GENESIS

(UNITED KINGDOM)

NURSERY CRYME

(1971)
LABEL:

CHARISMA

GENRE:

PROGRESSIVE ROCK

TAGS:
Concept-album, Old School, Theatrical
"The theatrical, baroque image of Genesis at the time, so often compared to a rock shift from the world of Lewis Carroll, is fully represented in this must-have 'Nursery Cryme'."
VANDERGRAAF (29.08.2003)  
4/5
(0) opinions (1) comment(s) (1) Biography + (1)
If ever there was an example of what Genesis were like in their heyday, 'Nursery Cryme' is it. Not that it's their best album, but it's still the most typical of the Peter Gabriel years. After the success of "Trespass", the band's first proper album, Genesis took off towards success with two newcomers: Steve Hackett on guitar and Phil Collins on drums. It was the beginning of that lost golden age that we so nostalgically evoke, ending with "The Lamb lies down on Broadway".

Masterfully opened by the mythical "The musical box", just as well closed by the strange "the Fountain of Salmacis", "Nursery Cryme" is the album of tales, those famous tracks that have become the band's trademark, telling strange and unhealthy stories such as the little girl who decapitates her playmate who returns to her in the form of a ghost. These stories, masterfully crafted by Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks, sound like flamboyant gothic Monty Python. In "Harold the Barrel", with its bouncy rhythm, we hear the story of a cannibal pursued by the police.

This legendary record exudes the entire state of mind of its creators. Its name, Nursery Cryme, has nothing to do with any of the songs. It's a play on words with the expression "nursery rhime", which means nursery rhyme in English. This discrepancy between cruelty and the childlike imagination is reflected in the cover, inspired by "the Musical box", which depicts a child playing croquet with the heads of her little friends.

The legend of "Nursery Cryme" is also the first song ever sung by Phil Collins on an album, the quiet "for absent friends". It's also the red dress and fox mask worn by Peter when he sang "musical box" on stage. It's also the house of their producer and patron, Tony Stratton-Smith, drawn on the cover. The Genesis' theatrical, baroque image at the time, so often compared to a rock take on the world of Lewis Carroll, is fully represented on this must-have album.
- Official website

TRACK LISTING:
01. The Musical Box
02. For Absent Friends
03. The Return Of The Giant Hogweed
04. Seven Stones
05. Harold The Barrel
06. Harlequin
07. The Fountain Of Salmacis

LINEUP:
Mike Rutherford: Basse
Peter Gabriel: Chant
Phil Collins: Batterie
Steve Hackett: Guitares
Tony Banks: Claviers
   
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LONEWOLF1300
02/03/2024
 
353
0
"Nursery Cryme" est bien l'archétype de la personnalité de Genesis, de leur "genre", de leur façon de faire du progressif. Complexe, riche en harmonies, très varié, profond, bourré de références culturelles. Au passage, "Crime" ne prend normalement pas de "y" en anglais, je ne connais pas la raison de sa présence sur l'album.

Genesis nous fait plonger dans son univers si spécial, composé d'histoires étranges, mâtinées à la Edgar Allan Poe, très british comme toujours, décalées et vaguement dérangeantes. Par ailleurs, l'album dégage un parfum romantique et désuet qui devient vie attachant. Emouvant absolument ("The musical box") mais jamais dénué d'énergie et certainement pas de talent. Ce n'est pas "The return of..." qui évoquera le contraire ! Suite musclée et hallucinée qui vous martèle ses thèmes musicaux avec une obstination à vous faire tourner la tête. Harlequin est une petite sucrerie tendre mais pas si innocente qu'elle en a l'air, et musicalement c'est un petit bijou. "The Fountain..." finit l'album en beauté, que ce soit dans la subtilité de la voix de Peter Gabriel, par la composition remarquable, le jeu de chacun ou l'intérêt de l'histoire qui est contée.

Ici, Genesis prouve qu'il a su acquérir une très forte identité, une personnalité à part qui fera leur succès. Avec raison, vu le niveau d'écriture et le talent des musiciens, dont chacun prouvera par la suite le haut niveau de leur don.
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