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Thread: Revisiting ABACAB

  1. #1

    Revisiting ABACAB

    The iPod stumbled across "Me and Sara Jane" tonight, and so I decided to give ABACAB a listen for the first time in a long, long time. And you know, while it is by no means a "prog classic," I think as it stands it is a pretty great album! Songs like the one mentioned above, "Dodo/Lurker," "Keep it Dark," and the title track are actually, to me anyway, pretty creative and interesting. And what a drum sound! So punchy and in-your-face.
    I know there are plenty who will disagree with me, but are there any out there who will stand up in defense of ABACAB?
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  2. #2
    Addendum: "Who Dunnit" is NOT on my iPod, so I didn't include that one in my revisitation of the album. That is definitely not one of my favorite Genesis tunes!
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    Quote Originally Posted by Farpoint Kevin View Post
    The iPod stumbled across "Me and Sara Jane" tonight, and so I decided to give ABACAB a listen for the first time in a long, long time. And you know, while it is by no means a "prog classic," I think as it stands it is a pretty great album! Songs like the one mentioned above, "Dodo/Lurker," "Keep it Dark," and the title track are actually, to me anyway, pretty creative and interesting. And what a drum sound! So punchy and in-your-face.
    I know there are plenty who will disagree with me, but are there any out there who will stand up in defense of ABACAB?
    I love the whole thing. A great listen start to finish including Whodunit.

  4. #4
    I think it was their last great album. I have no problem with any of it. Including Whodunnit.

  5. #5
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    ABACAB doesn't deserve the beating it usually gets but I don't spin it very often. Ok, about once every 2 years or so. That's because the 3 best songs all sound better on Three Sides Live. Of the rest of the album, No Reply at All is a very good song although many here can't get passed the horn section. Man on the Corner, while a knockoff of In the Air Tonight, is also very good. Whodunit, is a joke that isn't too funny and the rest of the album is solid. Basically, Genesis was moving on and trying to stay relevant. While this is where they officially gave in their prog I'd card, this is still good music, just of a different style.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tangram View Post
    ABACAB doesn't deserve the beating it usually gets but I don't spin it very often. .
    this is probably the only place where it does get a beating. I remember when Martin Levacs Genesis band "Turn it on Again" played at the Keswick a few years back. Everyone loved it including all the Abacab songs. I don't agree that this is when they "gave in their prog card", but that's a pointless debate at this point. To each their own.

  7. #7
    Progdog ThomasKDye's Avatar
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    The first five songs, yes. It's simply the best thing Genesis did when it came to "modernizing" their sound; it was a successful "sparse new wave" take on their songwriting skills. As such, the first side and "Dodo/Lurker" outweigh the rest of their post-Duke "pop" albums.

    The last four songs, no. Those sound like they didn't give a crap and just tossed whatever scraps they had left onto the second side.

  8. #8
    I think it's one of Genesis' better albums. Of the albums preceding it, I prefer it to Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Wind and Wuthering, And Then There Were Three and Duke. I don't care if it's "prog" or not. Genesis was always pretty pop for a prog band, anyway.

  9. #9
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    I think it's a fine album. I avoided it for years because of all the negative talk about it. I always liked the title track. Love the keyboard (whatever it is) sound. It's a nice companion with Duke, kinda like Trick & Wind. A nice one-two punch.

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    here's my review (from my facebook page). the lowdown: LIKE!

    30th anniversary review!

    Genesis’ punk album. what had happened? after having seriously been bitten by the writing bug just a few years earlier phil collins contributed heavily to this album’s predecessor “duke“, ran off to do a quickfire solo project and suddenly found himself to be a huge solo star in his own right, readily being lapped up by the mainstream crowd – for decades to come. however he wasted little time in returning to his somewhat startled bandmates and they set off to quickly reconvene and record this one, which, augmented by the thermals of collins’ newfound solo success (hot air, anyone? hehe), saw Genesis soar even higher in public acclaim than before. and not only the increased public profile of said artist aided the proceedings. a few years after the much cited upheaval in music gradually executed the old dinosaur bands, it was Genesis who would prove to be most able to adapt to the changing times and thus picked up other bands’ audiences – in fact, the long tour that followed became the largest grossing Genesis tour yet and quickly elevated them onto bona fide stadium band status. but – and here’s the thing – they did not make it easy on everyone and ultimately themselves with “abacab”, the accompanying album.

    a distinct departure from the seemingly very composed and crafted “duke“ album there is a sense of looseness and sketchiness throughout which turned out to be a good thing and did go some way in establishing the band’s longevity. in reality though it has a heavily fragmented feel, having been put together as a collection of solo compositions and the odd band cooperation by everyone’s consent. in fact, the title track has a distinct jam quality seldom heard before with everything being centered around a heavy bass pedal pulse as well as the odd sharp guitar riff by mike rutherford, tony banks experimenting with a new peculiar and at times rather shrill synth sound on his oberheim (and subsequently milking it all the way) and with collins singing some abstract gibberish over a driving drum beat. still, it did yield a modest hit single and has become somewhat of a staple in defining late-period Genesis. on stage it really took off with its extended instrumental coda and it became a popular concert number. but for those who still envisaged the Genesis of yore, another shock to the system came their way with the funky and upbeat “no reply at all“ and, yes, that’s the celebrated Earth, Wind & Fire horns there, single handedly dragged into the studio by mr. collins, a long time admirer finally liberated to follow his own quirks and whims. the fans were quick to throw rotten tomatoes, but it is banks’ patented quickfire cross-hand playing technique (think “the lamb lies down“ or “mad man moon“) that quickly identifies this as a bona fide Genesis track. said gentleman takes the lead on his own “me and sarah jane“ with some nice white reggae touches and heavy in the atmospherics department, but ultimately lacking the cohesiveness to lift this one from the unfortunate blandness that is apparent here. but, as was the case with “abacab“, live it worked well enough. mike rutherford’s “keep it dark“ is something of a lost gem in Genesis’ catalogue, often overlooked, its minimalist character, being based on a single ominous guitar loop and restrained performances, gives it a lovely contemporary vibe – Genesis does Ultravox in some way.

    with side one being enough of a mixed bag, side two kicks off with the group composed “dodo/lurker”, a nod towards Genesis’ brit prog rock roots which were never really exorcised properly. and it’s far from being a loss, they have achieved a nice and contemporary version of their heritage here, with more sublime white reggae and new wave colourings and excellently ambient vibes with more of these spine chilling quiet-to-loud dynamics that Genesis have always excelled at. they are kind of overdoing it with the post punk contemporariness though on the oddball “who dunnit“ which is basically collins ranting and squeaking over a dumb beat and more annoying synth squeals courtesy of tony banks. hands down, it is a brave display of the band letting loose and just having some mindless fun, which is an achievement in itself for them. to many “man on the corner“ is the much maligned prototype for the ensuing onslaught of whiny, world weary phil collins ballads that were to follow in the coming years and ultimately making him some sort of highly successful persona non grata within the music consuming community that refuses to be lobotomized by mass media. however, that song works very well and offers some beautiful melancholia with its spacy arrangement, the gentle drum machine (a latter day Genesis trademark, ironically adopted by one of the finest drummers ever to walk this planet), a plaintive keyboard melody and the lone, desperate vocals. the album pretty much ends here for me though, mike rutherford’s “like it or not“ is nondescript at best. thanks. i don’t. they are attempting another epic album closer with “another record“, which however fails in pretty much every department and, to make matters worse, even has some of that atrocious synth harmonica that became such a common nuisance during the 1980s. if you have to have a harp on this one, get mark feltham. or none at all. it would improve things significantly.

    still, a prime example of a band which epitomizes musical meticulousness better than most just letting things go for a while, actually having fun and along the way reinventing themselves and casually changing things around. and it didn’t harm them the slightest, the listening world was ready to meet those changes and enjoy them all the same. this in turn meaning that no further Genesis review on my behalf of anything that came after this one is required. aren’t you glad?

  11. #11
    I like most of it, the only song I would avoid is Whodunnit, and if I could, I would skip Man on the Corner. Its certainly a more solid and consistent album than any Genesis album to follow it.

  12. #12
    When it came out I liked it a lot and was a big defender. I listened to it abut a year ago and more or less hated the whole thing apart from the title track and Dodo/Lurker, which I like as much as anything they've done. I prefer the self titled album myself...

  13. #13
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    Meh. It's only a *masterpiece* in comparison to, ahem, *Invisible Touch*. Which is much worse. But better than W&W? Wow. Insert Joker meme here---"Not sure if serous".

  14. #14
    "Me and Sarah Jane" is probably my favorite Tony Banks penned song -- certainly the best thing he did in the trio-era of the group. It is a stripped down epic that uses it's arrangement and keyboard sound to convey grandeur -- a very mature work by Banks completely devoid of anything one might consider excess. I can't think of one thing that is out of place or missing in this song. The production itself is both full and immediate and when I hear this song (especially on headphones) it sounds as if the band is standing a few feet away from me.

    The lyrics are typical Banks -- a melancholy musing on life as a musician and getting older. I've said it before but Banks always seemed to be seeing the end of his career right around the corner and it's ironic that their biggest success was yet to come.

    One note about something I find interesting about this song: The drum machine at the beginning and the use of the phrase "And now I'm standing on the corner..." Is there a connection between this song and "Man on the Corner"?

  15. #15
    I kinda despised this album for a long time. But 2 years ago, I put on some nice headphones, and was amazed at the great SOUND. I can't recall much about the songs, but the frequencies, instruments and vocal production, the tones of the band's instruments etc. are all wonderful. Technically speaking, it might be their finest hour in the studio.

  16. #16
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    I like it a lot - the sound is fantastic and is chock full of good songs ("Whodunnit?" notwithstanding). I wish they had gone the 2LP route though - some of the tracks they left off are very strong.
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  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Progatron View Post
    I like it a lot - the sound is fantastic and is chock full of good songs ("Whodunnit?" notwithstanding). I wish they had gone the 2LP route though - some of the tracks they left off are very strong.
    I definitely feel that most of the strongest material was left off the album! I'd prefer a single album of ABACAB, Dodo/Lurker plus the extra/B-side material. That's basically what's on my iPod.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Facelift View Post
    I think it's one of Genesis' better albums. Of the albums preceding it, I prefer it to Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Wind and Wuthering, And Then There Were Three and Duke. I don't care if it's "prog" or not. Genesis was always pretty pop for a prog band, anyway.
    well the album is is just full of clever rock songs, that is about it....but better than Nursery Cryme or Tresspass ???

  19. #19
    Thanks for the responses all. I see I'm not alone after all!
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  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Progmatic View Post
    well the album is is just full of clever rock songs, that is about it....but better than Nursery Cryme or Tresspass ???
    I've always found Trespass to be very uneven - the sound of a band figuring out what they were. Charming in some aspects but more of historical interest to hardcore fans of the band than anything else. I think that Nursery Cryme is better, but whenever I hear it, I find it to be carried by its first and last tracks. Still a band discovering itself and only intermittenly firing on all cylinders. Abacab, OTOH, I think is pretty strong throughout (Whodunnit excepted).

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adrian View Post
    I think it was their last great album. I have no problem with any of it. Including Whodunnit.
    I agree completely, and think "Whodunnit" is actually a GREAT song ... just a fun blast of off-center energy. Love this whole album.
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  22. #22
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    Abacab was my gateway into Genesis, from there I went to Duke and Collins' first solo. I loved Abacab, still do.
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  23. #23
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    I've always liked this one. I usually listen to the "projected double album" tracklist when I listen to it, which includes the B-sides - many of which are better than some of the album tracks.
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  24. #24
    I love Genesis, and not afraid to say I'm a fanboy as well, and to me this album continues in a long line of excellent albums. The album is stellar from beginning to end even the often maligned Whodunnit. I truly wished the band put the great You Might Recall on the album.
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  25. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by N_Singh View Post
    Meh. It's only a *masterpiece* in comparison to, ahem, *Invisible Touch*. Which is much worse. But better than W&W? Wow. Insert Joker meme here---"Not sure if serous".
    Their progressive era was amongst the finest Progressive era recordings ever done, as I mentioned before, I love the band and one of the very few here that loves Invisible Touch, and in my opinion the only song I never liked on the album was The Brazilian, I would have switched out the song for Do The Neurotic.
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