My Top 1000 Songs #774: The Cinema Show
[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]
As 1973's Selling England By The Pound is not just my favorite Genesis album, but one of my favorite albums period, it's hard to limit myself to a song or two from the LP. Sure, "I Know What I Like" is the obvious choice, about as close as the Gabriel-era incarnation ever came to a radio-friendly pop song; but "The Cinema Show" does a better job of capturing the unique, magical sound of those early 70s albums that captivated me upon discovering them back in high school. The lengthy suite captures both the classical finger-picked folk guitar majesty of Steve Hackett & Michael Rutherford (n the front end) and the proggy keyboard acrobatics of Tony Banks (in the back half)--all topped by Peter Gabriel's distinctive gravitas and Phil Collins' playful percussion. The song retains the adventurous spirit of their prior prog work--Trespass' "Stagnation," Nursery Cryme's "The Musical Box," Foxtrot's "Supper's Ready"--and polishes it into something bright and sparkling.Live 1978, Collins vocals:
For me, my fave has always been Firth of Fifth with Cinema Show a close second. I love Hackett and the guitar solo in Firth is one of the all time great. Hackett would actually leave the stage during the instrumental in Cinema show. A sign of things to come with the trio who remained
ReplyDeleteAlso, Dancing with the Moonlit Knight has really grown on me over the years. Almost a perfect album but for 2 songs, - and we know what those are.
I actually had Moonlit Knight in this slot, but made a last-minute pivot to Cinema Show. Firth could've easily fit as well. Selling England is definitely something I listen to as a whole LP, and other than I Know What I Like the individual songs are best heard in context, so it's hard to pick favorites. Definitely agree on the weaker tracks, which are still fine--I kinda love the Phil tune--but Battle, for all its inventiveness, kinda takes the position of Hogweed and Friday on the prior albums, just a little too busy for their own good.
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