Franco Battiato: Fisiognomica
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Frank Zappa: Joe's Garage Acts I, II & III
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
9.5/10
Frank Zappa: Chunga's Revenge
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
8/10
Frank Zappa: Apostrophe (')
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
8.5/10
Frank Zappa: Uncle Meat
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
9/10
Frank Zappa: Bongo Fury
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Frank Zappa: Roxy & Elsewhere
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
10/10
Frank Zappa: One Size Fits All
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
10/10
Frank Zappa: Hot Rats
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
10/10
Frank Zappa: Zoot Allures
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
8/10
Frank Zappa: Sheik Yerbouti
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Frank Zappa: Freak Out!
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Frank Zappa: The Grand Wazoo
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
9.5/10
Frank Zappa: You Are What You Is
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
9/10
Frank Zappa: Zappa In New York
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
9.5/10
Fugazi: 13 Songs
CD Audio I have it
My unforgettable soundtrack of the final exams, along with "No New York." This is one of the records I am most attached to, and it is a masterpiece for me. The column "Things that nobody cares about" has been brought to you by the detergent "Sti cazzi": it washes away the bullshit.
  • De...Marga...
    1 feb 17
    They seem interesting; I really know very little about the artistic story of the FVGAZI... Ahahahahaha!!!
  • De...Marga...
    1 feb 17
    Your eyes like crashing jets
    Fixed in stained glass
    But not religious
    You should pay rent in my mind
    Say like the french say bon soir regret a demain
    Do you like me I guess
    White witness moves to petition the state of virginia for 27 prisons
    While in bethesda an office flaming youth group singing
    Firemen calling in
    Lockheed lockheed martin marietta
    Do you like me I guess
    End of the lesson time for one question
    End of the lesson time for one more question
    I got a question.
    Do you like me
  • hjhhjij
    1 feb 17
    From their most beautiful album ;)
  • De...Marga...
    1 feb 17
    I had written that I barely know them!! I wanted to quote the lyrics of "Waiting Room" (one of my sacred texts from those years) but instead, I ended up paying tribute to "Do You Like Me"! But that's alright, I would say Hj!!
  • De...Marga...
    1 feb 17
    "Repeater" beats them all, albeit by a small margin, of course.
Fugazi: Repeater
CD Audio I have it
Often considered their most representative album, probably rightfully so even if it's not my absolute favorite from the Washington group. Nevertheless, it remains one of the great must-haves of the '90s, a fantastic work, as always with them rich in energy and grit but also in fantasy, unpredictability, and even technical skill as musicians. High-level lyrics, as well as music. "Turnover," "Blueprint," and "Two Beats Off" are the peaks, but how can you forget "Brendan" and "Joe" #1 or "Styrofoam" and "Shut the Door," not to mention the timeless "Reprovisional" already featured on "13 Songs." What can I say, a masterpiece.
  • De...Marga...
    1 feb 17
    Perfect Hj!!! I just want to add that the intro to "Turnover," with that bass line signaling the "chaotic" entrance of the guitars, remains something unbeatable...Wow, what a punch, guys!!!. FVGAZI forever.
  • hjhhjij
    1 feb 17
    What an intro, yes you're right it's fantastic.
  • De...Marga...
    1 feb 17
    They were famous for these wild and downright bastardly intros; let's take a couple of random tracks like "Waiting Room" and "Facet Squared": FROM THUNDEROUS HEADLINES ON THE WALLS.
  • hjhhjij
    1 feb 17
    Yes, but it's because they have an exceptional sense of rhythm, they have imagination in the musical arrangements, they know how to play them well, it's not just bambamstrdenghe, it's truly exhilarating.
  • De...Marga...
    1 feb 17
    Nothing of them is thrown away. A band that had a legendary rhythm section, with a rhythmic sense that "contrasted" appropriately with the guitar fury of the other two members also engaged in singing. Hooray hooray for the FVGAZI...
  • hjhhjij
    1 feb 17
    But even in the guitars, there wasn't just fury, which is perfectly fine, there were also beautiful touches, lovely sounds, nice intertwining, take "Blueprint" for example. Anyway, it's true, nothing is wasted; in fact, they've never made a record that wasn't at least good, which is why I consider them among the best bands of the '90s. After all, McKaye and Picciotto already came from very important and seminal experiences in the '80s, so Fugazi were born as a group already fully matured. Like Wilco a few years later, to put it that way.
  • De...Marga...
    1 feb 17
    And what can we say then about the two voices, so dissimilar yet perfectly blended. One day, I will have to delve into my deep drawer of memories and review their concert at Leoncavallo in Milan in 1999. What an immense thing, boy from the capital.
  • hjhhjij
    1 feb 17
    Ah the vocal intertwining and the counterpoints with one another. I love Picciotto's raspy voice anyway.
What a brilliant debut for Miller's Game Theory, what a great album. Miller and his Game Theory 1.0, meaning the band lineup before the major restructuring of 1985, bring to life a "power-pop" gem overflowing with ideas. Beyond the skillful guitar work of the leader himself, and the beautiful bass of Juhos, I find the importance of Nancy Becker's keyboards (as they will be with LaFreniere later) fundamental; her soundscapes, riffs, and even the choruses entrusted to her amplify and are in turn heightened by Miller's compositional genius. I could mention the triptych of the best songs on the album with "Date With an Angel" (a masterpiece of perfect pop), the one-minute shard of crazy pauappop in "All I Want Is Everything," and the superb "Sleeping Through Heaven," probably the best example of Miller's compositional brilliance and Becker's splendid keyboard work. However, tomorrow I could name another three ("Something to Show," "Stupid Heart," or "T.G.A.R.T.G." where the good Scott disregards the regular verse-chorus structure in what should nevertheless be a pop-rock song). "Blaze of Glory" isn’t yet a masterpiece, but it’s an excellent album that begins a path of constant growth that will lead Miller to create first the truly perfect pop album ("The Big Shot Chronicles") and then that work which has completely surpassed the concept of the perfect pop album ("Lolita Nation").
  • Onirica
    24 mar 22
    You are now in the running for the coveted title of "The Definitionist"!
  • hjhhjij
    24 mar 22
    "Was 'The Bone Definitionist' not a movie?"
  • Onirica
    25 mar 22
    It was a big load of crap, if I remember correctly.
  • hjhhjij
    25 mar 22
    A little thriller for a dull evening.
It’s probably the "least beautiful" record by Game Theory, this 1983 EP, but if only we had more “less beautiful” ones like this... In any case, if it is, it’s only because in the first half of the EP, Miller leaves room, both compositional and vocal, for the other members of the band, especially Juhos, who nonetheless achieves results that I find absolutely respectable, but clearly below the level of the best Miller. The first half of the EP, all Miller-like, is perfect, three great songs with "Penny, Things Won’t", the masterpiece of the EP, serving as a manifesto for Scott's more unpredictable and intricate compositional side, here clearly moving in the opposite direction from the contemporary mainstream pop, with a song that experiments with pop material, making it irregular, twisted, and difficult, alternating those wonderfully catchy guitar parts with a structure that is decidedly less "popular". "Metal and Glass Exact" follows a similar line, while the beautiful "Selfish Again" has a more canonical structure and a melodic pop inspiration, as always, impeccable. In the remaining three tracks, "Life in July," co-written by Miller and Nancy Becker and sung by her, is the most adorable, but the two by Juhos are quite charming as well. It's a shame their omission from the compilations that should collect the two EPs from '83-'84 of Theory, but which exclude Juhos's tracks, making my nose crinkle as an absolutist of complete works.
A masterpiece of pop music that I fell in love with at first listen, it was well said by those who claimed here on Deb that Miller was one of the best "minds" that pop music has ever had, at least (in my opinion, not just) in his generation. A perfect album to realize how there could also be excellent pop music in the infamous '80s. Now, the legacy received from the "fathers" of the two previous decades in Game Theory's music seems more than evident to me; what struck me was to immediately sense how much influence these songs may have had on a lot of the pop/indie of the following decades, which seem to me to be anticipated both in the slower pieces and in the more upbeat ones (from "Where You Going Northern" to "Book of Millionaires," ending with "Too Closely," to give a few examples). A bridge and perfect link, Scott Miller, between the pop of the '60s and '70s and that of the '90s-'00s, so it seemed to me. It's hard to find a song that stands out particularly from the others, but my favorites are probably "Regenisraen" and "I've Tried Subtlety."
  • hjhhjij
    6 jun 19
    I’ll add a consideration: for once, even the bonus tracks in this 2016 CD reissue make sense. Setting aside the various live recordings and demos I downloaded onto my PC that I’ll listen to separately, the four studio bonus songs really are, if not an added value, a perfect continuation of the album and show a different side of Miller: that of the interpreter. In fact, 3 out of 4 are not written by him. The instrumental version of a Jazz piece dedicated to Schulz's children ("Linus and Lucy") is a blast, the cover of a song by Rundgren (another artist I know little about but whom I assume was one of Miller's guiding figures), a song written by Miller like all the other tracks on the album ("Come Home With Me" with strong echoes of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush"), but above all, a stunning version of the song "Seattle," beautifully interpreted and rendered by Miller, with a heartwarming sweetness. Chills.
  • kloo
    6 jun 19
    I have the vinyl of this great album. Underrated to a great extent.
  • kloo
    6 jun 19
    It may seem trivial, but the piece could be here It Is tomorrow and obviously regenisraen.
  • hjhhjij
    7 jun 19
    Yes, wrongly underestimated and it's not easy to explain why they haven't had any success. I agree that Miller's writing is too refined, too "complex" for the mainstream standards of those years, but damn...
Genesis: Spot The Pigeon (EP)
CD Audio Not intrested
The silly EP by Genesis released in 1977, very shortly after two albums like "A Trick of the Tail" and "Wind and Wuthering". Honestly, it feels like a publication thrown together a bit haphazardly in my opinion, and for this reason it is even more surprising that they couldn't find a better placement for "Inside and Out," a beautiful track (collectively composed but I believe primarily penned by Hackett) excluded, for reasons known only to them, from W&W and relegated here as a consolation prize, alongside what are undoubtedly the two ugliest songs the Genesis had ever produced up to that point. There it is, this is the EP of the infamous "Match of the Day," the football-themed song. Banks, who is the same man so proud of masterpieces like "Illegal Alien" or "Into Deep," is extremely embarrassed to have written this piece, just to grasp the level, huh... In fact, they've reserved it the damnatio memoriae. In short, a silly EP with two rather ugly songs in which a superb track has ended up a bit by chance.
  • sanvalentino3
    19 apr 20
    The replacement of Paul McCartney with a lookalike is a sensational fake. There should be an investigation into the fate of Tony Banks, at least after the release of Duke.
Genesis: Live In Zürich 1977
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Another live (bootleg) from the "Wind and Wuthering" tour. Good audio quality, actually excellent for a bootleg, although at some points the vocals sound like crap, at others the instruments sound like crap too, but overall it has a nice rendition. Now, since the live albums by Genesis are practically all the same and they certainly weren't known for improv on stage, a fan just needs 2-3 live recordings from a couple of different periods to be satisfied. Here, the interesting factor that sets the setlist apart from their other live albums is the presence of "Inside and Out," a rarity, a great track (of collective composition but I believe primarily with Stefano's input) that was disgracefully left out of "Wind and Wuthering" and relegated to a silly EP. It's great to hear a live performance of this song, which perhaps deserved more recognition from the band. As for the rest, compared to "Second's Out," there's even more W&W in the setlist: a beautiful performance of the splendid "One for the Vine," especially, really cool, and "In That Quiet Earth." Ah, the wonders of bootlegs: Phil announces Cinema Show at a certain point but Cinema Show is not on the album. Ehr...
Genesis: ...Calling All Stations...
CD Audio I have it ★★★
Curious how the most underrated, forgotten, and even scorned albums by Genesis—often dismissed by their own creators—are precisely the first and the last; from the very immature "From Genesis to Revelation" to "...Calling All Stations...", the circle has closed after 28 years (actually, after exactly thirty years starting from the first singles released in 1967). Phil Collins had removed himself from the picture after becoming an increasingly commercially essential and artistically detrimental figure for the band. This, on one hand, completely sinks the final attempt by Banks and Rutherford to "make it on their own" in the charts, while on the other hand allows the two, especially Tony, to conceive songs that are musically a bit more dignified and refined and less tragically bleak compared to the worst stuff scattered across the albums from 1981 onwards. It feels very much like a Banks solo album, with somewhat charmingly melancholic melodic ballads that are mostly insubstantial, along with a few tracks with a more defined and lively feel; some songs are too watered down, a few valid ones (like the title track or "The Dividing Line," for instance), and a couple of clunkers ("Congo"). But compared to the ups and downs of "We Can't Dance," this is more "balanced" in its quiet mediocrity. I want to give it a nod; it’s an album I like. Ah, and Ray Wilson has a nice voice; he's good, poor guy, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Genesis: We Can't Dance
CD Audio I have it
Album "A Bit Like This..." which is still a step forward compared to the previous one, which is an album "To set on fire while dancing in a circle and singing The Musical Box a cappella." Let's say this little disc is "A type." There are incredibly 2-3 nice tracks, the longer ones, including "Fading Lights," which I still find a bit of a sellout, but it's nice to hear the old trio from the instrumental part of "Cinema Show" let loose for 5 minutes after so many years. Then there are songs that are so bad I feel ashamed for them ("Since I Lost You" or "Never a Time"), and finally, there are songs that don’t exist. Like "Way of the World." I wouldn’t even say it’s bad; it's just that I listen to it and it’s as if I haven’t heard anything at all. It ends, the next track starts, and you go "Oh, what the hell just happened?" Five minutes of absolute emptiness.
  • Kotatsu
    31 jan 18
    So you prefer the Peter Gabriel-era Genesis?
  • hjhhjij
    31 jan 18
    No, those of John Silver.
  • dsalva
    31 jan 18
    You know how I feel and I would say we agree. The Genesis of John Silver...... Hahahah ha.. Amazing
  • Flame
    1 feb 18
    A record that is easy to listen to. F light for me is a great piece.
  • Flame
    1 feb 18
    I can't stand elephant, I really can't digest that at all.
  • hjhhjij
    1 feb 18
    Yes, yes, Fading is beautiful, a good piece of work. I have an additional criticism, though; the quality of the track is undeniable, just like the very dignified "Driving the Last Spike" and "Dreaming While You Sleep."
Stuff for super-obsessive, ultra-completist Genesis maniacs. In the first disc, amidst tracks that I couldn't care less about and a few obvious aggressive garbage (the utterly detestable "Peiperleitdemmerda"), there are, however, some interesting gems, most of which provoke heavy swearing for not being included in those damn albums that, without some excess nonsense, could have been at least decent records... Visible Shit foremost. Imagine that disgrace of an album with a couple of its songs cut out and with "Feeding the Fire" and "Do the Neurotic" in it, especially the latter, a good instrumental, incredibly PLAYED (considering they barely even bothered with that), fun, engaging, damn it, but even back in '86 they recorded decent music (not that they're masterpieces, but they’re pretty nice). Also interesting are the "Naminamu/Submarine" which should have formed a suite with "Dodo/Lurker" on Abbacabbo. In the second disc, various live tracks of massively schizophrenic quality (ranging from a gem like "Ripples" to the infamous queen of #illegalsongs), making it entirely pointless (there are other live/bootleg recordings that contain the same songs). In the third, more useless live tracks and at least another nice gem: "Open Door" by Rutherford, from the 1980 sessions, one of his best songs, when his melodicism was sweet without crossing into the overly sappy.
  • At every record fair, I approach the unmissable booth that sells this box set, or the first one. When they inevitably ask for a hundred euros and change, I tell them to fuck off and walk away.
  • hjhhjij
    10 mar 22
    A hundred and something? If you only knew how much they sell it for on Amazon. Tremble pierpà, tremble.
  • Flame
    10 mar 22
    I got the Gabriel era one when it came out and honestly, I don't regret it because the live of The Lamb (even if touched up) and the other tracks on disc 3 have always pleased me quite a bit, and the price at the time was not unreasonable. I never got close to this one.
  • hjhhjij
    10 mar 22
    Well, the Gabriel era box is a completely different story in terms of overall quality. There are some gems here, but covering the entire '81-92 period, it's obviously filled with crap. All in all, it could be skipped.
genesis: archive 1967-1975
CD Audio I have it
Genesis: Selling England By The Pound
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
One of the highest peaks of Symphonic Progressive. "Firth of Fifth," "The Cinema Show," and "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" are timeless masterpieces, "The Battle of Epping Forest" a spectacular theatrical jumble, "I Know What I Like" a great single, "After the Ordeal" an excellent instrumental digression in Hackett's style. Amid such beauty, though, I wonder... what the hell was "More Fool Me" doing there?
  • tonysoprano
    15 may 16
    Because of More Fool Me, the Genesis did not surpass what I consider a masterpiece (Foxtrot).
  • hjhhjij
    15 may 16
    I also prefer "Foxtrot" (my favorite Genesis) but I also like "Nursery Cryme," "The Lamb," "A Trick of the Tail," maybe even "Trespass," but for me, Genesis up to and including "Wind and Wuthering" always deserves the highest score; I love them too much.
  • tonysoprano
    15 may 16
    I have only listened to Selling and Foxtrot. I need to catch up on the others. Upon first listen, the post-Gabriel Genesis don't inspire me.
  • hjhhjij
    15 may 16
    Well, don’t let the prejudice of the Genesis who died with Gabriel take over, because objectively, if you like those with Gabriel in terms of compositions and inspiration, I see no reason why you wouldn’t also enjoy the next two (considering that Banks was always the pivot), especially "A Trick of the Tail."
  • tonysoprano
    15 may 16
    It wasn't a prejudice of mine, but an impression...
  • hjhhjij
    15 may 16
    Indeed, I said "don't let prejudice fool you" in the sense of the bias surrounding those albums because Gabriel is no longer there, not because you have it. Then I repeat, after years of listening to those records, I can tell you that if you appreciate the "classics" with Gabriel, the fairy-tale fantasy of A Trick and the autumnal romanticism, all very Banksian, of Wind and Wuthering have everything you need. There are beautiful songs, in a way even more mature.
  • 2000
    7 sep 16
    Strangely, "more fool me" is a track I love just like all the others on the album, especially for Collins' beautiful voice.
Genesis: Nursery Cryme
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Well, after the excellent Trespass, the first masterpiece for Genesis. Stunning and incredibly evocative atmospheres, fresh, spontaneous, and inspired music like perhaps never before in the future. "The Musical Box" is very likely THE SONG of Genesis, the heart of their art.
Genesis: From Genesis To Revelation
CD Audio I have it ★★★
Genesis: Wind And Wuthering
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
The latest grand album by Genesis. It's not a perfect record; sometimes these guys really shot themselves in the foot... The exclusion of a great track, perfectly in line with the "mood" of the album, like "Inside and Out," only to include Rutherford's syrupy misstep "Your Own Special Way" is inexplicable (especially since the chorus of "Inside and Out" is very melodic and nice but much more pleasant than Mike’s piece). With "Inside and Out" instead of the other, this album could have been another masterpiece for me, but oh well. It’s not as perfect as the previous one, but it has so many high-level elements, two masterpieces by Banks ("One for the Vine" and "Afterglow," which is one of their most beautiful "classic-linear" songs), one by Hackett (and Phil) which is "Blood on the Rooftops," and other great tracks ("Eleventh Earl" and "In That Quiet Earth"). They focus more than usual on instrumentals ("Wot Gorilla," another Fusion legacy of Collins, is pleasant but a bit filler). The choices in track inclusion are debatable here; it could have been even better than it is, but the overall quality is still very high, and I've always loved the gray, twilight, autumnal, and romantic atmosphere of the album. For me, a great record.
Stefano Achetto's farewell is a blow, and it's felt; I miss his guitar quite a lot. From a compositional standpoint, the three remaining piglets are uncertain about which direction to take, whether to continue with a lighter progressive style (or an extremely refined pop, like the autumnal Banksian ballads already sampled on the more valid previous album or a stunning title track, "A Trick of the Tail") or to delve into a more brash chart-friendly pop. Even though it's a hybrid and clearly a transitional work, the album is still enjoyable overall. For the first time, there are 3-4 truly insubstantial songs that leave nothing and are somewhat unsuccessful, but there are also 4 or 5 great tracks (some absolutely pop, especially "Many too Many", which I've always liked), for example, "Down and Out" and "Burning Rope," the best on the album. Of course, there's also "Follow You," a pretty obvious hint that, in the end, they did have a decision in mind. Oops.
  • You are right, I also believe that it was precisely the success on the singles chart of "Follow You..." that led to the definitive downfall of their musical integrity, in favor of the ignoble trivialization of their music. They had tried on a few occasions before, but unfortunately the far more worthy singles "A Trick of the Tail" and "I Know What I Like" (the latter still with Gabriel on vocals) hadn’t hit the mark.

    It's truly a shame that Banks then permanently halted his development as a progressive composer of pure romantic/crepuscular inspiration... After the early years of understandable dedication to the Hammond organ and mellotron, instruments that were so "cool" and widespread among all rock bands, he made a grand return (starting from "selling England...") to leverage his great affinity for the piano (not virtuoso in nature, but rather inclined toward a poignant creativity), while also developing that beautiful penchant for synthesizer solos, which also leaned more towards being "sung" than virtuosic, focusing more on melodic quality than exhibitionism.

    This is the penultimate album by Genesis that abundantly showcases Banks' great piano work. Just two more works in the same vein will follow, namely the solo "A Curious Feeling" and the Genesis album "Duke."

    Then it's game over... A unique and isolated final flash (without a piano note, though) that "Fading Lights" from the album "We Can't Dance" in 1991, worthy of standing among the best ten songs of all time by Genesis.
  • hjhhjij
    31 dec 19
    Well, they have always admitted to having sought great success, initially with a certain type of more elaborate music in their youthful utopian phase (but they have always been "pop" and very melodic, Genesis, or almost always). Then, afterwards, they didn't have too many scruples about writing crap if it was necessary for profit. And to say that Selling England or A Trick (the album) had actually sold well (maybe the single not so much, but the album had good sales, I think) only that they wanted to sell, uh... Better. I completely agree about Banks, and between 1976 and 1980 he managed to write beautiful things; as a songwriter, he matured during that period. Then, well (even though there are 2-3 songs on "Still" that I like, but nothing more).
  • splinter
    3 jan 20
    An excellent transitional album, the first to look towards the song format but still drawn to particular solutions and particularly refined atmospheres... The most incredible track, however, is "Down and Out," which has a very unusual rhythm that can't be found anywhere else, with Collins breaking that seemingly linear flow by inserting a series of surprising hits...
Genesis: Duke
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Genesis: Abacab
CD Audio I have it ★★
The first PROT album by Genesis, which after a nice pop record like "Duke" slips into the abyss of mediocre songs. "Abacab" actually alternates these bad things with flashes of undeniable musical-compositional dignity from Totonno ("Me and Sarah Jane") and additionally boasts the excellent "Dodo/Lurker." I’ve always liked the title track a lot; as an electro-pop piece, it works really well—oh, it’s cool, with nice sounds and a great rhythm, it’s spot-on and gains even more points live. "No Reply at All" and "Man on the Corner" are two fairly decent songs that could have fit perfectly on Phil's contemporary solo debut (which, however, contains songs far superior to these two here). Unfortunately, there's the rest. The rest, alas, is fluff. Ugly fluff.
Genesis: Genesis
CD Audio I have it ★★
2.5. Let's say about a two and a half, almost three. "Mama" and "Home by the Sea" (the first part, the second is a huge "meh") are two pretty pop songs (fine, beautiful) and Silver Rainbow is nice too. The rest is to be thrown away. All the other tracks not only suck but are also so insubstantial that they practically don't exist. The aggravating factor is "Illegal Alien," one of the most embarrassing things I've ever listened to.
  • March Horses
    16 apr 14
    I went to listen... Illegal Alien is so embarrassing that it's almost awesome.
  • hjhhjij
    16 apr 14
    With the video it's worse, trust me.
  • SydBarrett96
    16 apr 14
    HJ, did you have the stomach to listen to that little disc again? :D
  • hjhhjij
    16 apr 14
    Yes, I don't know why. Illegal Alien, though, I skipped after 1 minute.
  • Elia battaglia
    7 jul 14
    Illegal Alien starts off poorly just because of the accent used. Phil has one of the best accents I've ever heard, and you make him sing with a "Mexican" accent? Come on!
Genesis: Invisible Touch
CD Audio I have it
Genesis - Invisible Touch Do I need to add anything else?
  • dsalva
    3 feb 18
    and hunt the 5 little stars, don't be shy!!
  • hjhhjij
    3 feb 18
    5 stars on a scale from 1 to 100? Sure, that works. Even 6-7, come on.
  • adrmb
    3 feb 18
    But why did you buy it...
  • hjhhjij
    3 feb 18
    Perhaps you didn't understand, let me explain: when I was 15, I started listening to Genesis like this. Then, luckily, I went back.
  • adrmb
    3 feb 18
    A-ah.
  • hjhhjij
    3 feb 18
    At 8 years old, I listened to Ramazzotti.
  • adrmb
    3 feb 18
    I this EW
  • hjhhjij
    3 feb 18
    How many beautiful songs killed with this abortion, I remember it from back then...
  • hjhhjij
    3 feb 18
    Battisti, Fossati... Sigh
  • adrmb
    3 feb 18
    I don't want to know what happened to the CD lol
  • hjhhjij
    3 feb 18
    My parents bought it for me, so it's still there, who knows where, in my house. Chills.
  • hjhhjij
    3 feb 18
    I don't understand.
  • adrmb
    3 feb 18
    SELL IT
  • adrmb
    3 feb 18
    I need to get rid of all the crap I bought as a child.
  • hjhhjij
    3 feb 18
    But it's not mine, it's my family's, I sell their stuff :D
  • adrmb
    3 feb 18
    PFFFFFF
  • hjhhjij
    3 feb 18
    I don't care about Pausini's album :P
  • adrmb
    3 feb 18
    But Pausini is Evil
    IT'S EEEEEEEVIL
  • hjhhjij
    4 feb 18
    As long as I don’t hear her
  • dsalva
    4 feb 18
    don't touch Laurona!!
Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
A record that stands alone in the Genesis discography. A dark urban nightmare set in New York, an album that attempted to almost completely erase the band's previous musical path, striving to propel them toward something new. Banks and Rutherford compose nearly all the music, always following the insane storyline born from the mind of P. Gabriel, no longer just a great artist, but now a genius. More than an album, a stunning epic in music.
  • tonysoprano
    4 jul 16
    the opening of this masterpiece is too illegal...
Affectively, this is my favorite album by Genesis, and even disregarding that, it remains on the podium of their best works for me. The idea that it doesn't measure up to the previous ones just because Gabriel isn't singing is a bit stale, I would say, indeed I'd call it a bit of 'a bullshit’. This is, along with "Foxtrot" (and perhaps "Nursery Cryme"), the most compact album devoid of weak points or dips in tension throughout their entire discography. 8 songs, 8 wonders—there's no escaping that. It’s the work of a mature group that, even deprived of an undoubtedly important element, rediscovers itself (after the complexities surrounding the making of "The Lamb") united, cohesive, and extraordinarily mature from a compositional and performative standpoint, with Banks finally taking the reins of the group completely and Collins proving to be an excellent lead vocalist and a charismatic performer, perfect to replace his friend. The highest moment? It changes with every listen, but today I'd say it's the soft sobbing, the almost restrained crying, that "Song of the Humpback Whale" from Hackett's guitar in the middle of "Ripples," beautifully dueling with Banks' keyboard. A masterpiece indeed.
  • Yes, for me too, the idea that Gabriel was the "leader" of Genesis, that he wrote all the lyrics, composed most of the music, gave direction, illuminated the path, etc. is quite a myth and little substance.
    That said, it doesn't take away from the fact that Gabriel was a tremendously more interesting, exciting, eclectic, and cool singer than the merely decent Collins, who makes his debut in this album and is still not entirely at ease.
    Banks overflows in this record, his best. There are monumental things of his throughout these grooves, almost in every track.
    For example, the seven-eight escape in unison and harmony with Hackett in "Dance on a Volcano." And then the mellotron murmur in the interlude of "Entangled." And also the piano essay on "Mad Man Moon," supported by Hackett's long notes. And even the vaguely vaudeville gem of "Trick of the Tail," with its great harmonic-melodic consistency.
  • hjhhjij
    20 jan 20
    Yes, yes, everything is right. Well, the part with the mellotron in "Entangled" (a gem among Hackett's best tracks) has been one of the most emotional moments in music I've ever heard since the very first listen, I get lost in it every time. And what about the solidness of a track like "Squonk," huh? That incredible fairytale rock they rightly used as an opener on the '76-'77 tours. Yes, everything is perfect in this album (unlike the following one, which is also very, very beautiful), and yes, this is THE album of Tony, even if "conceptually," it is also "Wind and Wuthering." He and Hackett duet brilliantly several times. I could talk about this album for hours, better to stop here.
  • hjhhjij
    20 jan 20
    As for the issue of lead singers, Gabriel, in my opinion, remains from another planet (but of course, I love a lot of his solo work unlike you, so just imagine how high my regard for him is). Collins, a great showman on stage as well, is a good singer, with a beautiful voice; it’s true that here he is still "immature," but he delivers some excellent interpretations, pushed also by the excellent quality of the compositions, for sure. The best of Collins as a singer, in my opinion, reaches its maturity between the late '70s and the very early '80s, then it’s known, it’s just flatness (or junk, take your pick). And as for Gabriel as the supreme leader, well, if someone is passionate about the band, they know well how this can be downplayed. Of course, he played an important role, and indeed many of the lyrics are his, but how many know that some of the best lyrics, like "The Fountain of Salmacis," are by Totonno?
  • hjhhjij
    20 jan 20
    CantaNTE, today it doesn't get me down.
  • hjhhjij
    20 jan 20
    Ah, and then the fact that this album explores different and newer sounds than one might think (even close to fusion, brought by Philco). "Dance on a Volcano" itself has a truly fascinating and unique sound, nervous, tense, really cool.
  • hjhhjij
    20 jan 20
    If I had to choose one that I like a little less, I would say "Robbery, Assault and Battery," which captures the gabriellian theatricality a bit less effectively than "Squonk," but where Collins enjoys being flashy and is good at it. It's still a great piece; furthermore, it seems to me like a much drier and more effective 2.0 version of "Battle of Epping Forest," with much more space, especially for the evolutions of Tonino Banche.
  • Instead, I find the finale "Los Endos" rather tedious, even though it is held in very high regard by the majority of Genesis fans. I would have preferred if the album had concluded with the excellent "It's Yourself," which then developed into that other piece through a series of jam sessions. And then, as you rightly say, the instrumental of "Sail Away" is an incomparable magnificence. The vocals, however, no; in fact, the flatly melodic chorus represents the first misstep made in Collins’ era for the band. But ultimately, nitpicking on records like these is a real crime: if music like this were to come out today, full of substance, nuances, inspiration, and teamwork...
  • Flame
    21 jan 20
    Definitely better than the next one. Those who think that Gabriel is Genesis don’t really know Genesis, just as those who believe that without him things haven’t changed much. Without him, Banks takes charge, and that’s exactly why in this album it’s clear how different he is from how he was with Gabriel. He still does great things, but his music is more sweetened. Anyone who plays in a band knows, certain things come to you when you play with certain people, and without them, they just don’t come anymore. I’m convinced that the solos in In The Cage or Supper, for example, if there hadn’t been the chemistry/struggle with Gabriel, he would have never pulled them off (even though Gabriel didn’t contribute a note). Great album nonetheless.
  • Littlelion
    21 jan 20
    Of this, I only know the title track (which I like very much); I will have to find the time to delve into it properly.
  • hjhhjij
    23 jan 20
    Naturally, they have always, or at least during the more serene moments, worked as a team, so it’s obvious that Banks conceived his compositions in different ways here and there before and after, and the same goes for Gabriel's writing style. And I agree on another point: in this album, there are soundscapes that are so successful and unique precisely because of his distancing in certain aspects from the '70-'73 records (the lamb is a story unto itself) much more than those who saw it as a mere return to the pre-Lamb soundscapes.
  • hjhhjij
    23 jan 20
    @[Littlelion] don't worry, that's a great piece but there are at least 5 that are even better.
  • hjhhjij
    23 jan 20
    @[pier_paolo_farina] be Los Endos is a great piece, captivating with its circular ending featuring a reprise of two of the best themes, and for the rest, it's an energetic fusion piece. I wouldn't classify it among the masterpieces of the album, but as I said here, I don't waste a second of it, no, not even the chorus of "Ripples," which is a bit too sappy (that's not Phil; it's Mike who has those syrupy moments, at least in the '70s), but the verse is truly beautiful. Then you can easily forgive the chorus, with that bridge...
  • hjhhjij
    23 jan 20
    @[Flame] when it is said that it doesn't change much with or without Gabriel, it's only a matter of qualitative output. And frankly, in the first two albums of the "post" era, this is quite objective; the differences do not imply a decline in quality. "Wind and Wuthering" has some incredible peaks and a fantastic taste in compositions, sure it also has a few less good moments, but how many little flaws does the dear old "Selling England" have here and there?
  • Flame
    23 jan 20
    Personally, I believe that W'n'W has more than a few weak moments, but that's just my opinion.
  • hjhhjij
    23 jan 20
    It's simply an album with ideas, atmospheres, and compositions thought out in a very different way from the usual; I believe it's the band's most intimate record, definitely Banks's. Anyway, it's possible that it might annoy some people, but for me, it fits into the conversation of "Eh but Gabriel is no longer here. And so what?" :-)
  • hjhhjij
    23 jan 20
    However, yes, W&W looks down on this. This is a masterpiece, cippalippa Gabriel or not.
Genesis: Trespass
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Genesis: Foxtrot
CD Audio I have it
Alongside "A Trick of the Tail" (yes, the one without Peter Gabriel, who cares), this is the most compact, cohesive, and flawless album by Genesis, and it’s probably their best one overall, where the "classic" lineup reaches its finest synergy. I wanted to say that between "Watcher of the Skies" and "The Musical Box," on which it's somewhat pointless to add anything more, there’s "Can-Utility and the Coastliners," which is one of their best tracks, yet hardly anyone ever talks about it, after all...
  • splinter
    31 dec 19
    Can-Utility and the Coastliners is the true gem of the album, encapsulating everything that Genesis can offer in 5 minutes, more than what Watcher of the Skies and Get 'Em Out by Friday deliver in 7 and 8 minutes, incredible!
  • hjhhjij
    31 dec 19
    Very true, nothing to say.
  • adrmb
    1 jan 20
    Aaaa, how did I miss the definition?
    Anyway, Can-Utility covers are always performed by cover bands, at least that’s something ahah