/r/Genesis is a subreddit dedicated to the band Genesis and the solo works of its former members.
Genesis-We Can’t Dance
I always try to keep these reviews positive but in the case of the album it will be really hard. I just find the overall sound of this album bland and uninteresting. It just sounds like late 80’s-early 90’s adult contemporary radio. Say what you about the other 80’s albums but at least there were highlights sonically that you could latch on to. I’ll give the album credit for trying to touch on some social issues.
The album opens on a strong note with “No Son Of Mine” the song deals with domestic abuse. Musically it does feature some strong melodies. “Jesus He Knows Me” is the closest the band would get to sound like a rock band. The high energy sounds pretty decent and the song lyrically deals with the hypocrisy of TV evangelists which are both high points of the record. These two tracks unfortunately are the high points of the record. “Driving The Last Spike” is just this cheesy 90’s love ballad. I’ll give “I Can’t Dance” credit for creating an interesting sound that kinda bops but it is so cheesy It has boomer energy all over it. ‘Never A Time” is just filled with snappiness and is almost unlistable. “Dreaming While You Sleep” has some interesting keyboards but it just doesn’t work for me. “Tell Me Why” is the band attempting some R&B tinged song which they have done way better than this, it just sounds so bland. “Living Forever” is just so grating I just can’t get through it. “Hold On To My Heart” is another sappy love ballad that probably belongs on a Phil Collins solo album. “Way Of The World’ just sounds dated. “Since I Lost You” continues the trend of sappy adult contemporary that just sounds like the band is just playing it safe. The album closes with “Fading Lights” , a 10 minute song about relinquishing the past. The band finally sounds a little bit like their former self. As the song goes on it features some strong performances from the band. Throughout the song I kept thinking this is what we wanted it to hear too bad it comes at the end of the record.
I hate giving negative reviews especially for a band who’s discography I really enjoyed. I have to be honest and this album sounds like a band who is just phoning it in and ran out of ideas. This would be the last album for Phil Collins which might have been a good thing for the band. Do you need to listen to this album probably not but check mit out to finish your Genesis deep dive
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Driving The Last Spike is “just this cheesy 90’s love ballad”? Someone tell this guy about lyrics and why they are important to the meaning of a song.
It sounds cheesy sorry
Lol the issue was you calling it a love ballad
Agreed. But it isn’t a “love ballad,” is my point.
What the hell does cheesy even mean?
It's just a word people use whenever something makes them uncomfortable.
Try again hun
The most underrated Genesis album by Genesis fans. A vocal highlight for Phil. A break with the abstract lyrics and electronic sound of the 80s, an a return to more organic sounds and story songs. Story songs, but in a 90s way, so no foxes, croquet, hermaphrodites, slippermen or watchers of skies, but more worldly subjects like domestic abuse, worker exploitation, war. A significant amount of songs are critical of capitalism (Jesus He knows me, Driving The Last Spike, I Can't Dance, Living Forever), and while not all the political leanings of the lyrics are developed fully (the musically great but lyrically bland Tell Me Why completely misses the mark for instance, as a song conceived as a commentary of the situation in Beirut but developed to cover any suffering anywhere), a great number of songs are remarkably poignant. Fading Lights adds another classic to the Genesis oeuvre, not only because of the return to a more organic instrumentation, but also because it most pressingly displays new influences from the avant garde of the pop world, specifically The Blue Nile's critically acclaimed masterpiece Hats. Maybe We Can't Dance has the wrong title. Maybe it is a bit bloated. But it points Genesis in a new direction that they could have followed through on all through the 90s, had Phil not been so wrongheaded to leave the band.
What fucking crack are you on with Driving The Last Spike? Did you ignore the lyrics completely?
Yeah because I didn't care about it
Then why are you reviewing the album if you just don’t care about it? Can you not even put in the time to actually analyze it, y’know, like someone who reviews stuff does?
bro driving the last spike is like one of the best songs in prog rock history. Even if you aren't paying attention you have to hear Phil Collins screaming "CAN YOU HEAR ME! CAN YOU FEEEEEEEEL!" while the instruments are picking up beyond belief. Also the "leaving my family behind me" part is so good because of how simply it starts. I mean people say Genesis stopped doing prog after the 80s but Duke Suite and Driving the Last Spike put that claim on trial.
Dreaming While You Sleep, Last Spike, Fading Lights are my picks. The rest of the album is ok, not my favorite but I'v warmed up to it a lot over the years.
I would say Fading Lights is about not relinquishing the past. I would also say that The Knife is the closest Genesis came to sounding like a "rock band".