For their third release, favorable reviews and a growing fan
\nfollowing eager for their live shows had energized Genesis as they
\nheaded into the studio. But, they were also challenged by the
\ndeparture of guitarist Anthony Phillips and drummer John Mayhew.
\nEnter guitarist Steve Hackett and a diminutive drummer (their third
\nin two years) with a huge sound and bombastic style, whom you might
\nhave heard of — a young Phil Collins. Collins would stick around
\nfor the life of the band, and go on to\u2026well\u2026other
\nthings.<\/p>\n
Hackett proved to be a perfect match for Genesis, with his
\nintricate style and gift for using guitar effects to produce a
\nmyriad of colorful sounds. Also, he tended to favor heavier
\ncompositions, which would add a harder edge to their songs. Collins
\nwas another excellent addition, and would prove to be one of rock’s
\nfinest drummers. Also he could sing, which would help to add some
\ndepth to the bands previously weak vocal harmonies. The infusion of
\nnew blood would help to be a catalyst that helped form the
\nstructure and style of the bands future.<\/p>\n
Genesis’ first two albums tended towards a soft, pastoral sound.
\nSlow and mid-tempo songs were the norm. Often the energy of the
\nmusic was not in synch with the power and depth of the lyrics. A
\ngroundbreaking song from their previous release
\nTrespass<\/i>, “The Knife,” changed all that with its harder edge
\nand driving rhythm. A lot of listeners were charged up by this
\nblast of musical power, and it became the showpiece of their live
\nset. The band took the hint, and
\nNursery Cryme<\/i> fuses their traditionally softer style with a
\npower and drive that was largely missing from progressive rock on
\nthe whole.<\/p>\n
Another change was apparent with vocalist Peter Gabriel, who
\ndisplays a vocal style very different from his earlier work.
\nPreviously he had stayed within pretty standard vocal stylings. On
\nNursery Cryme<\/i> he begins to expand the scope of his abilities
\nby using his dynamic range and gift for inflection to create a
\nmyriad of voices and characterizations.<\/p>\n
Genesis was hard at work creating a sound that smoothly fused
\nclassic symphonic music with rock music and modern instrumentation.
\nAt the time many progressive bands were using the influence of
\nsymphonic music, but they frequently ended up sounding like
\nelectronified orchestras. What Genesis was creating was much closer
\nto symphonic rock. A huge part of this was the work of keyboardist
\nTony Banks. Banks’ complex and dynamic style blurred the lines
\nbetween classical compositions and rock with a fluidity that many
\nbands lacked.<\/p>\n
In addition to breaking new musical ground,
\nNursery Cryme<\/i> shows the first signs of the band’s talent for
\ncreating bizarre stories flavored with fantasy and mythology, and
\ndisturbing dark imagery; melding their often bizarre visions with
\nfinely crafted, mutated symphonic compositions. Genesis’ bizarre
\nlyrical journeys took off with style on this release, beginning
\nwith the classic “The Musical Box.” Based on a freakish fairy tale,
\nthe story of a young girl who, while playing croquet, knocks her
\nyoung friend’s head off with her mallet. Later, the boy’s head
\nappears when she turns the key of her beloved jack-in-the-box, and
\nhe materializes before her and quickly begins to age. The song is
\nintroduced with gentle acoustic guitars while Gabriel as the young
\nboy, softly implores her to play the jack-in the-box and release
\nhim into the physical world: “Play me Old King Cole \/ So that I may
\njoin with you.” The music builds in intensity, with Banks flailing
\naway at a distorted minuet while Hackett slices and dices in and
\naround the maniacal keys with razor-sharp guitar licks. As the boy
\nages into senility before her eyes, he pleads with the girl to
\nindulge him in carnal favors before he dies. Gabriel delivers the
\nlyrics with a creepy intensity, softly crooning “Brush back you
\nhair \/ And let me get to know your flesh,” then erupts into fury
\nscreaming “Why don’t you touch me\u2026touch me\u2026NOW!” as
\nthe music rises in majestic chaos to a shattering crescendo.<\/p>\n
The first two Genesis albums were distinctly dramatic and
\nserious. On their third album, they display a wicked and absurd
\nsense of humor, especially on the track “Revenge Of The Giant
\nHogweed,” a sort of B horror movie set to music. The “regal
\nhogweed” is stolen from its native Russia and brought to England.
\nTaking root and thriving there, it takes revenge on the people of
\nLondon, decimating them with its deadly venom. Another such venture
\ninto absurdity is the rollicking “Harold The Barrel.” Harold, a
\nrestaurateur, cuts off his toes and serves them for tea. In shame,
\nhe totters on a high window ledge as the crowd below eggs him on,
\nencouraging him to jump. Gabriel uses different voices to portray
\nthe many characters who appear in this song.<\/p>\n
Two quieter songs on the album reflect the earlier Genesis
\nstyle. “For Absent Friends” is a brief but touching vignette of an
\nelderly couple reflecting on their past, featuring Phil Collins’
\nfirst recorded lead vocal. “Harlequin” is a mid-tempo ballad
\nfeaturing some beautiful guitar work by Hackett. As far as their
\nimpact on the album as a whole, these songs are overshadowed by the
\nmore dynamic tracks. They add some placidity to the album but are
\nultimately less strong for their lack of power and complexity when
\ncompared to the rest of the set. “Seven Stones” is another song
\nthat suffers the same fate. It probably would have been a standout
\ntrack on the first two albums, but again lacks the impact of
\nmasterpieces like “The Musical Box” and “Revenge Of The Giant
\nHogweed.” Their isn’t a bad song on the album, but there are
\ndefinitely some that are more memorable than others.<\/p>\n
Closing the album is another song that would become a staple of
\nfuture live shows, “The Fountain Of Salmacis,” based on the Greek
\nmyth of Hermaphroditus. Betrayed by the nymph Salmacis, he cursed
\nall that drank from her spring to become hermaphrodites. With its
\nfrequent time changes, complex instrumentation and mythological
\ntheme, it’s practically a template for the prototypical progressive
\nrock song.<\/p>\n
\nNursery Cryme<\/i> proved to be a landmark of progressive rock,
\nand set Genesis on the path to superstardom with its mix of lyrical
\ndepth and strong, complex compositions. This is a must have for any
\nprog-rock fan. If you want to check out the best of one of
\nprog-rock’s finest, this is a great album to start with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":27029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5883],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-38354","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-genesis","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38354"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}