88. Invisible Touch by Genesis (1986)
I know I'll take some heat for this one, but that's fine. This is one of only two Genesis albums that I like all the way through. I like a lot of their music, but there's also a lot that I don't like. This one, though, I like every song on. The title track starts things off, and it is probably the weakest song on the album, although it isn't bad at all. In fact, it is the only #1 song Genesis has ever had in the United States. "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" is next, an extremely atmospheric song about trying to score some weed. (Seriously.) "Land Of Confusion" had one of the coolest videos of its time, all the puppets of world leaders and stuff. It's basically a protest song about nuclear arms and corrupt governments. "In Too Deep" is one of the two ballads on the album, and while it's good, the other one's better. "Anything She Does" is one of only two songs on this album that didn't get any radio exposure. It's not a bad song, but it's a tad too generic to be anything special. "Domino" is the next song, split into two parts. It is basically telling of the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. The first half is "In the Glow Of the Night", a slow beautiful song that I completely forgot about when I was doing my favorite songs list, because it really should have been on there. The second half, "The Last Domino", is a much more fast tempo song, and much angrier and more cynical. ("Now you never did see/ Such a terrible thing/ As was seen last night on the TV./ Maybe if we're lucky/ They will show it again/ Such a terrible thing to see.") Even though this song was never released as an actual single, and despite the fact that when both parts are played consecutively it has a running time of 10 minutes 44 seconds, it still managed to reach number 29 on the Mainstream Rock Charts in the UK. "Throwing It All Away" is the other ballad, far superior to "In Too Deep" I think. Just a killer song. The final song is the other song that never got any air play, the instrumental "The Brazilian". It is more of an artsy, experimental song, much like the band created when Peter Gabriel was the lead singer. It is a very cool song, although it does get a bit repetitive after a while. Overall, this was just a great album. Loved it then, still love it now.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Land Of Confusion"
4. "In Too Deep"
3. "Throwing It All Away"
2. "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" (Starts around the 1:45 mark)
1. "Domino: Pt 1 - In the Glow Of the Night/Pt 2 - The Last Domino"
Pt 1 (Starts at 2:17 but the intro part is amusing) (Saw this tour, in '92, and the video screen behind them was amazing in person, especially on part 2 of this song. Only concert I ever saw at the original Cleveland Stadium.)
Pt 2
87. 101 Damnations by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (1990)
This could not be any more different from the album above if it tried. Carter USM (as they were forced to be known in the US after their second album, 30 Something) were just two guys (Jim Bob and Fruitbat) with some samplers, a drum machine, a keyboard, and a couple guitars. I first heard them when they were opening for EMF. Should have been the other way around, because they blew EMF out of the water. 101 Damnations was their debut, and it was just a bad ass album. It starts off with "Road To Domestos", a quick little intro, basically, only about 50 seconds long, just people singing what sounds like a hymn. "Everytime a Churchbell Rings" is the first proper song, about several people killing themselves for various reasons, except the narrator, who ends up walking away at the end. "24 Minutes From Tulse Hill" is any insanely paced song about a demonic runaway train. "An All-American National Sport" is a disturbing little number about two guys burning a homeless man alive. Sheriff Fatman" is about the worst possible slum lord you could ever think of, just a total scum bag. "The Taking Of Peckham 1... 2... 3..." is next. The title is a play on The Taking Of Pelham 123 (the original version, obviously) but that's the only relation it has to the movie. It is basically about a bunch of crimes committed in a shitty neighborhood. LOVE this song. "Crimestoppers A-Go-Go" is an instrumental track. They put one on every album, and while none of them are that great, none are that bad, either. "Good Grief Charlie Brown" is about the correspondence between the mother and son in a highly dysfunctional family, and is just a phenomenal song. "Midnight On the Murder Mile" is probably the most forgettable song on the album. It seems like a cross between several of the other songs here, and never really gets its own identity. "A Perfect Day To Drop the Bomb" tries too hard to take on too many issues, many of which aren't even understood outside of the UK, but the driving music and passion with which it's sung make it an enjoyable song regardless. The final song is "G.I. Blues", an obvious anti-war song. It is just a great song, told from the perspective of an injured soldier (First line: "Both my arms and legs are torn to shreds."), and how he doesn't want his loved ones seeing him as the mangled mess he's become. Love this album. Really need a CD version, because my cassette is kind of warped after 20 years.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Sheriff Fatman"
4. "Everytime a Churchbell Rings" With a full choir on stage for "Road to Domestos")
3. "Good Grief Charlie Brown"
2. "G.I. Blues"
1. The Taking Of Peckham 1... 2... 3..."
Only one version on YouTube, and embedding is disabled. Here's the link. Hope it works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CNgRKKNT6s
Gotta do the copy and paste thing. Hope it works. If not... sorry.
No comments:
Post a Comment