June 6, 1986 - Invisible Touch

Only four days after my last release but a long three years since their self-titled album, Genesis released their thirteenth studio album "Invisible Touch" on June 6, 1986. It's been even longer since my last full album by Genesis but despite this record continuing the 3-piece's more pop-y music, I do have this whole album. It was their most successful album commercially, reaching #1 in the U.K., #3 in the U.S. and spawning five different top-5 singles. Let's check out some brand new Genesis!

The album's whole first side would end up becoming hugely successful singles, starting with the title track "Invisible Touch". Phil Collins plays some nice drums and Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford form a catchy and very pop-y riff. The keyboards and guitar are nothing amazing, but they're solid and it really is a catchy beat as Collins begins the first verse. His voice sounds pretty good as he nicely leads the verse and the opening riff turns out to be the chorus riff as Collins sings a pretty catchy chorus as well. It's certainly not the progressive Genesis of old that I prefer but for pop music it's pretty good. After another made-for-radio verse and chorus it seems like they are building up to a solo of some kind, but right when you'd expect it to start, they instead just cue up the chorus once again. A little anticlimactic I think: just because it's a bonafide radio single doesn't mean it can't have a cool solo! They seem perfectly content to stick to the formula though as they repeat the verse and chorus a couple more times until the song eventually fades to an end. The next song "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was also a big single, despite being just under 9 minutes long! Collins uses an electronic drum kit to play an interesting and cool beat as Banks and Rutherford add some droning and slightly trippy stuff overtop. It's a slow and pretty epic riff that I like and Collins once again does a nice job singing the verse. He may not be the expert storyteller that Peter Gabriel was, but Collins is still quite a good singer. This verse leads nicely into the chorus and although it has pretty much the same music I think Phil does an excellent job singing the chorus, especially his nice "oh-ohhhhhh". I just think it sounds epic and great and while this whole song isn't what I expected from Genesis, I like it a lot. After a couple more verses and choruses they shift into a new instrumental part with Rutherford playing a nice rhythm guitar and Collins playing around some more on his electronic drums. The sounds we hear don't sound like typical drums at all, but it sounds pretty cool. Banks starts off in the background but eventually takes over the lead with some cool stuff that reminds me a little bit of the Genesis of old, but it's still really not close. This part goes on for a little bit and sounds pretty good and at the end Collins starts to sing a new verse overtop of it and that sounds pretty good as well! A little over six minutes in now, they shift smoothly back to the main riff and play a couple solid verses and choruses. They jam out the chorus several times to end the song, but Collins and Rutherford continue to keep things interesting as we hear lots of nice drum fills and also some cool guitar. Track 3 is "Land Of Confusion" and Rutherford leads the way on this song as he plays some cool lead guitar as well as an interesting bass riff. Together they sound pretty good and Collins sings a great verse overtop as Genesis continue to produce catchy main riffs. The name of the song is actually the last line of the verse as Phil sings a nice chorus while Banks and Rutherford chime in with a pop-y "whoa-oh-oh" in the background. They play another cool verse and chorus and things quiet down as they shift to a new bridge riff. Rutherford continues to be the star as he plays some cool guitar and bass in this section and Collins sings a soft verse to match the slow mood. Banks finishes off the bridge with some cool keyboards and after a nice drum fill by Phil it's right into the final verse and chorus to finish things off. The final song on this side is called "In Too Deep" and it's a slow ballad led by Banks with some decent but very sappy sounding piano. Collins sings in a more "emotional" voice on this love song and while things sound alright this is easily the worst song on the album already; this is the more pop-y side of Genesis that I'm not a big fan of. The chorus is even dreamier sounding with some very light and pop-y keyboards and while I'm sure some people really liked this soft voice that Collins uses on this song, I much prefer his more edgy and rock-ish vocal style. They slowly play through another verse and chorus and then we get a synth "solo" from Banks that is really just some more light and fluffy stuff. After a final verse they jam out the chorus until the end of the song in a disappointing end to an otherwise pretty good side. 

Side two begins with "Anything She Does" and it has a very lively beat led by a horns section. Rutherford plays some interesting bass and Collins adds more electronic percussion that makes this an interesting and upbeat opening. When Collins begins the first verse it gets much quieter as Banks plays some light and decent keyboards. Collins sounds pretty good as usual and he and Banks both speed up in the chorus that is alright, but I expected a return to the lively opening riff which hasn't happened yet. They play another verse and chorus and they finally return to the cool horns-led part as this ends up taking the place a solo would normally occupy. This pop-y Genesis doesn't do many solos but this part is cool at least, even though it's very predictable. It leads right back into the verse and they are content to jam out the chorus for almost a minute to end it. Rutherford tries to spice it up on guitar, but it's a rather lame attempt honestly. The next song "Domino" is the longest on the album at 10:45. It has a soft opening with Rutherford playing some light guitar and Banks leading the way with some keyboards that sound very similar to a flute. It's a light riff but it sounds good to me and Collins sings a light verse overtop to match. They shift nicely into a more upbeat chorus and Collins plays some electronic drums that sound pretty epic. He plays a normal drum kit most of the time but nicely mixes in the epic electronic drums and things sound pretty good! They segue very smoothly back to the slow verse as Collins continues to sing in a solid voice. They go back and forth between the verse and chorus a few times and eventually things really quiet down as it's only Banks playing some slow and light keyboards. Collins sings a sappy verse to match and this part is very dreamy but thankfully not too long. From there Rutherford starts up a nice bass riff and Collins plays a nice heavy drum beat as they move into a cool new part. Banks plays some slow but epic keyboards overtop this solid backing riff and Collins comes in to sing an epic new verse. Phil throws in some more electronic percussion for nice effect as well and Genesis are showing that they remember some of their prog roots as they do another nice shift into another new part. Rutherford plays some light guitar and Banks continues to leads the way with some dreamy but decent stuff. Collins sings another new verse and he sounds great in this one as he's almost yelling it out. This part is somehow new yet they also seamlessly throw back to earlier parts of the song. After a brief return to the quiet and dreamy part it's right back to the old/new riff and somehow it matches up perfectly with the original chorus as they nicely combine everything together. Collins plays some great drum fills as they jam things out, on both regular and electronic drums as they definitely keep things interesting even this late as the song eventually fades to a close. Track 7 was the final of the top-5 singles, titled "Throwing It All Away". They start up the slow verse right away as Rutherford plays some light guitar to lead another made-for-radio ballad. Collins sings a slow verse to match the mood and the chorus is the same riff but with Banks adding some slow synths overtop. At the end of the chorus they break out into a more involved version of the main riff that has keyboards, more drums and some very cliche pop back-up singers. I'm not a fan of the slower music style already, but the female back-up singers oohing along is a full pop explosion that I'm not a fan of. They slowly jam through another verse and chorus and by that point the song is basically over as one final chorus finishes it off. The last song on the album is an instrumental called "The Brazilian" and Rutherford and Collins combine for a nice opening. Mike leads the way with some very computer-y but cool guitar that sounds more like a synthesizer and Phil is playing some pretty great drums to back him. After a minute of this interesting opening they move into the chorus riff as Banks plays some droning synths and Rutherford continues to lead the way with some cool synth-y guitar. It's a unique and unusual beat that I think sounds pretty cool as everyone sounds like they are experimenting a bit on this song. The result is some pretty epic stuff and Phil plays some great drums in the background throughout all of it. Towards the end Rutherford comes in with some actual guitar overtop of everything else and he plays a pretty sweet solo that might be the best guitar he played all album, all while the song is fading away to end the album.

That is the end of "Invisible Touch" and I thought it was a good album, especially for a more pop-y Genesis. Aside from one sappy song on each side I thought the rest of the album was pretty good. It is a far cry from the Genesis of old (they sound like two completely different bands) but even though Genesis have changed their style this album is undeniably catchy and likeable. I actually like it more than the last album I have by them "Wind & Wuthering" but I don't think it's quite good enough to beat "A Trick Of The Tail" and still comes nowhere close to the Gabriel-era. This is actually the last we will hear from Genesis in my library and they are a band that has since lost their ways but back in the early 70s were one of the powerhouses of progressive rock. Here's my final rankings for Genesis:

1. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
2. Foxtrot
3. Nursery Cryme
4. Selling England By The Pound
5. Trespass
6. A Trick Of The Tail
7. Invisible Touch
8. Wind & Wuthering