Review Summary: Where Genesis really started.
Rarely the world had seen such a strange musical act as Genesis. Their 1970 release
Trespass saw little success among contemporary music critics, but managed to establish a fanbase. Many meant that even if Trespass was an unmature album, the band itself had what was needed to break through. This was not the case with
Nursery Cryme, at least not with the amount of albums sold. There was just something that made this record so special.
But what made Nursery Cryme so special? It might have been due to the absence of restrained drummer John Mayhew or acoustic focused Anthony Phillips (which you can hear in his solo record "The Geese And the Ghost"). I think this is an important point, but I also believe that the feedback they got from Trespass was very healthy for them as a group. Their musical skills had improved vastly, with new musicians Steve Hackett and Phil Collins contributing well. One of the main problems of their previous release was the inconsistancy. It sure had some enjoyable tunes such as "White Mountain" and "The Knife", but long songs such as Stagnation sort of drags. It progresses very slowly, and never builds up to a climax. This was fixed with Nursery Cryme. Take "The Return of the Giant Hogsweed" for instance, it has a recurring theme and chorus throughout the song, but near the end, the songs ends with an epic heavy metal-like outro.
Another important aspect of this album is its balance. While Trespass suffered from having very much calm passages with acoustic guitar as the dominating instrument, Nursery Cryme perfected this and managed to mix different genres perfectly. Starting with acoustic folk in "The Musical Box", it soon develops into progessive rock/hard rock with pounding drums and rocking electric guitar solos from New guitarist Steve Hackett. They have calm songs like "Harlequin" and the beautiful "For Absent Friends", they have heavier pieces such as "Seven Stones" and "The Fountain of Salmacis" and last they got the hard rocker "The Return of the Giant Hogsweed".
Furthermore, something great with this record is that they have finally figured out where they are heading. On Trespass, you had very calm, laid-back tunes like "Dusk" contrary to the very different "The Knife" which was very heavy with distorted guitars and strange vocals. On Nursery Cryme's successor "Foxtrot", Genesis takes the sound they have created here, and refines it into something greater such as the best song ever called "Supper's Ready".
As I stated earlier, the inclusion of Steve Hackett and Phil Collins was the smartest step Genesis could ever do. Without them, this record would not exist, and I'm pretty sure that Genesis wouldn't have been nearly as good. Phil was much more technical and fast than mediocre drummer John Mayhew and Steve Hackett was better at not choosing between 12-string acoustic over electric or the other way, but instead having the excellent balance that helped Nursery Cryme to become what it couldn't without him.
Every song is placed with care and helps you forging a calm, peaceful state of mind where you can just slip into your chair and listen to the pure musical genious of the three longest tracks on this. So now, stop reading this review and go grab this record as fast as you can.
Recommended tracks
The Musical Box
The Return of the Giant Hogsweed
Seven Stones
The Fountain of Salmacis
