In Erie PA, being 11 through 15 in the late 80's was an experience I fondly look back on. As a hoodlum, each season brought it's own opportunities for fun. Below are some brief examples:
Summers: Erie summers are full of beaches and amusement parks. Back then the nights would be lit up by cars and people lining the curbs at the Public Dock. The local fair "We Love Erie Days" brought thousands downtown for free concerts and fireworks in late August and EVERYONE was there for the festivities. Keggers behind the zoo, bonfires at the foot of East ave, stealing ice cream from Whippy Dip.... The trouble we could get into was endless in the summer...
Winters: Bombing Cars with Snowballs and Car Hoppin' (universally known as bumper skiing) were the two favorite pastimes. This was also a good time for shoveling snow for some much needed cash to score some brews. Seriously, some people feel old when they hit a certain age, but I felt old the day I chased kids for hitting MY car with snowballs - I think it was a right of passage of some sort.
Spring: The truest definition of the season.... Snow melting, giving way to green trees and colorful gardens always conveyed a sense of renewal for me. The smell of rain on concrete still takes me back to spring in Erie.
Fall: School (and more importantly to me at the time- skipping school). We would also frequent all night parties at several local skating rinks (that's right guardians, we really did not skate at those "all night skate" things - suckers). Mt. Carmel Dances (featuring the circle of headbangers, air-guitaring during the infrequent Metal spin of the night).
Several things bonded the city's teenagers together. In hindsight, I can honestly say that the sidewalks were critical to my social development. The Erie sidewalks were a path that allowed a pre-license teenager unlimited opportunities to explore the entire city. Erie is a big 28 square mile grid, but very easily navigated. We rode bikes to the beach, the mall, each other’s houses, downtown and anywhere our trouble seeking minds would take us. We pollinated across school district lines quite frequently back then. Living in Pittsburgh suburbia and not having sidewalks now, I realize how important and overlooked they are. In my youth, they were critical.
The most important thing that bonded my circle of friends was music. We were Headbangers when being one was at its peak. A Headbanger was a lifestyle beyond the music, but heavy metal was the glue. Despite common bashing of the Hair scene these days, Metal bands typically co-existed in harmony in our tape holders back then. Motley Crue was filed 4 slots down from Iron Maiden. We respected Kirk Hammett and George Lynch. However, if you were caught with a Poison shirt, you had better have ovaries, otherwise you were a poser and prone to get beat-up. But if you were cool you could like Cinderella AND Overkill. It really wasn’t uncommon at all.
There was certain acceptable material beyond the Metal genre that was never questioned. I think that the imagery and the legendary status from the previous generation surrounding certain bands transcended our definition of cool. Examples: Pink Floyd and Rush. As heavy as they might have been in THEIR day, neither were heavy during OUR day, but still quite accepted as Head music. I am not saying that I had friends sporting Momentary Lapse t-shirts or rocking Grace Under Pressure at any given time, but we all could air-drum Tom Sawyer and chant "We don't need no education" when necessary.
A band that was similar in longevity and background to the legends listed above was Genesis. However, Genesis was never an "it" band in my circle. To me Genesis was a stadium pop band with quirky videos and not much more. I knew there was a history, but never dreamed of looking into it.
There has been a lot of talk about Genesis lately. Classic Rock Magazine did a 2 part story over the last two months, and Mastodon has come out and praised this band as a huge influence. These two things are enough for me to want to learn more about the classic era of this band and see what I may have missed.
Let’s start with what I already know about Genesis: Ummm.... Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, right? Land of Confusion? I could go on all day about Phil. His solo stuff, he played drums with Zep at Live Aid, he played with Clapton and he is kind of a bitter dude. Mike Rutherford? Well, Mike and the Mechanics of course - "Silent Running" is beast! Tony Banks? I know nothing about him at all.
Ok, I also know that Peter Gabriel sang for them in the early 70's, but outside of hearing "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" on WDVE, I can honestly say I never exposed myself to any of his Genesis material.
So last week I purchased the 1973 Genesis classic "Selling England by the Pound" and forced myself to listen during my long road trips. I must say that I was blown away by a few things, and disappointed by a few as well. I had hoped for something that completely blew my mind on the first listen, but it is much more complicated than that. I am never prone to grasp a prog LP on first listen, but at 10 full listens in, I am still processing the info.
Good stuff:
· Phil Collins: I always knew he was a drummer, but I had no idea that he was that damn good. His drumming was jazzier than his peers, and pretty technical overall.
· Epic-ness (new word, I am going to claim it right now) The LP is epic. The songs are deep and there is no lack of long complex arrangements. It's Calc for my Business Math mind, and I really do dig a challenge.
· The holy shit moments for me are "Firth of Fifth" and "Dancing with the Moonlight Knight". The musical breakdown at 6:28 in the former sounds like an Opeth practice tape from the Damnation era (it seriously does).
· "Dancing with the Moonlight Knight" is by far, a standout of this LP with stellar guitar work that is pretty far ahead of its time. The riffage starting at 2:24 should be right up there in legendary status as any good Classic Rock era tasty jam.
· I really like "The Cinema Show". Beyond the bad falsettos lies a mood that is perfectly somber and beautiful. The acoustic work is simple and dynamic.
· Lastly: Peter Gabriel. What a gift to artistry. Anyone who tackles Greek Mythology with grace is aces in my deck.
Take a little trip back with father Tiresias
Listen to the old one speak of all he has lived through.
I have crossed between the poles, for me there's no mystery.
Once a man, like the sea I raged,
Once a woman, like the earth I gave.
There is in fact more earth than sea.
Bad stuff:
· Yes-isms - I hate Yes. They annoy me. The keyboards in Genesis are better suited in the ambient background of the epic-ness, not all Yessed out and hot-doggy.
· "I Know What I like (in your Wardrobe)" - I read that it was a single and a hit in England. This song, for me, is a prelude to the more poppy sounds of Genesis that surfaced later, in particular it reminds me of the uninspired "Follow you, Follow me" keyboard/vocal melody. Blah....
· Psycho-babble: I like deep content, but some of the lyrical content borders dangerously close to nonsense.
There is enough heavy and enough beauty in this Album for me to love it, but there is just enough keyboard cheese to offset the love. If nothing else, I look forward to the moment when the LP really clicks with me. I am fearful that this is a lofty goal. I do like it and I am going to continue to listen, but I am compelled to move forward with Genesis to the Gabriel era discs that followed this for a larger perspective of the bands work.
How about that segue???? Until Next blog....
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