Number 44

Even then, this album cover sucked. It's an invisible hand touching, geez how literal. Didn't they know people wanted to see what a "Sussudio" looked like?

Another band on tour this year which I will not be seeing (only have so much money to see these bands. Nobody tours cheaply any more.) has an album at Number 44 in my favorite CD countdown.

Number 44 is... Genesis - Invisible Touch (1986)

Musically, there is a basic rule in distinguishing Phil Collins from Genesis. Phil Collins=horns, Genesis=synthesizers. Sometimes this rule is violated ("No Reply At All" is Genesis, "In The Air Tonight" is Phil Collins) but for the most part it holds true. Originally, Phil Collins was pop and Genesis was Art Rock and the idea of mixing the two was like oil and water. But, after Collins established pop chart dominance with his No Jacket Required (1984) album letting his commercial instincts run wild under the Genesis banner didn't sound so bad. So it came to be the album known as Invisible Touch and all of the old Genesis fans fretted over the jettisoning of prog rock complexity. There would be no more The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway or "Watcher of the Skies". There wouldn't be anymore "Abacab". There wouldn't even be a "Second Home By The Sea".

But what there would be was an actual legacy for the Collin's led version of Genesis. Like it or not, Invisible Touch made the trio version of the band the definitive lineup in the minds of the general public. It also created one of my favorite pieces of trivia, "What's the only band that was successful, had the lead singer and lead guitarist quit, did not replace those members and became even more successful as a result?" I can't think of any other band that became more successful because the rhythm section was left to it's own devices (I guess I could count Booker T and the MGs, but it just doesn't seem like the same situation to me).

Invisible Touch was initially a hard sell for me because I liked Abacab (1981) and Genesis (1983) for its combination of complex rhythms, art rock edginess melded with a slight pop sensibility. Based on the lead single, "Invisible Touch", I heard what was basically a solo Phil Collins song with keyboards and electronic drums. But, as that song and others became the soundtrack to my first year of college I came to like it quite a bit.

"Invisible Touch" with it's catchy, child like chorus and swirling synths became a huge hit song that would play as throughout the summer while I worked, spent time with high school friends and practiced driving. Driving in my parents car without anyone else in it, feeling a little independent, is what comes to mind when I hear that song. The second single, "Throwing It All Away" is one of my least favorite Genesis songs (it's boring) but it was one of the songs I bonded with a friend over who would become one of my best friends in college (he insisted Collins did this certain hand motion to someone who disagreed with him, I backed him up. It was true). The third single, "Land of Confusion" had the cool puppet video and reminds me of hot summer nights out with my new college friends. The pounding drums and urgent chorus made it a big hit. "Tonight Tonight Tonight" was one of the first songs to become a hit thru a beer commercial, the dark cool sense of desperation spoke to my Miami Vice influenced mind. The ballad "In Too Deep" brought reminiscence of a high school friend who loved Phil Collins and liked the line "Crying at the top of my voice" sung in a higher register from the rest of the verse. The watery texture of the keyboards was excellent

The last song to have a strong memory attached is the instrumental "The Brazilian". At a party I fell asleep in the living room and woke up to the sound of my friends getting laid in the other rooms. The next morning, one of the girls who lived there turned on the CD player and this song came on. So, "The Brazilian" is the sound of being the odd man out to me.

Invisible Touch was a huge hit album and made Genesis an arena rock attraction. It continued Collins' '80's hot streak that would not end until after the next Genesis album, We Can't Dance (1991). So many memories are attached to this album for me, I had to include it in the countdown. What it boils down to is: Cost of a Genesis tape in 1986 - $7.00. Cost of College - I don't know, I didn't pay for it. Cost of memories of being on my own for the first time - priceless.