Abacab
Studio album by Genesis
Released	18 September 1981
Recorded	May - June 1981 at The Farm/Surrey
Genre	Pop rock
Length	47:10
Label	Charisma/Virgin (UK) Atlantic (US)
Producer	Genesis
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Genesis chronology
Duke (1980) Abacab (1981) Three Sides Live (1982) Alternate cover 7-inch single cover

Abacab is the eleventh studio album by British band Genesis, released in 1981. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A studio album is a collection of previously unreleased, studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... Genesis is an English rock band formed in 1967. ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the music genre. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Charisma Records was a record label started by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith in 1969. ... Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... Atlantic Records (Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American record label, and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Genesis is an English rock band formed in 1967. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 4. ... Genesis is an English rock band formed in 1967. ... Duke is the tenth studio album by British band Genesis, was released in March 1980. ... Three Sides Live is the third live album by British band Genesis, released in 1982. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... An album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. ... Genesis is an English rock band formed in 1967. ...

Overview

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The album marks a sharp stylistic jump, begun by the band on its preceding album Duke, away from their progressive rock style of the 1970s and toward a more radio-friendly pop music sound. Despite the change, the title track, "No Reply At All", "Keep It Dark" and "Man on the Corner" were all respectable hits as singles and Abacab earned Genesis further fans, with the album hitting UK #1 and US #7, selling several million copies worldwide and becoming the band's first Platinum selling album in the US. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Shortcut: WP:WIN Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia and, as a means to that end, also an online community. ... Shortcut: WP:CU Marking articles for cleanup This page is undergoing a transition to an easier-to-maintain format. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOV Wikipedia policy is that all articles should be written from a neutral point of view. ... This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. ... Duke is the tenth studio album by British band Genesis, was released in March 1980. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... For other uses, see Pop music (disambiguation). ...

Another noteworthy element of Abacab is drummer Phil Collins's further refinement of his distinctive drum sound, involving reverberation, noise gates and compression in order to achieve an inordinately loud and authoritative percussive effect. This continued a trend Collins began on his solo hit single "In the Air Tonight", as well as the song "Intruder" from former bandmate Peter Gabriel's third album. For the comic book character, see Drummer (comics). ... For other uses, see Phil Collins (disambiguation). ... This article is about audio effect. ... A noise gate is an electronic device or software logic that is used to control the volume of an audio signal. ... Audio level compression, also called dynamic range compression, volume compression, compression, limiting, or DRC (often seen in DVD player settings) is a process that manipulates the dynamic range of an audio signal. ... In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer (solo is an Italian word literally meaning alone). ... In the Air Tonight is a song by Phil Collins which first appeared on his 1981 album, Face Value. ... Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950, in Chobham,[1] Surrey, England) is an English musician. ... Peter Gabriels third solo album,released May 30,1980. ...

In addition to pounding rock, Abacab incorporates upbeat, accessible music - an increasingly important element in Genesis's style at the time. "No Reply At All" features the Earth, Wind & Fire horn section (as did Collins' solo album Face Value earlier in 1981), and even "Dodo/Lurker," whose adventurous lyrics recall traditional Genesis, features a funky rhythm, propelled by Tony Banks's keyboards. Earth, Wind & Fire is a world-renowned American band which fuses different genres of music, formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 and is led and founded by Maurice White. ... In a symphony orchestra the horn section is the group of musicians who play the horn (sometimes referred to as the French horn). ... For other uses, see Face value (disambiguation). ... (L–R) Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Tony Banks in November 2006, promoting the upcoming Turn It On Again tour Anthony George Tony Banks (born March 27, 1950) is an English songwriter, pianist/keyboard player, and guitarist. ...

After years of using outside record producers, Genesis produced Abacab solely by themselves, while limiting further than before the number of solo compositions in favor of the group-written pieces. They also had the expertise of engineer Hugh Padgham, who assisted Collins on Face Value and would continue to work on Genesis and Collins recordings through the end of the decade. In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Hugh Padgham is a British record producer and audio engineer. ...

The album takes its name from an early arrangement of the musical parts that make up the title track. Guitarist Mike Rutherford said on the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard (which spotlighted Duke and Abacab in one episode): "There were three bits of music in Abacab, and we referred to them as 'section a', 'section b', and 'section c'... and at different times, they were in different order. We'd start with 'section a' and then have 'section c'... and at one point in time, it spelled Abacab. On the final version, it's not that at all, it's like 'Accaabbaac'." An album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. ... In music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet. ... Michael John Cleote Crawford Rutherford (born October 2, 1950 in Guildford, Surrey) is an English musician. ...

Due to its daring shift in style, Abacab is generally considered one of Genesis' most important releases, and was a springboard for future hit albums Genesis and Invisible Touch. The band had been influenced by the punk/new wave revolution in Britain insofar as what they were now offering fans was a set of minimalist, bare, punchy songs, much more in step with the pop charts than Genesis had ever been before. Indeed the compositions are very much a musical companion to the abstract artwork on album's sleeve. Opening with the hard hitting yet pulsing beat of the title song, nothing could be further from the highly orchestrated work of the mid-seventies. Genesis is an eponymous album by Genesis and is their twelfth studio album, recorded and released in 1983. ... Invisible Touch is an album by Genesis, released in 1986. ...

That said, the complexity of a song like "Me and Sarah Jane" remained as musically challenging as anything on earlier recordings, even if the sound of the instrumental palette had expanded since the mid-seventies to encompass an innumerably wider array of synthesizers, a more effects-driven sound to Rutherford's guitars, and the more aggressive sound of Collins' vocals and 'gated' drums. The lyrical content is also identifiable as woe:

Parts of this album lean toward the nihilistic, with "Dodo's" references to 'big noise, black smoke' as a clear indication that the band was shying away from the incredibly personal introspection of 'Duke', and had returned to a more existential bent. That said, in contrast to more refined, 'poetic' approaches to these issues during the late 70's, by "Abacab" there is a more abrasive, punk-inflected sensibility to the lyrics, favoring cut-up collage to the baroque stylings of the earlier years. Take for example the following lyric (also from "Dodo"):

While the album is often cited as a central album in terms of the stylistic shift, many have also noted that it is incredibly inconsistent in terms of overall quality. Stronger material that had been left off of Abacab was soon issued on the 3 X 3 EP, which broke the top ten of the UK singles chart, on the strength of the song "Paperlate." 3 X 3 is the second and final EP from the rock band Genesis and was released in 1982. ... // Extended play (EP) is the name typically given to vinyl records or CDs which contain more than one single but are too short to qualify as albums. ...

Track listing

All songs by Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Mike Rutherford, except where noted. (L–R) Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Tony Banks in November 2006, promoting the upcoming Turn It On Again tour Anthony George Tony Banks (born March 27, 1950) is an English songwriter, pianist/keyboard player, and guitarist. ... For other uses, see Phil Collins (disambiguation). ... Michael John Cleote Crawford Rutherford (born October 2, 1950 in Guildford, Surrey) is an English musician. ...

1. "Abacab" – 7:02
2. "No Reply At All" – 4:40
3. "Me And Sarah Jane" (Tony Banks) – 6:00
4. "Keep It Dark" – 4:32
5. "Dodo/Lurker" – 7:30
6. "Who Dunnit?" – 3:23
7. "Man On The Corner" (Phil Collins) – 4:27
8. "Like It Or Not" (Mike Rutherford) – 4:57
9. "Another Record" – 4:29

Abacab track listing Abacab (Track 1) No Reply At All (Track 2) Abacab is a song released on September 14, 1981. ... Abacab track listing Abacab (Track 1) No Reply at All (Track 2) Me and Sarah Jane (Track 3) No Reply at All is a song by British band Genesis, released on their 1981 album Abacab. ... Keep It Dark is a song by British band Genesis, off their 1981 album Abacab. ... Man on the Corner is a song by British band Genesis, from their 1981 album, Abacab. ... Like It Or Not is a song by British band Genesis, appearing on their 1981 album Abacab. ...

2007 SACD/CD/DVD Release

A new version of Abacab was released in the U.K. and Japan on April 2, 2007. It was released in the US and Canada as part of the Genesis 1976-1982 box set on May 15, 2007. This includes the entire album in remixed stereo, the entire album in surround sound, and related video tracks. is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Genesis 1976-1982 is a box set by British band Genesis. ...

• Disc 1, in the European and Japanese releases, is a hybrid SACD/CD disk. The stereo layer includes the remixed tracks, and the SACD layer is a multichannel surround sound remix.^[1]

• Disc 1, in the Canadian and U.S. releases, is a standard CD, containing the stereo remixes. No SACD layer is included.^[2]

• Disc 2, in all releases, is a DVD-Video disk containing both audio and video tracks. This DVD includes three audio mixes of the album: DTS 5.1-channel surround sound, Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound, and Dolby Digital stereo.^[3] The DTS surround sound is a slightly compressed version of the surround sound on the SACD,^[4] and the Dolby surround sound is of slightly inferior quality to the DTS.^[5]

• Disk 2 also includes the following video tracks:

1. Band interview about this album (2006).
2. Promotional videos: "Abacab", "No Reply At All", "Keep It Dark" and "Man On The Corner".
3. World Tour program, from 1981 tour (15 page gallery).

“EU” redirects here. ... Super Audio CD (SACD) is a read-only optical audio disc format aimed at providing much higher fidelity digital audio reproduction than the compact disc. ... “CD” redirects here. ... Multichannel audio is the name for a variety of techniques for expanding and enriching the sound of audio playback by recording additional sound channels that can be reproduced on additional speakers. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... “CD” redirects here. ... DVD-Video format logo DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD (DVD-ROM) discs, and is currently the dominant form of consumer video formats in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. ... DTS (also known as Digital Theater Systems), owned by DTS, Inc. ... Multichannel audio is the name for a variety of techniques for expanding and enriching the sound of audio playback by recording additional sound channels that can be reproduced on additional speakers. ... Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies by Dolby Laboratories. ... Multichannel audio is the name for a variety of techniques for expanding and enriching the sound of audio playback by recording additional sound channels that can be reproduced on additional speakers. ... Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies by Dolby Laboratories. ... Label for 2. ...

References

• In 1992, when the video game Mortal Kombat was ported to the Sega Genesis, the development team made a secret code in the game that spelled out "Abacab" on the controller pad, a deliberate reference to one of Ed Boon's favorite bands which shared the same name as the console the code was exclusive to.

• In the Kimagure Orange Road manga and anime, the restaurant ABCB was named in homage to the album. (The phonetic pronunciation of the letters in Japanese is similar in pronunciation to "Abacab.")

• During an on-air discussion about the song, Artie Lange of The Howard Stern Show stated that when he was in high school he would sometimes use "A,B,A,C,A,B" to select answers on multiple choice exams. He claims to have usually got "about half of them right" by using this method.

Mortal Kombat was the first entry in the famous Mortal Kombat fighting game series by Midway, released in arcades in 1992. ... The Mega Drive/Genesis was a 16-bit video game console released by Sega in Japan (1988), Europe (1990) and most of the rest of the world as the Mega Drive. ... Ed Boon, on a G4TV interview Ed Boon (born March 30, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois), along with John Tobias is a co-creator of the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Kimagure Orange Road ) is a popular shōnen romantic comedy manga series from the late 1980s. ... Arthur Steven Lange, Jr. ... This article is about the radio show hosted by Howard Stern. ... Multiple choice (MCQ) questions or items are a form of assessment item for which respondents are asked to select one or more of the choices from a list. ...

Working Titles for the Album

Before Abacab was released, many of the songs had working titles. Below is a list of the original song working titles and finalized song titles (In Paranthesis):

• Abacab 07:06

• Jangley (You Might Recall) 05:36 (Cut from album, but released as part of the 3 X 3 EP, and original release of "Three Sides Live")

• Nationwide (No Reply At All) 04:47

• German I & II (Dodo/Lurker) 07:28

• Sub (Submarine) 04:21 (Cut from album, released as a B-Side to "Man on the Corner", Instrumental Track)

• Vocal 3/4 (Naminanu) 03:55 (Cut from album, released as a B-Side to "Keep It Dark", Instrumental Track. The song also was created from improvising in the studio.)

• Chunkey (Me & Virgil) 06:24 (Cut from album, but released as part of the 3 X 3 EP, and original release of "Three Sides Live")

• Odd (Keep It Dark) 04:36

• Spike (Me & Sarah Jane) 06:02

• Westside (Another Record) 04:42

• Wierdsynth (Who Dunnit?) 03:41
• Lonely Man (Man On The Corner) 04:30
• Don (Like It Or Not) 05:00

Personnel

• Phil Collins – drums, percussion, all vocals
• Tony Banks – keyboards,
• Mike Rutherford – bass, guitars

• Engineered by Hugh Padgham
• Cover by Bill Smith

Additional personnel For other uses, see Phil Collins (disambiguation). ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... “Percussion” redirects here. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... (L–R) Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Tony Banks in November 2006, promoting the upcoming Turn It On Again tour Anthony George Tony Banks (born March 27, 1950) is an English songwriter, pianist/keyboard player, and guitarist. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... Michael John Cleote Crawford Rutherford (born October 2, 1950 in Guildford, Surrey) is an English musician. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, popping or using a pick. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Audio engineering is a part of audio science dealing with the recording and reproduction of sound through mechanical and electronic means. ... Hugh Padgham is a British record producer and audio engineer. ... An album cover is a cover used to package commercial audio recordings such as the printed cardboard covers that were typically used to package 12 gramophone records from the 1960s through to the 1980s when the 12 record was the major format for distribution of popular music. ... Bill Smith is a common name and could refer to the following people: Bill Smith, a professional poker player Bill Smith, the former mayor of Edmonton Bill Smith (Red Green Show character), Adventures with Bill. ...

• EWF Horns – horns

Earth, Wind & Fire is a world-renowned American band which fuses different genres of music, formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 and is led and founded by Maurice White. ... In a symphony orchestra the horn section is the group of musicians who play the horn (sometimes referred to as the French horn). ...

Footnotes