I love...
Genesis/From Genesis To Revelation (1969)
Genesis/Trespass (1970)
Genesis/Wind & Wuthering (1976)
Genesis/Calling All Stations (1997)11/15 albums in my collection
We Can't Dance
1991
12 Tracks - 71:59
- No Son of Mine 6:41
- Jesus He Knows Me 4:23
- Driving the Last Spike 10:10
- I Can't Dance 4:04
- Never a Time 3:52
- Dreaming While You Sleep 7:21
- Tell Me Why 5:00
- Living Forever 5:42
- Hold on My Heart 4:40
- Way of the World 5:40
- Since I Lost You 4:10
- Fading Lights 10:16
My Copy
Invisible Touch
1986
8 Tracks - 45:42
Side One
- Invisible Touch 3:29
- Tonight, Tonight, Tonight 8:53
- Land of Confusion 4:45
- In Too Deep 4:58
Side Two
- Anything She Does 4:21
- Domino 10:44
- In the Glow of the Night 4:27
- The Last Domino 6:18
- Throwing It All Away 3:53
- The Brazilian 4:50
Well, someone's gotta say it, right? So shoot me! I think Invisible Touch is peak-Genesis!
From beginning to end, this album has such a powerful energy: sleek production, hook-heavy songwriting, and Phil Collins’s dominant vocal presence. Many online say you "can't differentiate this one from a Phil Collins solo record", but I beg to differ. You can hear the writing and instrumental influence from Banks and Rutherford—this album is much more sonically rich than Collins' solo work. A lot of people seem to hate it becuase it's popular, but I think it's just great. It was designed to stick to your brain like peanut butter, and I'll gladly let it happen.
I think it's really cool that despite transitioning fully into radio friendly Progressive Pop, they were able to include longer tracks like "Tonight, Tonight Tonight" and "Domino". The title track, "Invisible Touch" is one of the catchiest, most infectious melodies ever written—it's dangerous! "Land of Confusion" is a classic 80's protest song, you've got your Collins-y love songs in the form of "Throwing It All Away", "Anything She Does" and "In Too Deep", and you've even got an instrumental which sounds like all of the electronic 1980's at once—"The Brazillian".
At 45 minutes long, this album is the perfect length. It comes on strong, dives deep, delivers hits and keeps going until the very end. It's just so well done in every department; it's Phil Collins and Genesis at the top of their game, and the last great Genesis album. Even in his solo career, it seems like Phil became more sad and less energetic after this one. We Can't Dance is a very lopsided album, and it's much slower than Invisible Touch—though it too has it's merits.
I got a copy of this album on CD back in November of 2023, but I didn't listen to it then. I saw it on the shelf and thought, "I like Pink Floyd, and according to the internet people, I'm going to like Genesis someday too". The internet people were right, and after really getting into Selling England By The Pound in the Spring of 2025, I dug this one out and played it on repeat. It's my most-listened album in June and August of 2025, taking a close second in July to Phil Collins second solo effort, Hello, I Must Be Going!.
My Copy
Genesis
1983
9 Tracks - 46:18
Side One
- Mama 6:52
- That's All 4:25
- Home by the Sea 5:08
- Second Home by the Sea 6:06
Side Two
- Illegal Alien 5:17
- Taking It All Too Hard 3:58
- Just a Job to Do 4:47
- Silver Rainbow 4:31
- It's Gonna Get Better 5:14
My Copy
Abacab
1981
9 Tracks - 47:03
Side One
- Abacab 6:58
- No Reply at All 4:33
- Me and Sarah Jane 6:02
- Keep It Dark 4:33
Side Two
- Dodo/Lurker 7:28
- Dodo 5:09
- Lurker 2:19
- Who Dunnit? 3:22
- Man on the Corner 4:28
- Like It or Not 4:58
- Another Recor 4:38
My Copy
Duke
1980
12 Tracks - 55:06
Side One
- Behind the Lines 5:31
- Duchess 6:40
- Guide Vocal 1:18
- Man of Our Times 5:35
- Misunderstanding 3:11
- Heathaze 5:00
Side Two
- Turn It On Again 3:50
- Alone Tonight 3:54
- Cul-de-sac 5:02
- Please Don't Ask 4:00
- Duke's Travels 8:41
- Duke's End 2:04
My Copy
...and then there were three...
1978
11 Tracks - 53:35
Side One
- Down and Out 5:28
- Undertow 4:47
- Ballad of Big 4:51
- Snowbound 4:31
- Burning Rope 7:10
Side Two
- Deep in the Motherlode 5:16
- Many Too Many 3:32
- Scenes from a Night's Dream 3:30
- Say It's Alright Joe 4:21
- The Lady Lies 6:08
- Follow You Follow Me 4:01
My Copy
A Trick of The Tail
1976
8 Tracks - 51:14
Side One
- Dance on a Volcano 5:56
- Entangled 6:27
- Squonk 6:30
- Mad Man Moon 7:34
Side Two
- Robbery, Assault and Battery 6:17
- Ripples... 8:07
- A Trick of the Tail 4:35
- Los Endos 5:48
My Copy
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
1974
23 Tracks - 94:17
Side One
- The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway 4:48
- Fly on a Windshield 2:45
- Broadway Melody of 1974 2:11
- Cuckoo Cocoon 2:11
- In the Cage 8:14
- The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging 2:47
Side Two
- Back in N.Y.C. 5:44
- Hairless Heart 2:10
- Counting Out Time 3:42
- Carpet Crawl 5:15
- The Chamber of 32 Doors 5:40
Side Three
- Lilywhite Lilith 2:45
- The Waiting Room 5:22
- Anyway 3:08
- Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist 3:00
- The Lamia 6:57
- Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats 3:07
Side Four
- The Colony of Slippermen 8:13
- The Arrival 2:45
- A Visit to the Doktor 2:30
- The Raven 3:00
- Ravine 2:04
- The Light Dies Down on Broadway 3:33
- Riding the Scree 3:57
- In the Rapids 2:30
- it. 4:14
My Copy
SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND
1973
8 Tracks - 53:48
Side One
- Dancing with the Moonlit Knight 8:05
- I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) 4:08
- Firth of Fifth 9:38
- More Fool Me 3:12
Side Two
- The Battle of Epping Forest 11:49
- After the Ordeal 4:17
- The Cinema Show 11:06
- Aisle of Plenty 1:33
It's difficult to pin down a "definitive" Genesis album because of ever-evolving lineup of the band, but I'd say Selling England By The Pound is the "definitive" Genesis album when they were in the height of their five-piece Progressive rock era. This grandiose record centers around english culture at the time, mourning the loss of their tradition in the face of modern commercialism, consumerism and increasing American influence. From what I can tell on the prog forums and from the people I talked to at a Genesis tribute concert, this one is generally regarded as the fan favourite. Across the whole genre, this record is considered a quintessential Prog Rock album; it features intricate and sophisticated compositions and lyrics from Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett, and Phil Collins.
I think this is the best Prog Genesis album. Foxtrot was their entry into this era—their Atom Heart Mother—and this one was their Dark Side of The Moon. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, much like The Wall, is a double-album, the final with this lineup, and resulted in tensions which led to Peter Gabriel splitting from the group.
Personally? I think this album feels absolutely epic to listen to. "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" is one of my favourite Genesis songs becuase it's melodramatic, grandiose and fun to sing along to. The imagery all across this album is wacky and vivid—it's just so much fun to listen to.
I got a copy of this album in October of 2024 knowing that I would probably like Genesis someday, but I didn't like it all that much when I listened to it. I set it aside for a couple of months, and the next time I thought about it was in April of 2025 while reading Larry Niven's Ringworld. Not a lot of science fiction books tickle the mind like that book does—the ideas it presents are hard to fathom because of their cosmic scale, and the descriptions of an idealized future of humanity were especially enchanting to me for whatever reason. It felt like being a kid reading a storybook and having my mind blown. That made me think of this album because it too was really wacky, so I decided to listen to it. That time, it clicked and in the following three months, I listened to it over eighty times!
My Copy
Foxtrot
1972
8 Tracks - 51:13
Side One
- Watcher of the Skies 7:24
- Time Table 4:47
- Get 'Em Out by Friday 8:38
- Can-Utility and the Coastliners 5:48
Side Two
- Horizons 1:42
- Supper's Ready 22:54
- Lover's Leap
- The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man
- Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men
- How Dare I Be So Beautiful?
- Willow Farm
- Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)
- As Sure as Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)
My Copy
Nursery Cryme
1971
7 Tracks - 39:39
Side One
- The Musical Box 10:32
- For Absent Friends 1:48
- The Return of the Giant Hogweed 8:13
Side Two
- Seven Stones 5:12
- Harold the Barrel 3:01
- Harlequin 2:57
- The Fountain of Salmacis 7:56
My Copy
But what about...
Phil Collins/Testify (2002)9/10 albums in my collection
Face Value
1981
13 Tracks - 47:49
Side One
- In the Air Tonight 5:34
- This Must Be Love 3:55
- Behind the Lines 3:53
- The Roof Is Leaking 3:16
- Droned 2:49
- Hand in Hand 5:20
Side Two
- I Missed Again 3:41
- You Know What I Mean 2:33
- Thunder and Lightning 4:12
- I'm Not Moving 2:33
- If Leaving Me Is Easy 4:54
- Tomorrow Never Knows 4:15
- Over the Rainbow 0:32
My Copy
Hello, I Must Be Going!
1982
10 Tracks - 45:10
- I Don't Care Anymore 5:00
- I Cannot Believe It's True 5:14
- Like China 5:05
- Do You Know, Do You Care? 4:57
- You Can't Hurry Love 2:57
- It Don't Matter to Me 4:12
- Thru These Walls 5:02
- Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away 4:43
- The West Side 4:59
- Why Can't It Wait 'Til Morning 3:01
My Copy
No Jacket Required
1985
11 Tracks - 46:12
- Sussudio 4:23
- Only You Know and I Know 4:20
- Long Long Way to Go 4:20
- I Don't Wanna Know 4:12
- One More Night 4:47
- Don't Lose My Number 4:46
- Who Said I Would 4:01
- Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore 4:18
- Inside Out 5:14
- Take Me Home 5:51
- We Said Hello Goodbye 4:15
My Copy
...But Seriously
1989
12 Tracks - 59:42
- Hang in Long Enough 4:44
- That's Just the Way It Is 5:20
- Do You Remember? 4:36
- Something Happened on the Way to Heaven 4:52
- Colours 8:51
- I Wish It Would Rain Down 5:28
- Another Day in Paradise 5:22
- Heat on the Street 3:51
- All of My Life 5:36
- Saturday Night and Sunday Morning 1:26
- Father to Son 3:28
- Find a Way to My Heart 6:08
My Copy
Serious Hits... Live!
1990
12 Tracks - 76:53
- Something Happened on the Way to Heaven 4:59
- Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) 3:28
- Who Said I Would 4:28
- One More Night 5:49
- Don't Lose My Number 4:42
- Do You Remember? 5:40
- Another Day in Paradise 5:36
- Separate Lives 5:16
- In the Air Tonight 6:35
- You Can't Hurry Love 2:54
- Two Hearts 3:07
- Sussudio 7:14
- A Groovy Kind of Love 3:30
- Easy Lover 4:46
- Take Me Home 8:39
My Copy
Both Sides
1993
11 Tracks - 67:10
- Both Sides of the Story 6:42
- Can't Turn Back the Years 4:40
- Everyday 5:43
- I've Forgotten Everything 5:15
- We're Sons of Our Fathers 6:24
- Can't Find My Way 5:09
- Survivors 6:05
- We Fly So Close 7:33
- There's a Place for Us 6:52
- We Wait and We Wonder 7:01
- Please Come Out Tonight 5:46
My Copy
Dance Into The Light
1996
13 Tracks - 60:33
- Both Sides of the Story 6:42
- Can't Turn Back the Years 4:40
- Everyday 5:43
- I've Forgotten Everything 5:15
- We're Sons of Our Fathers 6:24
- Can't Find My Way 5:09
- Survivors 6:05
- We Fly So Close 7:33
- There's a Place for Us 6:52
- We Wait and We Wonder 7:01
- Please Come Out Tonight 5:46
My Copy
...HITS
1999
16 Tracks - 74:01
- Another Day in Paradise 5:22
- True Colors 4:34
- Easy Lover (with Philip Bailey) 5:02
- You Can't Hurry Love 2:52
- Two Hearts 3:24
- I Wish It Would Rain Down 5:28
- Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) 3:25
- Something Happened on the Way to Heaven 4:51
- Separate Lives (with Marilyn Martin) 4:06
- Both Sides of the Story 6:37
- One More Night 4:46
- Sussudio 4:21
- Dance into the Light 4:22
- A Groovy Kind of Love 3:29
- In the Air Tonight 5:30
- Take Me Home 5:52
My Copy
Going Back
2010
16 Tracks - 74:01
- Another Day in Paradise 5:22
- True Colors 4:34
- Easy Lover (with Philip Bailey) 5:02
- You Can't Hurry Love 2:52
- Two Hearts 3:24
- I Wish It Would Rain Down 5:28
- Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) 3:25
- Something Happened on the Way to Heaven 4:51
- Separate Lives (with Marilyn Martin) 4:06
- Both Sides of the Story 6:37
- One More Night 4:46
- Sussudio 4:21
- Dance into the Light 4:22
- A Groovy Kind of Love 3:29
- In the Air Tonight 5:30
- Take Me Home 5:52