On 13th February 1976, A Trick of the Tail, the first album Genesis recorded following the departure of lead singer Peter Gabriel, was released. Drummer Phil Collins stepped up to add lead vocals to his contribution, and the band produced a superb album that confounded the music journalists, who had written them off, and delighted fans.
The following is an abridged excerpt from my book THE SONGS OF GENESIS: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE STUDIO RECORDINGS.
Recording of the album took place at Trident Studios in London in October and November 1975. It was the band’s first album produced by David Hentschel, who captured a much cleaner sound on the recording. The band had known Hentschel for a few years, and the producer was a good friend of Collins, who respected his skills in attaining a more natural drum sound. Having met Collins whilst working as a tape operator on Nursery Cryme (1971), the pair had linked up again at Trident Studios on one of Collins’ many sessions outside the band. It was here that Collins asked Hentschel if he would be interested in producing the band. Hentschel was also an accomplished keyboard player and had a strong knowledge of synthesisers. Banks had been branching out into the world of synths since Selling England By the Pound (1973), and his sound would blossom on this album.
Once Genesis had put down all the backing tracks to the songs, they decided to start the auditioning process for Peter Gabriel’s replacement. An ad was placed in Melody Maker, ‘Singer wanted for Genesis-type group’, and many potential replacement singers sent in tapes. The band reduced these to a dozen or so real contenders. The auditions were held each Monday for five or six weeks in the autumn, using the band’s back catalogue (including ‘Firth of Fifth’ and ‘The Knife’) as well as the new material, on which Collins would guide them. The band ultimately went into the studio with Mick Stickland, formerly of the band Witches Brew, to test him on the new songs, but he struggled with the key to “Squonk”, the backing track for which, like for all the songs, had already been committed to tape.
In retrospect, it should have been obvious to Banks, Hackett and Rutherford that their new singer had been under their noses all along. Collins had sung lead vocals on two previous Genesis songs – the acoustic duo ‘For Absent Friends’ on Nursery Cryme and ‘More Fool Me’ on Selling England by the Pound. In addition, he had regularly backed up Gabriel and the pair had also contributed dual vocals on songs such as ‘Harold the Barrel’, ‘The Cinema Show’ and ‘Carpet Crawlers.’ Collins had already been pencilled in to sing two of the softer songs on the new album – ‘Entangled’ and ‘Ripples…’ The rest of the band had not considered him for the heavier songs, believing his voice to be too pure. Following the failed attempt to bring Stickland on board, Collins’ frustration finally boiled over, and he put himself forward.
Collins had already been touted as a potential lead vocalist to Steve Hackett by Yes frontman Jon Anderson at Collins’s wedding. Hackett had referenced Collins’s vocal work on his solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte (1975), and Anderson knew of Collins’s ability and said he would be a good choice. Rutherford recalled, “Phil did the vocal on ‘Squonk’, which was a big step for him as it has quite an aggressive vocal, and he sounded great, so we went with that.” He worked his way through the rest of the songs and ultimately completed the album.
The band were pleased with the results and had found the environment liberating without the tensions that had blighted their previous album. Rutherford recalled in 2007, “The whole concept of The Lamb was darker, longer, and it was a real uphill battle to finish. That’s why A Trick of the Tail was easier to make. It was lighter, Phil was singing, and we had a whole new scenario with a breath of fresh air.”
A Trick of the Tail was released on 13 February 1976 and reached #3 in the UK charts, where it resided for 39 weeks, becoming the band’s biggest seller to date. Despite only peaking at #31 in the USA, worldwide sales doubled those for The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and helped alleviate the band’s financial problems. The album cover was designed by Colin Elgie at Hipgnosis and featured a storybook texture with characters from the songs drawn on a parchment-coloured background with the album title in script. The cover was a great representation of the music the listener would find within.
Genesis had proved they were still a viable proposition without their former charismatic frontman Peter Gabriel. Critics responded well to the album. In Sounds, Barbara Charone said, “Genesis have not sacrificed anything or cheated themselves to attain such successful results. Only the strong survive. And Genesis possess great strength. A triumph.” Writing for Melody Maker, Chris Welch was equally as enthusiastic: “Whether this album will have the lasting appeal and impact of earlier classics like Foxtrot, time will tell, but from first impressions this is certainly one of the best recorded and produced works to bear the Genesis seal of quality.” In the US, Rolling Stone confirmed, “On their seventh attempt, Genesis has managed to turn the possible catastrophe of Gabriel’s departure into their first broad-based American success.”
With A Trick of the Tail, Genesis had wanted to prove themselves as writers following Gabriel’s departure. Many sections of the press had assumed that Gabriel was the main writer and therefore predicted the band’s downfall now that he had left. The album proved that Genesis were alive and well and were more than capable of progressing without their former charismatic frontman.
The opening cut, ‘Dance on a Volcano,’ really confirms this, with one of the best intros the band has produced, which immediately pulls the listener in. Tension is built throughout by the song’s urgent rhythms. It also contains one of the strongest vocal performances from Collins, who at this stage was still at his best on the more delicate material, such as the dreamy ‘Entangled’ and the beautifully melodic ‘Ripples…’ The album had tremendous variety, seemingly drawing on each band member’s strengths as writers and players. ‘Squonk’ showcased the heavier side of the group with a strong repeated guitar riff from Rutherford, ‘Los Endos’ Collins’ jazz-rock influences and ‘Ripples…’ contained some inventively eerie lead guitar from Hackett. Banks came more to the fore with his increasingly impressive symphonic approach to keyboards, producing some stunning harmonies on ‘Entangled’ and ‘Mad Man Moon.’
Banks was the leading writing contributor and produced some of his best work here. The songs he co-wrote with Rutherford stand with the very best of the band’s catalogue. Collins’s drumming also reached new heights on this record, mixing the powerful and the simple (‘Squonk’) with the technically brilliant (‘Dance on a Volcano’ and ‘Los Endos’). The drummer was certainly fired up by his new role in the band: “During A Trick of the Tail, I felt like I was doing something constructive. Before I felt like I was marking time.” The album’s critical and commercial success would give Genesis the confidence to produce a follow-up, Wind & Wuthering (released in December 1976), very quickly.
A TRICK OF THE TAIL
Released: 13 February 1976. LP. Charisma. CDS 4001 (UK); Atlantic/ATCO. SD 36-129 (USA).
Recorded at Trident Studios, London, October-November 1975.
Producer: David Hentschel and Genesis. Engineer: David Hentschel and Nick ‘Haddock’ Bradford.
2007 Remix/Remaster Release:
Mixed at The Farm, Surrey 2005/2006.
5.1 Surround sound and stereo mixes by Nick Davis. Assisted by Tom Mitchell, Tom Webster and Tom Tunney.
Musicians: Tony Banks – pianos, synthesisers, Hammond organ, Mellotron, 12-string guitar, backing vocals; Phil Collins – drums, percussion, lead and backing vocals; Steve Hackett – electric guitar, 12-string guitars, backing vocals; Mike Rutherford – bass guitar, bass pedals, 12-string guitar, backing vocals.
Tracks:
Side 1
1. ‘Dance on a Volcano’ (Rutherford, Banks, Hackett, Collins) (5:56)
2. ‘Entangled’ (Hackett, Banks) (6:27)
3. ‘Squonk’ (Rutherford, Banks) (6:30)
4. ‘Mad Man Moon’ (Banks) (7:34)
Side 2
5. ‘Robbery, Assault and Battery’ (Banks, Collins) (6:17)
6. ‘Ripples…’ (Rutherford, Banks) (8:07)
7. ‘A Trick of the Tail’ (Banks) (4:35)
8. ‘Los Endos’ (Collins, Hackett, Rutherford, Banks) (5:48)