Nursery Cryme

The next Genesis album was entitled Nursery Cryme and was a big jump dynamically for the band. Steve Hackett’s aggressive guitar style was firmly planted in the band’s sound by this point and the album is considered one of their best by some fans. Again we find that the musical form is very symphonic and that Genesis where considered by some the classical music of their time and more so with this album. One major track that was mentioned earlier is The Greek mythology track the Fountain of Salmacis. Again the inspiration for this track came from the band member’s academic background. The track has been described by the band members as more of an Odyssey rather than a song and the track would vary from performance to performance. The track was a big hint as to what the band would later produce on successive albums. Another track from the same album that again was quinticentialy English is The Return of the Giant Hogweed, which was based on the true events of an indestructible weed which had taken over the south coast of England. The track had a very comical feel both lyrically and musically.The melodies and form to the tracks on Nursery Cryme again are very symphonic. It was at this point to the wonder of the other band members that Peter Gabriel began wearing makeup and masks and elaborate costumes on stage. These theatrics did in fact build the bands audience but would cause a clash later with the other band members. Also on this album we come across the musically and lyrically dark Musical Box track.

This track was a fusion of different styles musically and was a viechle for Gabriel’s theatrics and storytelling as the track tells the tale of a boy and girl playing croquet. The girl in the story goes on to decapitate the boy with her croquet mallet. She then heads to the play room of the house and opens the boy’s musical box which plays Old King Cole. Once the box is opened the boys ghost appears to the girl and begins to age rapidly and turns into an old man. In the live production, Gabriel describes the theme of the track to the audience before the song begins. The music of the track ebbs and flows and dips and dives between long keyboard and guitar solos and is an epic piece of progressive rock. The track is thought of as a classic Genesis piece and was a staple of their live performance for some time. This dynamic piece of art rock is an intensely complex performance and must have taken a lot of effort to perform. Gabriel’s performance as the old man with his mask is a wonder to watch.