Abacab
Abacab | |||||||||
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Genesis studio album | |||||||||
Publication |
September 18, 1981 |
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admission |
May – June 1981 |
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Label (s) |
Charisma Records (UK) Atlantic Records (US) |
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Format (s) |
CD, Hybrid-SACD, DVD, LP, MC |
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Title (number) |
9 |
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running time |
47:04 |
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occupation |
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genesis |
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Studio (s) |
The Farm, Surrey (England) |
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Abacab is the eleventh studio album by the British rock band Genesis . It was released on the Atlantic label on September 14, 1981 and documents a stylistic transition phase in Genesis' work. After Steve Hackett left the band in 1977 , the three remaining Genesis members Phil Collins , Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks turned to more commercial rock music.
background
On Abacab you the first time increased radio-friendly got pop music to hear. In particular, the singles No Reply at All , Man on the Corner and the song Paperlate , published on the EP 3 × 3 , achieved great popularity for Genesis standards at the time. The other album titles differ significantly from earlier Genesis material, but are still not easy radio songs. In terms of sound, there is a departure from the typically dense to lush impression of the previous albums, which gives way to a more space-accentuated and textured production. Abacab also stands for a perfecting of the typical Collins gated reverb drum sound, which is characterized by reverb, volume and compression effects. This is largely due to the producer Hugh Padgham , whom Phil Collins met while recording Peter Gabriel's third album in 1980 and who co-produced all Genesis albums until 1986 and all Phil Collins albums until 1996.
According to Mike Rutherford, the name Abacab came from the structure of an early version of the song of the same name. Its arrangement consisted of three parts, which were labeled a , b and c . Since the band members could not think of a suitable title for album and song, they put the sequence a - b - a - c - a - b together to form an artificial word.
Abacab shows a band looking for new ideas and new working methods. So this is the first album in which the majority of the songs were created from improvisations and jams . For the first and only time since the debut album From Genesis to Revelation, guest musicians will be featured: The brass section of the group Earth, Wind & Fire , which later appeared as Phenix Horns and which Phil Collins met while recording his solo album Face Value . This was not well received by many fans, as the two songs No Reply At All and Paperlate sounded too much like Collins' own music to them. Another song that is unusual for Genesis standards is Who Dunnit? , which is characterized by monotonous keyboards and minimalist text.
The conscious abandonment of the familiar continues with the design of the album, the cover of which shows an abstract color collage, whereby the choice of colors was varied in the course of the various releases in the individual countries and the different media. For the first time there was a large-format photograph of the three musicians on the inside of the cover, but the lyrics were not printed. The band's declared intention was to let the music speak for itself.
The recording sessions, the first in her own studio “The Farm”, which was still under renovation at the time, produced enough material for a double album. For commercial reasons only half of the songs were released as an album, the rest found their place on single B-sides , the EP 3 × 3 and the fourth page of the Three-Sides-Live- Album.
The album is considered controversial among Genesis fans. For many supporters of the pop phase of Genesis, however , Abacab made the first contact with the group.
Track list
- Abacab (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 7:02
- No Reply at All (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 4:41
- Me and Sarah Jane (Tony Banks) - 6:00
- Keep It Dark (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 4:34
- Dodo / Lurker (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 7:30
- Who Dunnit? (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 3:22
- Man on the Corner (Phil Collins) - 4:27
- Like It or Not (Mike Rutherford) - 4:58
- Another Record (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 4:30
DVD Extras (2007 Release)
- Band interview 2006
- Promotional videos: Abacab , No Reply at All , Keep It Dark , Man on the Corner
- World Tour Program 1981 Tour (gallery with 15 pictures)
tour
Between September and December 1981 Genesis completed the concert series for the album Abacab . The first concert of the Abacab Tour took place in the Spanish city of Barcelona. For the live album Three Sides Live , released the following year , recordings from New York and Birmingham were used. The tour is credited with being primarily responsible for the success of moving headlights .
Sample set list
- Behind the lines
- Duchess
- The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
- Dodo / Lurker
- Abacab
- The Carpet Crawlers
- Me and Sarah Jane
- Misunderstanding
- No Reply at All
- Firth of Fifth
- Man on the corner
- Who Dunnit?
- In the cage
- The Cinema Show / Riding the Scree / Slippermen
- Afterglow
- Turn it on again
- Dance on a volcano
- Drum Duet
- Los Endos
- I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
Chart placements
album
Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
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Chart placements | ||
Germany (GfK) | 6th (20 weeks) | 20th |
United Kingdom (OCC) | 1 (27 weeks) | 27 |
United States (Billboard) | 7th (54 weeks) | 54 |
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
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DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1981 | Abacab Abacab |
DE28 (13 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK9 (8 weeks) UK |
US26 (14 weeks) US |
First published: August 14, 1981
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No Reply at All Abacab |
- | - | - | - |
US29 (18 weeks) US |
First published: September 9, 1981
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Keep It Dark Abacab |
- | - | - |
UK33 (4 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: October 23, 1981
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1982 | Man on the Corner Abacab |
- | - | - |
UK41 (5 weeks) UK |
US40 (11 weeks) US |
First published: March 5, 1982
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3 × 3
The EP 3 × 3 (UK # 10) was only released in the United Kingdom in 1982 , in other countries there was instead an ordinary single under the title Paperlate without the third track Me and Virgil .
- Paperlate (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 3:20
- You Might Recall (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 5:28
- Me and Virgil (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 6:20
More titles from the Abacab sessions
- Naminanu (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 3:49 B-side of the single No Reply at All or Keep it Dark , 1981
- Submarine (Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford) - 4:33 B-side of the single Man on the Corner , 1982
Web links
- Reviews of Abacab on the baby blue pages