Genesis: ''Nursery Cryme' - Is this really their best album!?
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- Опубликовано: 16 окт 2024
- Nursery Cryme could be the band's best album - and here are the reasons why. It is a dark piece of English eccentricity and prog grandure.
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#genesis #ranking #classicalbum
Musical Box, The return... and Fountain of Salmacis. Three pieces that are just classic Rock (not only Prog Rock) songs. A masterpiece.
I dont want to choose one as the best. They are just best for the moment. They have made too many masterpieces
Agree. This is a fairly early album and they're still learning some things - obviously Selling England was a more accomplished set, but they're already showing themselves to be an astonishingly gifted band. "The Muscial Box" is the standout track for most of us, one that defines the direction they were moving in and the heights they were able to achieve.
Right. They had about eight "best" albums. No need to rank.
To me it´s not only the early ones. It goes much longer@@j.jester7821 First when they didn´t include Phil Collins any longer I didn´t like them anymore. His role was phenomenal
I retrospect, this is their most important album. It charted their future paths. I'm still amazed at how the band gave Phil and Steve so much room and in turn they created the sound of Genesis. I still love to listen to this one.
Agree, but FOXTROT struck me as significantly better.
@@finylvinyl66 and Selling England better still.
Selling England is their best album in my opinion.
@@finylvinyl66I agree, Foxtrot is really when everything came together. Supper’s Ready being their absolute masterpiece.
The previous album predicted this... 😊
One of my favourite Genesis albums. Definitely in my top 3. For me, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot and Selling England By The Pound are the Holy Trinity.
Totally agree with you! Their creative peak! The trifecta, if you will!
Exactly.
Trespass, Cryme, and Foxtrot... my big 3
My favorite Genesis album and I'm a big Genesis fan. This is the first "classic Genesis lineup" album and it shows. A masterpiece.
The iconic Genesis triad: Nursery, Foxtrot, by the Pound !
Yeah but Trespass and The Lamb tho.....
@@ghostship85Not Lamb really, too American and side 4 is kinda anticlimax and dull.
And Gabriel abandoned his flute for excessive theatrics what a pity.
@@ghostship85 they are good as well.
@@ghostship85 Also add Live '73 - half a dozen brilliant albums. But I would like to include the next two after Peter left , although going in a different direction, also excellent.
One of greatest records of all time! From 1970-1976! No one could touch their phenomenal music!! Maybe gentle giant or crimson.. but nothing like the beautiful music of Genesis!!?great job!
I absolutely agree about that era of Genesis. Yes they did indeed survive the departure of Peter Gabriel. But when Steve Hackett left, the way was then clear for them to slide into a.m9re commercial sound.
And whilst I remained a massive Genesis fan to the end, I look back with fondest memories of the albums released from 1970-1976.
Nursery Cryme is a fantastic album.
@@keithf_ so true! And then there were three was
Okay but I never listen to that period anymore! Only the trespass to wuthering stuff is on the turntable anymore 😘
Have you heard Italian prog masterpieces from 1972-76 ?
I saw Genesis at Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall at the time of Nursery Cryme, and then at the Oval when they did Foxtrot, alongside Jack Bruce, Argent, Focus and others.
I have always marveled on how they were able to put so much into every song in one single album.
I saw them around this time with Van der Graaf. Love both bands of that era. Both at this point wrote brilliant, dark, sinister music which had strong literary elements. Once Gabriel left it lost its edge a bit. But Nursery Cryme for me is a stand out because it's the moment I dicovered Genesis. I suppose we all have albums or songs that chime for a lifetime.I still think it's their most cohesive album and where they begin to create their own identity and sound as a band. Musical Box sets the standard for what they would become during the first three albums, although live they still encored with The Knife. I tend to return to these first three albums more than the others, just as i still favour Van der Graaf's first three albums, likewise. Maybe it's because such great music entered my psyche at such an impressionable age or maybe it was just something in the air back then? Whatever it was it changed me, absolutely.
Their manager Tony Stratton-Smith hated the album at the time & the band weren't keen on it for many years after but they warmed to it as the years went on & it's production is much much better than the thin tinny sounding Foxtrot the year after..... A 39 minute masterpiece in my eyes.
Unfortunately Foxtrot is somewhat thinny, especially Supper cannot reach its power on the rerord.😮
You guys are right, Foxtrot has a limited dynamic range.
Me too - always had trouble with Foxtrot for some reason. Nursery Cryme is a fantastic album.
Long live British prog rock,
By far the best and most exciting music of all time, never will be replaced nor repited
When I was young and learning the music in the late 80's early 90's I had no idea how whimsical and very English the music was. It was when an Englishman explained to me all the references in The Battle of Epping Forest that I went "a ha!"
It's always been my favourite Genesis album, by far. 'Return of the Giant Hogweed' is a masterpiece.
Well said
u jusr canr beat this band
All four of the Gabriel-Hackett albums are absolutely deathless. Desert island albums. My favorite track on NC is absolutely Salmacis.
Agree
Yes I think I agree about Salmacis. Of course there are 3 epics on the album ... Box/Hogweed/Salmacis.
But I actually think Stones is cruelly overlooked. So too For Absent Friends which I learned only recently was a Hackett composition.
BTW Listen to the version of For Absent Friends on Hackett's first Genesis Revisited album. Beautiful rendition with Colin Blunstone on vocals. Done as a waltz in 3/4 time. Just sublime.
Salmacis contains my favorite Hackett solos. They’re unbelievable.
Unique masterpiece, unique sound and how they play together as a band. They can sound pastoral and baroque or loud prog and almost metal during certain passages, this album is a pillar in the construction of what we know as progressive rock
Absolutely.
Absolutely their finest album.
Perfection. For me personally the finest in whole prog genre.
Beautifully and well summarized. What i absolutely love about Nursery Cryme is that there is a coherence to the diversity of the various phases and themes, conceptualization, focused on an ever closer interaction between music and lyrics.
Foxtrot just shades Nursery Cryme but both are excellent. I always play both back to back it seems the right thing to do . A perfect pair
I agree, although Nursery Cryme has the better album sleeve imo.
Good point - great albums but cracking album covers both!
I probably still favour "Selling England" but I love this like I love Floyd's "Meddle" or The Yes Album - all were transition albums so you get to hear both sides. You also get the "what the f*(k" moment when you look at what year it was released!
1971 was actually the pinacle in many ways, Salisbury by Uriah Heep, Fragile by Yes, Once Again by Barclay James Harvest, Santana 3...
Brilliant review that inspires another full listen with fresh ears to this fantastic album. I would most definitely put this in the top 5 of overall Genesis albums. The addition of a young Collins and Hackett to this group reinforced the pastoral to edgy rock stylings introduced in "Trespass." The "Musical Box" is a perfect example of this with it's quiet pastoral acoustic to in-your-face distortion pedal guitar and Hammond Organ rock. Love it! I agree with most here that this album is a masterpiece, but one of many.
I so agree with this assessment of "Nursery Cryme"! The music is engrossing, dark, and mystical - wrapped in a Ghostly Victorian damask. Gabriel found his "voice" on this, and the new additions - Phil Collins, and Steve Hackett literally transform, elevate and deepen the overall band sound. Poor John Mayhew (the previous drummer from the "Tresspass" record) must have flat-lined when he heard Phil's playing here. The jazz/Fusion drumming on "Fountain of Salmacis", and the pounding flourishes on "The Musical Box", and "Seven Stones" are jaw-dropping moments! Hackett was still finding his way into the mix, but...Damn! - he more than filled Anthony Phillips empty chair! Even the 2 short acoustic-based songs: "for Absent Friends" (Phil's charming lead vocals!), and "Harlequin" are absolutely bewitching...like CSNY channeling Fairport Convention! My only caveat is the recording quality - especially on the drums, which sound quite One Dimensional. I'm sure they had a small budget for the record, at that time...but had they had the same level of studio employed for "Selling England..." - Jesus! This record would have been a total Flush!
Excellent overview. I definitely like it better than "Selling England," but feel "Foxtrot" tops it for obvious reasons. One element I didn't appreciate till years later is Collins' harmony vocals. He's singing along with Gabriel on most of the numbers. They blend well, and the addition of Phil's voice took the group up several notches in the vocal department.
Hearing the album in 5.1 Surround brings out Phil's vocals even more dramatically. Many parts which I'd once thought were Peter's voice overdubbed, are in fact Peter and Phil singing in close unison. I love my box set "Genesis 1970-1975", which has 5.1 Surround mixes of all the albums of that period. That set alone justifies buying a Surround audio system, if you haven't one.
I agree. Together as good as Rock vocals got. Neither have sounded as good since I might add
Barry's review on this is really quite singular. For us yanks, it was a dark primer on English tea time, sinewy gardens and blushing musical ability. Over the Garden Wall, indeed.
Yes, I agree
I regard 'Nursery Cryme' and 'Foxtrot' to be like a double-album; so much similarity right down to the album covers and logo, not to mention the music itself. Brilliant stuff, and I'm so glad I got to see them on the 'Foxtrot' tour in Rochester, NY.
Foxtrot is amazing, but there's something raw in N Cryme that I truly love.
They were released as a double Album in 1976 as “Genesis The Best…”
It was a double album once , an import of the 2 together with a drawn Gabriel image .
@@ricknorris1466I had it a while ago, maybe I sold it , it’s not in my collection?
@@jdmresearchwell said
At last! Nursery Cryme getting the respect it deserves! I love all of the Genesis albums of this era, but this dark, funny, beguiling little gem is the one most often on repeat in my little corner of the world!🥰 Thank you!💜💜💜
My pleasure...
Harold the Barrel is a small masterpiece.
Nursery Crime is the most important for sure. The Knife (Trespass) was the first sign of what was to come, and Nursery Cryme built brilliantly on that key foundation (Musical Box, Salmacis, Hogweed) which shaped the direction of travel forever and enabled Genesis to emerge as the important, unique, creative musical geniuses which they became. Without this critical evolution, Foxtrot, Selling England, and the Lamb, wouldn't have existed.
Return of the giant hogweed! A longtime favorite. Love singing along to that one!
This was the first Genesis album I bought and is still my favourite along with "Selling England..." No weak tracks on either of them.
PS: I received my copy of Tull's "Broadsword" Monster Edition this morning. What an amazing presentation. The book is a mine of information about the album and the band. Well worth the price.
Agreed. Spot on descriptions of easily my favorite Genesis release despite their many other classics which fall just short. A true masterpiece containing my favorite and fitting cover art. Upon purchase I played this album for 6 months solid and have as yet, still not tired of it many decades later.
Well said!
It’s my favourite Genesis album!
The whole package is like a storybook. A fantastic album
The Musical Box was the first Genesis song I ever heard, back in 1978/79 - changed my life!
GENESIS WAS ALWAYS WAY AHEAD OF THEIR TIME. EACH IN THE GROUP IS TOP SHELF ! Love the "Midnight Special" footage of them !
"Foxtrot" probably gets my vote for best Genesis album, but "Nursery Cryme" is the one that got me into them and is probably my second-favorite by them. The dynamics of "The Musical Box" are amazing. When Collins and Hackett make their explosive entrance after that first quiet minute, it's on. The classic lineup has arrived! A lot of people complain about the "filler" tracks, but I don't think there actually are any. To my ears, "For Absent Friends" is the necessary breather between the intensity of "Musical Box" and "Hog Weed"! And I actually like the murky mix. John Anthony's productions always had that charmingly weird sound.
What a poetic Freudian analysis- thank you so much for such an enjoyable review. Only two vinyl albums loom large over my cd collection - Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot. In '72 the moment I heard the Musical Box I fell in love with Genesis. To me these two albums plus Selling England are THE Triptish of prog.
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It's my favorite Genesis album
An amazing achievement, the albums with Steve Hackett: Nursery Cryme > Foxtrot > Selling England > The Lamb > A Trick of the Tail > Wind & Wuthering. The best 6 album run in history? certainly one of them... There’s a video in there, Barry...
Add Trespass and you've got the best consecutive 7.
Although one of the best without a doubt, l would put Pink Floyd’s Meddle, Obscured by clouds, Dark side of the moon, Wish you were here, Animals, and The Wall as the best IMHO..regards…
@@steelrain5706 Pink Floyd has a very different vibe from Genesis. Floyd has modern day angst and drama. Genesis has irony, dark humour, and pastoral rock. Genesis puts me in a better mood than Floyd. Both have good music but I prefer Genesis by quite a way..
@@steelrain5706 An incredible run, to be sure.
Implying Hackett rather than Gabriel was the bigger factor in the best Genesis music.
It’s my second favourite album of all time behind RUBBER SOUL by THE BEATLES ❤🎸✌️
Very well said and done, sir. I concur with almost everything said here.
Is it the best? As others have mentioned, in a sense they are each the best and the moment or time of life matters greatly in this. This was my first Genesis album and I still return to it copiously.
In a sense, I've always seen it as a bridging between the material of beloved Trespass and Foxtrot, not just developmentally, but also in the sense and foundation of the material.
The only one of the Gabriel era I could live without, while still loving it, is Selling England by the Pound. An unpopular opinion, I'm sure. But there it is.
Hail the Nursery Crime!
This has always been my favorite Genesis album!! .. Absolutely brilliant!! ..
That Mellotron that they bought from King Crimson was actually nicknamed “The Black Bitch” according to Steve in an interview I saw. It was because it was one of the rarer black Mk. II models and mainly because it always required maintenance all the time. If you watch the Belgian TV thing they did in 1972, you can see it in Tony’s keyboard rig.
The absolute best review of this album, Ever!!! I agree with you 1000%!! Now, keeping your words in mind, I need to pull it out again and give it a Post-Barry Review, review!! I have to admit I've sort of burned myself out on Musical Box, as I played it repeatedly for days, when I first purchased the album, before I could even move on to the rest of the album. When I did... OMG!!! Excellently worded, perfectly detailed, authoritatively spoken review!!! It would make anyone want to rush out and buy it, even if they had no idea what it would sound like!!
Thank you Tony.
This one is my favourite of theirs. Foxtrot probably number 2.
Certainly one of their best and probably my favourite.
I have always said that Genesis around this time had the ability to almost paint a picture as I listened to their music. They were so mysterious, intriguing this left the band as Peter’s influence faded away when he left but what a great set of albums we have, I’m never sure what my favourite is perhaps as a whole package Selling England might just do it.⚡️
Interesting observations. After all these years it's still an astonishing album. The band became more accomplished in several ways but for sheer other-worldly uniqueness I don't believe they ever surpassed it. I agree that it has to be considered as a contender for the best by Genesis, and for me it's up there with the finest of all Prog.
I remember being a young guitarist in the mid 90's at the height of brit pop and i bought this album and Foxtrot. My life changed for the better. My street cred was lowered even further lol
I can imagine 😂
A masterpiece my favourite album in my top 5 of Genesis albums this is #1 the #2 Selling.... #3 A Trick Of The Tail
I agree, but only occasionally.
What an easy watch this is, brilliant Kafkaesque avenues and lawmakers keyholes reveal subconscious and surprising undulations of reality.
Thank you, good kind Sir!
My two cents: the average age of the band at the date of the release of the album was 20.8 years. Impressive work for such a young group of people. I don't know if it's the best but it's my favourite. I recomend the reading of "My book of Genesis" by Richard McPhail, the same "Richard" mentioned in Genesis Live.
Thanks! I need read that.
Thanks Barry you’ve nailed this one. The more we go back and listen Nursery Crimes the more it’s appreciated. On a side note, the giant hogweed as now become an invasive plant here in New York State! Thanks guys!
Stumbled upon this album in my dads old record collection back in the late 80s. Saw that it was a Genesis album I got all excited thinking I’d hear what I’ve been hearing from them the last couple years. Little did I know 😂. I was blown away. Played the crap out of it. Know every word. Best Genesis album imo.
I like it too. Bands are always at their best when they're on the way up.
I attended four Genesis gigs during the Nursery Crime - Selling England period and never heard them perform The Fountain of Salmacis. only recently I heard the Hackett band do it.
Thank you very much....the most important work in all their carrier even as single musicians. It's a gem, like a cruel nursey telling bedtime stories on and on. Music and lyrics fit togheter like any other album I've ever listened
First came across this album in Mum’s Gratton shopping catalogue (1973?). In the section advertising ‘music centres’ there was a picture of a huge Grundig phonogram (or something) with a slightly hip young couple stood over it, both smiling, lookjng at the Nursery Cryme sleeve. I decided then “I must find someone who owns this record and tape it!”
Good job 'music centres' and 'LPs' were before 'women's underwear' in the Grattan catalogue - otherwise this album would have been unknown to you...
Nursery Cryme is great, but Selling England is the best.
Similarly, Grattans catalogue was great, but Kays catalogue was the best.
A beautifully lucid and perceptive essay . When analysis becomes art . Fair dues .
I am fed up hearing The Lamb or Selling England or even Foxtrot being lauded as the best Genesis album....bollocks. Nursery Cryme is no.1. No contest. It gets better with age. All you old prog heads need to get a grip. It is a masterpiece. Flawless. Thanks Barry. Don't ever doubt the importance of this work. Thank you.
I agree.
The Fountain of Salmacis HD video from VintageRockForum poped up for me this week and how extraordinary was to hear and see each movement from this masterpiece. It goes exactly as you expressed. The surprise was the extra linked video Twilight Alehouse, which later I knew it was released as a single at that time. What a pity it was not included in Nursery Cryme.
Pity indeed. Twilight Alehouse would nicely fit the atmosphere of Nursery Chryme.
Nursery Cryme and Selling England are the most balanced and satisfying Gabriel era albums in my view....
The argument can be made...
'The Musical Box' is their best song.
Best cover art - period.
Damn, I got the chills!!!
I can’t really compare any of the albums from this one to Trick of the Tail-but some days this might be my favorite.
Heracleum mantegazzianum or manti-gazzi-ani as Peter sings it. For me, I love all of the lesser-praised songs on this album. Seven Stones is so beautifully written and performed and has one of the most delightful endings in any song ever. Harlequin is is another delight as is For Absent Friends. So perfectly Cotswold-English but all composed by 21-year-old young men. Tony is such a master of chords and when Steve joined and added his talents into the mix, together with Phil's vocal and drum skills, the result is this absolute masterpeice. In Mike's autobiography, he admits that he does not, at this point rate his own bass skills, however, listen to his playing and bass composition in Harrold The Barrel and I would hope that even he would realise just how much of a master he is. And Harrold, bless him, if that was these days he would be far more aware of his own mental health issues. This entire album, together with the following four (that includes Genesis Live) would be all I would need on my desert island.
Yes this is perhaps the greatest Genesis album ever, except for The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway which I was fortunate to see them perform live in it's entirety before it had been released. I can't forget hearin' The Fountain O' Salmacis on the radio for the first time, totally mesmerized, then buyin' Nursery Cryme 'n bein' enveloped in it's surreal musical landscape. These are the two Genesis albums I return to most often.
LOVE this album. It is magical. ✨🎼🎶🎶
It's my favourite
Yes, my favourite too. For about 6 months I used to go to sleep playing this LP on my bedroom record player (alternating sides) - just couldn’t get sick of it. Did it also with Foxtrot which i also love(d) but Nursery Cryme had something else. And i loved ‘Fountain of Salamacis’!
Klasse vinil..👍
Foxtrot, Nursery Crime & Selling England by the pound are all classics. I couldn’t pick between them..
I think it is - sums up all that was good about that version of the group.
I have that picture, a variation on the album cover, framed on my wall.
It was given away with Prog magazine a few years ago.
That is the best album review that I have ever heard. I agree that this album is epic evocative and mesmerising. I love it. It seduces me.
Thank you for your kind words
I have been a 1970's Genesis fan for 40 years now - I discovered their 70's prog period when I was a teen in the 80's.
My 3 favorites are this and Trespass - with Trick as a close third.
I love England, Fox and Lamb too, but those 3 just don't have that strong emotional power of those in my top 3 - it seems to me, that they almost was trying too hard to be the critics favorites with England, Fox and Lamb.
The melancholic power of Trespass is breathtaking!
I think it is their best album.
Being a part of the 3-some with Foxtrot/SEBTP.
NO group have EVER put up such amazing talent as Genesis in this time. Just look what happen to them AFTER Genesis/or within. In some cases... MEGA-Stars. The least well known member is Tony Banks!
Genesis was the Best group at this time period and their music have followed me through my 61 year old life for many, many years!
I`m a huge Steve Hackett fan, and looking 4ward to his next stop with the Revisited Gang soooon.
When you open the musical box, the magic seeps out and envelopes you, this is a truly underrated album, of mystical proportions, and 'the Knife', a wonderfully heavy homage to Emerson, however other great albums were queueing up to follow and entangle us and cast 'ripples' onto our youth with the immortal words 'some are wise and some otherwise,' the ever youthful Hackett is still to look into that water and watch the ripples because he has hardly aged to this day
Nursery Cryme and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway are my joint favourites. Both have tremendous sonic, thematic and lyrical variety; psychological and narrative depth; mystery, imagination, symbolism, tension and menace that the other albums from the Gabriel period lack. I keep coming back to listen to both albums and I find myself spontaneously singing lines and verses from them far more often than the other albums. The Musical Box, The Return of the Giant Hogweed, The Fountain of Salmacis; In the Cage, The Carpet Crawl and The Lamia stand out for me because of their dreamlike and/or mythological qualities.
These lines or verses I find particularly brilliant, poetic, haunting and/or moving:
"She's a lady, she's got time. Brush back your hair, and let me get to know your face. She's a lady, she is mine. Brush back your hair, and let me get to know your flesh."
"You stand there with your fixed expression, casting doubt on all I have to say. Why don't you touch me, touch me ..."
"Fashionable country gentlemen had some cultivated wild gardens, in which they innocently planted the Giant Hogweed throughout the land."
"Unearthly calm descended from the sky. And then their flesh and bones were strangely merged, forever to be joined as one."
"In the glare of a light I see a strange kind of sight, of cages joined to form a star, each person can't go very far. All tied to their things; they're netted by their strings, free to flutter in memories of their wasted wings."
"There is lamb's wool under my naked feet. The wool is soft and warm, gives off some kind of heat. A salamander scurries into fame to be destroyed. Imaginary creatures are trapped in birth on celluloid. The fleas cling to the golden fleece, hoping they'll find peace. Each thought and gesture are caught in celluloid. There's no hiding in my memory. There's no room to avoid."
"As they nibble the fruit of my flesh, I feel no pain, only a magic that a name would stain. With the first drop of my blood in their veins, their faces are convulsed in mortal pains. The fairest cries: 'We all have loved you, Rael."
Superb lyrics!
I love this album. Like you, my favorite Genesis album changes day by day, depending on my mood. Return of the Giant Hogweed is one of my favorite early Genesis tracks.
You’ve done it again Baz ! Police t-shirt whilst reviewing Genesis , I’m looking for an ELP review next wearing your Pistols shirt 😅 another great review though x
In many ways my favaourite album of Genesis too ... also the first album of those incredible Guys that I heard back in 1972/73. Thanks for this intensive review!
For me, Wind and Wuthering may just be the one for me although this one is right up there. Very interesting and great delivery as ever. All the best. Dave
IMO, Genesis could have had one outstanding album had they combined AToTT and WaW leaving about two tracks off from each album. To some extent, they probably wanted to avoid another double album. However, it led to a little bit of filler on each one.
Wind and Wuthering ... I love that album. Very pastoral. For me the last truly great Genesis album.
@DavidLazarus
I don't see a filler on ATOTT but I do on WAW, even if I love them both
@@keithf_ - Though good songs, I think both the title track and Robbery, Assault and Battery could have been left off and released as B sides.
@DavidLazarus
Oh mo sorry. I don't agree with that. Both songs are easily strong enough to be album material. The title track definitely sounds like an effort at a hit single.
1971 was quite a year for albums.
I love all the Gabriel era albums but find myself coming back to Nursery Cryme most often. The sheer rawness of the music and complexity just draws me back again and again. The Music Box is a fantastic masterpiece.
A superb album, if it was most other bands it would be their stand-out record, but this is Genesis, and edging ahead in my opinion are The Lamb, Selling England, and Foxtrot.
My first Genesis album after hearing a couple of tracks on the Alan Freeman show on BBC. It remains my favourite Genesis album (and all time top 5) after 50+ years of Prog listening.
I love this album. Always have. Bought it for $1.00 in a small stationary store in 1973.
I bought mine at a similar time and circumstance. It took me some time to realize that my Canadian-made copy lacked the gatefold sleeve, and that was annoying! I was living in a prairie town, so it took about 3 years before I found a good used copy with the gatefold, which was a US copy that had somehow found its way north.
@@fabrikk60 mine had no gate fold either. Bought it on Long Island NY.
This album is just outside my top five for Genesis (which are the five from Foxtrot through Wind & Wuthering.) The Musical Box is the undisputed highlight, with Hogweed and Salmacis following close behind. Of the four shorter pieces, Harold The Barrel is the standout -- the first of several forays into the wonderfully weird, absurd British humor Peter brought to the band.
It’s such a tough call. I love those “four” albums so much. Nursery Cryme’s album cover perfectly conveys the music within. Oddly my introduction to Genesis was Live. That’s where I heard Musical Box first, that was the song that got me listening to Genesis. I have a soft spot for Cryme but most of the time it’s the Lamb that is my favourite Genesis album. But it all depends on the time of day.
🤘😳🤘
I share the same introduction to the band, as my first glimpse into the Genesis universe was the powerful and magical mellotron chords at the start of side 1 of "Live". I still remember playing the whole record again and again after that first listen. The next day I went out and bought ... "Nursery Cryme", although they had just released "And then ..." at that time back in 78. I still smile when I put on the old worn out vinyl record and hear Peter say "... That was an unaccompanied bass pedal solo ...". Genesis has been my favorite band ever since, but "Live" and "Cryme" still have a special place in my Genesis heart (or "hairy heart" is perhaps the appropriate term here 😉) Just imagine what "Live" could have been as a double album, with the inclusion of "Supper" + a couple of additional tracks, as originally intended ... 🤩
@@attepotterrmmefiremerkersm68 Yeah man. I remember sitting in the blacklight basement, something in the air as those majestic mellotron chords rattled the Cerwin Vegas. So powerful! I used to stare at that cover too and read the little story on the back, it always freaked me out. Wait until Lamb! It wasn’t until years later that I found out that they were playing Supper’s Ready for that mysterious shot. I always loved the cover of Live. Something about it makes you wonder what the music is like. It did for me anyway. I saw Musical Box a few years back and was entirely blown away as I saw that album cover come to life. Anyways…I could babble on for hours. I’m just another Genesis fan.
My favorite Genesis album, too, because it's so perverse!
But what about the production? I mean, Peter Voice and flute seem to be recorded with the worst technology.
In my top five without doubt.
'Twas always my favourite. Also contains my best-loved Genesis ditty in Seven Stones, 'B' - side of Happy The Man, which was my first encounter with Genesis. Marvellous stuff.
It's not a complex album; which the next three were in their ways, just talented musicians having fun getting into their prog stride. I hadn't heard Nursery Cryme for many years and recently listened to For Absent Friends and was moved to tears; that didn't happen when I first heard it forty-five years ago. But I am sixty-two now; and am getting older, which seems to suit the tone of this album
I go back and forth between Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot as my favorite Genesis albums. You can't go wrong with either.
I agree with you. Foxtrot is a close second. Both LPs came as a gatefolded double package, and with Genesis Live were my intro to early Genesis. During that same autumn of 1986 I became a fan of Rush, whose music was much closer to the American concert circuit and so allowed us to see them multiple times on a tour.
I might have seen Genesis if they'd still had a morsel of cool about them, but Hold Your Fire was just better than Phil's solo work.
An excellent album certainly, however in attempting to understand for myself why I place others above it, and why I reach for them more… certain albums of their catalogue exhibit ‘the Genesis sound’ more profoundly, and I think it is the interplay of Tony’s keys, Phil’s drumming, Steve (or occasionally Ant’s or Mike’s guitar work) and Mike’s heavy bass and pedal work that create their unique and moody sound. There are other bands who do hard rock better or have better vocal harmonies, but when they are in the Genesis sound pocket, they are unmatched.
For this reason, I rank their best albums thusly:
1) Selling England - the jams on Firth, Cinema and Moonlit absolutely win the day, hands down;
2) Wind & Wuthering - Eleventh Earl, Rooftops, Vine and Afterglow are among their very best musical moments;
3) Trick of the Tail - consistently strong and listenable tracks and before Phil’s vocal histrionics became distracting (in later years);
4) Trespass - an enchanting blend of pastoral and aggressive music, artfully woven together;
5) Foxtrot - some very strong tracks, albeit less instrumentally harmonic, mixed with some tracks that are simply less sonically pleasing (Friday) or thin (Watcher);
6) Nursery Cryme - Musical Box and Fountain are outstanding. Hogweed is very good, but a bit harsh at points and would, in my opinion, fail The Girlfriend Test (could I play this track in the car without her hitting the skip button). Seven Stones is good, but the rest is meh.
7) And Then There Were Three - A highly textured, but uneven album, Tony’s keys demonstrate a rich depth, Mike does terrific bass work and a passable Steve imitation in setting atmosphere, if lacking the technical guitar virtuosity, and Phil is still understating his vocals (in a good way);
8) The Lamb - Some truly magical passages, padded around with too much noodling filler. I also find Peter’s vocals a bit overdone in places;
9) Abacab - Some truly marvellous jams and atmospherics on the title track, Dodo/Lurker, Keep It Dark and Sarah Jane, surrounded by mediocre songs and a glaring example of cringe (Who Dunnit). I actually do like No Reply, horns and all, and cite this song as one example in which Phil’s more aggressive vocal style benefits the song.
These are my favourites and I stand by these choices. The rest of the albums all have their highs and lows, but all are worth listening to, even the overly maligned Calling All Stations and the debut.
If one of their albums from Nursery Crime to Trick of a tail would be the only one they have ever published Genesis would still be the best band of all times.
Banks himself hit the nail on the head when he said that he has heard *_every_* Genesis album cited as their best.
I agree. One of their best albums.
Perhaps the Giant Hogweed is indeed an appropriate tale for our own times if you substitute the Asian hornet which has finally this year made serious inroads into the UK from the continent where it has been ravaging the local bees for the past few years....(yes, I keep bees as well as listening to prog rock).
Methinks some proggy salamander has transformed your reading and pronunciation of Salmacis into Salamacis!
An absolute fantastic album, by kids of barely 20. So brilliant. Beautifully played magical mellotron. It's an 11/10. I also adore foxtrot, that builds to beyond perfection, just too beautiful for words. But Yes, nursery cryme is awesome.
Possibly the most underrated Genesis album. I have this at number 2 behind Foxtrot in my list. Excellent video as usual. Keep up the good work, it keeps this old man happy!!