100 Great Songs to Publish a Book to, #37: Genesis, Abacab

With the benefit of 36 years of hindsight, it is possible now to appreciate fully the sheer genius behind Abacab the song and Abacab the album.  By 1981, the progressive rock of the 1970s had fallen desperately out of fashion, and Prog bands had to progress to survive, or die.  While Genesis showed their true mettle, others, like Renaissance, misjudged the synthesiser fad badly and sank without a trace.

What makes Abacab the song so special is its distinctive, stripped-down sound, which exposes the same Genesis genius found in all of their work with a new, wonderful clarity.  What makes Abacab the album so special is that, after this title track, almost all of the other tracks could have slotted easily into either of the two preceding albums.  Genesis progressed just as much as they needed to for the times, and not an inch further.  Thus, the commercial success which would follow over the next ten years has its true, er, genesis, in this album, where Banks, Collins and Rutherford showed sufficient flexibility to adjust to the times, but also proved they would never forego their intention to remain utterly distinctive.

Onslaught is out now at the special introductory price of $2.99 in the US here, in the UK here, in Canada here, and in Australia here.