Customer Reviews

Nursery Cryme

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first time I bought a 'real Genesis album,' the CD was "Nursery Cryme" & I did not know what to expect. I was hoping to hear cuts like "Abacab" or stuff from "The Numbers Album," or "Duke." Was I in for a rude awakening! It was late June, early July 1995, I was 17 years old. I just finished up my junior year at East Detroit High School & was over a month away from beginning my final year as a Senior in High School. At that time, Green Day's 'Dookie'(released 'Insomiac' in 1995), Soundgarden's 'Superunknown', Pearl Jam's 'Vitalogy', & Alice In Chain's 'Jar Of Flies' were the albums that were the order of the day. People were still trembling from Kurt Corbain's apparent suicide a year later. The Eagles were on a comeback tour. The Smashing Pumpkins would release the double album, 'Meloncholy & The Infinate Sadness' that year. Korn & Rage Against The Machine came out of nowhere. The Red Hot Chili Peppers released 'One Hot Minute' which was a departure from their previous albums. However, Alternative/Grunge was at it's final death stages at this time (but we didn't know it then). 1995 was also the year of the Page/Plant Unledded show on MTV which was huge! The O.J. Simpson trial was still lingering in the presence of the media circus. Pantera's 1992 album, 'Vulgar Display of Power' was the album to have (if you didn't have that album in high school, you were considered that something was wrong with you). The beginning of New Year's Day, 1995 marked the 10 month countdown to the Beatles Anthology special on ABC. Z-Rock was THE radio station. Flannel, band shirts & faded different coloured jeans with sneakers or military boots & long hair was the fashion as well.

And so here I am at Record Time on 10 Mile & Gratiot (They now moved to 11 & Gratiot), buying a CD. When I saw "Nursery Cryme" I was like "What is this? An album cover with a Victorian Nurse w/ a mallet in her hands & severed heads on the ground? Interesting." I bought it for 10 dollars & took it home for a listen. Now mind you, I didn't even hear a note on this album at all....yet. Thinking that it would be only Phil Collins, Tony Banks & Michael Rutherford on this album, I was in for another surprise: "Peter Gabriel was in Genesis?" I said to myself. "And who's Steve Hackett? Oh this I have to listen to." The first song I played was of course, "The Musical Box." Right from those beginning chords, the song was like 'the performance had already started & we the listener have arrived late to the concert' type of feel. It was unusual listening to Peter Gabriel singing in Genesis (I was familar w/"Shock The Monkey", "In Your Eyes", "Sledgehammer"....but then again I was a sucker & naive in what to believe). When the quiet slumbers turned into explosive blasts from Rutherford's 12 String Rickenbacker & when Hackett's Gibson Les Paul comes flying in like a bottle rocket, my jaw hit the floor! I never heard anyone solo that different in my life. Let's just say that my life had changed forever. Now enough of my life story, let's go through all the songs.

THE MUSICAL BOX: This song is exactly like the tune "Stagnation" from their second album, "TRESPASS." However, with newcomers, Drummer Phil Collins & Guitarist Steve Hackett, it becomes immediately known that the final 2 pieces of the puzzle are finally in place & the 'Class of 1971' lineup is now complete. A somber tale about 'Old King Cole' as Gabriel desperately wants to be touched "NOW, NOW, NOW, NOW, NOW!" behind the roaring of Tony Banks' Hammond Organ L122 & Hackett's mournful outro solo.

FOR ABSENT FRIENDS: This is where Phil Collins makes his first lead vocal debut (Not "More Fool Me" from "SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND"). Phil's 'sensitive voice to 12-string guitar' was beautiful in blending his voice w/ the acoustic about 2 widowed ladies remembering about their lost loved husbands while going to church. The song title itself would be an errie forshadowing of what was to come within a few years down the road with this band.

THE RETURN OF THE GIANT HOGWEED: The title itself is hilarious when I first saw the name of this song. The opening of this tune was like a hogweed dancing through a distorted swriling pattern behind Hackett's fuzzed Les Paul & Banks' distorted Hohner electric piano. The song was based on an actual newspaper article when hogweeds were 'spreading' in English countryside. Gabriel has some unusual lines in this song like "They all need the sun to photosensitive their venom" and "They all are inmune to all our herbicidal batterings." Hackett's guitar tone is almost like an army of hogweeds that are "threatening the human race." Phil Collins tries to slash on through behind his Gretsch drumkit, but there is no hope-THE GIANT HOGWEED LIVES!

SEVEN STONES: A dreary tale about an old man who makes a living on greed & chance. Here's where Tony Banks' Mellotron MK II makes its presence adding more to the mournful landscape. When you hear this song, sit back, close your eyes, and hear "the old man tell his tale."

HAROLD THE BARREL: Here's where everyone, except Hackett but he makes his Black Beauty Les Paul sound voicelike, joins in on vocals. Here's where Peter Gabriel's dark disgusting sense of humor comes in. A quick story about a restarunt owner who flees & tries to leave town for 'cutting off his toes & serving them for tea.' Once the angry people surround Harold in a house, he threatens to 'take a running jump' from the upstairs of the house. His mother is brought in she begs Harold not to jump because "His shirt is all dirty & there's a man here from the BBC." This song could've been processed as a rock opera for it was a funny story.

HARLEQUIN: Another pretty song on this album where Phil & Peter take the lead on this one where 'all is not lost'. The tune has a hint of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young in a way, but still worth listening to.

THE FOUNTAIL OF SALMACIS: This was the song that really sold me. If there was one way to end this album this was the way. As the Hammond Organ & the Mellotron plays call & response in the opening of this tune Gabriel tells the tale of Hermophidites. Hackett & Banks once again develope their musical swriling patterns that would eventually become a trademark of Genesis. Lastly, the way this song ends the album, no other band created such an atmospheric ending to a wonderful album even before or after.

THE MUSICAL BOX & THE RETURN OF THE GIANT HOGWEED sound even better in the 1973 "LIVE" album. THE FOUNTAIN OF SALMACIS & the other 2 mentioned songs are also great when Genesis was on Belgian TV in 1972, otherwise known as "THE WHITE ROOM SESSIONS."

This is a great album from start to finish eventhough it's just over 39 minutes, but well worth it. For me, it finally grew on me & it was because of this album, it was the beginning of exploring progressive rock & the end of listening to 90's music, and mind you, this is coming from a 26 year old who 'shouldn't be listening to this.'

Original lead guitarist Anthony Phillips had left Genesis after the "Trespass" album, and the band also wanted to upgrade their drummer situation. They settled on Flaming Youth drummer and former child actor Phil Collins and neophyte guitarist Steve Hackett. The album that resulted, 1971's "Nursery Cryme", had a harder sound than "Trespass", with fewer overdubs and solid production by John Anthony. The downside is that "Nursery Cryme" has the weakest set of songs of any Genesis album from the '70s. Keyboardist Tony Banks hit the nail on the head, saying in Armando Gallo's "I Know What I Like" book that "we seemed to be a bit lacking in material. I think that 'Musical Box' and 'Salmacis' are the two songs that sort of carry that album."

"The Musical Box" is the standout track, a 10-minute piece that alternates loud and quiet passages, climaxing with Banks' best guitar-playing moment, as he trades leads with Hackett, and also slips in a quick electric piano solo. The album closes strong with "The Fountain of Salmacis", which tells the Greek mythological tale of Hermaphroditus, who was turned into the first...well, you know. In between are a couple more long songs and three short pieces that are all pleasant, but are a tier below Genesis' usual level. "The Return of the Giant Hogwood" is a sci-fi epic reminiscent of "The Day of the Triffids", with evil plants out to take over the Earth. "Seven Stones" is the weakest track, and a truly strange choice for the single. The short songs include the silly, upbeat "Harold the Barrel" and ballads "Harlequin" and "For Absent Friends". The latter was Collins' first lead vocal for Genesis. This is a 3-1/2 star album.

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

Released in 1971 with Genesis taking up it's beloved classic line-up, Nursery Cryme is the album where Phil Collins first showcased his talent both on the drums and is also where Collins took lead vocals for the first time, not on Selling England By The Pound. The production of this CD is absolutely atrocious but the remastering does help Nursery Cryme a lot and sounds vastly superior to the older version. I must say that the album front cover sleeve with the striped field and the nurse playing tee ball, showcases the schizophrenic and psychotic mood of the LP. 1971 was one of the years of the golden era of prog-rock and Genesis were among the top bands of that style of rock and there's plenty of it on Nursery Cryme. Genesis in fact, never abandoned their prog-rock roots, even with their heavily polished, squeaky clean production of their 1983 self-titled debut and Invisible Touch as well as We Can't Dance and even Calling All Stations. There is no radio-friendly material on here but what there is is 7 tracks of sheer beauty with bizarre production with some of the strangest lyrics that Peter Gabriel has ever written. I might come into confrontations with those purists who can't seem to like any of the LPs Phil Collins at lead vocals, however, even I sometimes think about where Genesis would've gone if Steve Hackett had stayed but nonetheless, Genesis were among the most consistent bands of all time. Return of The Giant Hogweeds is a standout cut. I just love the buzzing guitar chord changes in the beginning of it and it¡¦s menacing musicianship and Gabriels fierce storytelling vocals and it truly showcases it¡¦s theme. It¡¦s an epic tale of giant plants that escapes from captivity to wreak terrible revenge on the human race and the guitars and organs are amazing! The other standout cut is For Absent Friends as it¡¦s where Phil Collins for the first time in his career, sings on lead vocals. While his voice was a bit mousey at that point, the song is a beautiful, simple, & acoustic ballad. The only thing that keeps this track from being great is that it¡¦s less than two minutes long! As much as this CD is great, I must honestly admit that the muddy production as well as it's short playing time of only 39 minutes does keep this from being an essential recording like Genesis latter material compared with Foxtrot or Selling England By The Pound. For the fan base whose tastes are mostly confined to the Phil Collins-era LPs, Nursery Cryme may not be an easy album to get into easily, even for those who loved Wind & Wuthering or Trick Of The Tail but even for those ppl, I do recommend trying NC for something different as Genesis are like a chameleon band. Despite all the cons, Nursery Cryme is a wonderful record that is one worthy of checking out even if it turns out not being all that appreciating. Sure it may not have gotten noticed at the time of it¡¦s release but guess what, it¡¦s still in print after 31 years! An enduring classic that is not quite an essential but definitely one worthy of checking out. Foxtrot and the two after it though have more edge to them than this one does and all of Genesis albums should be in your collection¡K..And I¡¦m not talking about just Peter Gabriel¡¦s LPs with them either¡K..Pick up the Turn It On Again: The Hits CD too! ƒº