Customer Ratings & Reviews

A lot of Genesis fans crap on anything that they did in the 80s, regarding it as pop fluff, as though that makes it somehow inferior to their 70s proggier output. Yes, 1981's Abacab was a bit of a disappointment, as it was easily the band's weakest effort since their debut, as the band decided to experiment with wanky synth effects, and the result was something that was far below their usual standards. Also, Phil Collins had begun a successful solo career, and had - "Against All Odds"(sorry for the pun) - become an international pop star. As a result, many fans of the band wrote them off permanently, "throwing them all away" (I know, that song hadn't been recorded yet) with the rest of the early-80s prog casualties. However, there was life in this band yet! The band named their 1983 effort "Genesis", because they intended the album to be a restart for the group, and they sure got off to a great one. The album opens up with the spooky "Mama", one of the best songs the group ever recorded. Seriously, if you haven't heard this song - and you probably have - be prepared to be creeped out of your skin. Next is "That's All", a perfect song that may be too "poppy" for some, but hey, the song is gold, so who cares. "Home By the Sea" and "Second Home by the Sea" are very proggy, especially the latter, and may be the high points of this great album. Side 2 isn't nearly as strong as Side 1, but it has its moments. "Illegal Alien" is a fun song, if not politically incorrect, but hey, Maggie and Ronnie were running things back then, so "political correctness" didn't exist yet. "Just a Job to Do" is a pretty good song, and the ballads "Taking It All Too Hard" and "Silver Rainbow" probably would've been better on a Phil Collins solo record, but they're good songs as well. Overall, this is a great album, especially Side 1, which is probably one of the best album sides that the group ever recorded. I definitely recommend getting this album, it's got enough to satisfy both the "proggers" and the "poppers".