Duke
122
Charts
Album
Year Chart Position
1980UK album charts1Billboard Pop Albums11
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1980"Misunderstanding"Billboard Pop Singles14"Turn it on Again"Billboard Pop Singles58
Certifications
Organization Level Date
BPI
–
UKGold28 March 1980Platinum3 July 1980RIAA
–
USAGold21 July 1980Platinum11 March 1988
References
[1]http://www.

allmusic.

com/album/r8178[2]http://www.

blender.

com/guide/back-catalogue/54724/duke.

html[3]http://www.

rollingstone.

com/artists/genesis/albums/album/157630/review/5943260/duke[4]Andy Fyfe
Q
, May 2007, Issue 250.[5]Interview for 2007 CD/DVD re-issue of Duke[6]Backstage Auctions (http://www.

backstageauctions.

com/catalog/auction_item.

php?unid=10682&catunid=458&prodpa=0)[7]A Genesis Discography (http://www.

genesis-discography.

org/GturnitonFrame.

htm)[8]Formats described at http://www.

genesis-news.

com/genesis/reviews/sacds/1976-1982.

htm[9]Explained in interview with producer and remixer Nick Davis, at http://www.

genesis-news.

com/genesis/reviews/sacds/ interview-with-nick-davis.

htm[10]The DVD interface has two audio choices: Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1. If the Dolby 5.1 option is chosen on a system that does not supportsurround sound, the Dolby stereo mix is played.[11]Explained in interview with producer and remixer Nick Davis, at http://www.

genesis-news.

com/genesis/reviews/sacds/ interview-with-nick-davis.

htm[12]Comparison from
Sound and Vision
magazine article online at http://www.

soundandvisionmag.

com/musicreviews/2285/ genesis-in-surround.

html

Abacab
123
Abacab
Abacab
Studio album by GenesisReleased
14 September 1981
Recorded
May - June 1981 at The Farm, Surrey
Genre
Pop rockProgressive rock
Length
47:10
Label
Charisma (original UK release)Virgin (UK re-release)Atlantic (USA)Vertigo (South America)
Producer
Genesis
Professional reviews
•Allmusic link[1]•
Blender
link[2]•Rolling Stone link[3]•
Q
[4]
Genesis chronology
Duke
(1980)
Abacab
(1981)
3X3
(1982)
Abacab
, released in 1981, is the 11th studio album by British band Genesis. It reached #1 in the UK, where itremained in the charts for 27 weeks.

Abacab
124
Overview
The album continues the band's sharp stylistic jump, begun by the band on its preceding album
Duke
, away fromtheir progressive rock style of the 1970s and toward a radio-friendly pop music sound. As such,
Abacab
is stillviewed today with mixed opinions from both fans and critics. But the band members say that the change in musicaldirection, beginning with 1980's
Duke
and continued with
Abacab,
was necessary for the band's survival in thechanging musical climate they found themselves in. Despite the change, songs like the title track, "No Reply At All,""Keep It Dark" and "Man on the Corner" were all respectable hit singles. And while
Abacab
may have cost Genesissome fans, they earned many others, with the album hitting UK #1 and US #7, selling several million copiesworldwide and becoming the band's first Platinum selling album in the US.Another element of
Abacab
is drummer Phil Collins's more '80s approach of his drum sound, involvingreverberation, noise gates and compression in order to achieve a loud and authoritative percussive effect. Thiscontinued a trend Collins developed along with engineer Hugh Padgham on his solo hit single "In the Air Tonight",as well as the piece "Intruder" from former bandmate Peter Gabriel's third album.In addition to pounding rock,
Abacab
incorporates upbeat, accessible music - an increasingly important element inGenesis's style at the time. "No Reply At All" features the Earth, Wind & Fire horn section (as did Collins' soloalbum
Face Value
earlier in 1981), and even "Dodo/Lurker," whose adventurous lyrics recall traditional Genesis,features a funky rhythm, propelled by Tony Banks's keyboards.After years of using outside record producers, Genesis produced
Abacab
solely by themselves, while limiting furtherthan before the number of solo compositions in favour of the group-written pieces. They also had the expertise of engineer Hugh Padgham, who assisted Collins on
Face Value
and would continue to work on Genesis and Collinsrecordings through the end of the decade.The album takes its name from an early arrangement of the musical parts that make up the title track. Guitarist MikeRutherford said on the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard (which spotlighted
Duke
and
Abacab
in oneepisode): "There were three bits of music in 'Abacab', and we referred to them as 'section a', 'section b', and 'sectionc'... and at different times, they were in different order. We'd start with 'section a' and then have 'section c'... and atone point in time, it spelled Abacab. On the final version, it's not that at all, it's like 'Accaabbaac'."Due to its daring shift in style,
Abacab
is generally considered one of Genesis' most important releases, and was aspringboard for future hit albums
Genesis
and
Invisible Touch
. The band had been influenced by the punk/new waverevolution in Britain insofar as what they were now offering fans was a set of minimalist, bare, punchy songs, muchmore in step with the pop charts than Genesis had ever been before.Three songs that were omitted from
Abacab
—
"Paperlate," "You Might Recall," and "Me & Virgil"
—
were soonissued on the
3 X 3
EP, which broke the top ten of the UK singles chart, on the strength of the song "Paperlate." Theywere also issued on the non-UK releases of 1982's
Three Sides Live
, which hit #10.Two other songs that were omitted from
Abacab
—
"Naminanu" and "Submarine"
—
appeared as B-sides on the"Abacab" singles, but were originally intended to be part of "Dodo/Lurker", where the order would have been"Naminanu/Dodo/Lurker/Submarine"."No Reply at All" was performed live by Phish as a tribute to Genesis at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2010induction ceremony. Phish also performed "Watcher of the Skies" that night.

Abacab
125
Release
The album was released with four different embossed covers simultaneously across the country, all depicting thesame collage but with the paper shapes in different colours. The four different cover variants are usually identifiedby the colour of the largest upper shape adjacent to the title lettering; this shape being coloured navy blue, red,peach, and yellow.
Track listing
All songs by Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Mike Rutherford, except where noted.
Side one
1."Abacab" (Lyrics: Rutherford)
–
6:562."No Reply at All" (Lyrics: Collins)
–
4:403."Me and Sarah Jane" (Tony Banks)
–
6:004."Keep It Dark" (Lyrics: Banks)
–
4:32
Side two
1."Dodo/Lurker" (Lyrics: Banks)
–
7:302."Who Dunnit?" (Lyrics: Collins)
–
3:233."Man on the Corner" (Phil Collins)
–
4:274."Like It or Not" (Mike Rutherford)
–
4:575."Another Record" (Lyrics: Collins)
–
4:39
B Sides and non-album tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Naminanu"(Banks, Collins, Rutherford)3:542."Submarine"(Banks, Collins, Rutherford)4:383."Paperlate"(Banks, Collins, Rutherford)(Lyrics Phil Collins)3:234."You Might Recall"(Banks, Collins, Rutherford) (Lyrics Mike Rutherford)5:315."Me And Virgil"(Banks, Collins, Rutherford) (Lyrics Phil Collins)6:18
1.Naminanu from the single Keep It Dark2.Submarine from the single Man on the Corner3.Paperlate,You Might Recall, and Me And Virgil from the EP 3X3