So many songs are great on And Then There Were Three. In this author's humble opinion, Undertow captures the changes that led to the last great era of Genesis. For it is on this album, Mike now has to take over bass and guitar duties as Steve has left the band. He would rely on the MOOG Taurus Bass Pedal and just how instrumental it was in adding that Earth-shaking low end on this and many songs from this era. Phil is at his creative best with his drumming. His vocals have graduated to richer tones and notes. And Tony begins to orchestrate a sound that reflects a new trend with greater emphasis on the chorus. At times, the chorus is overpowering the listener with greater emphasis than in past Genesis songs. (You can see this trend continue throughout their tenure as a threesome)
Changes are happening, however this is Genesis. The lyrics stand the tests of time.
Stand up to the blow that fate has struck upon you,
Make the most of all you still have coming to you,
Lay down on the ground and let the tears run from you,
Crying to the grass and trees and heaven finally on your knees
Let me live again, let life come find me wanting.
Spring must strike again against the shield of winter.
Let me feel once more the arms of love surround me,
Telling me the danger's past, I need not fear the icy blast again.
And then there were three would accelerate the prog debates. Unfortunately for some, they discounted so many great songs like Undertow. This is Genesis without a doubt. For those who love all eras, Undertow brings a tear, an emotion, and memories of our past. Such a great song.
Keep it dark is one of those Genesis songs that at first seems quite simple. However, listen to the lyrics and you soon realize that the songt has many layers. Keep it dark provides an ironic twist. It describes a man abducted by Aliens and brought to an alternate world that is better than the one he lives in. When he gets back to the world he lives in, he decides to lie about the entire incident thinking no one would believe him. He explains his disappearance as a kidnapping that involved money. The twist for this song is that a lie is more believable than the truth.
On Halloween, it would be easy to choose Home By The Sea as a Genesis Song for such an occasion. After all, it is a song about Ghosts. However, Genesis has another song that that can be haunting on many levels. Stories that scare a person's soul can be fictional, such as Snowbound on And Then There Were Three. Yet, we know that songs that fashion themselves after Grimm's fairy tales are just that, fairy tales. What haunts a person's soul more is something that can happen that is very plausible. Usually, unexplained events can cause long term traumatic experiences that haunts a person's soul. These type of stories are very real.
Back in 1992, Genesis came out with Dreaming While You Sleep. A very underrated song from the We Can't Dance Album. In this song, someone we will never know, is driving at night while they are exhausted. As can happen, in a moment of inattention, he hits a young lady who entered the street unbeknownst to the driver until after he hits his victim. The driver seriously injures the person and puts them into a coma. Instead of staying, he leaves the scene of the crime. The man then visits the woman, and as we listen, the story takes us in and out of conscious of what the man is thinking while he is wondering what it must be for her to be in and out of conscious.
The song hauntingly reminds us these people really exist. They escape the reality of justice for their actions. The successfully run away only to live a tortured life of their conscious reminding them of their actions. A truly powerful song.
What lies beneath the Silver Rainbow. Well, Genesis has left that up to us to decide. Two common stories come from the song. The most prominent is that this is a story about teenage love. When you have the excitement of "making out" and you don't know when it might happen. The second theory is a bit darker. Some have speculated that being the 80s, the song is about Heroin addiction. The common theme is response to stimuli. One a drug, the other young love. Either way, this is a great track on the album. Typical of Genesis, it has transitions that highlight the change in mood. Great tune. Positively Genesis.
Genesis Heathhaze - This cold weather gives you time to think in Upstate New York. Countless days of contemplating what is....reminds me of the song Heathhaze. This is one of the great songs from Duke.The first part describes the feeling of just doing nothing but taking in the feeling of nature's breezes, sun, trees gently dancing with the early breezes of spring and summer. Just one with yourself, like the dead of winter allows you to be. For days, I have been just thinking about what is, and why am I here. What can I do with my life today and tomorrow.... The next part of the song is the sounds of people interrupting my slumber. Life steps in, time for me to wake up. (orange lights and smokey atmosphere) and go back to "working" to sustain the "life system" that is bestowed upon us. Trees, are mentioned a lot in Genesis songs. They lose their leaves and represent the dead of winter....only to renew themselves in spring. People cannot hibernate in winter such as trees. They must go to work everyday to pay the bills in this "new" way of life. I feel like I don't belong here; like an alien... in a alien place so removed from a natural way of life and consumed by material things that are all perversely perpetuated by the system of money. What is it all for? Might as well throw some bread to the ducks instead...it's easier that way. Such Genesis wisdom to get me through this winter.
Me and Sarah Jane was written by Tony Banks, and to me it sounds like someone describing their dream of a woman that they very much wish existed . Why do I think this? Such creative lines as "I invent a name" suggesting that she does not exist at all, only in our minds. Tony Banks had a habit of writing songs that were caught between two worlds, one that is real and one that is imaginative. The song has typical transitions that make it a pure Genesis song.
Fading Light is how Genesis closes out their last song as the trio of Mike, Tony, and Phil. Tony said about this song, "This is a sad song, that Iyrically reflects back on times past. It's the age thing, when you realize you are not going to do a certain thing again or see that person again. It's one number on the album with an extended instrumental section where we let ourselves go a bit with more drama." For Genesis fans, this song is the swan song. While they toured again in 2007, they would never enter the studio to create new music. For me, this song was the proper way to close the era of songwriting for the big 3.
