Genesis, A Trick Of The Tail (1976)

I’ve been listening to this a bit lately, having found space for the last of the records that were in the shed. The whole collection is in the house now. I had forgotten all about this album – and the fact that I have most of the Genesis records on vinyl; all of them very cheap second-hand copies. You ever notice that there’s loads of Genesis records available in any second-hand store? I know the very early Genesis stuff well and the 1980s/1990s stuff but this rather important album – the first after Peter Gabriel left and Phil Collins reluctantly took on the lead vocals as well as staying on the drum throne – had kinda escaped memory. I have played it in the past but I was not hugely receptive to it. I realise now, listening through it a few times (for the first time in years) that it might actually be my favourite Genesis album. And in fact I haven’t played any Genesis album super recently. There’s that great intro with Dance On A Volcano, Collins sounds very good vocally on the title track. And with the big closing instrumental Los Endos the band created an enduring live staple, as well as showing that the other option of carrying on post-Gabriel just might have worked too. The thing I like most about this album is hearing something that is prog-rock but still offers a form of pop-music. In that sense this might have been Genesis’ best gift to music – the idea that prog-rock could be pomp and substance; could be exploratory pop music. And that a form of rock music could carve its own shape from theatre and folk music rather than from blues. It’s profoundly un-cool to like Genesis of course. But I feel a comeback as due; I feel the MTV-era Genesis is all that stays in the mind for the people that never really had the chance/reason to tap in to the Gabriel and first post-Gabriel material. I’m glad to have this album out of the shed. It’s earned its space on the shelf. My favourite song (I think) is Ripples.

Sample Track: Ripples

The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown