SydBarrett96

Selling England By The Pound represents the pathetic attempt to make music with the brain rather than the soul (why, though?). Only if you're Fripp, Hammill, or Czukay can you pull it off; Gabriel and his companions (who have very different talents) cannot. If it is the symbol of progressive rock, it’s only because it mindlessly reiterates every cliché, every stylistic rule, beautiful or ugly as it may be. Then, just because we want to do everything, they even throw in two horrible pop tracks. A collage of banal melodies that only have the merit, as you say, of being shamelessly progressive. The spontaneity of Trespass, Nursery Cryme, and Foxtrot is replaced here by the presumption of being number 1 (but I would like to note that at the same time Red was released), resulting in nothing but a collection of clichés that are also very diluted (on the first listen, you can always predict the next note, absurd). I have already expressed my opinion on The Battle Of Epping Forrest. The first track is truly beautiful. After that, enough.

this, in my view, OBVIOUS.

Starting from the (completely correct) assumption that I Know what I like and More fool me are totally different from everything else on the album, and knowing that especially the former was crafted specifically to be a successful 45 rpm single, it follows that everything else on the album was not created in a calculated manner (mind and soul must necessarily go hand in hand).

The presumption of being number 1 has never existed in Genesis, as demonstrated by dozens of interviews and books that outline their profiles even from a psychological perspective. It’s a shame to listen to this great album with so much prejudice and to think that, according to the same Genesis, the song that most reflects your idea of being overly composed is precisely "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight," which originated from a brief melody by Gabriel, with everything else built upon it. "Cinema Show" and "The Battle" stem from a series of improvisations stitched together; "Firth of Fifth" comes from Banks’ musings with the inclusion of the central instrumentals and ultimately Hackett's solo (for me pure soul, nothing but brain), but all you perceive is the pedantic aspect... it’s truly a shame, I mean for you...

Selling England is for me the most representative album by Genesis, and one of my favorites. Then, if this was created with brains and without soul, what should other bands like ELP (whom I really like, let's reiterate) say? As for the rest, I have extensively covered the Genesis discography in my biography that I sent to both of you (but if you'd like to reread it, you can go to the Karter4 website).

Anyway, at the same time Lark's Tongues in Aspic was released, not Red :D Anyway, Firth of Fifth is really cool. Anyway, I also prefer other Genesis songs. Anyway, I think it's very beautiful. Anyway, goodbye.

When I listen to the guitar solo in Fifth Of Firth, I go into pure ecstasy. :Q___

Eh.

Eh what? :)

Hackett's solo. Pure ecstasy.

I also like Hackett's solo in Firth Of Fifth. I'm giving this album a pass, in fact. Just a pass and nothing more.

It seems a bit crazy to me, but oh well :)

TheJargon, by the way, I’ve always known (correct me if I’m wrong) that the piano material of Firth Of Fifth Banks had been sitting in the drawer for quite some time... in short, an album full of new ideas.

Wasn't Paolofreddie enough to make the comments stop?! You’re unsettling. I'm not joking.

Extro is right. Anyway, yes, the intro had already been composed a long time ago. So what? It's cool. Who says it's an album with particularly fresh or innovative ideas?

I almost forgot: this album sounds like Nursery Cryme on valium, in the sense that the ideas that in Nursery Cryme are concentrated in 3/4 minutes are here stretched and diluted to cover the canonical 45 minutes of an album. After all, there was the excuse of prog.
Syd, you know I really like you, so let me tell you: if you think that the new wave hasn't gifted us with great albums, you're seriously mistaken.

Anyway, Tapping eh. Tapping. (He had already done it but here even more :)

However, pana is right here. About the New-Wave, I mean.

The New Wave (and Post-Punk and whatever you want) has produced absurd masterpieces, as great as the prog ones (and more influential but who cares about that).

Pere Ubu, Television, Devo, Patti Smith, Tom Verlaine...

I didn't understand the reference to Paolofreddie.

Why are you late?

Come on Extro, I've already got the fake ones constantly offending me, don't you get involved too :)

It seems to me that the fake paulfederico has done yet another review on this album, in addition to the one made with another of his fakes, also on this album (yet another one). You've had countless opportunities to say everything necessary about this album. That's why I say you're unsettling.

Yes Pana, Firth Banks' intro had been sitting in the drawer for a while. He proposed it for a fragment of Supper's Ready, but it didn’t connect with the rest, so it ended up being a short piece by combining it with Gabriel's lyrics. Collins and Hackett, feeling a bit left out, complained, so the same piano theme was developed for the central instrumental part, and they "allowed" Hackett to insert that solo, perhaps one of the highest moments in all of world prog. Hackett took a long time to find the right idea, but then it came to him in a burst during a rehearsal, just before they told him, "Okay, it's not happening anymore" ... and it’s no wonder he was frustrated!

I say, however, that Extro is right :-)) - but I don't know what to do about it, I can't keep quiet on these topics.

Now let's finish it here, indeed. I respect your opinions, but I do not share them.

38 new messages in email, this is unsettling XD Anyway, de gustibus ;)

"Pere Ubu" The coolest.

I listened to it again at Christmas; it had a bit more pandan...

The guitar riff of The Musical Box is enough to give 5

I fully agree. A transition from pure prog to more commercial and immediate rock-pop. Transition is meant as a positive factor because here the Genesis manage to balance prog and melody, simplicity and complexity (with the former being more prevalent than the latter, to be honest...). For me, a respectable work that doesn't deserve the harsh criticisms from all the obsessed proggers that infest the web.

Do you really feel that way? For me, there's no difference between the first and the second side: both are subpar, with just as much skill in melodic management and just as much constructive cunning, but very little substance.

At least I save something, there you go, even if there are galaxies of difference between this and any album from the seventies. ;) By the way, Jargon, did you read the biography I sent you a while ago? :)

No, but it's true, in the first part there's at least "Mama," which is a nice pop piece. Even Home by The Sea (the first part; the second part, not so much) is quite nice as a pop song. On the second side, there’s Illegal Alien, I mean, one of the ugliest songs ever.

The first time I began to listen to this album, when I got to the second track "Home by the Sea," I was about to declare it the best Genesis album of the '80s. Then, as I moved to the second side, everything fell apart...

By the way Hj, going from shit to chocolate, yesterday I dusted off some VDGG from the second reunion. You know, I think I might prefer World Record to both Still Life and Godbluff?

I meant to say "second phase" or "first reunion," but I ended up saying "second reunion." Oh well...

You know you're not the only one? But you are a minority :) For me, for instance, "Still Life" is unbeatable; maybe from a melodic and introspective point of view, it’s the peak of the band, the one with the most "epic" flavor perhaps. (Then that same year, Hammill wrote "Over," but that's almost another story). Anyway, I really like World Record a lot, what can I say (quote). Meurglys III and Masks are absolute masterpieces.

"of soul-less and empty music typical of this decade." "Anyway, but also no, eh :) The plastic and annoying patina of the '80s is only on the surface; if you scratch it away, you'll find a ton of immensely cool stuff."

Sure, you know that I share your opinion. I meant mainstream music ;)

Ah yes, the mainstream music of the '80s (understood as that of various Madonna, George Michael, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Genesis, the worst Collins solo work, etc.) is particularly crap.

different era, here abacab is phenomenal

Yes, it sounded much better than the original version.

Perhaps they made a choice similar to that of Dire Straits regarding the setlists of the live albums "Alchemy" and "On the Night."

Ah yes, I remember Octopus well, really beautiful.

Hey, Syd, they're mocking Guccio in a review, can you believe it!

Where? Well, here on Deb the boundary between fun and seriousness is very thin. :)

...ok, I can accept that you don’t like it, but I absolutely don’t want to hear that the site is unreadable because of Guccio!

Ahahahah yes, I read it :)

I change and head to the beach. Anyway, amazing party. Bye, you losers on dry land!

I live 5 km from the sea! :)

What the hell are you doing then? Going to the beach in the evening? Be careful to swim, or you'll end up like the first victim of Spielberg's Jaws! Unless you want to stuff yourself with spritz, in that case, you have my full support!

Damn Hj, I'm here studying for the university entrance exam. I only had two lazy baths in July, after graduation. Fuck it. XD

"When it's fashion, it's fashion" is one of the most beautiful earthquakes of Italian music...

for me the best of Gaber together with "dialogo..."

Beautiful, it has been an honor for me to review this album. Obviously, I can only support your definition, without any superfluous comments, since, as you may have understood, you and I think practically the same way about the shows of "Mr. G."

Indeed, I totally agree. :)

Had "Polli d'allevamento" not arrived 5 years later, this would be his masterpiece.

I have both of them, bought for about 15 euros this summer. I've been listening to it these days.

"My generation has lost" ... anyway, nice analysis on this work (unfortunately, I'm picking randomly with Gaber, so I wasn't familiar with this "Liberta Obbligatoria").

Beautiful, although for me it’s a step below "Polli d'allevamento" and "Anche per oggi non si vola". This one, however, doesn't hold back either: "Il sogno di Gesù" is a very funny prose. My favorite songs are "I reduci" and the dramatic and reflective "Il cancro". There’s really a lot to listen to even in this show...

The prose on this album is also very beautiful, like "Le Carte" and "L'America." The most beautiful piece, however, I have already mentioned in the definition, including a wonderful excerpt from it.