Genesis: Foxtrot (1972)
Tony Banks - Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals
Phil Collins - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Peter Gabriel - Lead Vocals, Flute, Oboe, Percussion
Steve Hackett - Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Mike Rutherford - Bass, Bass Pedals, Acoustic Guitar, Cello, Backing Vocals
Watcher of the Skies
Time Table
Get 'Em Out by Friday
Can-Utility and the Coastliners
Horizons
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)
----------
With this, their fourth album, Genesis finally had the relative luxury of making a second album with the same lineup. Much of
Nursery Cryme was written by the time Phil and Steve had joined the band, and they had worked with session drummers prior to that, so this was actually the first time that five current members sat down to create the new album.
The result was yet another step forward in their sound and musical sophistication. Perhaps not as great a step as the previous two, but a step forward nonetheless. Where
Nursery Cryme pushed in all directions, establishing and announcing the Genesis sound (and doing a fine job of it),
Foxtrot shows a more mature band, a band more certain of its strengths and idiosyncracies, and more comfortable using them to best effect. As with
Nursery Cryme, all tracks are credited to all five members.
----------
"Watcher of the Skies" opens the album with a full minute and a half of Mellotron, building and modulating in ways that only Tony Banks can, forcing one to sit down and listen. If you were already sitting, then that's good, because you're in for a treat, not just this song but the entire album. "Watcher" is something of a philosophical piece, looking at our planet, and mankind, and mankind's work on this planet, from the point of view of someone outside of it. The Watcher of the Skies watches over all planets and peoples, including ours. He sees how we evolved, and how we now look to the stars, even though there is still much work to do here. We can only ask that he not judge us too harshly.
Yes has been accused of copying the syncopated, one-note riff from this song, or at least the idea of it, for their song "Mind Drive". I don't think they're really that similar, and never even made the connection until it was pointed out. Interesting then, ironic even, that Genesis originally came up with this riff as something of an homage to one of their influences: Yes.
"Time Table" is one of those songs which takes a simple idea and sets it to music, and nothing more. It is the shortest song on the album (not counting Steve's acoustic solo "Horizons"), and does not overstay its welcome. The idea is simple: A beautiful carved oak table, which once sat proudly in the home of an English noble and hosted feasts in the time of knights and chivalry, now sits forgotten, covered in dust, hosting only feasts for rats. The lyrics include parallels emphasizing how the table is still serving its function, though in completely different surroundings. The passage of time is indicated by an instrumental interlude, which returns at the end and fades out, indicating the the story is not yet over.
I know some people don't like this song, or think of it as one of Genesis' "lesser" songs. Mostly because of the lyrics. I guess I understand that, but I don't share the opinion. I think it's important to remember that Genesis were still quite young when they wrote this, and so was Rock and Roll. Maybe it's a bit trite now, but this was 1972. Everything was new. You don't blame a toddler for not being able to operate heavy machinery.
"Get 'Em Out By Friday" was the latest mini-opera by Peter, with different parts performed by different characters. Thankfully, Genesis always provided lyrics and liner notes so you could follow along. It wasn't quite impossible to follow without them, but it was certainly easier when you knew the names and roles of the different characters in the story.
This time it's actual science fiction. People are being relocated "in the interest of humanity" so that their property can be torn down, and new flats erected that can hold more people in the same area. In the early 1970's, overpopulation was constantly in the news, the way global warming is today. Eventually we move into "the future" (2012, as it happens) and Genetic Control has issued a new "four foot restriction on humanoid height". This is so more people can be fit into the same space.
"Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is based on the legend of King Canute, who so believed in his own power that one day he chose to demonstrate it by commanding the ocean tides, with all his subjects as witnesses, and learned a lesson in humility.
Another underrated and often overlooked Genesis song, I like this one a lot. I like the way it starts quietly and tells its story. I like the way the first break has a Mellotron playing the lead, and while the acoustic guitar is technically in a support role, it is the acoustic guitar which provides the rhythm and motion, and is actually the more interesting part. The song was mostly written by Steve, and the Mellotron break was originally much longer.
And finally, I like it simply because it was yet another Genesis song to break the mold. Most of the music being made at the time, and today for that matter, was "verse - chorus - verse - chorus - break - final chorus", with a possible verse before the final chorus. Genesis clearly felt no obligation to follow this form. The only song which even comes close to following the AABA pattern is "Watcher of the Skies" which has no real chorus or refrain, and few would accuse it of being a standard pop song. But I digress.
"Horizons" was Steve's proper welcome to the band, an acoustic piece based loosely on a theme from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 but which quickly takes a left turn and finds its own way. Something that a lot of early Art Rock bands (we call them Prog now) were very proud of was that their guitarist and/or keyboard player had classical training, and their songs tended to show them off when they could. But the ultimate honor was being granted a solo acoustic piece on an album, and this one was for Steve.
"Horizons" originally opened Side Two of the LP, which gave it some prominence, and also made it something of an introduction to the work that followed, the epic "Supper's Ready".
Very little can be said about "Supper's Ready" that hasn't already been said. At just under 23 minutes, it certainly qualifies as a side-long epic, and it probably would be on most other albums. But Genesis albums tend to be longer than average, and "Supper's Ready", as mentioned, shared an actual LP side with another piece.
Peter said that the lyrics came from something which actually happened. He and his wife Jill were in their sitting room, and when he looked at her, there seemed to be another face momentarily superimposed over hers, an evil face which was quite disturbing. He looked out the window and thought he saw some figures walking across the lawn, seven men, with the foremost carrying a cross. This somehow inspired him to write most of the lyrics for "Supper's Ready", which is about the struggle between good and evil, specifically the triumph of good over evil. The "Willow Farm" section was previously written as a separate song which Peter and Tony found did not stand well on its own, but worked rather nicely as comic relief within the larger, more serious work.
Many have noted that the penultimate movement, "Apocalype in 9/8", is really in 9/4 time. It has a steady, even beat to it. 9/8 is more commonly attributed to faster pieces, usually with the nine beats subgrouped as threes or otherwise. Here the beats are subgrouped 4+3+2, but are relatively slow and thus the time signature would more likely be called 9/4. Also notable is the fact that Tony's Hammond solo is not actually in 9/4. Tony chose to solo in 4/4, saying that he wasn't ready to attempt 9/4 at the time. The result is that he seems to be working in and around the 9/4 beat quite masterfully, when he is in fact ignoring it completely.
Paul Whitehead provided the cover painting, his third in a row, and he once again drew inspiration from the lyrics of the songs. In this case, "the fox on the rocks" is mentioned in the closing epic "Supper's Ready", and the seven figures can be seen walking up the beach. The entire scene takes place at the seashore, a reference to to "Can-Utility and the Coastliners". The cover painting for
Nursery Cryme can be seen included as a miniature in the background.
This is a longer writeup than most, because I went ahead and incorporated my comments into the writeup itself. Gotta mix things up a bit, you know.
Topic: Genesis Discography (Read 54907 times)
