[That's Still All] -- Forty years ago this week, Genesis released their twelfth studio album, Genesis, which was their fourth album with the trio lineup of Mike Rutherford (guitars, bass), Phil Collins (drums, vocals, percussion), and Tony Banks (keyboards). Genesis was the band's most commercially successful record to date; it shot straight to #1 on the UK Albums Chart and it peaked at #9 on the US Billboard 200 while also topping many other charts around the world.
Between August 1983 and June 1984, five singles were released from this album: "Mama," "That's All,"
"Home by the Sea," "Illegal Alien," and "Taking It All Too Hard." A sixth song, "Just a Job to Do," was never released as a single, but it did receive considerable radio play. "Mama" is still Genesis' most successful single in the UK, where it topped out at #4 on the UK Singles Chart. But the album's second single, "That's All," was the band's first top 10 hit in the US where it reached #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Prog fans seem to review the album more harshly than pop aficionados. Kerrang! called this record "a Genesis album for people who normally hate Genesis" and "great music for the masses" [Kerrang! #54, November 1983]. Writing for Rolling Stone, J.D. Considine summed up his review with "...the drift of this album is one step forward, two steps back."
My favorite tracks are probably the one-two punch of "Home by the Sea" and "Second Home by the Sea," the latter of which received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. But I really like "That's All" and "Just a Job to Do."
Flashback: Genesis (October 3, 1983)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
I'll see you in seven!
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