Foxtrot
By Genesis
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Track listing
- A1 Watcher of the Skies
- A2 Time Table
- A3 Get 'Em Out by Friday
- A4 Can-Utility and the Coastliners
- B1 Horizons
- B2 Supper's Ready
- i. Lover's Leap
- ii. The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man
- iii. Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men
- iv. How Dare I Be So Beautiful
- v. Willow Farm
- vi. Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)
- vii. As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)
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Foxtrot 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Foxtrot 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Foxtrot 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Foxtrot 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Foxtrot 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Foxtrot 33 rpm, Gatefold
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265 Reviews
Genesis recorded their fourth studio album, "Foxtrot", at Island Studios, London during August 1972 and in an amazing show of alacrity it was released and on the streets by October of the same year. Their career was starting to move in the right direction and they weren't going to be caught hanging around. Some feat especially considering some of the complexities of the compositions. I've said it before and I'll say it again, many of todays bands and musicians could learn a lot from the bands of the past and their no nonsense attitude to getting in the studio and getting the job done.
"Foxtrot" opens with the classic 'Watcher of the Skies', a prog rock masterpeice which also became a live set opener. The song boasts the worlds most instantly recognisable mellotron introduction before it launches into a semi sci-fi lyric which nods heavily in the direction of Keats' poem "On First Looking Into Chapmans Homer", from where the title was taken. James Joyce used the term in a part of his "Chamber Music" music too so that was quite possibly an influence as well. Remember, this was posh kids we were talking about here so Keats and Joyce are probably not as surprising influences as you might think !! With its strong bass, continual time changes and some extremely lively keyboard and guitar sounds it is unsurprisingly a popular song amongst hardcore fans. I would certainly put it up there in the top half dozen Gabriel era Genesis offerings. However, I am going to go out on a limb here, alienate myself from most Genesis fans and probably lose all credibilty as a reviewer by stating that despite the presence of at least three other classsic tracks on this album my favourite is the little mentioned 'Time Table'. A superb gentle little song lyrically packed throughout with long lost ideals and Arthurian imagery, a beautiful melody and some great understated musicianship it just got me from the very first time I heard it.
'Get 'em Out By Friday' is the first of the epic 'playlets' within the album although at eight and a half minutes it is most certainly the epic little brother on offer here. Gabriel does his man of many voices playing the roles of several different characters during a track which is basically having a pop at the UK's housing policies of the time. The opening verse sees the fat cat executive instructing his minion, known as The Winkler to evict the tenants of a property forthwith. However they refuse to leave and the lyric then basically tells the tale of The Winklers efforts to get rid of them by first increasing the rent and then by bribery. After a short instrumental passage we are then taken to the future where a TV announcement is made that human height is to be restricted to four foot so more people can fit into the properties that the fat cat business man has acquired. It doesn't actually say how they proposed to achieve this but hey thats what poetic license is all about. Its not all about the lyric either although that is obviously the songs main focus. Musically there is a ton of stuff going on with Gabriel himself contributing oboe, flute, tambourine and bass drum along with his multi faceted vocal.
'Can Utility and The Coastliners' is a favourite of many Genesis fans but it is certainly on e of the albums rare low points for me and I can't really see its standout appeal in amongst such good material. Lyrically the song is based on the legend of King Canute. A short instrumental 'Horizons' is played by Steve Hacket alone and again despite being very proficiently played is a little bit pointless to me and could easily have been left off. With a running length of over 50 minutes, which was extremely long for a vinyl album at the time, there were some issues with loudness as longer records have to be cut at a lower volume. Leaving out 'Can Utility...' and 'Horizons' would have made the album seven and a half minutes shorter ...... but still quite lengthy for the time ....... and given a louder cut. Of course in the CD age and with remastering this is no longer an issue but back in the vinyl days it was a minor issue for me at least as the volume needed to be cranked right up.
At almost twenty three minutes in length 'Supper's Ready' is almost more than an epic and is one of progressive rocks true masterpeices. Basically the song is composed in seven parts although there are some repetative themes which reoccur throughout the song. Gabriel goes straight into the lyric to 'Lovers Leap' without any introduction and delivers a beautiful vocal and melody over a backing which features a Hohner pianet which is basically a gentle electric piano, several acoustic twelve string guitars, a cello, a flute and bass pedals which were actually used quite heavily throughout the album by Rutherford. Gabriel claims the lyric was inspired by a real life supernatural experience that happened to him and his wife. He claims that one evening she started talking in a totally different voice and had a violent reaction to him holding up a makeshift cross. 'The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man' is a slightly harder faster peice which sees good use of Hammond organ and the first drum contributions by Collins. On the opening part he had been limited to cymbals, triangles and a bell. Gabriel's vocal is much harder and in more of a rock style than the gentle folkiness of the opener. A short reprise of which leads into 'Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men' which is almost a full blown rock song with a guitar solo and some classic prog interplay of keyboard and guitar. 'How Dare I Be So Beautiful' is another slower section which is based on the Greek myth of Narcissus. At the end of the peice the lyric suggests turning into a flower to which Gabriel responds quizzically in the voice of a different character "A flower ?". That leads perfectly into 'Willow Farm' which features some truly wonderful lyrics, vocals and characterisation from Gabriel. How can you not like lines like "Mum to mud to mad to dad", "Dad Diddley office" and "Mum diddley washing" etc. Musically, vocally and melody wise the track is bouncy, jaunty, whimsical and total fun. Initially it was going to be a standalone track rather than part of the 'Supper's Ready' peice. 'Appocalypse in 9/8' is the heaviest segment featuring a powerful vocal from Gabriel and some pretty hard and complex playing from the band. It then leads into another reprise of the opening section 'Lovers Leap' during which Gabriel reverts to the gentler melody and vocal delivery of that opener but over the chord progression of the second part of the song 'The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man'. This acts as a segue into the final part of the song 'As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs' which provides a powerful ending with Gabriel's William Blake inspired lyrics which may also nod in the direction of Shelley with the King of Kings reference belting out over some pretty heavy instrumentation. I have one criticism and one criticism only of this epic track. Why was it allowed to fade out, surely after twenty three minutes it deserved an ending.
"Foxtrot" gave Genesis their first UK top twenty album and launched them into the big league of progressive rock. With his many character and costume changes Peter Gabriel ensured that live shows of the time were almost as much about theatre as they were about music. As good and talented as the rest of the band are this album positively reeks of the character and personality of Gabriel and although it is a genuine band effort I would have to say that the lyrics and characterisations of Gabriel are what makes this album stand head and shoulders above most progressive rock albums. The Genesis story would go down a different route in future years and many are firmly in either the Gabriel or the post Gabriel camp, with some completely disregarding one in favour of the other. Personally I am happy to have a foot in both camps and whilst "Foxtrot" doesn't quite have the polish or the mainstream commercial appeal of 'A Trick Of The Tail" it is still a five star classic album and is, for me at least, the highlight of the Gabriel years and maybe even of Gabriel's entire career.
"Foxtrot" opens with the classic 'Watcher of the Skies', a prog rock masterpeice which also became a live set opener. The song boasts the worlds most instantly recognisable mellotron introduction before it launches into a semi sci-fi lyric which nods heavily in the direction of Keats' poem "On First Looking Into Chapmans Homer", from where the title was taken. James Joyce used the term in a part of his "Chamber Music" music too so that was quite possibly an influence as well. Remember, this was posh kids we were talking about here so Keats and Joyce are probably not as surprising influences as you might think !! With its strong bass, continual time changes and some extremely lively keyboard and guitar sounds it is unsurprisingly a popular song amongst hardcore fans. I would certainly put it up there in the top half dozen Gabriel era Genesis offerings. However, I am going to go out on a limb here, alienate myself from most Genesis fans and probably lose all credibilty as a reviewer by stating that despite the presence of at least three other classsic tracks on this album my favourite is the little mentioned 'Time Table'. A superb gentle little song lyrically packed throughout with long lost ideals and Arthurian imagery, a beautiful melody and some great understated musicianship it just got me from the very first time I heard it.
'Get 'em Out By Friday' is the first of the epic 'playlets' within the album although at eight and a half minutes it is most certainly the epic little brother on offer here. Gabriel does his man of many voices playing the roles of several different characters during a track which is basically having a pop at the UK's housing policies of the time. The opening verse sees the fat cat executive instructing his minion, known as The Winkler to evict the tenants of a property forthwith. However they refuse to leave and the lyric then basically tells the tale of The Winklers efforts to get rid of them by first increasing the rent and then by bribery. After a short instrumental passage we are then taken to the future where a TV announcement is made that human height is to be restricted to four foot so more people can fit into the properties that the fat cat business man has acquired. It doesn't actually say how they proposed to achieve this but hey thats what poetic license is all about. Its not all about the lyric either although that is obviously the songs main focus. Musically there is a ton of stuff going on with Gabriel himself contributing oboe, flute, tambourine and bass drum along with his multi faceted vocal.
'Can Utility and The Coastliners' is a favourite of many Genesis fans but it is certainly on e of the albums rare low points for me and I can't really see its standout appeal in amongst such good material. Lyrically the song is based on the legend of King Canute. A short instrumental 'Horizons' is played by Steve Hacket alone and again despite being very proficiently played is a little bit pointless to me and could easily have been left off. With a running length of over 50 minutes, which was extremely long for a vinyl album at the time, there were some issues with loudness as longer records have to be cut at a lower volume. Leaving out 'Can Utility...' and 'Horizons' would have made the album seven and a half minutes shorter ...... but still quite lengthy for the time ....... and given a louder cut. Of course in the CD age and with remastering this is no longer an issue but back in the vinyl days it was a minor issue for me at least as the volume needed to be cranked right up.
At almost twenty three minutes in length 'Supper's Ready' is almost more than an epic and is one of progressive rocks true masterpeices. Basically the song is composed in seven parts although there are some repetative themes which reoccur throughout the song. Gabriel goes straight into the lyric to 'Lovers Leap' without any introduction and delivers a beautiful vocal and melody over a backing which features a Hohner pianet which is basically a gentle electric piano, several acoustic twelve string guitars, a cello, a flute and bass pedals which were actually used quite heavily throughout the album by Rutherford. Gabriel claims the lyric was inspired by a real life supernatural experience that happened to him and his wife. He claims that one evening she started talking in a totally different voice and had a violent reaction to him holding up a makeshift cross. 'The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man' is a slightly harder faster peice which sees good use of Hammond organ and the first drum contributions by Collins. On the opening part he had been limited to cymbals, triangles and a bell. Gabriel's vocal is much harder and in more of a rock style than the gentle folkiness of the opener. A short reprise of which leads into 'Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men' which is almost a full blown rock song with a guitar solo and some classic prog interplay of keyboard and guitar. 'How Dare I Be So Beautiful' is another slower section which is based on the Greek myth of Narcissus. At the end of the peice the lyric suggests turning into a flower to which Gabriel responds quizzically in the voice of a different character "A flower ?". That leads perfectly into 'Willow Farm' which features some truly wonderful lyrics, vocals and characterisation from Gabriel. How can you not like lines like "Mum to mud to mad to dad", "Dad Diddley office" and "Mum diddley washing" etc. Musically, vocally and melody wise the track is bouncy, jaunty, whimsical and total fun. Initially it was going to be a standalone track rather than part of the 'Supper's Ready' peice. 'Appocalypse in 9/8' is the heaviest segment featuring a powerful vocal from Gabriel and some pretty hard and complex playing from the band. It then leads into another reprise of the opening section 'Lovers Leap' during which Gabriel reverts to the gentler melody and vocal delivery of that opener but over the chord progression of the second part of the song 'The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man'. This acts as a segue into the final part of the song 'As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs' which provides a powerful ending with Gabriel's William Blake inspired lyrics which may also nod in the direction of Shelley with the King of Kings reference belting out over some pretty heavy instrumentation. I have one criticism and one criticism only of this epic track. Why was it allowed to fade out, surely after twenty three minutes it deserved an ending.
"Foxtrot" gave Genesis their first UK top twenty album and launched them into the big league of progressive rock. With his many character and costume changes Peter Gabriel ensured that live shows of the time were almost as much about theatre as they were about music. As good and talented as the rest of the band are this album positively reeks of the character and personality of Gabriel and although it is a genuine band effort I would have to say that the lyrics and characterisations of Gabriel are what makes this album stand head and shoulders above most progressive rock albums. The Genesis story would go down a different route in future years and many are firmly in either the Gabriel or the post Gabriel camp, with some completely disregarding one in favour of the other. Personally I am happy to have a foot in both camps and whilst "Foxtrot" doesn't quite have the polish or the mainstream commercial appeal of 'A Trick Of The Tail" it is still a five star classic album and is, for me at least, the highlight of the Gabriel years and maybe even of Gabriel's entire career.
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
Foxtrot was Genesis' 4th album, and the 2nd with Phil Collins and Steve Hackett on board. Released in 1972, it was the follow-up to the virtually flawless Nursery Cryme.
Foxtrot begins with "Watcher of the Skies", a progressive yet catchy 7-minute bit that picks up where Nursery Cryme left off. Over the next 4 songs they continue to explore and attack familiar and unfamiliar territory, before wrapping up the album with the 23-minute "Supper's Ready", a 7-course buffet that's worth the price of admission in itself. The final package is a solid, vintage Genesis album, albeit not quite the equal of the prior offering. But that's more a declaration of merit to Nursery Cryme than detriment to this one. Wonderful!
Foxtrot begins with "Watcher of the Skies", a progressive yet catchy 7-minute bit that picks up where Nursery Cryme left off. Over the next 4 songs they continue to explore and attack familiar and unfamiliar territory, before wrapping up the album with the 23-minute "Supper's Ready", a 7-course buffet that's worth the price of admission in itself. The final package is a solid, vintage Genesis album, albeit not quite the equal of the prior offering. But that's more a declaration of merit to Nursery Cryme than detriment to this one. Wonderful!
Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute, bass drum, tambourine, oboe), Anthony Banks (keyboards, 12-string guitar, vocals), Michael Rutherford (bass, bass pedals, 12-string guitar, cello, vocals), Steve Hackett (guitar), Phil Collins (drums, vocals)
produced by David Hitchcock & Genesis
1972 The Famous Charisma Label CHC 38
highs - all
lows - none
like this, go for: Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Selling England by the Pound
acquired some time at some place
RYM review 16 Nov 2004 #1271440
oongawa review 17 Oct 2007 #11744826
produced by David Hitchcock & Genesis
1972 The Famous Charisma Label CHC 38
highs - all
lows - none
like this, go for: Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Selling England by the Pound
acquired some time at some place
RYM review 16 Nov 2004 #1271440
oongawa review 17 Oct 2007 #11744826
Published
CHC 38 Vinyl LP (1984)
If you're curious about Genesis, start here. Take note, however, that this isn't necessarily their best album — for one thing, the keyboard tones got a little less lame on the following records, and in general this one sounds a bit crappy compared to the more spacious sound of Selling England by the Pound and so forth. (Phil Collins' drums are buried in the mix, for some stupid reason.) But each one of the six tracks underlines one or more different strands of the group's singular approach, and despite the lacklustre production it should also be noted that Foxtrot still sounds better than any of its preceding albums. (You can finally hear Steve Hackett's guitar! Sometimes!) It's the best starting point for getting into the band, and it's my personal favorite Genesis record. And the weird thing is, I've never even been a fantasy fan — the impressive thing is that you don't have to be.
1. "Watcher of the Skies", like many Gabriel-era Genesis songs, feels like the soundtrack to the speech that precedes an epic battle. And it's not like the band are trying to avoid that image — the constant, jittery one-note guitar backing evokes an oncoming charge, Collins' cymbal splash at 4:12 (and 5:44) sounds like a soldier firing a gun into the air to underline a point from General Gabriel, whose words craft fantasy/fairytale scenes with an emotional depth that most other progressive rock bands fumbled with (or didn't bother with in the first place). Gabriel, undergirded by the rest of the band, sounds like he truly cares about these characters (many of whom he imitates by taking on different tones of voice), and that's a refreshing thing to hear in a genre that usually gave us either aimless trails of words that turned out to be fairly meaningless (i.e. Yes) or a lot of clinical and crushingly annoying cynicism (i.e. King Crimson). Listen to the way Gabriel sings 'Creatures shaped this planet's soil/Now their reign has come to end' backed by those space-y organ chords — he sounds legitimately empathetic; it's like he's a guy who has to send a bunch of refugees off to another kingdom after his men have conquered their homeland. And then later in the song, as if to acknowledge that things must go on, he sings 'From life alone to life as one/Think not now your journey done/For though your ship be sturdy/No mercy has the sea' and Tony Banks gives some chords that look down on it all like passing clouds.
2. Though Gabriel's utter conviction in his words is, as mentioned, very refreshing, it's something of a mixed blessing. "Time Table" doesn't entirely benefit from Gabriel's emotional force - though the lyrics themselves are good - because with the more ballad-esque piano arrangement the emoting sounds like over-earnest overkill. On the plus side, Banks' childlike toy piano solo is surprisingly charming. (Surprising, 'cause many of his solos are barely worth an adjective.)
3. "Get 'Em Out by Friday" is where they start having some real fun. By which I mean, silly fun. And all the better, too, since the narrative force of the lyrics needs this kind of eccentricity to last for eight-and-a-half minutes. It gets it: listen to the way the inverted keyboard chords compact with the drums in the intro, 25 seconds in; the way everyone hits the ground running as soon as Gabriel hits that first word; the radical tempo and dynamic shifts that make room for the meadowy flute-assisted jangle. It's easy enough to get lost in the shifting directions of the music. But don't ignore the words themselves, which demonstrate Gabriel's capacity for sly social satire. "Get 'Em Out" is inspired by the real-life greed of landlords in '60s and '70s England, who would gradually raise the rent ('just a bit...') to force the tenants out for further monetary gain in the future. Alarmingly relevant today, actually. Almost creepily so, in fact, since the flash-forward into the future (that's right, this is the kind of band that includes inaudible stage directions and theatrical scene-setting like 'EXTRACT FROM CONVERSATION OF JOE ORDINARY IN LOCAL PUBORAMA') lands on 2012. Gabriel's slip into falsetto on '...they'd take more money', and the line about 'buying all the properties that have recently been sold, taking risks oh so bold' gives you the prophetic gist.
4. "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is the least structured track on the album; the least whole. It's bookended by a lovely Medieval-esque organ-acoustic guitar progression in a series of arpeggios, and Gabriel sings it very well indeed — his bursts of power and dynamic fluctuations are in full form. Hell, even the transition into the anxious forest dance part works for a minute or so. But then the song sinks into a totally unexceptional instrumental section that's only there to pad out the first side of vinyl. The organ in the last half is a bit overeager (shall we say), and the lyrics are just talk.
5. The fleeting guitar instrumental "Horizons" was a good choice to open side two, what with all the Sturm und Drang that came before. Aside from being a gorgeous showcase for the underused Hackett's classical phrasings (its cadences are quite Baroque), "Horizons" is also a great example of the sheer glorious tone the man was able to get.
6. "Supper's Ready" is usually cited as the band's peak achievement. And it probably is; it's a 23-minute suite with Tolkien-esque imagery that lyrically recounts nothing less than the history of the world — or, as a progressive rock band calls it, 'Tuesday night's practice.' And in terms of the physical strength of the music and the emotional content in the vocals, you can see why some people call the track the epitome or prog rock. Me, I think it's worth noting that not all of the parts are top-tier: "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man" squeezes by on Banks' organ fills, but "How Dare I Be So Beautiful?" is a listless drift that only seems to exist because the band felt they should somber up after "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men", and the "Apocalypse 9/8" part (before they return to the "Lover's Leap" theme, superbly) is blah — Banks doesn't seem to be totally in control of his solos in the latter.
But for the most part, yeah, it's a pretty spectacular piece of work. The "Lover's Leap" part (the first three-and-a-half minutes) may contain the most plainly beautiful lyrics of Peter Gabriel's entire career, precluding the entry into a Narnia-type land with the kind of sentiment that is - not to get too sappy here - as universal and eternal as love itself. ('Hello babe, with your guardian eyes so blue/Hey my baa-bEE!, don't you know our love is true...' — that hiccup gets me every time.) "Ikhnaton and Itsacon" is probably my personal favorite thing Genesis ever did; I'm a sucker for triumphant music, and that piece is fucking triumphant, man — Hackett's guitar solo at 7:58 splits the sky. (Also, a good demonstration of Gabriel's humor: 'Something tells me I'd better activate my prayer capsule....' Yeah dude, that's probably a good idea...things are getting pretty crazy out here.) "Willow Farm" sees Gabriel get very goofy very abruptly ('...he used to be A BRITISH FLAG!') and continue with dwarfish voices trilling around in what sounds like good cheer (12:30-13:00). And the imagery throughout the entire piece is sundry and engrossing: a lazy sitting room with a lover by your side; a moonlit garden; dark-skinned warriors crouched on a hill waiting for battle! It's the kind of track that you put on and then just lie down and close your eyes and listen (but don't sleep). (I often do this anyway, but "Supper's Ready" seems tailor-made for that kind of sonic immersion.)
---------
I guess what I'm trying to say is that this album sounds like its cover looks.
A.
1. "Watcher of the Skies", like many Gabriel-era Genesis songs, feels like the soundtrack to the speech that precedes an epic battle. And it's not like the band are trying to avoid that image — the constant, jittery one-note guitar backing evokes an oncoming charge, Collins' cymbal splash at 4:12 (and 5:44) sounds like a soldier firing a gun into the air to underline a point from General Gabriel, whose words craft fantasy/fairytale scenes with an emotional depth that most other progressive rock bands fumbled with (or didn't bother with in the first place). Gabriel, undergirded by the rest of the band, sounds like he truly cares about these characters (many of whom he imitates by taking on different tones of voice), and that's a refreshing thing to hear in a genre that usually gave us either aimless trails of words that turned out to be fairly meaningless (i.e. Yes) or a lot of clinical and crushingly annoying cynicism (i.e. King Crimson). Listen to the way Gabriel sings 'Creatures shaped this planet's soil/Now their reign has come to end' backed by those space-y organ chords — he sounds legitimately empathetic; it's like he's a guy who has to send a bunch of refugees off to another kingdom after his men have conquered their homeland. And then later in the song, as if to acknowledge that things must go on, he sings 'From life alone to life as one/Think not now your journey done/For though your ship be sturdy/No mercy has the sea' and Tony Banks gives some chords that look down on it all like passing clouds.
2. Though Gabriel's utter conviction in his words is, as mentioned, very refreshing, it's something of a mixed blessing. "Time Table" doesn't entirely benefit from Gabriel's emotional force - though the lyrics themselves are good - because with the more ballad-esque piano arrangement the emoting sounds like over-earnest overkill. On the plus side, Banks' childlike toy piano solo is surprisingly charming. (Surprising, 'cause many of his solos are barely worth an adjective.)
3. "Get 'Em Out by Friday" is where they start having some real fun. By which I mean, silly fun. And all the better, too, since the narrative force of the lyrics needs this kind of eccentricity to last for eight-and-a-half minutes. It gets it: listen to the way the inverted keyboard chords compact with the drums in the intro, 25 seconds in; the way everyone hits the ground running as soon as Gabriel hits that first word; the radical tempo and dynamic shifts that make room for the meadowy flute-assisted jangle. It's easy enough to get lost in the shifting directions of the music. But don't ignore the words themselves, which demonstrate Gabriel's capacity for sly social satire. "Get 'Em Out" is inspired by the real-life greed of landlords in '60s and '70s England, who would gradually raise the rent ('just a bit...') to force the tenants out for further monetary gain in the future. Alarmingly relevant today, actually. Almost creepily so, in fact, since the flash-forward into the future (that's right, this is the kind of band that includes inaudible stage directions and theatrical scene-setting like 'EXTRACT FROM CONVERSATION OF JOE ORDINARY IN LOCAL PUBORAMA') lands on 2012. Gabriel's slip into falsetto on '...they'd take more money', and the line about 'buying all the properties that have recently been sold, taking risks oh so bold' gives you the prophetic gist.
4. "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is the least structured track on the album; the least whole. It's bookended by a lovely Medieval-esque organ-acoustic guitar progression in a series of arpeggios, and Gabriel sings it very well indeed — his bursts of power and dynamic fluctuations are in full form. Hell, even the transition into the anxious forest dance part works for a minute or so. But then the song sinks into a totally unexceptional instrumental section that's only there to pad out the first side of vinyl. The organ in the last half is a bit overeager (shall we say), and the lyrics are just talk.
5. The fleeting guitar instrumental "Horizons" was a good choice to open side two, what with all the Sturm und Drang that came before. Aside from being a gorgeous showcase for the underused Hackett's classical phrasings (its cadences are quite Baroque), "Horizons" is also a great example of the sheer glorious tone the man was able to get.
6. "Supper's Ready" is usually cited as the band's peak achievement. And it probably is; it's a 23-minute suite with Tolkien-esque imagery that lyrically recounts nothing less than the history of the world — or, as a progressive rock band calls it, 'Tuesday night's practice.' And in terms of the physical strength of the music and the emotional content in the vocals, you can see why some people call the track the epitome or prog rock. Me, I think it's worth noting that not all of the parts are top-tier: "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man" squeezes by on Banks' organ fills, but "How Dare I Be So Beautiful?" is a listless drift that only seems to exist because the band felt they should somber up after "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men", and the "Apocalypse 9/8" part (before they return to the "Lover's Leap" theme, superbly) is blah — Banks doesn't seem to be totally in control of his solos in the latter.
But for the most part, yeah, it's a pretty spectacular piece of work. The "Lover's Leap" part (the first three-and-a-half minutes) may contain the most plainly beautiful lyrics of Peter Gabriel's entire career, precluding the entry into a Narnia-type land with the kind of sentiment that is - not to get too sappy here - as universal and eternal as love itself. ('Hello babe, with your guardian eyes so blue/Hey my baa-bEE!, don't you know our love is true...' — that hiccup gets me every time.) "Ikhnaton and Itsacon" is probably my personal favorite thing Genesis ever did; I'm a sucker for triumphant music, and that piece is fucking triumphant, man — Hackett's guitar solo at 7:58 splits the sky. (Also, a good demonstration of Gabriel's humor: 'Something tells me I'd better activate my prayer capsule....' Yeah dude, that's probably a good idea...things are getting pretty crazy out here.) "Willow Farm" sees Gabriel get very goofy very abruptly ('...he used to be A BRITISH FLAG!') and continue with dwarfish voices trilling around in what sounds like good cheer (12:30-13:00). And the imagery throughout the entire piece is sundry and engrossing: a lazy sitting room with a lover by your side; a moonlit garden; dark-skinned warriors crouched on a hill waiting for battle! It's the kind of track that you put on and then just lie down and close your eyes and listen (but don't sleep). (I often do this anyway, but "Supper's Ready" seems tailor-made for that kind of sonic immersion.)
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I guess what I'm trying to say is that this album sounds like its cover looks.
A.
Published
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In the early part of the seventies Genesis were the definition of a cult band. Their albums never sold well at first, and the ones that did buy them were either those interested in what the band was or their die hard fans. Either way, they were mostly overlooked until their pop sellout of the late seventies and eighties, but their material from 1971 to 1974 is the true Genesis, the classic era.
Foxtrot from 1972 is the second of the classic Genesis albums, after Nursery Cryme. Again nobody bought the album (it didn't even break the Billboard Top 200), but regardless of sales the album is now looked upon as a classic of progressive rock. As for highlights there are many, starting with the magnificent opener "Watcher of the Skies". Such an incredible intro, and the song has some of my favorite keyboard playing of all time. "Get'em Out by Friday" is another gem, the entire band is on their game for this song (and the rest of the album as well, this era of Genesis had to be one of the most talented bands of their time).
Foxtrot is best remembered for (and deservedly so) the nearly side long epic known as "Supper's Ready", and it is the best song on the album. The only thing keeping it from being the entire side's length is a short acoustic instrumental called "Horizons", and it is a beautiful instrumental. I think of it as a intro piece to "Supper's Ready", as it segues perfectly into the song. "Supper's Ready" is majestic, epic, heartfelt, beautiful and all those other adjectives into one incredible song, but I won't spoil it, as there are too many incredible moments to mention.
This truely is one of the finer progressive rock albums I have heard, and I can't believe it was overlooked back then along with the rest of the Gabriel era Genesis. Shows what the public was missing out on then, sometimes the album you don't buy turns out to be incredible, and Foxtrot is one of the best examples of that. I encourage prog fans to check this one out, if they haven't already.
Foxtrot from 1972 is the second of the classic Genesis albums, after Nursery Cryme. Again nobody bought the album (it didn't even break the Billboard Top 200), but regardless of sales the album is now looked upon as a classic of progressive rock. As for highlights there are many, starting with the magnificent opener "Watcher of the Skies". Such an incredible intro, and the song has some of my favorite keyboard playing of all time. "Get'em Out by Friday" is another gem, the entire band is on their game for this song (and the rest of the album as well, this era of Genesis had to be one of the most talented bands of their time).
Foxtrot is best remembered for (and deservedly so) the nearly side long epic known as "Supper's Ready", and it is the best song on the album. The only thing keeping it from being the entire side's length is a short acoustic instrumental called "Horizons", and it is a beautiful instrumental. I think of it as a intro piece to "Supper's Ready", as it segues perfectly into the song. "Supper's Ready" is majestic, epic, heartfelt, beautiful and all those other adjectives into one incredible song, but I won't spoil it, as there are too many incredible moments to mention.
This truely is one of the finer progressive rock albums I have heard, and I can't believe it was overlooked back then along with the rest of the Gabriel era Genesis. Shows what the public was missing out on then, sometimes the album you don't buy turns out to be incredible, and Foxtrot is one of the best examples of that. I encourage prog fans to check this one out, if they haven't already.
Published
'Foxtrot' is, unfairly, not as praised as Genesis biggest albums of their progressive years: 'Selling England by the Pound' and 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'.
Funny enough, it lacks the disadvantages of both afforementioned albums. It's a single LP, so it's more cohesive than 'The Lamb...'. Also, its songs are shorter and more effective than the ones found on 'Selling England...', with the obvious exception of "Supper's Ready", which happens to be their best song.
Now, 'Foxtrot' shows Genesis at the pinnacle of their best period. They had released their best album yet(Nursery Cryme) which started to succesfully merge their ambitious songwriting with effective arrangements and bridges between numerous sections.
The difference is, this time, Genesis managed to make an album with songs that feature variety and personality of their own.
The opener "Watcher of the Skies" has a gorgeus, atmospheric keyboard intro which resembles a celestial overture, quickly giving place to a manic, bass-driven prog rocker, with great guitar and keyboard licks.
The closer, "Supper's Ready", must be the best lengthy prog composition of their era, with the possible exception of Jethro Tull and King Crimson. It posseses excellent transitions between the different sections(or movements) and a huge sense of theatricality and humour(plus a great vocal delivery, courtesy of Peter Gabriel) The instruments do exactly what they need to do, nothing more, nothing less. There's not a single note that's missing or feels unnecessary.
And that's precisely one the key atributes of Foxtrot.
These 2 pieces bookend an album full of great songs that never tire the listener. The delicate "Time Table" and the extended "Get'em Out by Friday" are also excellent examples of a well devolped sense of songcrafting, with Gabriel's lyrical content as a standout.
'Foxtrot' were the start of Genesis' golden era, and the development of not only their musical style, but also their onstage persona, represented by Gabriel's crazy outfits and performances. With Hacket's baroque, classical guitar, Rutherford's commanding bass, Banks' dreamy keyboard washes and Collins' versatility on the drums, Peter Gabriel found the perfect canvas for his live theater.
Definitely, their best album.
Funny enough, it lacks the disadvantages of both afforementioned albums. It's a single LP, so it's more cohesive than 'The Lamb...'. Also, its songs are shorter and more effective than the ones found on 'Selling England...', with the obvious exception of "Supper's Ready", which happens to be their best song.
Now, 'Foxtrot' shows Genesis at the pinnacle of their best period. They had released their best album yet(Nursery Cryme) which started to succesfully merge their ambitious songwriting with effective arrangements and bridges between numerous sections.
The difference is, this time, Genesis managed to make an album with songs that feature variety and personality of their own.
The opener "Watcher of the Skies" has a gorgeus, atmospheric keyboard intro which resembles a celestial overture, quickly giving place to a manic, bass-driven prog rocker, with great guitar and keyboard licks.
The closer, "Supper's Ready", must be the best lengthy prog composition of their era, with the possible exception of Jethro Tull and King Crimson. It posseses excellent transitions between the different sections(or movements) and a huge sense of theatricality and humour(plus a great vocal delivery, courtesy of Peter Gabriel) The instruments do exactly what they need to do, nothing more, nothing less. There's not a single note that's missing or feels unnecessary.
And that's precisely one the key atributes of Foxtrot.
These 2 pieces bookend an album full of great songs that never tire the listener. The delicate "Time Table" and the extended "Get'em Out by Friday" are also excellent examples of a well devolped sense of songcrafting, with Gabriel's lyrical content as a standout.
'Foxtrot' were the start of Genesis' golden era, and the development of not only their musical style, but also their onstage persona, represented by Gabriel's crazy outfits and performances. With Hacket's baroque, classical guitar, Rutherford's commanding bass, Banks' dreamy keyboard washes and Collins' versatility on the drums, Peter Gabriel found the perfect canvas for his live theater.
Definitely, their best album.
Published
"Genesis? Phil Collins right? Invisible Touch? all that top 40 stuff?"
"Yeah, but this is the early stuff when Peter Gabriel sang and wrote for them."
"Gabriel was in Genesis...really?"
There's probably more than a few of us who were introduced to seventies Genesis with that conversation.
Foxtrot is their best. The album that showed me that Pink Floyd were not the only group who could create such vivid movies in your head. The style is different from Floyd of course, little more King Arthur and a little less far-out psychedelia. In place of David Gilmour's soloing we have what many would think to be a cheesy (I know I do, but I love it) organ noodlings from Tony Banks.
The songs are almost all long and represent many of the cliches that prog rock has picked up over the years. Long solos, grandiose subject matter and nothing that Chuck Berry would recognize as his own. I understand the hatred that albums like this can generate, but brothers, this is a fine piece of work that shouldn't be disrespected.
Just before the entire album builds up to the opus that is the final track, the band clears away all debris with a beautiful fairy-tale sounding guitar solo, "Horizon's." Enter "Supper's Ready." At 23 minutes it's several songs in one that may or may not be about the apocalypse. It's Gabriel's finest work on the album (maybe in all of his Genesis work) in both lyrics and delivery. It's one of those fantasy novels you see in paperback all the time, done in musical form by talented men who were all on the same page. Plenty of peaks and cresendos to keep you going. It's worth the price of the album by itself, (and your 23 minutes.)
"Yeah, but this is the early stuff when Peter Gabriel sang and wrote for them."
"Gabriel was in Genesis...really?"
There's probably more than a few of us who were introduced to seventies Genesis with that conversation.
Foxtrot is their best. The album that showed me that Pink Floyd were not the only group who could create such vivid movies in your head. The style is different from Floyd of course, little more King Arthur and a little less far-out psychedelia. In place of David Gilmour's soloing we have what many would think to be a cheesy (I know I do, but I love it) organ noodlings from Tony Banks.
The songs are almost all long and represent many of the cliches that prog rock has picked up over the years. Long solos, grandiose subject matter and nothing that Chuck Berry would recognize as his own. I understand the hatred that albums like this can generate, but brothers, this is a fine piece of work that shouldn't be disrespected.
Just before the entire album builds up to the opus that is the final track, the band clears away all debris with a beautiful fairy-tale sounding guitar solo, "Horizon's." Enter "Supper's Ready." At 23 minutes it's several songs in one that may or may not be about the apocalypse. It's Gabriel's finest work on the album (maybe in all of his Genesis work) in both lyrics and delivery. It's one of those fantasy novels you see in paperback all the time, done in musical form by talented men who were all on the same page. Plenty of peaks and cresendos to keep you going. It's worth the price of the album by itself, (and your 23 minutes.)
Published
A very reasonable contender for best album of all time. The intro to "Watcher of the Skies" strikes me as the closest thing to Wagner I've ever heard in rock. The phrase "rock songs don't come any better than this" was originally coined to describe "My Generation", but I would apply it to "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" - one of my top hundred songs for sure. "Get 'em Out by Friday" is an early indication of Peter's later social conscience and concern for the marginalised. Only "Timetable" lacks the intensity, yet this too is a major and beautiful composition with a courtly rennaissance feel.
On to side two, which like side two of Abbey Road is of course comprised of many parts. A few of them aren't astonishing, but most are. I read in a biography of Genesis that previous drummer Anthony Mayhew had been getting interested in the occult, and in 1971 the band had an experience with a ouja board which so freaked them out that for a short time they fled in the complete opposite direction. Hence the glorious religious imagery on "Supper's Ready" which has a major positive effect on the artistic quality of the album. Verdict: others call this music weird, I just call it ambitious - successfully so.
On to side two, which like side two of Abbey Road is of course comprised of many parts. A few of them aren't astonishing, but most are. I read in a biography of Genesis that previous drummer Anthony Mayhew had been getting interested in the occult, and in 1971 the band had an experience with a ouja board which so freaked them out that for a short time they fled in the complete opposite direction. Hence the glorious religious imagery on "Supper's Ready" which has a major positive effect on the artistic quality of the album. Verdict: others call this music weird, I just call it ambitious - successfully so.
Published
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A1
Watcher of the Skies
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A2
Time Table
-
A3
Get 'Em Out by Friday
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A4
Can-Utility and the Coastliners
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B1
Horizons
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B2
Supper's Ready
Well, if you want to answer that question, listen to Supper’s Ready. A song, a more fitting word being an “epic”, detailing the virtues of some of the most confusing yet enthralling stories you’ll hear in a prog album, with a psychedelic sound that’ll keep you mesmerized throughout the entire 23 minutes of bliss it is. The A-side of this album is also noteworthy, kicking off the listener with the great Watcher of the Skies, and keeping consistency all the way up to one of my favorite tracks, Can-Utility and Coast Liners.
An adventure, really. I didn’t expect myself to enjoy this as much as I did but I was quickly enchanted by this album’s magic.
Published
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Catalog
7 May 2024
7 May 2024
7 May 2024
7 May 2024
7 May 2024
6 May 2024
6 May 2024
-
A1
Watcher of the Skies
-
A2
Time Table
-
A3
Get 'Em Out by Friday
-
A4
Can-Utility and the Coastliners
-
B1
Horizons
-
B2
Supper's Ready
6 May 2024
6 May 2024
6 May 2024
6 May 2024
5 May 2024
5 May 2024
-
A1
Watcher of the Skies
-
A2
Time Table
-
A3
Get 'Em Out by Friday
-
A4
Can-Utility and the Coastliners
-
B1
Horizons
-
B2
Supper's Ready
5 May 2024
5 May 2024