I was tempted...but it went on and on and... I forgot what i was supposed to be writing about, many times. Gets a bit boring reading somebody's stoned ramblings...but yeah, i get that some people would prefer that. haha.Fuck me @market, shouldve posted the stoned version...
Some of us must just be showing maturity beyond our years.......... ;-)Yeah...I've sussed out that most of us are over 50!
Suppers Ready just grows and grows on you. Just have to keep listening to it if you don’t ‘get it’ at first.This wasn't my first choice...i was trying to think of a few more obscure-ish albums... a bit more underrated, but I chose to go with an album that has been with me for most of my life. Back to 1972 for my album and a classic PROG album. Yep...Genesis and Foxtrot.
View attachment 30017
Track listing
All songs composed, arranged, and performed by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, and Mike Rutherford. Actual songwriters listed below.
Side one
Side two
No. Title Lyrics Music Length 1. "Watcher of the Skies" Banks, Rutherford Banks, Rutherford, Gabriel, Collins 7:23 2. "Time Table" Banks Banks 4:46 3. "Get 'Em Out by Friday" Gabriel Banks, Gabriel, Rutherford, Hackett, John Hackett[74] 8:36 4. "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" Hackett Hackett, Banks, Rutherford 5:45
(thanks for that bit, Wiki)
No. Title Lyrics Music Length 1. "Horizons" (instrumental) Hackett, Johann Sebastian Bach 1:41 2. "Supper's Ready"
a. "Lover's Leap" (Banks, Gabriel, Hackett)
b. "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man" (Banks, Gabriel)
c. "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men" (Rutherford, Gabriel)
d. "How Dare I Be So Beautiful?" (Banks, Gabriel)
e. "Willow Farm" (Gabriel)
f. "Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)" (Banks, Rutherford, Gabriel, Collins, Hackett)
g. "As Sure as Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)" (Banks, Gabriel)"Gabriel Banks, Gabriel, Rutherford, Hackett, Collins 23:06
I know this is in the top 1000 and some of you are already going to be aware of it, but If you've never heard it before, you might be surprised at how good this is. You may have heard it a few times back in the olden days...now's your chance to hear it again. Imagine it's the first time. Back in 1979, my older brother bought Seconds Out for my 12th birthday...my 2nd ever album - the first being Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous, which I swapped for a table tennis bat a few weeks later. It was a good bat too…one of those spongy one with. And it was a cool black colour. I never actually got to play table tennis with it, though, but I did take it into school to show it off to the other kids ....one of which thought it looked like a layered cake from the side view, so he kindly left his teeth mark on it. . I think I ended up swapping it for an extra school dinner ticket. Anyway, at 12 years old and taking a break from all the typical things a twelve-year-old gets up to (actually...Wythenshawe...so maybe a bit worse than the average 12 year old), and having completely different tastes in music to every other 12 year old at that time....it was all Two Tone and parkas, I'd listen to the epic Suppers Ready live every Saturday after shopping (it was the only time I got to use the record player in our house). The live Phil Collins version! I thought that was the proper version until one of our kid's mates told me about Peter Gabriel and Foxtrot. So, with money I'd get off my dad whenever I went to see him (the good thing about having separated parents), I popped into Virgin on Market Street and bought Foxtrot(£3.50)and a couple of Sabbath albums (they were only £1.99)...and I've still got them today.
Side one.
Track one - Watcher of the Skies: And what an intro... Probably the best use of the Mellotron in Rock music. One of the best intros in rock. The key changes are kind of haunting and dramatic as it builds and then falls, leading to the distant sound of the bass and drums fading in, getting louder with a rhythm that just pulls you in. Peter Gabriel's calm vocals tell a tale of science fiction and the end of man's time on Earth. Listen to that bass! Fantastic song....but i can't play guitar along to it.
Track two - Time Table: Kind of the odd one out on the album as it's a normal song in the traditional sense of intro, verse, chorus, bridge, verse.... Not many people talk about this one, but I think it's a great little song that evokes images of Ye Olde England (common for early Genesis, I think) with a great melody and chorus. I CAN play guitar along to this.
Track three Get 'em Out By Friday: ...Another sci fi song set slighty in the future...a dystopian future maybe. The song is set out like a play with Peter singing the parts of different characters. It's a Genesis SOCIAL STATEMENT song about eviction and eventually termination if you grow too tall. Or something like that. "With land in your hand, you'll be happy on earth then invest in the Church for your heaven."
Track four : Can-Utility and the Coastliners. More mellotron,,,and a classic Prog tune written by guitarist Steve Hacket and "based on the legend of King Cnut of England, Norway, and Denmark, who supposedly ordered the seas to retreat to mock the sycophancy of his followers." It's classic Genesis with amazing instrumentation...it's hard to imagine they were all around 22 years old when they made this album!
Side two.
Track five- Horizons. Steve Hacket's little baby. A short acoustic guitar piece based on some cello concerto by Bach (you'll recognise the bit when you hear it). For me, Horizons has always been a kind of intro and precursor to the next song. The calm before the storm. An omen. I can play this on guitar....not very well....but I always wanted to learn it, so I did. I can only really strum chords on the acoustic, but I got a tab off the t'internet for Horizons and learnt bit by bit. I can't play it all the way through without making a mistake.
Track Six, and we're on to the EPIC Supper's Ready. This, for me, is the best EPIC song ever. Better than any Yes song, better than Bohemian Crapsody, better than Stairway to Heaven...it's the ultimate prog song. Coming in at around 23 minutes, it's a tense journey from start to finish, based around the Book of Revelation and the Antichrist. It starts with three 12 string guitars and Peter Gabriel setting the scene, singing both vocal parts...describing a true event that took place with him and his wife of the time, Jill. "According to Gabriel, during a late-night conversation, his wife began speaking with a completely different voice. Gabriel held up a makeshift cross out of a candlestick and another household item, and Jill reacted violently" Sounds like a load of old bollox if you ask me...but it gives the song an eerie start and sets up the mood very well....and I know the Bible is complete nonsense, but Revelation and the Antichrist shit makes for good horror...and music. The song is separated into several sections...from the sublime to the ridiculous. The transitions between each section make the song even better. ...especially between Willow Farm and Apocalypse in 9/8...it's hard to tell if it's a guitar or keyboards....a dystopian soundscape. Apocalypse in 9/8 is amazing...some of the best drumming in a rock song ever. Try air drumming along. You can't!! Unless you're a drummer. Collins' best thing he ever did. Such a shame. I heard they exhumed his body for some recent shows. Impressive what they can do these days. Oh...and Tony Banks keyboards on Apocalypse 9/8 are a PROG TREAT! The song reaches a climax with Gabriel at his very best. I play this song about once a fortnight.....gets me every time without fail.
I'm, not actually a big fan of Prog...our kids was...Yes, King Crimson, Floyd....all that. I only got into Genesis because of Supper's Ready. And I only really like Nursery Crime, Foxtrot and Selling England..but, what I DO like, I love. Obsessively. I love the Ye Olde Englande feelings that the songs evoke. Not that I was around then. I love the perfect instrumentation, Gabriel's voice is at its best here for me, too. I love the lyrics and the stories in the songs. I LOVE Steve Hackett's guitar....one of my fave guitarists. Like I say, they were all around 22 when they made this...how did they know so much at that age? ..Yeah..public school boys...fucking privileged twats! It's only in the last few years that I've come to accept that this is probably my all-time fave album and Suppers Ready is probably my all time fave song...that and Hymn From a Village by James. It's a 10/10 from me ;) Dystopian...what a word.
To be fair, RATM excepted you do seem to have erm, mature if eclectic tastesSome of us must just be showing maturity beyond our years.......... ;-)
That's what gets me...they were only around 22 years old when they made this. Some of the arrangements border on classical.Suppers Ready just grows and grows on you. Just have to keep listening to it if you don’t ‘get it’ at first.
The music/instrument playing with a lot of early Genesis music is fantastic. Don’t even know how you’d ever get round to thinking of some of the arrangements.
I always felt early Genesis had a bit more 'soul' than the other Prog bands..I think that's down to Peter Gabriel.Not a fan of prog rock, always found it tedious and hard work. The tracks always seemed to be far too long, with unnecessarily self indulgent solos. Hence I've not really been arsed with early genesis (or later genesis for that matter)
When I looked at the track times on this my heart sank a little, the best part of an hour, and only 6 tunes.
Another fucking bore fest then I presumed.
I was fully expecting to instantly hate it, call it shite and move on.
So I stuck it on in the car on the way home from work and I was pleasantly surprised, it's no way near as "proggy" as I expected. Ok it's a bit of a culture shock for the untrained ear, but once I tuned in, I found myself liking it far more than I expected to. There's plenty here to keep me interested. It's unpredictable, which I really like in music. If this is typical of early genesis then maybe I've been missing out?
Looking forward to giving it a proper go now.
This thread is brilliant for the reasons stated above, no way would I have listened to this, not a chance.
So far so good, and another great pick.
I enjoy classical music and I do think this is part of the enjoyment. I can just get caught up in the music.That's what gets me...they were only around 22 years old when they made this. Some of the arrangements border on classical.
Having said that, King Crimson were about the same age when they recorded their first album. Roger Waters was around 30 when Floyd made DSOTM.
I must admit on first listen I found the vocals strangely comforting, I'm only aware of his solo work really, but hearing him on this was reassuring, a familiar voice in a different setting. (To me anyway)I always felt early Genesis had a bit more 'soul' than the other Prog bands..I think that's down to Peter Gabriel.
Welcome to the real GenesisNot a fan of prog rock, always found it tedious and hard work. The tracks always seemed to be far too long, with unnecessarily self indulgent solos. Hence I've not really been arsed with early genesis (or later genesis for that matter)
When I looked at the track times on this my heart sank a little, the best part of an hour, and only 6 tunes.
Another fucking bore fest then I presumed.
I was fully expecting to instantly hate it, call it shite and move on.
So I stuck it on in the car on the way home from work and I was pleasantly surprised, it's no way near as "proggy" as I expected. Ok it's a bit of a culture shock for the untrained ear, but once I tuned in, I found myself liking it far more than I expected to. There's plenty here to keep me interested. It's unpredictable, which I really like in music. If this is typical of early genesis then maybe I've been missing out?
Looking forward to giving it a proper go now.
This thread is brilliant for the reasons stated above, no way would I have listened to this, not a chance.
So far so good, and another great pick.
Funnily enough I was thinking this genre is similar to classical music in the way you have to listen to it. (For me at least)I enjoy classical music and I do think this is part of the enjoyment. I can just get caught up in the music.
Will I need a jacket?Welcome to the real Genesis
I’m not really a prog fan and there are only really 3 Genesis albums I like, this is one, Wind and wuthering and Selling England by the pound. The rest, in my opinion have some good tracks but aren’t albums I can listen to without skipping tracks.Not a fan of prog rock, always found it tedious and hard work. The tracks always seemed to be far too long, with unnecessarily self indulgent solos. Hence I've not really been arsed with early genesis (or later genesis for that matter)
When I looked at the track times on this my heart sank a little, the best part of an hour, and only 6 tunes.
Another fucking bore fest then I presumed.
I was fully expecting to instantly hate it, call it shite and move on.
So I stuck it on in the car on the way home from work and I was pleasantly surprised, it's no way near as "proggy" as I expected. Ok it's a bit of a culture shock for the untrained ear, but once I tuned in, I found myself liking it far more than I expected to. There's plenty here to keep me interested. It's unpredictable, which I really like in music. If this is typical of early genesis then maybe I've been missing out?
Looking forward to giving it a proper go now.
This thread is brilliant for the reasons stated above, no way would I have listened to this, not a chance.
So far so good, and another great pick.
It astounds me that 22 year olds can make music like this - there's a real maturity in this album. DSOTM is one of my all time favourites and I can 'hear' that he's older mind. Another one to bear in mind is that The Beatles weren't even 30 before they finished. Some people just have a natural talent to produce music and I find it absolutely astonishing how anyone could "hear" these albums in their head and then produce them.That's what gets me...they were only around 22 years old when they made this. Some of the arrangements border on classical.
Having said that, King Crimson were about the same age when they recorded their first album. Roger Waters was around 30 when Floyd made DSOTM.
You are bang on the money with your reservations over what Collins became - I really struggle with his solo stuff (and him) and it has always put me off venturing into Genesis (yes, sounds stupid I know).It astounds me that 22 year olds can make music like this - there's a real maturity in this album. DSOTM is one of my all time favourites and I can 'hear' that he's older mind. Another one to bear in mind is that The Beatles weren't even 30 before they finished. Some people just have a natural talent to produce music and I find it absolutely astonishing how anyone could "hear" these albums in their head and then produce them.
Anyway, I'd not heard this album before and I absolutely love it. I'd heard a few albums like The Lamb... which I loved as well but in all honesty, I think part of the reason I'd never really bothered too much with Genesis is because of what Phil Collins became.
However, this album is absolutely superb and make no doubt about it, Foxtrot is top class prog. I love Peter Gabriel's voice, it's such a rich sound and his delivery is superb. The drumming mixes rock beats and blends into jazz beats and back. The complexity of the arrangements and musicianship is astonishing - particularly given their age. Not only is it technically excellent, it's very melodic. Prog gets bad press, but when it's done well and when it's done as good as this, it's truly brilliant. I've no doubt that Genesis could play with an Orchestra or Jazz Band and not break sweat.
I don't want to sound "old fashioned", but it's hard to imagine bands today doing something like this. This is why I love the 70s - the quality, invention and diversity of styles is mind blowing.
Thanks for recommending this album @Marklr I am going to be playing this a good few times from now on!
If it gets a bit too much on the first half...listen to Suppers Ready on another day. It can stand alone.You are bang on the money with your reservations over what Collins became - I really struggle with his solo stuff (and him) and it has always put me off venturing into Genesis (yes, sounds stupid I know).
However, this thread provides me with a different angle of approach. No preconceptions, just fresh ears and hopefully a clear mind.
@Marklr I am looking forward to your pick............
For those that really enjoy 'early' Genesis as showcased by @Markir choice of Foxtrot, there is a rich seam of music that continues to this day in the shape of Steve Hackett's solo work.
Many people believe that Genesis changed when Gabriel left (and they did) but to me the even more profound changes came when Steve Hackett the guitarist left. Genesis made A Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering with Steve but without Peter and both are fine albums in the early Genesis tradition. It was only after those albums that Phil Collins influence on the music took them down an extremely commercial but far less interesting route. So anyone that really enjoys Foxtrot will also like the albums that came before it (Trespass and Nursery Cryme) and the four that came after (Selling England by the Pound, Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Wind and Wuthering and Trick of the Tail). I have purposely omitted the album Genesis to Exodus (their very first album). Whilst it is interesting to Geeks like me, it is unrepresentative of their later work.
Steve has been making music and touring since he left Genesis in 1977 and continues to make inspired guitar based prog rock. I can recommend for anyone interested, his debut solo album Voyage of the Acolyte as typical of his work. If you can catch him live, he tours annually and plays half his own stuff and the second half is devoted to early Genesis and frankly, his live show musically eclipses what live early Genesis could produce albeit without the bizarre red dress and foxes head that Gabriel had a penchant for. There are some wonderful full concerts on You Tube. Here is an example of his band playing Suppers Ready (with full orchestra).
A couple have mentioned Foxtrot as almost like classical music and there is a great deal of truth in that. Most of the band were educated at Charterhouse where they received a classic education and Banks mother was a classical pianist and he in particular was immersed in the genre from a very early age and has gone on to compose and record classical music. There are some wonderful examples of prog/classical compositions in their work. Check out Firth of Fifth on Selling England and Fountain of Salmacis on Nursery Cryme where the classic influence is particularly clear.