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Who sings the harmony during the choruses - because it really sounds like Phil Collins to me. If so it must have been overdubbed later as the tech didn't exist then to harmonize as it happened. It's the phrasing of the word 'get', which Phil pronounced as 'git' - which I can't see Mike or Tony doing. Anyone have the straight dope on this?

Just some thoughts on self titled album, been revisiting it lately and it’s sort of weird honestly. I like it, but feel like its place in the discography is that of another transition album.

While I think Self Titled is probably a better album, it reminds me of a second And Then There Were Three, in the sense that’s it’s a super dark vibe album, right before a huge commercial success, that was maybe not reviewed super positively.

I do also love the vibe is this album, it’s like 80s dark cyberpunk neon industrial. Their sound on this album isn’t found anywhere else, which I guess you could say about every album. But I like the vibe so much on this album, it’s more electronic and “80s” than Abacab, a bit more commercially friendly, but way more analogue and vintage sounding than Invisible Touch. That album’s neon is blinding compared to Self Titled, but that’s another thread for another time.

Side 1 is probably one of my favorite first album halves in their output. The boys fuckin COOKED on side 1 bro.

But Side 2 is still something that hasn’t really clicked for me like other stuff. There are hints of the Abacab era, but has very much a 80s more electronic feel. It just feels like they didn’t have the best material, not sure how else to put it. Side 2 has some great moments, but it’s a shame that the tracklist was in such an uneven order. Maybe spreading out the bangers would have made it a more cohesive album but oh well.

I think overall the album has to take a mid rating from me. Short review:

Mama - obvious banger 10/10

That’s All - obvious banger 10/10

Home by the Sea 1 & 2 - obvious bangers

Illegal Alien - a bit racist in hindsight but a catchy fun song 8/10

Taking It All Too Hard - sorta boring ngl. Verses are kinda dope, but the verses are a bit of a snooze for me. 5/10

Just a Job to Do - decent over all, great chorus, and I fuckin love that bridge bro. The bridge itself might be one of my favorite Genesis “bits”. Sorta feel like I shouldn’t like the bridge more than the rest of the song tho, and I do lol. 7/10

Silver Rainbow - starts great and has a great groove but man idk the song sorta doesn’t go anywhere. Chorus kinda just repeats and ehhhh idk dude. Main riff is really cool but once they get to the chorus I lose steam. 6/10

It’s Gonna Get Better - as good a closer as they could probably get. This feels like one of the last studio songs (for me) that I get old school Genesis vibes on. Tony’s keys and playing, his organ sounds very Trick through Abacab here, that electric organ sound.

The last 2 minutes of the song also give me very old school Genesis vibes. This song has probably grown on me the most since revisiting it lately. All in all, it sounds like a song from Duke but with ‘83 production. 8/10

Edit: Live shit from this era is top. Not megastars yet but insanely well oiled at this point, plus the set at this point didn’t have Invisible Touch or We Can’t Dance to muddy up the set with hits (as much as I love a lot of the later hits) so you get a good balance still.

I made this to wear to the Last Domino show in NYC. We live near Philly but couldn’t get tickets there so my husband really went all out to do this for me.😊

The shirt sat in my dresser for 40 years, I figured what the heck, cut it up, and appliqué-d it to a jacket. It sure didn’t fit me anymore! I wear it whenever I can, have it dry-cleaned, it’s in great shape!

Discogs link for those curious.

If you have listened to WCD, you'll understand it 😁😁😁

The ones I've found have sketchy audio. Is there one with good audio?

The Musical Box at Theater Granada, Sherbrooke, 1/24/25

I saw The Musical Box perform their 50th anniversary of SEBTP tour last Friday. It was my 3rd time seeing the band. It was an incredible show and they sounded album-perfect for like 99% of the show. Comparing footage of the actual band perform this tour and TMB, TMB sounded better in some ways on some songs. Their live 3 or 4 part harmonies sung live for the Cinema Show were better than I've ever heard the real deal deliver it. I find tribute bands, especially if they try to look like the band, to be surreal and usually not great. But, TMB musical perfection, and my distance from the stage coupled with a few additives that result in slightly blurred vision, made the illusion of this show very powerful! 1973! It was in the middle of Supper's Ready, a song that never fails to mesmerize me no matter how many times I hear it, that it struck me how rare and amazing this all is. Early Genesis is an obscure rarity and to have this excellent historic reenactment band-performing not just the music perfectly, but the entire stage show/theatrical presentation of the 1973 tour, is just amazing. This is the only Genesis tribute group I have seen, maybe there are others that are better? If any members of the band ever visit here and read this, thanks for what you are doing!

Add on thought: these shows are also interesting in that they bring together deep fans of this obscure music. The collective age in the hall has to be around 10,000. One thing that I have experienced at every show by TMB and Steve Hackett are the old fans who show up and end up being total idiots during the show, either because they know the music best, or because they are old and don't give a shit about talking through a show (one show of Steve's, this group of old fans were talking loudly during the show about how late it was and how old they were and that "they and Steve need to be home in bed!"), or because they are emotional seeing the music perform and they lose their shit and yell stuff all the time...(exactly the scenario the band has described in so many early interviews about their quiet parts being ruined by people who yell out during the quiet sections) the audiences are always this blend of people who are having almost a religious experience seeing this rare old music performed live, or the people who also love the music but cannot experience it without talking through it, or letting everyone else know how much they know about the band or song. So it was at Sherbrooke last Friday.....groups of old fans, who got drunk through the show (they served through the entire show) and ended up talking, laughing, discussing the music & the band during the freaking show. It was unbelievable. These guys behind me had to sing or whistle melodic parts out loud just before they happened, so we would all know how well they know the music. At a Steve Hackett show in Albany, NY this old guy sitting behind me, loudly proclaimed that he had seen the band on the Lamb Tour, had seen Peter! So, he commanded this fan authority, and felt entitled to freaking talk about each song during the show while Steve played....until I turned around and shushed the wizard. He looked hurt and insulted but did stay quiet for the rest of the show. WTF people, we all love the music and want to hear it played, not you talking about it during the show! Rant over.

As much as i like Tony banks playing, i just wish there was a Genesis album where i felt ‘ i wish the keyboards were a bit louder on this one’.

To the fellow musicians out there, has anyone else noticed Mike’s bass guitar playing was rarely in the groove or locked in with Phil AT ALL? MOST of the time, as brilliant work as it was, Mike was just doing his own thing sometimes even playing against Phil, it would seem. I’m referring specifically to the studio renditions, but a few examples include the Lady Lies, 11th Earl of Mar, and Return of the Giant Hogweed. He seemed to lock in better with Chester though, or when drum machines and Taurus pedals were involved. He also seemed to lock in rhythmically more on electric 12 string as well. Or am I just going crazy over analyzing it all? 😅