Genesis - "Nursery Cryme" (1971)

This was Genesis' third album and the album where they more clearly took a step into the progressive world, from the more folk oriented music on the previous album. New members were the drummer Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett, the other members were Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. In other words, a musical star formation where each member also has enjoyed a very successful career of himself

The opening song, The Musical Box, is a ten-minute epic classic that in itself is worth a purchase of the record. Of course, Nursery Cryme is easy to find quite cheap, at least here in Montreal, so that doesn't necessarily say a lot. But it's considered to be one of Genesis' best songs, even though I personally don't know all of their catalog. It's far from I can't dance, anyway, and that's positive. At this time, Genesis, along with bands like Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, was at the forefront of the progressive genre, far from the more commercial incarnation of the band in later years.

Another well known and popular song from the album is The Return Of The Giant Hogweed, also a long song from side A, but none of my favorites. Track 2 from the first side is For Absent Friends, a quieter song, where Phil Collins is singing in Genesis for the first time. Collins would later become the main singer when Peter Gabriel left the band. Personally, I think Collins and Gabriel sound very much alike on the record, and it wasn't until I read that it was Collins who sang on the song, that I understood it. My personal favorite, along with The Musical Box, is the opening track on the B-side, Seven Stones. Just like The Musical Box, it winds its way through quieter to full out bombastic parts.

The band had bought a mellotron from King Crimson some time before the recording, and it's heard on a regular basis on the record, maybe it puts its biggest mark on the closing number The Fountain Of Salmacis. The mellotron and some songs certainly give me the impression that Moody Blues might be have been part of the band's inspiration.

A good album, maybe not an album you embrace at first listening, repeated listening may be required. A mix of really good songs, with some more boring. To be progressive music, it's relatively accessible, there's much more difficult music to be found within the genre.


Tracklist

Side A
1. "The Musical Box" 10:28
2. "For Absent Friends" 1:46
3. "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" 8:12

Side B
1. "Seven Stones" 5:10
2.. "Harold the Barrel" 2:59
3. "Harlequin" 2:56
4. "The Fountain of Salmacis" 7:55