Abacab - Genesis > Reviews > A great album which marked a new era for Genesis

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	A much needed change from Genesis's previous work, with lots of innovative songs .
Disadvantages:	Fans of earlier Genesis music may be disappointed .  Sounds very much an album of the 80s .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Abacab was released in 1981 and was different to any other Genesis album released before. It marked their departure from progressive rock and the trimming away of their musical fat. Right from the start you can hear the difference. On the title song, there is nothing unecessary to the song and everything has been cut back to a bare minimum creating a simple but effective song. This theme continues throughout the album, with as little unecessary sound as possible being used. Gone are the Tony Banks arpeggios of previous albums, having been replaced with just a few simple chords. This change is generally for the better and most tracks are very good.
There are some weak tracks on Abacab though. Traditional Genesis fans may find Whodunnit a bit too different to earlier Genesis songs but I think that it is an interesting and entertaining track. Man On The Corner is a less than perfect song, with not a great deal of imagination to it. The same can be said for Another Record which starts well but becomes boring and rather too repetitive. However, even with weak tracks, it is still a great album.
I personally bought this album as a Genesis fan but I think this album would be enjoyed by a lot of other people, from fans of early 80s rock/pop, to those who enjoy keyboard based music and even to fans of Phil Collins drumming.