Genesis

Genesis perfected the pop moves they flirted with on Duke with Abacab, which was released to instant radio success in 1981. With the horn section from Earth, Wind and Fire propelling "No Reply At All," Tony Banks laying down fat funk synth lines and Phil Collins transmogrifying himself into some kind of soul singer, Genesis kicked their nerd fanbase to the curb and embraced new wave like Nursery Cryme never happened. The fact is, the title cut (named after its chord progression) and "No Reply At All" have weathered the years way better than any songs about Good King Wencelas.

The irony of singer-drummer Phil Collins' recent solo disc, Face Value, charting higher than
any previous Genesis LP apparently hasn't been lost on the band as a whole. Abacab,
Genesis' third outing as a trio, not only features a blast from the Earth, Wind and Fire brass
section (which was largely responsible for the R&B overtones of Face Value) in "No Reply at
All," but most of the album quakes with a radically stripped-down sound, tracea... More >