Genesis - In Too Deep The ugliest song from any Genesis album, even from those albums where "ugliest" is a very relative term to mean "the one that's slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise what's the point. Why this one, from all the garbage contained in the Unnamed Album by Genesis? Well, the others at least have videos that are masterpieces in reverse, superb acts of lunacy, the Art of the comedic video that doesn't make you laugh. This one, which is no worse than the others, doesn't even have that.
Genesis - Illegal Alien (1983) The ugliest song from every Genesis album, even from those albums where "ugliest" is a very relative term to say "the one that's slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise what’s the point? Well, if @[dsalva] and I titled that old column on the Genesis trash #illegalsongs, there must be a reason. The number one of all the horrible songs by Genesis. Stupid to the point of insulting the intelligence of the listener. Fuck you.
Moonshooter Oh, since in music one can hear 1000 different things depending on who is listening... I realized that while listening to certain songs and specific melodic inspirations, that fragile, whispered delicacy of Ant in this album sometimes makes me catch a glimpse of a pro-uncle of a certain singer-songwriter/indie/melancholic style from the mid '90s to the '00s! Echoes, but clearly present. Perhaps it’s just me being crazy, just to be clear.
Genesis - Who Dunnit? (Official Audio) The ugliest song from every Genesis album, even from those albums where "ugliest" will be a very relative term to say "the one that's slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise what’s the point. Guys, I get the joke, the intention to create a conscious piece of crap solely with a provocative, mischievous spirit, especially when you performed it live, intentionally making all the fans angry, which is why I don’t consider it your absolute worst. But damn, it’s really, really ugly, you know.
Steve Hackett - Sleepers Melodic scents of the ever-beloved King Crimson by King Robert (the very first ones, in this case), the sobbing guitar "a la Ripples" at the end, a hackettian piece through and through, the most beautiful track of a very beautiful album.
From the Beginning Emerson, Lake & Palmer that don’t (won't?) get on my (our?) nerves. A beautiful song by Lake, as always, and therefore my favorite from "Trilogy."
Genesis - Misunderstanding The worst song from any Genesis album, even from those albums where "worst" is a very relative term meaning "the one that's slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise, what's the point? At some point, Collins, in the midst of a divorce and a mystical sentimental crisis, starts writing a bunch of songs on his own in his little home studio. Then he plays them for the other two little pigs, and they realize there's material to loot for making bucks, which Phil himself will do as a solo artist. However, whenever it comes to choosing Collins's songs, they pick (or maybe Phil keeps the best for himself, he's not stupid, it could also be true for "In the Air Tonight," right?) the fluffiest ones. Like this one, and it's a shame because it's a little ditty with no art or purpose inside a very beautiful album that, for a glorious moment, had marked the right path for a vibrant, modern pop sound with good/excellent quality songs.
Genesis - Follow You Follow Me (Official Music Video) The ugliest song from any Genesis album, even from those albums where "ugliest" will be a very relative term to say "the one that's slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise, what's the point? And this is where the real pain begins. I like "And Then There Were Three," overall it's a nice album even though we're now far from their best days. But it fit as a lightening of the proposal, a couple of great tracks, another 3-4 nice songs, a few others that are so-so, but it's a good album... And then this. Symbolically, I couldn't not choose it, the beginning of the end, the beginning of the selling out. And it doesn't even fit at all with the rest of the album's mood, it feels glued on with spit. But hey, goal totally scored, and they will do worse...
Greg Lake The Sage With Emerson Lake and Palmer ELP Emerson, Lake & Palmer who don’t drive me (us?) crazy. Lake, always Lake, even in the live Mussorgskyan reinterpretation (which they’ve been doing since Wight and which, after all, is partly more entertaining than I remembered; they always are, live) is always the piece by Lake, which has nothing to do with Mussorgsky, that gives the thrill. The Lakes, Lake & Lake.
The ugliest song from every Genesis album, even from those albums where "ugliest" is a very relative term to say "the one that's slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise what's the point. Genesis - Your Own Special Way A mediocre piece, mushy, slightly out of focus within the album's context, a song where Mike Rutherford definitely does not shine as a songwriter. It stands out negatively in an excellent album like W&W (although the central section is nice); the beauty of it is that this is the first real random tracklist choice: cutting Hackett's productivity ("Inside and Out" and the song that broke the camel's back, "Please Don't Touch") and putting this drivel in. Well done, everyone. Go Tonino.
Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail The ugliest song from any Genesis album, even from those records where "ugliest" is a very relative term to say "the one that's slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise, what's the point? An example is "Foxtrot 2.0," the other perfect album by Genesis, flawless and without defects. Just for fun, I choose this exquisitely refined title track that showcases the best Pop taste (perhaps ever) from Totonno and company, but clearly, this album doesn’t have a less beautiful track than the others. From "Wind and Wuthering" onward, partly due to unfortunate tracklist choices, making a selection will be extremely easier.
The Only Way (Hymn) - Emerson, Lake & Palmer [1971] (HD) The Emerson, Lake & Palmer that don't (completely) annoy the hell out of me. Considering that I'm not crazy about either the suite or the short songs from "Tarkus," this is the one I gladly save; Lake's voice elevates everything.
Genesis - Ravine (Official Audio) The ugliest song from every Genesis album, even from those albums where "ugliest" is a very relative term to say "the one that's slightly less stunning than the others," otherwise what's the point. The Lamb is a different story; it's a work that needs every piece of it, even the seemingly useless ones like this, even in its imperfections due to the courage of change and experimentation as much as the chaos within the band, however, if I had to pick one, this one fits nicely.
Genesis - More Fool Me The worst song on any Genesis album, even on those albums where "worst" is a very relative term to say "the slightly less wonderful one among the others," otherwise what's the point? Well, do I need to justify it too?
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Lucky Man The Emerson, Lake & Palmer that don’t drive me (us?) crazy. And this is the third gem from the first album, of course. An immortal evergreen that kicks off the series of beautiful songs (simply songs) scattered by Gregorio Lago across the trio's various albums. You can’t say anything against it, it’s a great piece.
Genesis-Get Em' Out By Friday The ugliest song from every Genesis album, even from those albums where "ugliest" is a very relative term to mean "the one that’s slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise what’s the point? Guys, I’ve just thrown one in randomly, I’ve given up. Here I’ve really given up. For me this is a perfect album, THE Genesis album in a sense. Not even for fun could you really find one to put in...
Genesis For Absent Friends The ugliest song from every Genesis album, even from those albums where "ugliest" will be a very relative term to say "the one that's slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise what’s the point? Well, here it was easy. Not because it’s ugly, far from it, it's a little gem, but it’s just a small compositional showcase by the two new entries, Collins (in his first solo vocal performance with the band) and Hackett, who co-write this delightful sketch together.
Knife-Edge - Emerson, Lake & Palmer [2012 Remaster] The Emerson, Lake & Palmer who don’t (or do?) bore me to death. This piece, the best on the album and one of the best overall from the trio, is for me the synthesis of what they should have been: the hybridization between influences and recoveries from classical scores and the electric rock-pop of the time, which here beautifully fuck each other, with that visceral and rock soul born of Wight, incendiary, beautiful, without Emerson veering off into a wannabe classical composer like he sometimes does.
Genesis - Visions of Angels The worst song from any Genesis album, even from those albums where "worst" is a very relative term to say "the one that's slightly less marvelous than the others," otherwise what's the point. Why this one? I would say only because of the drumming from our good Giovanni, which fits in as well as cabbage at snack time. The song, of course, is beautiful, a testament to Ant's melodic sensibility, complete with a nice lyric and the whole story of unrequited romance it carries along.
Genesis - The Serpent The ugliest song from any Genesis album, even from those albums where "ugliest" is a very relative term to mean "slightly less wonderful than the others," otherwise what's the point? Within a very messy debut, I find this one the most clumsy of all. Terrible, we would say around here.
Take A Pebble - Emerson, Lake & Palmer [2012 Remaster] Emerson, Lake & Palmer that don't bore me to death. Even the lengthy central part is really cool. And Lake's voice...
Kingdom Come Nothing, it's not a good time for musicians. Especially if they have just turned 70...