Yes, Abacab doesn't sound like early Genesis or other early prog bands...so what? It's still a great album full of fresh, creative ideas. Progressive rock isn't the only good style of music on the planet. To say that this is on the same level as Backstreet Boys or N'Sync is just plain ignorant, just as it is to say that it sounds just like Phil Collins' solo material. The only songs that sound anything like Phil solo on this album are No Reply At All and Man On The Corner, the rest are definitely Genesis songs.

Bottom line: if you only like the prototypical "progressive" side of Genesis, like the 10-minute epics and the long keyboard/guitar solos and the classical-sounding arrangements and the concept albums, then you might not like this album. But if you like bands that aren't afraid to change their sound and experiment with new ideas (which is the REAL meaning of "progressive"), then give this one a chance.


What he's waiting for, I don't know   June 29, 2004
St. Chris (Browns Mills, NJ USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Good album. Some fairly pure Phil Collins material (not a bad thing); plenty of good solid Tony Banks. And the sound of this remaster is notably superior to the original CD release: better dynamics, better stereo separation. Better overall.

But wow, look at the vitriol that prog-rock fans will sling at any iconic band that changes its sound. Well, Abacab is where Genesis *started* for me -- that's right, with MTV -- and yes, I have sensed a quality decline in subsequent albums. (If you think Abacab is a pop sell-out, you haven't listened to Invisible Touch or, worse, We Can't Dance.) But! There's always been at least a little good stuff to keep me coming back. (In truth, I still love Invisible Touch, despite my best efforts to go with the anti-corporate flow and hate it.) I haven't yet gotten into Gabriel-era Genesis, but I'm looking forward to exploring it someday. Plenty to choose from! If you don't like their later music, don't buy the darned stuff. Peter Gabriel did move on with a solo career, in case you didn't notice.

"Who Dunnit" is one of my favorite tracks on Abacab. It's weird, but intentionally so. It's a playful riff: "Who Dunnit" always sounded to me like "Abacab" played sideways, if you can picture that.


Get your facts straight   May 25, 2004
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

How do you expect to be taken seriously when you can't even get your facts right?

Number one, The Lamb was not "all written by Pete." It was mostly a group-written effort. Even one of the lyrics (The Light Dies Down On Broadway) wasn't written by Pete, and Phil did contribute a lot to the album and even wrote the melody line to Lilywhite Lilith (which was originally used in a song called "The Light.") If you're such a "genuine" fan I'd think you would know this.

Also, Steve did not leave because he "saw the writing on the wall," he left because he wanted to have a solo career and write songs on his own. The band wasn't willing to perform his solo pieces because they wanted to write songs by committee. It had nothing to do with artistic differences. The fact that they changed their style afterward had nothing to do with Steve's departure, they just wanted to do that.

It is pure ignorance to say that something can't be both pop and progressive. If pop music has new ideas and pulls together various influences to come up with something original, then it's also progressive. Genesis was one of the best examples of a progressive pop band, the only one that might be a better example is the Beatles.

You keep saying that because this is a pop album, there's nothing new or fresh about it. If that's so, then name ONE song from before the time of this album that has similar ideas or structures as Whodunnit or Keep It Dark. Granted songs like No Reply At All and and Another Record draw from previous styles of music, but what they do with them is totally unique. And besides, early Genesis draws from a lot of styles that were around long before the time of "progressive rock" so you can't blame this album alone for doing that. This album has a lot more fresh ideas than albums by Asia or GTR, which were bands that mainly recycled and watered down a bunch of prog cliches from the 70s and added nothing new. I'm grateful that Genesis didn't go in THAT direction, as most people consider GTR to be far worse than anything Genesis put out in the 80s.

The reason I was comparing The Lamb to this album is because it has a lot of 60s R&B/Motown influence, especially in the melodies and bass playing. Most of their other 70s albums have a stricter, more "classical" sound, but The Lamb has a rockier, more soulful edge, like Duke and Abacab. Both Peter and Phil have stated that 60s soul/pop was one of their biggest influences, so its no surprise that it comes through on albums like these as well as their own solo projects.

Just because Abacab sold well doesn't mean they "sold out." "Selling out" means to compromise your principles solely for the purpose of making money. Genesis was still in the process of making Abacab when Face Value sales started increasing, so that couldn't have affected the direction they took. Granted, by the time of IT and WCD Genesis had turned into mainly a hit machine that got caught up in chart success but it hadn't happened yet on Abacab. I'm sorry that you felt stabbed in the back by this album but there are plenty of fans that had been following Genesis from the early days that still loved Abacab. Besides, you even gave ATTW3 and CAS good ratings so you must have some liking for post-Hackett Genesis. How would you like it if someone called YOU a poser for giving those albums good ratings? It wouldn't be any less reasonable than the accusations you've been making.


Genesis Rock, And Here's The Proof!   January 27, 2002
Alan Caylow (USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Let's get something straight: Genesis are not, and never have been, an "adult contemporary" band. They're a ROCK band. They always have been. And the band needs no further proof of this than 1981's "Abacab," a stunning, powerhouse rock record that shows Genesis bravely shifting gears from their old prog-rock days of yor, and streamlining their sound into hard-hitting FM-radio rock. Some fans balked, but not me. "Abacab" was the very first Genesis album I ever bought, and upon hearing it, I knew that I'd found my band. I'd never heard a unique vocalist quite like Phil Collins before, nor had I ever heard a drumkit so deliriously annihilated. I'd never heard such fabulous, original keyboards before like the ones from the magic fingers of Tony Banks. And I'd also never heard such fine, masterful guitar-playing before, courtesy of Mike Rutherford. "Abacab" was the album that made me a Genesis fan. Naturally, I went back for the Peter Gabriel-era stuff, and I became a quintessential Genesis fan for life, but for me, it all started with "Abacab."It was 1981, and Tony, Phil, and Mike were facing a new decade together as Genesis. Peter Gabriel & Steve Hackett were no longer in the house, and neither were their influences, and so, the remaining trio had to do something very different from what they'd done in the past. To make a long story short, they decided to ROCK OUT. With the aid of ace producer Hugh Padgham, they did just that, and "Abacab" was the result. The band make terrific thunder on this album. The title track is the opening salvo, kicking things off with an explosion sound effect, and Phil, Mike, & Tony heavily fire on all cylinders, leading into a killer extended jam that ends the track. "No Reply At All" is big, brassy, and exuberant."Me And Sarah Jane" is a beautiful Tony Banks composition, greatly rendered by the group, while "Keep It Dark" is another winning rocker, featuring some fine sledgehammer drumming from Phil. And that's only the first half....The breathtaking epic "Dodo/Lurker" kicks off the second half, and it has "power" written all over it. It's simply a monster. And then there's the much-maligned, repetitious track "Whodunnit?". In defense of this track, I will just say this---it's COMEDY, people. WHY is it that when a band tries to be funny on a song, nobody seems to get the joke? Sheesh! In my opinion, it's a fun track. "Man On The Corner" is next up, and it's a lovely Phil Collins tune, arguably one of his best written. The last two tracks, Mike Rutherford's "Like It Or Not" and "Another Record," hardly ever get a mention, but they're both terrific songs, worked to maximum effect by the band. And with the "train" effect from Tony's keyboards at the end of "Another Record," the band ride off into the sunset, another excellent platter of music done. Whenever I hear a Genesis purist saying negative, derogatory remarks about this album, I'm simply astounded. Why *anyone* would have a problem with "Abacab" is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, of course I love the band's older stuff with Peter & Steve, but by 1981, it was time for the band to make a change. "Abacab" showed Genesis totally re-energised, not forgetting their past, but simply expanding from it. When one musical mountain has been conquered--and Genesis conquered MANY prior to 1981--it's time to find a new mountain to scale. And that's what "Abacab" represents, a new musical challenge for Phil, Mike & Tony, and in my opinion, they met that challenge brilliantly. "Abacab" rocks! And to those who don't agree, I say screw 'em.