I've been on a big Genesis kick for a while now, but only just recently starter digging into the B-sides and unused tracks.
It's Yourself has quickly become one of my favorite Genesis songs. Phil's vocals are so emotive, and the guitar is as majestic as any other 70s era Genesis tune. And when you make it segue into Los Endos, it becomes an epic on par with Cinema Show, almost. Very very beautiful.
Did you check out the link I posted earlier in the thread that shows how "It's Yourself" originally had a longer ending that ends with the same arpeggio that opens up "Mad Man Moon"? It makes for a PERFECT segue between the two songs.
I feel like Happy The Man sounds more like Trespass than Nursery Crime. Lots of bits remind me of Stagnation, for example. Twilight Alehouse is another track that's definitely one of their best and most interesting songs. The drums at the end really rock.
These two songs are pretty nice, especially for being the only 2 non-album songs from the Gabriel-era that were fully recorded (not counting live at the BBC songs, or demos). The former is a work that reminds me a lot of various material from their first three albums, tho I play it with NC more than TP, same with "Twilight Alehouse", especially since both tracks have Steve and Phil on them. Check further back in the thread if you're interested in my alternate tracklist for Nursery Cryme (which is how I've been listening to it for the last month or more).
Inside and Out is prettier than alot of what made it onto W&W, is that a Hackett song?
Yes, "Inside And Out" is a Hackett song, and it's exclusion from WAW was one of the driving forces behind his departure. "Wot Gorilla?" was included on the final album instead, and by that point, Steve felt like his material wasn't being represented as equally as the others.
Naminanu is great as well. Reminds me of something Yes would do.
I still have a lot further down the rabbit hole yet to go. It sure is deeper than I thought.
"Naminanu" is a great, fast-paced piece which, for me, serves as the opening for the suite on Abacab - Naminanu/Dodo/Lurker/Submarine. Lots of folks put "Naminanu" after "Submarine" but for me, it makes more sense as an overture, which are typically instrumental in prog anyway, and ending the suite with 8 minutes of instrumental just doesn't make any sense to me either.
And yes, there are tons more of Post-Gabriel B-sides to discover and enjoy. Personally, I've made tracklists for each album that includes all of the songs from those sessions, for a more "complete" version of the album. Is it what the band intended? Ehh, probably not, but I like the idea of having everything in one go, even if the songs were left off for one reason or another (though with how long their albums tended to be with regards to vinyl's constraints, I'm betting album length was a factor in deciding which songs to leave off).
-Marc.