On October 6, 1972, "Genesis" released their fourth studio album album "Foxtrot".
This is the album with which "Genesis" broke into consciousness when it finally managed to reach the British charts and even enjoy the praise of the critics. But more than that, this is the album where "Genesis" broke their own boundaries.
It was the band's second album with the classic line-up, which included Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. It is a direct continuation of the previous album "Nursery Cryme", both in terms of the musical line and style as well as in terms of sound and atmosphere. We dare to say that the two albums are more or less at the same level of writing and performance, this is "Genesis" at its best, during its golden age with its fantastic five members. Even the covers of the two albums correspond with each other. But still, this time something was different. There is another "added value" in this album which indicates that this is where everything started to come together for this great band.
So what is that "added value"?
Remember how once when we bought a new car or left the garage with a new engine or after an overhaul, there was a recommendation to give the car a "running-in period"? This run-in period is intended, among other things, to allow the adjustment of the piston rings to the cylinders and all the engine components to work optimally, synchronized and lubricated. The professionals advised us to do the same "run" while driving calmly, without rapid acceleration, without unnecessary loading and without special maneuvers.
If we compare it to the process that "Genesis" went through at that time, then the album "Nursery Cryme" was released during the band's "running-in" period. The new components that had just been installed in the bands "engine", did an excellent job, but were still in the stages of synchronization, adjustment and formation with the rest of the band parts. This is why "Genesis" was a bit more calculated and careful then. Phil Collins and Steve Hackett were still new to the band, and although they breathed new life into it, they were still in the stages of the process of forming with the other members of the band, which culminated in the "Foxtrot" album. Why, you ask? Because in this album the band reached a perfect synchronization that made them feel safe enough to dare. How safe? Look at the second side of the vinyl and you will understand.
We're talking about the grandiose seven-part epic "Supper's Ready" - a complex musical piece that is undoubtedly one of "Genesis'" creative peaks, with simply perfect writing and performance. The idea for this epic piece came up in Peter Gabriel's house. He and his wife took drugs, had a hallucination when suddenly Gabriel saw seven figures walking on the lawn outside his house. This is where the seven parts of this epic were born. They correspond with the seven characters in that Gabriel envisioned, each character embodies a short poem written and composed at a different time and after compositions resulted in this perfect work. The words were written by Gabriel, but the melody was written jointly by all the members of the band, and there is no doubt that the "run-in period" we talked about above is what contributed to this perfection that spans over 23 minutes. The opening and closing sections of the piece are of the same melody, only the closing section is powerful and grandiose compared to the opening section, and includes the couplet "The New Jerusalem" and Tony Banks' Hammond solo which is performed in a symmetrical 4/4 scale, but sits on the instruments of the other members The band that plays in an asymmetric weight of 9/8. In between, we have the five additional chapters that deal with various topics, from sex surgeries to apocalypse.
But this album is definitely not just the marvelous epic work that ends it.
It features the syncopated opener "Watcher of The Skies", with Tony Banks' mesmerizing Melotron intro, about an alien arriving to earth. It has the caressing ballad "Time Table" written by Tony Banks and performed with such beautiful sensitivity by Peter Gabriel. There is the rhythmic piece "Get 'Em Out by Friday" in which Gabriel goes out against the rich landlords who evict the poor tenants from their apartments and there are the two pieces in which the abundance of acoustic/classical guitars would indicate that Steve Hackett was more involved in their writing: "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" that ends the first side of the vinyl and the instrumental piece "Horizons" that opens the second side.
And if we have already mentioned the "added value" that this album has over its predecessor, then it is impossible not to mention the album cover and that wonderful moment when Peter Gabriel decided to breathe life into it and bring it to the stage. This was the moment when Gabriel's theatricality was externalized and became an integral part of the crazy shows that defined the band.
The album cover corresponded with the cover of the previous album which was also drawn by Paul Whitehead and it shows a fox dressed in a red dress standing on ice (in light of the pun "The Fox On The Rocks" from the piece "Supper's Ready"). In addition, the cover shows the "four horsemen" from the story of the apocalypse (which is also mentioned in the epic work "Supper's Ready"), who are busy hunting foxes. This cover came to life one day when Peter Gabriel impulsively borrowed a red dress from his wife and, without informing the rest of the band, took the stage wearing it along with a fox mask. This unexpected move stunned both the audience and his bandmates, marking a turning point that redefined the band's performances.
For listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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