Abacab [Import]

Genesis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Import [Generic]
• ASIN: B00000JX7G
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #952,931 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Abacab

2. No Reply at All

3. Me and Sarah Jane

4. Keep It Dark

5. Dodo/Lurker

6. Who Dunnit?

7. Man on the Corner

8. Like It or Not

9. Another Record

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Genesis revitalizes with clean new sound, October 12, 2002

By 

woburnmusicfan (Woburn, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abacab (Audio CD)

Genesis went through a transition on the "...and Then There Were Three" and "Duke" albums, writing shorter songs than in the past and picking up the intensity on the recordings (especially Phil Collins' vocals). On "Abacab", they completed the process. "Abacab" provided the sound that paved the way for Genesis' pop success in the 80s and early 90s. The band had not been satisfied with how tinny "Duke" sounded on the radio, and came up with a production style, including new ways to process the drum sounds, that resulted in a fantastic crisp, clear sound. Digital synthesizers were now available (great for buzzy sounds like those on "Abacab" and "Dodo"), and gave Tony Banks a lot better sound than the wimpy Polymoog used on "Duke". And the band also changed its way of playing -- rather than showing off their chops by playing as much as possible, they simplified the arrangements and left a lot of space in the recording, similar to the approach used by the Police. Mike Rutherford made the biggest sacrifice to the sound. On "Another Record", he only plays guitar on the intro, on "Man on the Corner" only on the closing, on "Who Dunnit?" and possibly "No Reply at All" not at all (his bass playing on the latter is amazing). There are none of the fiery leads he provided on "Duke", though he gets in a decent solo on the title track.

On songs such as "Abacab" and "Dodo/Lurker", the new approach resulted in songs that were among Genesis' best. "Abacab" has Rutherford and Banks trading simple licks to great effect, though the long instrumental ending hadn't yet been fully realized (the live version, with a lot more interplay between the musicians, was a highlight of the next three tours). "Lurker" couples a synthesizer theme with a lyric right out of "The Hobbit"'s game of riddles. But overall, the material on the album isn't as strong as on most of their albums. It's not BAD, it's just not up to the usual standard. Genesis recorded a lot of extra songs, and chose for the albums the ones that they felt people would least expect to hear from Genesis (for example, the dance beat and Earth Wind & Fire horns of "No Reply at All"). In doing so, they left off some songs that were better than many of the ones that made the album. Replace "Who Dunnit?" and "Another Record" with "Paperlate" and "You Might Recall" and this becomes a much stronger album. "Who Dunnit?" is a throwaway done as a goof, and it's perhaps the weakest cut Genesis ever put on an album. "Another Record" is memorable mostly for Collins' drum work. "Keep It Dark" matches a syncopated 6/4 guitar riff with a lyric about a missing man who tells his loved ones he'd been kidnapped because the utopian alien planet he was ACTUALLY brought to was too beautiful for life on Earth to compare to. "Me and Sarah Jane" is one of those catchy Banks pieces made up of several musical snippets thrown together, like "Burning Rope"; the lyric is...who knows? Something about a man and his imaginary girlfriend drowning together. Think of it as a practice run for the lyrics about incipient madness on "Domino". Each band member has one solo composition on the album, and the rest were co-written; after this album, all Genesis songs were always co-written by the band.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 20th Anniversary, May 29, 2001

By 

John Sposato (Syracuse, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abacab (Audio CD)

Released by Virgin Japan/Toshiba-EMI. This was only the second one I ever heard in my life, after "Invisible Touch". This was the first to sell a million copies in the US alone. This came just months after "Face Value", making 1981 a breakthrough year for Phil Collins. I have the UK LP now.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Last Blast, March 28, 2001

By 

Jerry G. (shaker hts, oh United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abacab (Audio CD)

Genesis managed to record only one good album in the studio they built for themselves in 1981 and this is it - Abacab. The title means nothing and provides a hint as to the abstract nature of the music, which at the same time manages to pack an emotional punch and some great progressive jams. The title track is one of several stand outs, along with Dodo/Lurker, Me and Sarah Jane, Keep it Dark, No Reply at All (featuring the Earth, Wind and Fire horns), Man on the Corner and Another Record. That constitutes most of the songs on the album, the only exceptions being the ridiculous piece of filler Whodonnit (the band must have wanted a lighter moment) and Like it or Not, a rather tired ballad by Mike Rutherford. That's a pretty good score. What makes these songs good, you ask? Well, they are accessible without being too corny, which means that they combine a pop sensibility with the traditional Genesis spirit of experimentation. This makes for an interesting and engaging listening experience. Nothing like Foxtrot but still a world better than the shockingly atrocious self-titled album that followed in 1983. The Ababcab era was truly the last blast of creativity for Genesis. This is documented further on Three Sides Live and the second box set, which contain live versions from this album that are actually much better than the studio recordings, in addition to some fantastic outtakes. Come to think of it, you might just get turned off to the Ababcab era of Genesis by listening to the album first and the live tracks and outtakes second, so maybe you should start with them. All I know is Ace Frehley of Kiss spent some ungodly amount of money building a state of the art recording studio in his home which never once produced an album. It was literally filled in with concrete by the people who bought his house a few years later. At least Genesis managed to make one good one with theirs. But why you would want to pay double the price for a Japanese import is beyond me.