jrmusic's Podcast

Episodio.26.A.TRICK.OF.THE.TAIL.(GENESIS)

A Trick of the Tail is the seventh studio album by the progressive rock band Genesis and the first to feature Phil Collins as full-time lead vocalist following the departure of original vocalist Peter Gabriel. It was released in February 1976.

The album was recorded and mixed at Trident Studios in October / November 1975. It also marked the first album that the band would co-produce with David Hentschel. They would work with David for the next four years.

A Trick of the Tail reached #3 in the UK, remaining on the charts for 39 weeks, and #31 in the US. Additionally, the album was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA in March 1990. Also according to Tony Banks in the essay that comes with Platinum Collection, the album doubled the band's previous albums sales. This success was also financially crucial for Genesis who were $400,000 in debt by the time Peter Gabriel left.

After Peter Gabriel left Genesis, the remaining members held auditions for a permanent lead singer, although some members (most notably Banks) considered continuing as an instrumental act, while most songs were written without knowledge as to how they would be sung. Initially, Phil Collins did not wish to take over from Gabriel, instead teaching the potential lead singers the songs. One of the 400 auditioners, Mick Strickland, came close, but the band and Strickland decided against working together in the end. According to the band members, the backing tracks for A Trick Of The Tail had already been recorded and were in a key in which Strickland was not comfortable singing. When the auditions failed to produce a suitable vocalist, Collins reluctantly went in the studio to sing "Squonk" and the band decided that Collins should be the new vocalist.

For the first time in their career, Genesis filmed promotional videos for their songs. Three videos were filmed. Banks' "A Trick of the Tail" was the first, which featured the band playing to the track together around a piano. A miniature Phil Collins can be seen hopping around on a piano and a guitar (Collins later revealed that this video was the most embarrassing of his career). The second video was for the song "Ripples," which was a performance clip. The third was for "Robbery, Assault and Battery" which depicted Collins as a bank robber who shoots an elderly man (played by Mike Rutherford) after holding him up and is then pursued by cops (played by Banks, Hackett and Rutherford), shooting Banks in the process.

Track listing

Side one
"Dance on a Volcano" (Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Steve Hackett/Mike Rutherford) – 5:54
"Entangled" (Tony Banks/Steve Hackett) – 6:27
"Squonk" (Tony Banks/Mike Rutherford) – 6:27
"Mad Man Moon" (Tony Banks) – 7:34

Side two
"Robbery, Assault and Battery" (Tony Banks/Phil Collins) – 6:16
"Ripples" (Tony Banks/Mike Rutherford) – 8:04
"A Trick of the Tail" (Tony Banks) – 4:35
"Los Endos" (Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Steve Hackett/Mike Rutherford) – 5:47

Personnel

Phil Collins – vocals, background vocals, percussion, drums
Steve Hackett – electric guitar, 12-string guitars
Tony Banks – organ, synthesizers, pianos, background vocals, 12-string guitar, mellotron
Mike Rutherford – bass guitar, 12-string guitar, bass pedals

In August 1975 Peter Gabriel wrote this letter and delivered it personally to the English press.

I had a dream, eye's dream. Then I had another dream with the body and soul of a rock star. When it didn't feel good I packed it in. Looking back for the musical and non-musical reasons, this is what I came up with: OUT, ANGELS OUT - an investigation.

The vehicle we had built as a co-op to serve our songwriting became our master and had cooped us up inside the success we had wanted. It affected the attitudes and the spirit of the whole band. the music had not dried up and I still respect the other musicians, but our roles had set in hard. To get an idea through "Genesis the Big" meant shifting a lot more concrete than before. For any band, transferring the heart from idealistic enthusiasm to professionalism is a difficult operation.

I believe the use of sound and visual images can be developed to do much more than we have done. But on a large scale t needs one clear and coherent direction, which our pseudo-democratic committee system could not provide.

As an artist, I need to absorb a wide variety of experiences. It is difficult to respond to intuition and impulse within the long-term planning that the band needed. I felt I should look at/learn about/develop myself, my creative bits and pieces and pick up on a lot of work going on outside music. Even the hidden delights of vegetable growing and community living are beginning to reveal their secrets. I could not expect the band to tie in their schedules with my bondage to cabbages. The increase in money and power, if I had stayed, would have anchored me to the spotlights. It was important to me to give space to my family, which I wanted to hold together, and to liberate the daddy in me.

Although I have seen and learnt a great deal in the last seven years, I found I had begun to look at things as the famous Gabriel, despite hiding my occupation whenever possible, hitching lifts, etc. I had begun to think in business terms; very useful for an often bitten once shy musician, but treating records and audiences as money was taking me away from them. When performing, there were less shivers up and down the spine.

I believe the world has soon to go through a difficult period of changes. I'm excited by some of the areas coming through to the surface which seem to have been hidden away in people's minds. I want to explore and be prepared to be open and flexible enough to respond, not tied in to the old hierarchy.

Much of my psyche's ambitions as "Gabriel archetypal rock star" have been fulfilled - a lot of the ego-gratification and the need to attract young ladies, perhaps the result of frequent rejection as "Gabriel acne-struck public school boy". However, I can still get off playing the star game once in a while.

My future within music, if it exists, will be in as many situations as possible. It's good to see a growing number of artists breaking down the pigeonholes. This is the difference between the profitable, compartmentalized, battery chicken and the free-range. Why did the chicken cross the road anyway?

There is no animosity between myself and the band or management. The decision had been made some time ago and we have talked about our new direction. The reason why my leaving was not announced earlier was because I had been asked to delay until they had found a replacement to plug up the hole. It is not impossible that some of them might work with me on other projects.

The following guesswork has little in common with truth:

Gabriel left Genesis

To work in theatre.
To make more money as a solo artist.
To do a "Bowie".
To do a "Ferry".
To do a "Furry Boa round my neck and hang myself with it".
To go see an institution.
To go senile in the sticks.

I do not express myself adequately in interviews and I felt I owed it to the people who have put a lot of love and energy supporting the band to give an accurate picture of my reasons. So I ask that you print all or none of this.

(Spanish)

Carta de Despedida de Peter Gabriel

En agosto de 1975 Peter Gabriel escribió esta carta de despedida y se la entregó personalmente a la prensa Inglesa:

Tuve un sueño, sueño de ojos. Luego tuve otro sueño con el cuerpo y el alma de una estrella de rock. Cuando no me sentí bien, lo dejé. Recordando las razones musicales y no musicales, esto es lo que se me ocurrió: SALGAN, ANGELES SALGAN - una investigación.

El móvil que habíamos construido como una cooperativa para asistirnos en la composición se convirtió en nuestro amo y nos encerró en el éxito que habíamos deseado. Afectó al espíritu y las actitudes de la banda entera. La música no se había secado y yo aún respetaba a los otros músicos, pero nuestros roles comenzaron a hacerse difíciles. Para hacerse una idea de "Genesis el Grande" significaba desplazar mucho más concreto que antes. Para cualquier banda, que transfigura su sentimiento del entusiasmo idealista al profesionalismo es una operación difícil.

Creo que el uso del sonido y las imágenes visuales pueden ser desarrollados para hacer mucho más de lo que nosotros hemos hecho. Pero a mayor escala se necesita una dirección clara y coherente, la cual nuestro sistema de comité pseudo-democtrático no podía proveernos.

Cómo artista, necesitaba absorber una gran variedad de experiencias. Es difícil responder a la intuición y el impulso dentro de los largos términos de planificación que la banda necesitaba. Sentí que debía observar/aprender al respecto/desarrollar yo mismo, mis trozos y partes creativas y recoger mucho trabajo que sucedía fuera de la música. Aún los placeres ocultos de los vegetales creciendo y de la comunidad viviente están comenzando a revelar sus secretos. Yo no podía esperar que la banda cierre su agenda con mi esclavitud de repollo. El incremento en dinero y poder, si lo aguantase, podría haberme anclado a los reflectores. Era importante para mí darle espacio a mi familia, la cual yo quería mantener unida, y liberar al padre que había en mi.

Aunque había visto y aprendido un gran trato en los últimos siete años, encontré que tenía que comenzar a mirar a las cosas como el famoso Gabriel, a pesar de ocultar mi ocupación siempre que fuera posible, esquivando bultos, etc. Había comenzado a pensar en términos de negocios; muy útil para un habitual músico triste, pero tratar a los discos y a la audiencia como dinero comenzó a alejarme de ellos. Cuando actuábamos, había más escalofríos recorriéndome la espalda.

Yo creo que el mundo pronto pasará por un difícil período de cambios. Estoy emocionado por algunas de las áreas que saldrán a la superficie las cuales parecen haber estado ocultas en la mente de la gente. Quiero explorar y estar preparado para ser abierto y flexible, lo suficiente para responder y no atarme a la vieja jerarquía.

Parte de las ambiciones de mi psique como "Gabriel estrella de rock arquetípica" había sido realizada - mucha ego-gratificación y la necesidad de atraer a las jovencitas, tal vez como resultado de frecuentes rechazos como "Gabriel el niño loco de escuela pública con acne". Sin embargo, todavía puedo salirme de emprender el juego de estrella de vez en cuando.

Mi futuro dentro de la música, si existe, será dentro de tantas situaciones como sea posible. Es bueno ver a un gran número de artistas derribar las casillas. Esta es la diferencia entre el provechoso, compartimentado, pollo de criadero y el libre-surtido. ¿Porque se cruzaron los pollos en el camino?

No hay animosidad entre la banda o la dirección artística y yo. La decisión ha sido tomada hace algún tiempo y hemos hablado acerca de nuestra nueva dirección. La razón por la cual mi salida no había sido anunciada anteriormente fue porque me pidieron que esperara un tiempo hasta que ellos encontraran un reemplazante que llenara el hueco. No es imposible que algunos de ellos pudieran trabajar conmigo en otros proyectos.

Las siguientes suposiciones tiene poco que ver con la verdad:

Gabriel deja Genesis
Para trabajar en teatro.
Para hacer más dinero como solista.
Para hacerme un "Bowie".
Para hacerme un "Ferry".
Para hacer una "boa peluda alrededor de mi cuello y colgarme con ella".
Para ir a ver una institución.
Para quedarme viejo en las ramas.

No me expreso adecuadamente en entrevistas y siento que se lo debía a la gente que ha puesto todo su cariño y energía apoyando a la banda, para darles una imagen más exacta de mis razones. Por eso les pido que impriman esto por completo o nada.