Abacab (track) by Genesis
Abacab appears on the following album(s) by Genesis:
- Abacab (track #1) (this album) (1981)
- Turn It On Again: The Hits (track #8) (compilation) (1999)
- Platinum Collection (track #17) (compilation) (2004)
- Three Sides Live (track #3) (1982)
- 1976-1982 (track #41) (compilation) (2007)
- R-Kive (track #19) (compilation) (2014)
- The Last Domino? (track #27) (compilation) (2021)
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Abacab ratings

where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
75/100 ![]() | 30 hours ago | dukeboxkool | ![]() | 75/100 |
90/100 ![]() | 07/23/2025 01:50 | ![]() | ![]() | 81/100 |
90/100 ![]() | 05/12/2025 23:19 | machiaj | ![]() | 74/100 |
80/100 ![]() | 12/30/2024 17:10 | Johnnyo | ![]() | 80/100 |
95/100 ![]() | 11/19/2024 22:46 | davidleewrong | ![]() | 82/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track is rated in the top 3% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 83.0/100, a mean average of 82.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.8/100. The standard deviation for this track is 16.2.
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This is a cracking opener. A fresh sound, stripped back but it rocks. Live, it's an even better track.
You heard that right, that's Genesis putting a prog spin on a new wave song, and, believe it or not, it sounds refreshing rather than contrived. Most of the lyrics seem rather nonsensical to me, but Collins still delivers them with energy overtop some fabulous instrumentals, the best of course being Banks' robust keyboards that drive each section of the song. Rutherford shines on guitar too, especially in the intro, and later in the verses with each of his little guitar licks. And the name "ABACAB?" It comes from the song's structure, with A representing verses, B representing choruses, and C representing the bridge (though it's more like ABABCAB in the final version). Kinda clever. It shouldn't be a surprise that this is one of the highlights of the album. After all, Genesis had mastered the art of the album-opening track by this point (see Watcher of the Skies, Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, Dance on a Volcano, etc.).
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