Grasshopper

Dear TinyBnaks, I’ve thought several times about writing a review on that illustrious (alas) fellow citizen you mentioned (and whom I find a bit repulsive even to name), but doing so would require me to listen to at least one of his albums, and to do so in its entirety. Life is short and should not be wasted in this way. And then how could I not fill it with insults or expletives? No, for harsh critiques we need professionals like Punisher and/or LestoBang (who might very well be the same as Punisher; anyway, they have almost identical styles).

If Denver is referring to the current Elton John or the one from the '90s, he might have a point, but here we're talking about the one from 1970, who made a lot of noise while roasting some succulent and substantial meat. In any case, taking it out on me, considering I certainly haven't overly praised old Reginald—rather, I've criticized his more questionable human side—makes no sense at all.

This album is not only a masterpiece but (perhaps precisely for this reason) it has the gift of inspiring excellent reviews. This is already the second or third remarkable one I've read, while generally duplicates or triplicates add little or nothing to what has already been said. Evidently, a work like this offers an infinity of points to argue about.

Yes, I have it too and I share Joe Cavalli's doubts about the choice of tracks. We could have included more, and especially better ones. The review of the collection is more accurate.

P.S. Among the noteworthy things, I forgot "The Burning Rope," perhaps the most obvious sign of continuity with the great suites of the old Genesis.

It is clear that for Stipe the album holds sentimental value that goes beyond an analysis of its content, which, although not exceptional, is still respectable. There are even a few peaks of excellence, and I fully agree with those pointed out by Meurglys. Consistent with the 3 I gave at the time when I reviewed this album, even though I remember that back then someone got angry because they wanted me to tear it apart brutally with a 1. Come on, let’s not exaggerate; let’s leave the 1 to Masini or Ramazzotti, even if the Genesis have certainly done much better in the past.

Thelonious Monk is an enigma for which, fortunately, a solution is never found, but in return, one would never want to stop searching for it. Those notes that always seem out of place, but with each listen reveal themselves to be perfectly woven into an incomprehensible design for most of his contemporaries, perhaps because they are extraordinarily ahead of their time... all of this is unique.

Today I'm typing incredible things: first "non ha caso" now "ciè" which would be "c'è"

It's true, it's tempting to place all the blame for the pop direction of Genesis on Phil Collins (which nonetheless yielded decent results, especially compared to what’s out there now) because he was the most visible, as the singer, "front-man," and presumed leader. It's more likely that it was a shared decision, for which Phil Collins certainly pressured the others, but which, at the time of realization, needed the essential contribution of Tony Banks (his transformation from composer of long baroque suites to "pop songwriter" in the span of a year is incredible, from "Wind And Wuthering" to "And Then There Were Three"), even more than that of Mike Rutherford, whose compositional input, like Phil Collins', has never been substantial.

Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford have certainly indulged the easy-listening turn of the Genesis. Without their contribution, albums like "And then there were three," "Duke," or "Abacab" could never have come to life, not so much lacking in melodic inventiveness but entirely devoid of that expressive freedom that went far beyond the framework of a 3-4 minute radio hit. After all, Phil Collins' compositional contribution to the group has always been rather limited, and he alone could not have created the infamous "pop songs." However, one only needs to read any biography of the Genesis (for example, the very accurate one by Mauro Giammetti) to realize that the drive towards simpler forms compared to the elaborate suites of their golden era primarily came from Phil Collins. It remains undeniable that pop albums of this level, and especially played in this way, are no longer being made.