Description

album review:

A masterful riposte to the nay-sayers in the immediate aftermath of Gabriel’s departure. From the muscular, deceptively complex opener Dance On A Volcano to the closing fusion-esque instrumental Los Endos, this album affirmed that Genesis were far from washed up artistically. Melodic ballads contrast with more rocky, character-based narratives, and while prog-heavy the record sounds more mainstream than its predecessors.

A massively important record for the band, who with it effectively came out from the shadow cast by their ex-frontman Gabriel. Sadly, they never bettered it.

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“Dance on a Volcano”

What Makes This Genesis Song Great?

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A Trick of the Tail is the seventh studio album by the rock band Genesis and the first to feature Phil Collins as full-time lead vocalist following the departure of original vocalist Peter Gabriel. It was released in February 1976.
After Peter Gabriel left Genesis, the remaining members held auditions for a permanent lead singer, although some members (most notably Banks) considered continuing as an instrumental act, while most songs were written without knowledge as to how they would be sung. Initially, Phil Collins did not wish to take over from Gabriel, instead teaching the potential lead singers the songs. One of the 400 auditioners, Mick Stickland, came close, but the band and Mick decided against working together in the end. According to the band members, the backing tracks for A Trick of the Tail had already been recorded and were in a key in which Mick was not comfortable singing. When the auditions failed to produce a suitable vocalist, Collins reluctantly went in the studio to sing “Squonk” and the band decided that Collins should be the new vocalist.
The album was recorded and mixed at Trident Studios in October/November 1975. It also marked the first album that the band would co-produce with David Hentschel. They would work with Hentschel for the next four years.

For the first time in their career, Genesis filmed promotional videos for their songs. Three videos were filmed. Banks’ “A Trick of the Tail” was the first, which featured the band playing to the track together around a piano. A miniature Phil Collins can be seen hopping around on a piano and a guitar (Collins later revealed that this video was the most embarrassing of his career).

The second video was for the song “Ripples,” which was a performance clip. The third was for “Robbery, Assault and Battery” which depicted Collins as a bank robber who shoots an elderly man (played by Mike Rutherford) after holding him up and is then pursued by cops (played by Banks, Hackett and Rutherford), shooting Banks in the process.

A Trick of the Tail reached #3 in the UK, remaining on the charts for 39 weeks, and #31 in the US. Additionally, the album was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA in March 1990. Also according to Tony Banks in the essay that comes with Platinum Collection, the album doubled the bands previous albums sales. This success was also financially crucial for Genesis who were $400,000 in debt by the time Peter Gabriel left.

Label: Charisma ‎– CDS 4001
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold
Country: UK
Released: Feb 1976
Genre: Rock, Prog Rock, Classic Rock
Side one
No., Title, Lyrics – Music, Length
1. “Dance on a Volcano” Mike Rutherford Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, Rutherford 5:53
2. “Entangled” Hackett Banks, Hackett 6:28
3. “Squonk” Banks Banks, Rutherford 6:27
4. “Mad Man Moon” Banks Banks 7:35
Side two
No. Title Lyrics Music Length
1. “Robbery, Assault and Battery” Banks, Collins Banks, Collins 6:15
2. “Ripples…” Rutherford Banks, Rutherford 8:03
3. “A Trick of the Tail” Banks Banks 4:34
4. “Los Endos” (instrumental) Banks, Collins, Hackett, Rutherford 5:46
Total length: 51:11

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5.0 out of 5 stars Peter WHO?,
Genesis of 1976 were found themselves in a strange position. Peter Gabriel, the bands lead singer who was also responsible for the entire lyrics for the previous concept double-LP, had left the band and in the publics eyes there was little hope for the rest of the band. They didn’t even have a lead singer to replace Gabriel. Did they?

Since their “official” debut album, Trespass in 1970, Genesis had slowly built up a small but loyal following, drawn into the worlds their sprawling `prog rock’ epics like Suppers Ready, The Musical Box, and The Cinema Show. However, even in 1974, at the release of the Gabriel-penned The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, they had yet to hit commercial success. Their solo “hit”, 1973s I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe), was still, three years later, the only song the casual listener would recognise. When Gabriel left, it seemed Genesis would be remembered as the band that launched Peter Gabriel and little else.
Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, Genesis’ remaining founder members, set about holding auditions for a new singer. Their audition song, the heavy Squonk, told the story of a creature that melts when one looks at it. Indeed. Despite numerous auditions, the band had been unable to find a singer suitable to fill Gabriels shoes. It was then that the bands drummer, a certain Phil Collins, meekly suggested he attempt the song. In reality, this wasn’t such a giant leap, Collins had provided backing vocals on a number of tracks, and even handled lead vocals on two early songs, For Absent Friends and More Fool Me. However, Rutherford and Banks were sceptical as to how Collins could handle a song requiring as powerful vocals as Squonk. Impressed with his gutsy performance, they decided to run with it. As well as Steve Hackett on guitars, the band had closed the ranks and were ready to get back to the business of recording an album.
Both Rutherford and Banks had begun to feel creatively hampered during the recording of The Lamb, as Gabriel had insisted on writing all lyrics, they had been forced to sit on some of their strongest compositions, which were to surface on A Trick of The Tail. This “new Genesis” start strong, laying down the gauntlet with Dance On A Volcano, and the record easily swings between beautiful, haunting songs such as Entangled and Ripples (my own personal favourite) and the fairy-tale Squonk with its John Bonham-esque drums. The only time the album falls down for me is on Robbery, Assault and Battery, a tale of a criminal, with a lot of Collins’ influence stamped on it. A great album and a true classic, Genesis would never look back.

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