Genesis - Genesis

Release: October 3, 1983
Genre: Let's call it "art pop" and be done with it.
Label: Charisma Records (UK), Atlantic Records (US)
Length: 45:59

Nick's Rating: 3.5/5

I'm gonna do something different this time and basically take the mick out of the majority of this album instead of giving it a proper review. That score up there does say 3.5, yes, but I'm spending a review taking the piss out of this album. TV Tropes would refer to this with "Four Point Scale" -- I, however, am just doing what I do best, and nowhere did I say I was wiping myself with the whole album.

Okay. Quick question: are you a fan of pop Genesis or prog genesis? BUZZ! Time's up! You're still gonna hate "Second Home by the Sea!" This "song," if you can even call it that, being the tail end of "Home by the Sea" is basically just a long instrumental, although with piss-poor arrangement and a generally anemic sound, which is not thanks at all to the instruments the band is using at this time (whatever gave you that idea?). It's not even like a matter of not knowing where to go; they just didn't blend the prog and pop sides together right. Or rather, they did, but they left it to sit for a few days and they separated back into separate layers. And then they BOTH got moldy, and they just said "screw it" and went ahead. The end result is not the worst song in the Genesis canon (and if you honestly believe that, uh... God help you if you buy a copy of We Can't Dance, is all I'm saying), but a six-minute drag-a-thon that, were it the only Genesis song I'd ever heard, I think I might snap and kill Tony Banks with a shovel. Mike and Phil can stay alive, and why would I bother with the two guys who weren't even in the scene anymore.

Pleasant surprise, though: "Home by the Sea" was released as a single in some territories! Hopefully not with that dreadful second part on, though.

The only two other truly bad songs on the album are the last two ones on the album. I mean, a lot of people talk about "Illegal Alien," which technically is a bad song with its doofy faux Mexican accent, unfortunate implications, and the-less-said-about-it-the-better type video, but I find it strangely cute, probably because it's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. Har, stupidity from Genesis? I'll take it over pseudointellectualism from Tool, at least.

So, before I get completely sidetracked, "Silver Rainbow" and "It's Gonna Get Better" do literally nothing for me. I've mentioned my love of George Starostin, and he praised the vocals on "Silver Rainbow" all those years ago when he reviewed the album, and I don't blame him -- but one thing doesn't a good song make. A friend of mine even noted that "Second Home" has a hook. True. "It's Gonna Get Better," then, has pretty much literally got nothing going for it. It's not even lyrically interesting or snarky. Fine, I can accept a truly optimistic song, yes, but I've heard so many of them after twenty one goddamn years of listening to the radio that another one will just leave me cold and be ignored.

Oh, and then there's "Taking It All Too Hard." Which is so unremarkable that I completely forgot about it. It's a sleepy, go-nowhere type of tune with, uh... I don't want to say no redeeming qualities. The electric piano is cute. But I wouldn't call it a really good song by any means whatsoever; it's just there. It's single material. Also known as filler. Those sound like they should be mutually exclusive, right? Nope. Not in this genre. It's kind of undortunate, too.

"That's All" just doesn't do much for me either, but it's quick moving and harmless, really. It's pure simplicity, but I don't find it much fun to listen to, probably because I still like prog Genesis more than pop genesis. But it is nice to hear the natural drums actually come out rather quickly. I think there's still a drum machine in some parts with those, but that's okay. Like I said, this one's a matter of taste; you might like it, but I don't. I mean, I do, but I don't like listening to it.

What I do like listening to, though, now that we're done with all the negativity, are the other three songs. "Mama" is one that probably everyone knows, from its distorted, jagged, I'd even say pseudo-industrial, drum machine opening down to Phil's evil as hell laugh. To some people, it represents the worst of Genesis' pop dreck. To me? I'd point you to "Taking It All Too Hard" for that. "Mama" is actually a cool song, even if not the best of Genesis' work (no matter what chart positions will tell you). The song has something that most of the rest of this album lacks -- an actual mood other than "cold drum-machine-based pop" (which is more a genre than an actual mood, but who cares?). It's dark, sinister, and almost throws you straight into the malevolent cityscape that Phil sings about, particularly as the song draws on and the explosively booming natural drums come out. Dear lord. I thought I'd hate this song way back when I started listening to this album. But, no. This truly is "art" in popular music. You thought that "art pop" thing was just a joke 'cause I couldn't let go of Genesis as a prog band? You fool!

I think the other two songs, though, are actually my favorites here, probably because they ease off the drum machine and are a little more "rock" than "pop." "Home by the Sea" is probably my longtime favorite from this album. I couldn't really say what it is about it -- I think it's really just the fact that it's as simple as it is, to the point that it belies the band's true identity as art rock, no matter how poppy they try to become (until We Can't Dance, anywway, which actually is the band's worst album, not Calling All Stations). Avoid, of course, "Second Home by the Sea," which has all the artistic content of a case of hammer toes and all the listenability of getting shot in the ear.

"Just a Job to Do" is cool, too. A bit generic, really, but it has energy to spare, which is something I can't say about most of the other languid crap on this album, and it's kind of funny in its own way -- because the lyrics speak of a P.I. chasing down a target, and could you ever think of Phil Collins being that bad-ass? A man whose mind is a dark place separated into smaller, darker places, yes, but actually bad-ass? That would require some serious convincing, and I think that "Just a Job to Do" comes about as close as it possibly could. Which is to say, it's still not very good. Phil shouting "BANG BANG BANG! and down you go!" is kind of funny, instead. Thankfully, the song is still pretty good, if, as I said, generic -- but that's a problem with all the other pop songs on the album, too. This isn't an album about doing anything new.

That's probably why it's enjoyable. Not that Genesis were truly bad when they were experimental, but it was kind of hit and miss sometimes.