Il grande giorno era arrivato!
Il nuovo album dei favolosi GENESIS, 'ABACAB', era negli scaffali dei negozi di dischi . Un anno prima, ancora quattordicenne, avevo comprato 'Duke' (il mio primo album “di musica seria”) rimanendo entusiasta!
Durante l’attesa per 'ABACAB', ebbi modo di conoscere tutti i precedenti lavori dei GENESIS, divenendone un fan esagerato, come a quella eta’ si puo’ essere. Ed ecco finalmente la nuova opera del piu’ grande gruppo pop del millennio pronta per essere ascoltata da noi comuni mortali. Ricevetti la telefonata del mio amico fraterno, (genesiano fino al midollo anch’esso), aveva appena acquistato l’album, che mi invitava a precipitarmi a casa sua per ascoltarlo insieme.
Un contrattempo non mi fece arrivare subito, cosi’ lui lo sentì una prima volta da solo, capi’ poi dopo perche’ avesse quella faccia funerea quando mi accolse… sulle prime pensai.. che e’ successo? Si e’ rotta la puntina del piatto? Il disco salta? No, tecnicamente era tutto a posto.. purtroppo.. i guai erano ben altri…
E cosi’ inizio’ il supplizio… Il titolo dell’album lo conoscevamo gia’; non sembrava troppo “genesiano” ma poteva benissimo trattarsi del nome di qualche folletto che frequentemente faceva capolino dalle atmosfere magiche della loro musica, massi’ era certamente qualcosa del genere… Vai con la musica!... Vai con ABACAB!
Partirono le prime bordate di batteria ed io capii che avevo preso un grande abbaglio… avevo gia’ sentito quel suono che ci avrebbe accompagnato per altri anni… il folle Phil Collins, dopo il successo di 'In the Air Tonight' e del suo stramaledetto album 'Face (da schiaffi....) Value', aveva ucciso i Genesis fagocitandoli nel suo sound sguaiato e martellante.
Ma il peggio doveva ancora arrivare… lo sprazzo di luce durante ME AND SARAH JANE e DODO, erano solo l’anticamera dell’orrido quando arrivammo sulle note (?) di WHO DUNNIT? e KEEP IT DARK, qua’ l’ invadenza di Phil Collins e’ proprio insopportabile . . ma Rutherford e Banks dov’ erano??? Forse in quel momento erano a far pipi’ … non c’è altra spiegazione plausibile. Incrociavo sgomento, lo sguardo del mio amico, ma questi sono i Genesis?
Ma controlliamo la copertina, e’ sicuro che ci sia scritto proprio quel nome??? Scherzi a Parte non l’avevano ancora inventato ed era tutto vero, eravamo testimoni del disfacimento totale di uno dei piu’ grandi gruppi pop. E continuamo a farci del male! NO REPLY AT ALL era proprio quello che mancava cosi’ eravamo proprio al completo! I fiati degli Earth Wind and Fire in un album dei Genesis? Si accomodino pure, tanto ormai…
In MAN IN A CORNER, il buon Phil Collins ci ricorda (ma non ce n’era proprio bisogno), ancora una volta chi e’ stato l’artefice di questo macello, dato che potrebbe essere un side B del gia citato In the air tonight. LIKE IT OR NOT e ANOTHER RECORD… . Non sono neanche degni di nota, dei pezzi “ne’ carne ne’ pesce” che fanno da epilogo a un’accozzaglia musicale di cui ormai si sono perse le redini e sono stati messi li’ solo per riempire spazio sul disco.
Concludendo dico che 'ABACAB' e’ stato semplicemente il crollo di un mito. I GENESIS non esistevano piu’, quel poco di progressive che rimaneva con 'DUKE' era stato depennato brutalmente a favore di uno pseudo rinnovamento dettato da Phil Collins sull’onda del suo successo da solista, finendo per trasformare i GENESIS in una “band di supporter” a proprio uso e consumo.
Dopo 24 anni faccio ancora fatica a rispondere ad alcune semplici domande su quest’album, ne cito solo due:
Ma a chi era rivolto?
Era necessario cadere cosi’ in basso solo per il gusto di cambiare?
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Abacab (06:57)
Look up on the wall, there on the floor,
Under the pillow, behind the door.
There's a crack in the mirror.
Somewhere there's a hole in a window pane.
Do you think I'm to blame?
Tell me, do you think I'm to blame?
(When we do it) you're never there.
(When you show it) just stop and stare.
(Abacab) he's in anywhere.
(Abacab)
If you're wrappin' up the world
'Cause you've taken someone else's girl,
When they turn on the pillow,
Even when they answer the telephone,
don't you think that by now...
Tell me, don't you think that by now.
(When we do it) you're never there.
(When you show it) just stop and stare.
(Abacab) he's in anywhere.
(Abacab) doesn't really care.
Do you want it? You got it. Now you know.
Do you want it? You got it. Now you know.
It's an illusion. It's a game,
or reflection of somewone else's name.
When you wake in the morning,
Wake and find you're covered in cellophane,
Well, there's a hole in there somewhere.
Yeah, there's a hole in there somewhere.
Baby, there's a hole in there somewhere.
Now there's a hole in there somewhere.
(When we do it) you're never there.
(When you show it) you stop and stare.
(Abacab) he's in anywhere.
(Abacab)
02 No Reply at All (04:39)
Talk to me, you never talk to me.
Ooh, it seems that I can speak.
I can hear my voice shoutin' out.
But there's no reply at all.
Look at me, you never look at me.
Ooh, I've been sittin, starin', seems so long.
But you're lookin' through me
Like I wasn't here at all.
No reply. There's no reply at all.
Dance with me, you never dance with me.
Ooh, it seems that I can move.
I'm close to you, close as I can get.
Yet there's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
Be with me. Seems you're never here with me.
Ooh, I've been tryin' to get over there.
Oh, but it's out of my reach.
And there's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
I get the feelin' you're tryin' to tell me;
Is there somethin' that I should know?
What excuse are you tryin' to sell me?
Should I be readin' stop or go?
I don't know.
Be with me. Seems you're never here with me.
Ooh, I've been tryin' to get over there.
Oh, but it's out of my reach.
And there's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
I get the feelin' you're tryin' to tell me;
Is there somethin' that I should know?
What excuse are you tryin' to sell me?
Should I be readin' stop or go?
I don't know.
Maybe deep down inside,
I'm tryin' for no one else but me,
too stubborn to say, "The buck stops here.
I'm not the one you're lookin' for."
But maybe deep down inside, I'm lyin'
To no one else but me.
Oh, but my back is up. I'm on my guard
With all the exits sealed.
Listen to me, you never listen to me.
Oooh, and it seems there's no way out.
I've been tryin' but we cannot connect.
And there's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
No reply at all.
Is anybody list'nin? Oh, there's no reply at all...
03 Me and Sarah Jane (05:59)
The fires are burning in another land.
Don’t start counting, don’t start counting.
Colder and colder, the ice is moving closer and it gets me down.
Going round and round and down the same old track, pack on my back.
Going swiftly nowhere, heart in my ear, beating like a drum.
Where will you go?
All by yourself. Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah.
And now I’m standing on the corner, waiting in the rain,
But then in sunlight without warnin’, I invent a name.
Me and Sarah Jane, we had a special thing goin’. Me and Sarah Jane.
It was a time of love and laughter. It wouldn’t come again.
We had our round of joyful laughter. Then began the pain.
Me and Sarah Jane, we had a special thing goin’.Me and Sarah Jane.
Sarah Jane.
Searching for a clue, traces on the sand.
First, I’m flying, going round, round, round.
Then, I’m sliding, going down, down, down.
Doesn’t matter - where I start, I always end up,
Crawling through those same old crowded rooms.
Me and Sarah Jane, we had it coming, all the pain.
Walkin’ down the streets and finding nothing is the same.
And now the city lights are dimmin’ one by one,
It costs too much money to keep them on.
Me and Sarah Jane, in silence walk along the shore,
Tears of joy and mocking laughter, words lost in the wind.
The tide was risin’ but there we stayed,
We had no fear of dying, we weren’t afraid.
04 Keep It Dark (04:31)
Found that man reported missing,
He wandered in his home.
It don't seem to bad if you consider
Just what he's been through.
Seems he met up with a gang of thieves,
Who mistook him for a man of means,
They locked him up then found he had no money,
So they let him go again.
Now he's back at home and happy
Just to see the kids.
I wish that I could really tell you
All the things that happened to me
And all that I have seen.
A world full of people their hearts full of joy,
Cities of light with no fear of war,
And thousands of creatures with happier lives,
And dreams of a future with meaning and no need to hide.
Oh, keep it dark.
It seems strange to have to lie,
About a world so bright.
And tell instead a made-up story,
From the world of night.
I wish, that I could really tell you,
All the things that happened to me
And all that I have seen,
A world full of people their hearts full of joy,
Cities of light with no fear of war,
And thousands of creatures with happier lives,
And dreams of a future with meaning and no need to lie,
No need to hate,
No need to hide.
Oh, keep it dark.
05 Dodo / Lurker (07:29)
DODO :
Too big to fly, dodo ugly so dodo must die,
Doggo with fear on its side, cant change, cant change the tide.
Dog baiter, agitator, asking questions, says he wants to know why.
Aint no reason that money cant buy.
Mink he pretty so mink he must die, must die, must die.
Sun he giving life in his light,
Part of the system,
Friend to man, friend to the trees,
No friend to the snowman.
Where does he go, what does he do?
Does he meet with the mole, the stream, the cloud
And end up at the bottom of the sea.
Fish he got a hook in his throat,
Fish he got problems
Where does he go, what does he do?
Does he hope hes too small, to poor a haul,
Wholl end up being thrown back in the sea.
Im back in the sea.
Caretaker, horror movie,
Only one eye, only needs one boot,
Sweet lady, she knows she looks good
Vacuum coming for the bright and the brute.
Big noise, black smoke
So pig-headed couldnt see the joke.
But it aint funny
Ask the fly on the wall
Its only living
It dont matter at all, at all, at all.
Pimp, he make you drool and grunt,
He got an answer.
One he got a dream of love,
Deep as the ocean.
Where does he go?
What does he do?
Will the siren team with davy jones,
And trap him at the bottom of the sea?
Im back in the sea.
Im back in the sea.
Im back in the sea.
LURKER :
Meanwhile lurking by a stone in the mud
Two eyes looked to see what I was and
Then something spoke and this is what
It said to me.......
Clothes of brass and hair of brown
Seldom need to breathe
Dont need no wings to fly
Ooh and a heart of stone
And a fear of fire and water
Who am i?
Clothes of brass and hair of brown
Seldom need to breathe
Dont need no wings to fly
And a heart of stone
And a fear of fire and water
Who am i?
06 Who Dunnit? (03:24)
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it A or was it B?
Or was it X or Z?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it A or was it B?
Or was it X or Z?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it A or was it B?
Or was it X or Z?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Who dunnit?
I didn't, I, I didn't do it....
Oh but we know, we know, we know...
So was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it A or was it B?
Or was it X or Z?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it A or was it B?
Or was it X or Z?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it A or was it B?
Or was it X or Z?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it you or was it me?
Who dunnit?
I, I, I didn't, I didn't do it...
But we know, we know, we know...
Yeah we don't know, we don't know, we don't know...
We all know, we all know, we all know...
07 Man on the Corner (04:25)
See the lonely man there on the corner,
What he's waiting for, I don't know,
But he waits everyday now.
He's just waiting for something to show.
And nobody knows him,
And nobody cares,
'Cos there's no hiding place,
There's no hiding place - for you.
Looking everywhere at no one,
He sees everything and nothing at all - oh.
When he shouts nobody listens,
Where he leads no one will go - oh.
He's a lonely man, there on the corner,
What he's waiting for, I don't know,
But he waits everyday now.
He's just waiting for something to show - oh.
Nobody knows him,
And nobody cares,
'Cos there's no hiding place,
There's no hiding place - for you and me.
Are we just like all the rest,
We're looking too hard for something he's got
Or moving too fast to rest.
But like a monkey on your back you need it.
But do you love it enough to leave it - ah.
Just like the lonely man there on the corner,
What he's waiting for, I don't know - oh.
But he waits every day now.
He's just waiting for that something to show - oh.
Who's the lonely man there on the corner,
What he's waiting for, I don't know.
But he's there every day now.
And he's just waiting for something to show - oh.
Who's the lonely man there on the corner,
What he's waiting for, I don't know.
Oh but he waits every day now.
He's just waiting for that something to show.
08 Like It or Not (04:52)
Ah, don't you know, I've been on my own
But I'm coming home.
And I'd like you to be there,
I feel a little cold in the air,
And you're not anywhere.
You're just another face, I used to know.
But there is still a chance to hold on to our love,
'Cos I gave you everything, everything I had.
Ooh, like it or not
You have done it this time
And like it or not, I've had enough.
Ooh, like it or not
There's a lot I could say
'Cos I've got a lot on my mind.
It won't be very long
You're just another face
That I once used to know
And I gave you everything,
But what have I got to show? Oh Oh
Oh, like it or not
You are out on the street
And like it or not
That's where you will stay.
Oh, like it or not
There's another thing darling,
Well I just could not stand another day
'Cos if you want to know,
That there is still a chance to hold on to our love
'Cos I gave you everything
Everything I had - Everything I had.
It's been a long, been a long long time
Since I held anybody, since I loved anyone.
Oh it's been a long, been a long long long time
But if I'm right or if I'm wrong, does it matter anyway?
It's been a long long long long time
Since I held anybody, since I loved anyone.
Ooh it's been a long long long long time
But if I'm right or if I'm wrong, does it matter anyway?
Ooh it's been a long long long long time
Since I held anybody, since I loved anyone.
Oh it's been a long, been a long long long time
I'm right, if I'm wrong, does it matter anyway?
It's been a long long, long long long time
Since I held anybody, since I held anyone.
09 Another Record (04:20)
It's funny you know,
'Cos there's an old rock 'n' roller
He's got nowhere to go.
Did you ever think of taking him in?
Somebody help him, somebody please.
Put another record on
'Cos he likes that song.
It's funny you know,
Ooh he never done nothing, done nobody wrong,
Did he think about changing his name,
But I'm gonna tell him it's the same old game.
Put another record on
Round and round and round and around - oh
Ah - see him smile.
Well lately I've seen him
Walking down the street, kinda moving his feet,
Everyone I know looks the other way
Somebody help him, somebody say -
Put another record on
Round and round and round and around - oh
Ah - see him smile.
It's funny you know,
'Cos there's an old rock 'n' roller
He's got nowhere to go.
Did you ever think of taking him in?
Somebody help him, somebody please.
Just put another record on
Put another record on
Put another record on Cos you know we like it
Put another record on Cos you know we like it...
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di London
Il disco si apre con questo potente pezzo sospeso fra un’anima rock, una faccia quasi dance e una coda lunghissima strumentale.
Un disco che nel suo lato sperimentale e di rottura risulta incompleto, lo si incomincia a sopportare dopo molti ascolti, ma nulla di più.
Di paolo1968
«Abacab, ovvero il punto di non ritorno.»
«La feroce volontà di cambiare, di stupire, anche a costo di shockare l'ascoltatore.»
Di Giammotto
Phil Collins è l'anima ritmica e unica ragione per cui i Genesis negli anni '70 girarono a meraviglia.
"Who Dunnit?" è una provocazione: una canzone terribile o una richiesta di aiuto per la svolta pop del gruppo?
Di paolofreddie
Debole, fiacco, inutile, senz'anima! Abacab!
Abacab è un album che avrebbe fatto meglio a rimanere nel cassetto, un lavoro perlopiù mediocre, una pugnalata alla musica.
