Genesis – Nursery Cryme
“All your hearts now seem so far from me, It hardly seems to matter now”
The first few years of the band involved shifts in band members. First Chris Stewart was replaced by Johnathan Silver on drums and then he by John Mayhew. After monumental sales of about 6000 copies of Trespass being sold, Anthony Phillips was having significant anxiety related to live performance and the number of planned shows vs time spent writing material. I believe I have also read that he felt there were too many songwriters in the group, and it was difficult to get ideas considered…a problem that would plague the band again 7 years later. So, Phillips decided to quit, and the band seriously considered breaking up as he was such an important and key member. All of them have noted in various interviews that at the time he was sort of considered the leader of the band and they weren’t sure how or if to continue in his absence. However, as they would several more times in their career, they decided to carry on in the wake of a key member’s departure. Oddly this would actually be followed by more success each time except for the final attempt 25 tears later.
With Ant gone they also decided to look for a drummer better suited for the style of music they were playing. Mayhew was fine and there were no personality conflicts, but his style led to challenges when it came to trying new ideas for songs – and it seemed to take a long time for him to adapt on the fly. So infamously they auditioned drummers and Phil Collins, arriving early to the audition, sat around for most of the day listening out to sight to what the other potential drummers were asked to do. By the time it was his turn to audition he pretty much knew exactly what they were looking for and got the gig. Phil had also been a child actor and could sing well which was an added bonus…more-so than they could ever have realized at the time. They did some live shows including a couple with Guitarist Mick Barnard before Gabriel spotted an ad in Melody Maker magazine which read “Imaginative guitarist/writer seeks involvement with receptive musicians, determined to drive beyond existing stagnant music forms”. In December 1970 the writer of that ad, Steve Hackett, auditioned and solidified the lineup that many consider to be definitive and which would surprisingly only last for less than 5 years before Gabriel would leave. Anyway, the band played some live shows while working on material before they decided to move to Tony-Straton Smith’s residence in the country to work on their next album Nursery Cryme, which was released in November 1971.
The first song is The Musical Box which is one of the most revered songs the band ever recorded. It is pretty spectacular in topic, dynamics and execution. It is also, like Visions Of Angels on Trespass, the song that linked the current and prior lineup. In many ways it is similar to Trespass with the dual acoustic guitars played by Rutherford and Banks but was actually written initially by Phillips and Rutherford. I would even venture to say if one had to point to one song that defines the early sound of the band during the Gabriel years it would be The Musical Box, though many would probably argue Supper’s Ready from Foxtrot which is an equally reasonable suggestion. Either way it is certainly up there in the realms of the greatest 10 minutes of music the band ever made. Gabriel’s vocals are exquisite – with Phil Collins mirroring many lines and whose voice was so similar to Gabriel’s that it is often hard to separate the two and also why in the end the transition to Collins as the lead vocalist was a much easier prospect than say…Ray Wilson.
In live performance Peter would wear a Fox’s head and his wife’s red dress and then an old man’s mask – adding to the theatrics of their shows. Immediately evident as well is the amazing addition of Hackett and Collins from a musical perspective, both adding to the musicality of the album in a highly significant way. For Absent Friends is a Hackett/Collins song sung by Phil – it is a pretty little thing and shows that despite the chronic conflict in the band to get one’s own material recorded…they were still always ok considering everything presented. Nice to see their contributions right out of the gate. The Return Of The Giant Hogweed is another epic early composition and fan favourite. It is a bit of a weird song topically and in time signatures, but it is certainly dynamic and is probably most similar to The Knife from Trespass. It should be noted that the finger tapping technique often attributed to Eddie Van Halen was actually something Hackett had been doing 7 years prior to Eddie on this song and The Musical Box. Just want to give credit where credit is due. Seven Stones is nice – not my favourite song – but sort of mournfully melancholy – it doesn’t really build as successfully as others and I find it just OK, though many love it. It has some great vocals and some great flourishes of flute, Hammond and Mellotron which hey…counts for something. Harold The Barrel is also for me OK – not my favourite – some people find it amusing – it is a bit of a plonky piano based tune with dual vocals by Pete and Phil. It is one of my least favourite songs of the Gabriel era. Harlequin is another acoustic guitar-based tune which again is nice but for me not nearly as great as other material. Actually, I would argue that Seven Stones through Harlequin is possibly the weakest point of the Hackett/Collins/Rutherford/Banks/Gabriel era and also why for me this album suffers compared to others. None of it is bad but I just find it a bit sub-par by comparison to everything else.
The redemption though is The Fountain Of Salmacis which ends the album. I mean this song is absolutely incredible. From the swelled volume opening of drums/Hammond and guitars it just makes one think this is going to be great and it delivers on that promise. The way the song is structured, the dynamics of the drumming, the subtle guitar flourishes by Hackett, the beautiful mellotron, the amazing bass lines throughout. It really is an incredible piece of music. Arguably their greatest achievement to this point and an incredible way to end a vastly dynamic and diverse album which amazingly included two members who had been in the band for only 6 months at that point. This album is for me the pass that would set up the hat trick of greatness that would follow..and the band had only really been together for 3 years at this point from when they formed. The growth from The Silent Sun through The Fountain of Salmacis in that short period is nothing short of astounding and something with almost no equivalence of in modern music short of maybe The Beatles and a few others.
Recommended Listening – The Musical Box, The Return Of The Giant Hogweed, The Fountain of Salmacis
