Firth Of Fifth

And so with gods and men, the sheep remain inside their pen
Until the shephard leads his flock away
The sands of time were eroded by
The river of constant change 

1970s progressive rock took a lot of well deserved abuse for becoming bloated and pretentious, but Firth Of Fifth, from Selling England By The Pound, the 1973 album by Genesis, is prog rock at its pinnacle, a gorgeous journey, musically and lyrically.

Firth starts with the beautiful solo piano of Tony Banks, before the verses kick in with Peter Gabriel singing.  We have a flute solo by Gabriel and then a lush extended guitar piece by Steve Hackett.  Close your eyes while gliding along with the guitar.  And all underpinned by Mike Rutherford's intricate bass and Phil Collins' drumming.  Collins' later success as a singer and solo artist has tended to detract from his brilliance as one of the finest prog rock drummers,

Genesis remain my favorite prog rock band with this album and 1971's Nursery Cryme as their finest efforts.  With Gabriel leaving in 1975, Phil Collins taking over vocals, and Steve Hackett leaving after the first post-Gabriel album Trick of the Tail, Genesis became a completely different type of act. 

Contrast Agent

I have about 2100 songs in my iTune library,  many of them organized into playlists, but I often like listening via shuffle to see what the algorithm reveals.  Recently these two songs came up in sequence, tunes about as different as can be musically and lyrically.  I enjoy them both, which is why they're in my library, but the only other thing they have in common was both were released in the early 1970s.

First up was James Brown's Down and Out in New York City.  And then came The Fountain of Salmacis from Nursery Cryme, one of the best albums from Genesis.  The former a tale of contemporary New York, the latter the retelling of an ancient Greek myth.

You Can't Hurry Phil

I was putting together a playlist of 1980s Pop.  Not a big fan of post-Peter Gabriel Genesis and a lot of Phil Collins stuff leaves me cold, but I did add one Genesis single (Turn It On Again) and two Collins songs - Against All Odds and, of course, this, which is the most 80s of all 80s songs - if you have any question about that I have three words for you; "Crockett and Tubbs".(1)

Of course, this brought back memories of how Collins and Genesis were all over the music world and their domination of MTV back in that decade, so I decided to double check to make sure my memory was correct.  It was.  Here is the decade for Collins, Genesis, and Mike Rutherford's solo project, Mike and The Mechanics, as well as a nod to Peter Gabriel, the band's former front man.

Collins and Genesis released eight albums in the decade and in the US the worst performing reached #11 on the charts, while two hit #1.  They had 17 top 10 singles with 8 reaching #1, while Mike & The Mechanics added three top 10s, including a #1.  Based upon this exhaustive analysis it appears that both Peak Phil and The Genesis Maximum occurred between the fall of 1984 and spring 1987.

Here's the breakdown with US release date and the chart position in parens:

1980

Duke, Genesis Album, 3/80 (11)

Misunderstanding, Genesis Single, 5/80 (14)

 

1981

In The Air Tonight, Collins Single, 1/81 (18, but #1 in UK and elsewhere and the video was in constant MTV rotation)

Face Value, Collins Album, 2/81 (7)

Abacab, Genesis Album, 8/81 (7) 

1982

You Can't Hurry Love, Collins Single, 11/82 (10)

Hello, I Must Be Going, Collins Album, 11/82 (8)

1983

Genesis, Genesis Album, 10/83 (9)

That's All, Genesis Single, 10/83 (6)

1984

Against All Odds, Collins Single, 2/84 (1)

In The Air Tonight featured on Miami Vice, 9/84

Easy Lover, Collins Single, 11/84 (2) 

1985

No Jacket Required, Collins Album, 1/85 (1)

Sussudio, Collins Single, 1/85 (1)

One More Night, Collins Single, 2/85 (1)

Don't Lose My Number, Collins Single, 7/85 (1)

Collins only musician to play at Live Aid Concerts in UK & US on 7/13/85

Separate Lives, Collins Single, 9/85 (1)

Silent Running, Mike & Mechanics Single, 11/85 (6)

1986

All I Need Is A Miracle, Mike & Mechanics Single, 2/86 (5)

Take Me Home, Collins Single, 3/86 (7)

Sledgehammer, Gabriel Single, 4/86 (1)

So, Gabriel Album, 5/86 (2)

Invisible Touch, Genesis Single, 5/86 (1)

Invisible Touch, Genesis Album, 6/86 (3)

Throwing It All Away, Genesis Single, 8/86 (4)

Land Of Confusion, Genesis Single, 11/86 (4)

 

1987

Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Genesis Single, 3/87 (3)

In Too Deep, Genesis Single, 4/87 (3)

 

1988

A Groovy Kind Of Love, Collins Single, 8/88 (1)

Two Hearts, Collins Single, 11/88 (1)

The Living Years, Mike & Mechanics Single, 12/88 (1)

 

1989

But Seriously, Collins Album, 11/89 (1)

Another Day In Paradise, Collins Single, 11/89 (1)

 

Not too shabby.

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(1)  Miami Vice made incredibly creative use of pop music integrated into the flow of the show.  This is perhaps the finest example.

Harold The Barrel

From the third album by Genesis, 1971's Nursery Cryme, also containing The Musical Box, and along with Selling England By The Pound (1973), one of their finest.

Their first record after Phil Collins became the new drummer, Harold The Barrel features both Collins and Peter Gabriel on vocals.  The vocal track was mixed in a way you can't tell the voices apart.

A song with this theme might be able to be made today, but I suspect not with the same humorous lyrics (Harold the Barrel cut off his toes and he served them all for tea/"Can't go far, he can't go far"/"Hasn't got a leg to stand on").  That's unfortunate, as the lyrics, while funny at times, are pointed and sympathetic to poor Harold (If I was many miles from here/I'd be sailing in an open boat on the sea/Instead I'm on this window ledge/With the whole world below).

The Musical Box

I've been waiting here for so long
And all this time that passed me by
It doesn't seem to matter now
You stand there with your fixed expression
Casting doubt on all I have to say 

One of the more bizarre and beautiful songs from a band that specialized in 'em, Genesis - or, more accurately, the version of the band before Peter Gabriel left the group and when Phil Collins was just the drummer.  After Gabriel's departure they became a much more commercially successful and more conventional pop band.  But not nearly as interesting.

While bizarre it actually tells a coherent story if you listen carefully.  And it ends with a dramatic climax. Following the band's cut is a piano instrumental by Massimo Bucci.

Firth Of Fifth

There was a lot of bad progressive rock in the 1970s.  It got so bad that punk and new wave arose in reaction, so it was worth it.  There was some prog rock that was good amidst all the bombast and dreck.  I was a fan of early Genesis, before Peter Gabriel led them into the pretentious Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, then left the group, and Phil Collins took over.

This is Firth of Fifth from Selling England By The Pound.