Genesis (1983)

Artist: Genesis Release Year: 1983 Rating: 7/10

Track Listing: 1) Mama; 2) That’s All; 3) Home By the Sea; 4) Second Home By the Sea; 5) Illegal Alien; 6) Taking It All Too Hard; 7) Just a Job to Do; 8) Silver Rainbow; 9) It’s Gonna Get Better.

Not quite "Perfection", as the cover would imply, but solid for sure.

So many prog rock bands found themselves sliding awkwardly toward the pop end of the spectrum by the late seventies, and the output usually suffered a great deal.  Genesis was no exception.  In spite of this, I must maintain that for a few brief years, Genesis were a good pop band, and there is no better proof of that than on their eponymous album.  Somewhere between the struggle to compromise between prog and pop, and then submitting entirely to unabashedly soulless product, Genesis decided to just make thoughtful, well-rounded pop - no more and no less.

I'm a big fan of Peter Gabriel's work with the band, but on Genesis, I'm actually thankful Phil Collins was the frontman.  He's in top form here, from the range of feelings conveyed in his vocals to his engaging drumming style (when he's actually playing, of course).  You'll find the best example of both on "Mama", with the creepy atmosphere building and building as on "In the Air Tonight", but Phil is actually more maniacal here, and it works-- as long as you can pretend to take him seriously with that ridiculous "HA HA...heh" laugh he somehow saw fit to include.  The big hit "That's All" is smooth and has some interesting melodic turns, so that’s another high point.  My favorite, though, is "Home by the Sea", with an eerie melody complimenting Phil's narrative about being trapped with a couple of phantoms, before transitioning to a mostly-interesting instrumental that seems to continue the story without words.  That's the only vestige of prog on this record, and it's done well.

The other songs are pleasant and digestible, although they stand out considerably less.  The only misfire is "Illegal Alien", one of the band's worst songs.  The stupid melody and stupid lyrics would make the listener cringe even if they weren't sung in a fake Mexican accent.  All in all, this is a great pop-rock album one may freely enjoy.  It's warm and smooth, the songs are well-thought out, and there is little of the annoying sterility that would plague them soon afterward.  Cool cover art, too