Am I the only person on this forum that doesn't mind 80s Genesis?

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

I have mentioned this a couple of times here over the years...sometime in the 80s l renamed And Then There Were Three "No Hackett Required". I continue to call it that to this day.

[Digital_Man]

I have mentioned this a couple of times here over the years...sometime in the 80s l renamed And Then There Were Three "No Hackett Required". I continue to call it that to this day.

That album gets a bad rap sometimes but it actually still has much of the old classic Genesis sound. While Duke may have had more prog stuff than ATTWT it also had more blatantly poppier stuff. In some ways ATTWT was like a more economical version of the last two albums with Hackett on them.

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

That album gets a bad rap sometimes but it actually still has much of the old classic Genesis sound. While Duke may have had more prog stuff than ATTWT it also had more blatantly poppier stuff. In some ways ATTWT was like a more economical version of the last two albums with Hackett on them.

Apparently you missed the humor, there.

[Digital_Man]

Apparently you missed the humor, there.

No Hackett required? No, I get it.

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

☺
I should have mentioned l agree with your comments about ATTW3. It does get a bad rap, possibly in comparison to W&W. That was a huge stylistic change to adjust to. It probably paved the way for Duke in a way, as it is stylistically similar.

[Digital_Man]

☺
I should have mentioned l agree with your comments about ATTW3. It does get a bad rap, possibly in comparison to W&W. That was a huge stylistic change to adjust to. It probably paved the way for Duke in a way, as it is stylistically similar.

Yes, although in sound Duke sounds closer to a Phil Collins solo album (imo).

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

Yeah, sort of, l guess. To me Duke and ATTWT are more similar, probably due to David Hentschel. I was just thinking about ATTW3 again. It occurs to me that after Steve left there was more of a "power shift" (so to speak) with Phil and Mike pulling in a more accessible direction, leaving Tony as the only one pulling in the progressive direction. This held true on Duke and the subsequent albums too, l think.
If Tony had not gone along with this (as much as he did, anyway) it would have been curtains for them. I imagine he was more agreeable when he saw his bank account. In an alternate reality it would have been funny if they "pulled a 10cc" after W&W and split into two bands, with Steve and Tony in one and Mike and Phil in the other...!
Like 10cc the balance of the 4 of them was perfect, but it seems that balance cannot be sustained for long.

[Progbear]

Yes, although in sound Duke sounds closer to a Phil Collins solo album (imo).

I disagree, though there is more of a fusion influence, reflecting Phil's interests. He formed Brand X in part to get jazz fusion out of his system, which he was way into in the late 70s, but his band mates didn't share his interest, so he needed an outlet. I guess Tony and Mike were a little worried about losing Phil, so they accomodated him a little bit with the jazzy stuff on Duke and things like "Down and Out." Phil's interest in fusion waned as the 80s went on, and he wound up leaving Brand X when commitments to Genesis became too great of a priority.

[dropforge]

Phil's interest in fusion waned as the 80s went on, and he wound up leaving Brand X when commitments to Genesis became too great of a priority.

And by commitments, we mean royalties, cheques and general perks that come with the trade.

[Digital_Man]

I disagree, though there is more of a fusion influence, reflecting Phil's interests. He formed Brand X in part to get jazz fusion out of his system, which he was way into in the late 70s, but his band mates didn't share his interest, so he needed an outlet. I guess Tony and Mike were a little worried about losing Phil, so they accomodated him a little bit with the jazzy stuff on Duke and things like "Down and Out." Phil's interest in fusion waned as the 80s went on, and he wound up leaving Brand X when commitments to Genesis became too great of a priority.

I don't hear much (if any) fusion influence on Duke or ATTWT for that matter. I hear it on "wot gorilla" from W&W maybe but that's about it. Maybe I'm missing something?

[moecurlythanu]

And by commitments, we mean royalties, cheques and general perks that come with the trade.

Ex-wives are expensive.

[interbellum]

And by commitments, we mean royalties, cheques and general perks that come with the trade.

What if Don't Make Waves had become a hit like In The Air Tonight a few years later? Makes me wonder what would have happened with Genesis and Collins' solo-career. Would the latter even happen? Well, Brand X-members never made any money I believe, so it might have happened anyway.