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MH: OK, just for you, I'll give my opinions...
Foreigner - sucked from day 1. That guy cannot sing. Bubble gum rock.
Kansas - Even worse.
KISS - Getting a little better. Still too commercialized for me. But some of their stuff rocks.
BOC - I went through that phase. Saw them 2 or 3 times. Their stuff hasn't aged well. Note: Caught them in Madison with Foghat opening. It was their last stop on a "50 states in 50 days" tour. To celebrate, they hung out after the show. All 9 (?) guys set up on stage, and about 45 mins after the encore they all started jammin. Went on for about an hour and a half. These guys were pretty good musicians, stuck playing the mainstream crap that made money. During the jam session, they migrated more toward jazz rock. I suppose about 20% of the crowd hung around. The whole thing was pretty intimate and very cool.
Styx - Saw 'em once, 3rd row, center aisle, at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee. They were less then 2 weeks away from releasing Grand Illusion. So the first time I heard Come Sail Away was live. Pretty impressive, even if most of their stuff is pre-packaged. After that, it was all downhill.
Supertramp - That one's personal. I saw them about 6 times before they went totally pop. For some reason, they had a tie to Milwaukee, so they always stopped here, even before Crime of the Century made them. Unfortunately, when I listen to their stuff now, it all sounds pop and childish. They are prime example of a band's music not aging well. I do recommend you give one song a listen, though: Try Again, from "Supertramp", 1970. I keep it in my playlist.
I will add Van Halen. I saw them open for Black Sabbath. Van Halen was hot. They had just released their first album. Then David Lee Roth porked out and the music went down the tubes. Or maybe I just grew up.
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Zev - I'm a bit of an early Genesis freak, so I'll give you my 2 cents worth:
From Genesis to Revelation - Interesting mostly for early Genesis freaks.
Trespass - Very good. The band is nearing their trademark Gabriel sound, especially on Visions of Angels.
Nursery Cryme - Excellent. The Musical Box became a cult hit. It never ceases to amaze me how many bands I hear cover it. Hogweed shows clearly the band's sense of humor, which some fans wish had been kept in the closet, but the humor was needed to offset the epic storytelling of most early Genesis pieces.
Foxtrot - A masterpiece. Period.
Genesis Live ('73) - A must-have. The band continues to improve, and the versions are sometimes better than the studio originals.
Selling England by the Pound - Masterpiece #2. Cinema Show/Aisle of Plenty will give you goosebumps.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Often called the best album of early Genesis, this takes some getting used to. It is a clear foreshadowing of the departure of Gabriel. The group fought constantly about lyrics written over what was supposed to be 12-string intrumental sections, and Hackett and Gabriel went head to head. But the result is simply amazing. If The Carpet Crawlers doesn't affect you, you have no pulse.
A Trick of the Tail - Very strong. The absence of Gabriel is glaring, but the songs are as powerful as ever. MH, the explanation for this is probably found in a common rumor--that Gabriel had penned much of Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering, and would not allow his name on them. Los Endos is the most powerful thing here.
Wind & Wuthering - Quieter and gentler than Trick of the Tail, this is still a very good album. It is the last of the progressive rock Genesis efforts. One for the Vine, Blood on the Rooftops, and Afterglow are excellent.
Seconds Out - A fairly weak live offering. I seldom listen to it.
...and then there were three... - Hackett leaves. This is the beginning of the end. There is some good stuff here, like Undertow and Say It's Alright Joe, but there's a lot of crap, too.
Duke - This is just a strange album. In many ways, it is much better than ...three..., but it is a clear move toward pop and the goal of making money. Collins is wallowing in his divorce (Please Don't Ask). Banks comes through with Heathaze, which isn't bad. Duke's Tavels/End is an insulting effort at recapturing the old sound, a blatent attempt to keep the old fans' wallets open.
Abacab - ughhh. How much money can we make? Dodo/Lurker is interesting, but not in an early-Genesis way.
Three Sides Live - For the most part, don't bother. Open Door is the only decent studio cut, and it is weak.
Genesis ('83) - Genesis is no more. It is now a Phill Collins front band. That is not totally a bad thing, but they shouldn't be called Genesis anymore. Home by the Sea and Second Home by the Sea follow in the Dodo/Lurker vain.
The remaining albums just suck.
All in all, a heartbreaking metamorphosis of an incredibly powerful influence into a "me, too" pop money machine.
But, as I said previously, the early work stands on its own. Zev, if you have any appreciation whatsoever for Trespass, you owe it to yourself to get Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and even Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering. I envy you. You are in for an incredible journey, down a path I know so well, but which saddens me because there is no classic Genesis left for me to discover.
A short aside: Century Hall in Milwaukee was one of my favorite music spots prior to its burning to the ground. For example, I had the honor of seeing Muddy Waters a few feet from my table, just months before his death. One talent I saw often was Milwaukee-native Daryl Stuermer, playing jazz with his brother Dwight. Daryl went on to play with Jean-Luc Ponty, and of course played on stage with Genesis after Hackett took a walk. And Daryl plays studio and live with Phil Collins, and has co-wrote some stuff with Collins.
OK, I've bored you all enough. Back to work.
Scronch
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