Nursery Cryme
by Genesis

From paladisiac TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/08/2011 22:42 | #32321 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

nursery cryme was the first very good genesis album. The prior two albums were not as good -- 1969 debut from genesis to revelation was carved in a generic 60s-music template mold and follow-up trespass didn't yet carve out a unique identity for genesis yet (although sporting one of their better songs, "the knife") -- and will not be covered in following, previous-year music posts. nursery cryme was also the first album to show off the talents of phil collins and steve hackett. Highlights are "the musical box", "the return of the giant hogweed" (which takes on more significance in my current fight against a takeover of dandelions) and "the fountain of salmacis", all of which run about 8 minutes or more each. Hackett and collins shine on "hogweed", probably the best track of the bunch, an escalating war march sung savagely by gabriel. (i love his lines like "botanical creature stirs, seeking revenge!" and how he even identifies it by its latin name, "heracleum mantegazzianii" which makes it sound even more menacing, like a vampiric race that has been around for millenia.) "seven stories" is sadly poetic ruminating on a life focused on the wrong things ("despair that tires the world brings the old man laughter") underpinned by the darkly ominous moog (via tony banks). "harold the barrel" is the first really good "cornball" genesis song in a long line of really good cornball songs from "cuckoo cocoon" and "i know what i like" to "illegal alien" and "i can't dance". You can hear Phil's lead vocals in "for absent friends". "fountain of salmacis" closes the album leaving me question "hogweed"'s self-proclaimed title as album-best as it sounds as epic (catch that hackett guitar tear dueling with Phil's drums near-midway through or tony banks dueling with Phil nearer the end) and is more humanly-touching.

This is the "proper" genesis of Genesis. The first two albums were a group of musicians finding their way. On Nursery Cryme, we find a band that has developed an identity and is starting to flex its muscles. The additions of Phil Collins and Steve Hackett brought much-needed energy and power into the band. What we see here is a band that was nearly perfectly balanced between light and heavy; songs like Seven Stones were melodic and soft, complementing goofy hard-hitters like Hogweed and Harold the Barrel. The lead-off track is also the centerpiece; it embraces and fuses the dynamics of the album and is a Genesis staple. The Return of the Giant Hogweed has one of the best outros in prog, driven primarily by Collins and Banks.

With Phil Collins and Steve Hackett now in the band, Genesis have their classic line up. The songs are more advanced than Trespass. Though still a bit daft and story based, the ideas are interesting. The result is a little bit Paul McCartney ("Penny Lane", "Lady Madonna") and a little bit Bowie's first album, and a little bit 6th form naïve and primitive, such as "Harold the Barrel", a story of a restaurant owner who cut off his toes to serve to customers and then runs away - the story is told from the point of view of various people, the Man In The Street, the Lord Mayor, the British Public, etc, and it's all rather throw away. The songs that folks most focus on are "The Musical Box", which supplied the imagery for the album cover, and "The Return Of The Giant Hogweed". The album is quite keyboard forward and with pastoral, acoustic sounds melding with rockier and jazzy elements (supplied by the new members Collins and Hackett) it fits with the sound of the time, such as Aqualung (March 1971), Meddle (Oct 1971), Tarkus (June 1971), In The Land Of Grey And Pink (March 1971), and Fragile (Nov 1971), though lacks the confidence of those albums. It's a step forward from Trespass; Gabriel is gaining strength, and it is a pleasant album representative of its time, but is some way removed from essential listening. (Edited)

From Mdemauri 08/18/2014 20:22 | #119763 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

As others have said, where Genesis became Genesis. The addition of Hackett and Collins makes a noticeable difference from their first couple albums. The would go on to do even better albums, but the is a good place to start of you enjoy the era of Genesis.

From Squonk007 04/27/2021 14:38 | #269037 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

What a way for the classic line up to stamp their mark...The Musical Box, an outstanding piece of music and storytelling. I only wish Stagnation had been done by this line up, even The Knife. For Absent Friends is a nice introduction to Phil and Steve, a kind of keep off the grass number and a theme Steve would revisit plenty on his solo work. Hogweed doesn't interest me. Another highlight is Seven Stones, the instrumental section is awesome. Harold The Barrel is a good story but I particularly like Harlequin and it's probably my favourite on the record. I love the harmonics and the pastoral shade it paints. Fountain is a great closer.