are good (including the two hits and "Man of Our Times"), and the "Duke's" duology at the end is spectacular. But man ... those filler songs in the middle. I don't mind Genesis's later pop stuff (including most of the self-titled album and Invisible Touch, both of which I love), but on this album, it's just so bland and uninspiring. Shrug.

[ThomasKDye]

But man ... those filler songs in the middle.

I wish all "filler" could be as intricate and well-done as "Cul de Sac." I'd have a lot more CDs.

[battema]

Duke is one of my favorite Genesis albums. For me, the low points aren't that low at all, and the high points....well, they just soar in some of these songs.

[bill g]

I guess the only low point for me is Misunderstanding, which isn't bad by any means, just not near the rest. I was never too keen on 'Turn It On Again' either, which seems to be a precursor for the Abacab sound, but its catchy for a pop tune. Alone Tonight is decent, almost Beatlesque somehow with some semi-interesting changes. Rather nice, as is Please Dont Ask, which would have been my first choice for a single. Lovely tune. As for Man of our Times, I found it jarring initially but quite like it now. The faint vocals add to the mood, for me. All of the rest of the album(Behind The Lines, Duchess, Guide Vocal, Heathaze, Cul-De-Sac, Dukes Travels/End) is great. Though none of it quite moves me like Cinema Show or Firth of Fifth.

[Troopers For Sound]

I could swear that he said in that Keyboard magazine interview from 84 that he used the Synclavier for the organ solo on That's All, but I could be misremembering. I do know that the Prophet-10 was the instrument he usually used in the 80's for his organ sounds, though.

Yep...you can see him play the Synclavier for that solo on both the Mama and IT tour films.

[Progatron]

I guess the only low point for me is Misunderstanding, which isn't bad by any means, just not near the rest. I was never too keen on 'Turn It On Again' either

I agree about "Misunderstanding". It's a nice, bouncy little pop tune (a la "Hold The Line"), but pales in comparison to most of the record. As for "Turn It On Again", I never liked the way they played it live but I love the album version.

[JKL2000]

My one beef with the album is Misunderstanding. The chorus repeating ad nauseum, the whoo-whooing - it's just a major Phil-fest in the middle of a good Genesis album.

[undergroundrailroad]

Mike's bass during "I can remember when, it was easy to say..."

[JIF]

That's All is the Yamaha.

Isn't the CP-70 made by Yamaha?

Prophet 10. Did Tony use the Synclavier? I know that for IT he got an Emulator II.

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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

"Siento que debemos saber para el sueño de quién brillará esta luz
o consagrar una propia estrella" --Alberto Felici

N.P.:“House and Car”-The Mothmen/One Black Dot

The "organ" solo on That's All is a Synclavier II, and the organ sound heard throughout the rest of the song is a Prophet 10.

[arabicadabra]

My low point is Turn It On Again. But I can tolerate it. I should make a cdr with Evidence Of Autumn in its place.

[Progbear]

I wish all "filler" could be as intricate and well-done as "Cul de Sac." I'd have a lot more CDs.

I think the only “filler” on this album: the two similar-sounding ballads “Please Don’t Ask” and “Alone Again.” I would have swapped out one of them for “Evidence of Autumn.” Probably “Alone Again,” at least Phil’s song is personal and comes across as sincere.

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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

"Siento que debemos saber para el sueño de quién brillará esta luz
o consagrar una propia estrella" --Alberto Felici

N.P.:nothing

[JIF]

My low point is Turn It On Again. But I can tolerate it. I should make a cdr with Evidence Of Autumn in its place.

Why don't you like Turn In On Again? It's got an usual time signature(13/8). Also, it's part of the Duke suite.

[ThomasKDye]

At least Phil’s song is personal and comes across as sincere.

Yeah, I give Phil a LOT of slack on that song. It sounds really deep, painful and genuine, unlike flavorless trifles like "In Too Deep" and "Hold On My Heart." And as was pointed out, Mike does some exquisite bass work to punctuate the melody. I get goosebumps at the "Ah, but I miss my boy" part as well.

(... You know, it's really weird to think the "boy" in that song is now a respected prog rock drummer/vocalist with an awesome album of his own ... )

[Progatron]

Yeah, I give Phil a LOT of slack on that song. It sounds really deep, painful and genuine, unlike flavorless trifles like "In Too Deep" and "Hold On My Heart." And as was pointed out, Mike does some exquisite bass work to punctuate the melody. I get goosebumps at the "Ah, but I miss my boy" part as well.

(... You know, it's really weird to think the "boy" in that song is now a respected prog rock drummer/vocalist with an awesome album of his own ... )

I'm glad to see some love for "Please Don't Ask". That's a really pretty track... not sure I agree it should have been the first single (was mentioned earlier in the thread), but I do love it. And hey, it leads into the highlight of the album with "Duke's Travels". Not a 'skipper' track at all, IMO... I guess I've always assumed that the popular opinion said otherwise. As for "Hold On My Heart", I know you're likely referring to the lyrics, but musically that's got some nice Banks chord changes in it. An underrated track IMO, much like "Uncertain Weather" on the subsequent album.

Oh, and I've thought the exact same thing about Simon! BTW, he's also the little kid in the photo of the band (with Gabriel) backstage post-'82 reunion gig. You know the photo, the one where they are cutting the cake.

[ThomasKDye]

As for "Hold On My Heart", I know you're likely referring to the lyrics, but musically that's got some nice Banks chord changes in it.

At first I didn't mind it, and it does have a "deeper" melody than the plastic "In Too Deep," but I think I've just come around to it being rather shallow and weak in the end. The chord changes are kind of failed by the song itself.

Anyway, back to "Duke"... "Alone Tonight" was "acceptable" to me... until I heard "Open Door" and discovered Mike was really rehashing himself something awful around this time. I actually don't think Mike holds his own as much in the songwriting department, although he's still okay. Nevertheless, I find that HIS solo-credited songs are often the ones I tend to skip the most.

[trurl]

Isn't the CP-70 made by Yamaha?

Yes, that's what I'm referring to.

[JIF]

Yes, that's what I'm referring to.

Oh. Well, I said that before in response to someone that said that Tony stopped using the CP-70 after Duke. I'm also the one that said That's All is also the CP-70. Someone said it was a regular piano.