Genesis: 'Nursery Cryme'

1971 brought many changes to Genesis.  John Mayhew, Genesis' original drummer, and Anthony Phillips, the bands first guitarist, had departed the band - bringing in Phil Collins to fill the drum seat and Steve Hackett to fill the guitar seat (yes he played while sitting).  The bands sound had also changed drastically in a years time - from the folkish, semi prog-rock of 'Trespass,' to the heavier, more pronounced prog/art-rock of 'Nursery Cryme.'  The lineup on this album includes Mike Rutherford (bass), Steve Hackett (guitar), Tony Banks (keyboards), Phil Collins (drums) and Peter Gabriel (vocals).  The addition of Steve Hackett and Phil Collins brought a drastic improvement to the bands sound.  Phil Collins is absolutely amazing on this album.  He is indeed considered by many to be one of the best drummers of his time.  Steve Hackett is also a brilliant guitarist who complements Genesis sound perfectly.  Tony Banks contributes some great keyboard playing.  This was before his cheesy excesses on the bands later albums.  'Nursery Cryme' also introduced the mellotron to the bands mix.  This is what gave Genesis their characteristic 70's sound.  Peter Gabriel's lyrics proved to be a major part of the early Genesis albums as well.  Peter is the one person in the prog genre who could bring real feeling and emotion to the music.  This is what I like so much about early Genesis.  Not only is Peter a brilliant songwriter, with a knack for writing bizarre, fairy tale-like songs, but he is also a brilliant vocalist who is capable of drawing the listener into the music, into Gabriel's own fantasy world.  'Nursery Cryme' is my favorite Genesis album, along with their following 1972 album, Foxtrot.  'Nursery Cryme' introduces us to Genesis "new" sound.  The sound that they would be known for throughout the early 70's.

The album begins with one of my favorite Genesis tracks ever - 'The Musical Box.'  It's based around the bizarre story of an infant named Henry, who is killed by his sister after she knocks his head off with a croquet mallet.  A few weeks later his sister goes into Henry's room and finds his music box and begins to play it.  Suddenly Henry's ghost emerges from the music box.  A lifetime of want and desires begin to flow through Henry's body and he begins to age rapidly in front of his sisters eyes.  The song ends with Henry's ghost raping his sister (talk about bizarre).  This story is also depicted by the albums front cover, which features a girl playing croquet with heads (not mallets).  The song starts off very slow and builds with intensity.  The musicianship on this track blows me away.  It is one rockin' song.  I especially like Tony Banks organ playing and Steve Hacketts guitar work.  The last three minutes of this song never fail to send chills up my spine.  Steve Hackett's guitar solo at the end of the song creates a perfect ending to an epic track.

The second track is titled 'For Absent Friends.'  This is where Phil Collins makes his debut as a singer.  Some people dislike this track, but I don't mind it.  It's very short.  If it was any longer I might not like it, but it's still not a bad song.  It's a very mellow, acoustic track which is quite a drastic change from the intensity of the prior track.

'The Return of the Giant Hogweed' is actually based on a real story.  Hogweed is a species of plant found over in Europe, and when people come in contact with it, it creates a terrible rash with nasty, oozing blisters.  Peter sings about the wrath of this plant, and at the end of the track the plant ends up taking over the world - which is pretty funny.  This is probably the heaviest of all Genesis' songs ever.  It's also one of the best tracks on the album.

Next is 'Seven Stones,' which is really a pretty straight-forward track.  It's really mellow, and overall it's a very enjoyable song.  It starts and ends with some nice mellotron playing by Tony Banks.  It's not really one of Genesis' most regarded songs, but I actually like it quite a bit.

'Harold the Barrel' is a very playful track, though the lyrics are quite bizarre and sinister - about a restaurant owner who goes to the roof of the building and threatens to jump.  Everyone below is telling him not to jump, but by the end of the song he jumps anyway, killing himself.  I really like the beat this song has.  It's a very upbeat and playful track.  It's kind of odd how the song has such an upbeat and happy feel, yet the lyrics are just the opposite.

the second to last track is titled 'Harlequin.'  It's very similar to the second track, but about a minute longer and more enjoyable.  The song has some very nice harmonies, similar to those of CSNY.  It's an easily forgettable track, but it's not a bad track either.  I actually like it quite a bit.

Last but not least is 'The Fountain of Salmacis.'  Yet another one of my favorite Genesis tracks.  The song is about a Hermaphrodite, which is a flower containing both male and female organs, or a person or animal of both sexes.  The child hermaphroditus was the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, the result of a secret love affair.  For this reason he was entrusted to the nymphs of the isolated Mount Ida, who allowed him to grow up as a wild creature in the woods.  After his encounter with the water-nymph, Salmacis, he laid a curse upon the water.  According to fable, all persons bathed in the water become hermaphrodites.  This track begins with loud, piercing mellotron bursts and features nice rhythmic drumming by Collins.  Some of the drumrolls he does toward the end of the track are amazing!

'Nursery Cryme' would be a great album to start of with for those new or unfamiliar with the music of early Genesis.