UAWIL #146: Genesis - Genesis 1983
Genesis' eponymous 1983 album was an inflection point between the prog all-star days & the 80s pop days which had some big hits, solid album cuts and adult contemporary schlock that would redefine the band yet send them onto megastardom
As 10 years olds in 1983, Genesis self-titled album was our introduction to the band with singles & MTV videos like Mama, That's All & Illegal Alien. We had no awareness of the band as prog superstars in the 1970s with Peter Gabriel & Steve Hackett and would only learn of that incarnation later in life. Phil Collins solo career was also on a huge upward swing after the release of Face Value (1980) and Hello I Must Be Going (1982). When Phil, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks reconvened Genesis the band was gaining momentum from all sides and since they decided for the first time to credit all music to everyone equally, they felt the eponymous title made sense for a record they collaborated on together with fewer self-penned ideas coming in.
But where does it stand in their legacy? They've eschewed the lengthy prog songs they wrote in the 70s for shorter, more pop friendly melodies. While Phil Collins singing and drumming were both strong on this album, are all these songs discernible from what he was doing in his solo career? Were they trading success for the ubiquity that would follow with Collins next solo release No Jacket Required (25 million sold) and their 1986 record Invisible Touch (over 15 million sold)? And what were they thinking with Illegal Alien? Would the adult contemporary/middle-of-the-roadness of this album define their sound and the image of Phil as a solo artist? We dive into all that as Genesis (1983) turns 40 on October 3.
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