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Genesis: Nursery Cryme

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Virgin Records
Released: 1971
Time:
 39:27
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): John Anthony
Rating: *********. (9/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.worldofgenesis.com
Appears with: Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Steven Hackett, Mike + The Mechanics, Tony Banks, Ray Wilson
Purchase date: 1987
Price in €: 14,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Musical Box (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford/Phillips/Barnard) - 10:24
[2] For Absent Friends (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) - 1:43
[3] Return of the Giant Hogweed (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) - 8:09
[4] Seven Stones (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) - 5:09
[5] Harold the Barrel (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) - 3:00
[6] Harlequin (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) - 2:53
[7] Fountain of Salmacis (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) - 7:54

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Steve Hackett - Electric Guitar, 12-String Guitar
Peter Gabriel - Lead Voice, Flute, Bass Drum, Tambourine
Tony Banks - Organ, Mellotron, Piano, 12-String Guitar, Voices
Phil Collins - Drums, Voices, Percussion, Lead Vocal on [2]
Mike Rutherford - Bass, Bass Pedals, 12-String Guitar, Voices

Mike Stone - Tape Jockey
Paul Whitehead - Cover inspired by "The Musical Box"

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded at Trident Studios, London.

Paul Whitehead discussed his painting for the cover of this album in Armando Gallo's book: Because of the Musical Box this had a sort of Victorian feel, and Whitehead was trying to create something that felt really old, like a Victorian photo album. Mike picked the green colour from a Dali painting. Things to look out for include "Uncle Henry" (cf. "Old Henry" in the Song Explanations below), Harold the Barrel, the Hogweed and Charterhouse (far right). The flies in the corner are real! He varnished the picture and they got stuck in it. There's an earwig in there too apparently. Cythia is supposed to look very young but have really old eyes. The lettering is based on some lettering he had seen on a Victorian cocoa tin.

LP:
UK Charisma CAS-1052 (Gatefold album with lyrics and pictures printed on the inside cover, some with "tour" label and listings are rare)
UK Virgin CHC 22: (re-release, gatefold with lyrics and pics)
US Charisma CAS 1052: (distributed by Buddah Records, gatefold)
US Atlantic 80030-1: (Non-gatefold album, no lyrics)
Germany Charisma 6369 916
Germany (?) Philips 6369 916 gatefold w/lyrics and art
Japan Charisma RJ-7302
Cassette:
US Atlantic 7 80030-4-B: (credits inside, does not credit Hackett)
UK Virgin CHCMC 22: (re-release, Salmacis and Return swapped)
CD:
UK Virgin CASCD-1052: 1985 (AAD, lyrics in booklet)
US Atlantic atl80030-2: November 1987
US Atlantic 82673-2: 1994 (remastered, lyrics in booklet)
UK Virgin CASDX 1052 (1994 remaster)

Note on CAS 1052: The first print run of the album was gatefold. Later versions were not, although they had the same catalogue number.

Some versions of Nursery Cryme do not have a credit for Steve Hackett at all. (The reason why is unknown.)



The group's first fully realized, mature album is still somewhat uneven, but the stuff that does work well works so well that it carries the record. This includes "The Musical Box," which became a highlight of the group's live shows, presenting Gabriel's extraordinary abilities as a singer/actor as well as hinting at a level of lyrical sophistication that dazzled many fans and onlookers. "Return of the Giant Hogweed" was an even better showcase for the group's playing. The "Definitive Edition Remaster" version runs circles around the sound on all previous versions, although a certain weakness in the engineering (obviously in the original recording, and beyond repair) remains, especially where the presence of Collins' drums in relation to the rest of the band (particularly on the acoustic passages) is concerned.

Bruce Eder, All-Music Guide



"Genesis is beginning to find a place in the British art-rock movement of the early '70s, as Peter Gabriel constructs elaborate musical set pieces, the most impressive of which is the 10.5 minute leadoff track, "The Musical Box."

All-Music Guide ***



Nursery Cryme ist das dritte Album von Genesis, aber dennoch eine Platte der Premieren. Zum ersten Mal sind hier Genesis in ihrer eigentlichen "Ur-Besetzung" zu hören: Neben Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford und Steve Hackett ist auch zum ersten Mal ein Schlagzeuger mit Namen Phil Collins dabei. Tony Banks verwendete zum ersten Mal einen Prototyp dessen, was man heute als Synthesizer kennt. Auch die Vorliebe der Band für lange Stücke wird zum ersten Mal deutlich: "The Musical Box" ist über zehn Minuten lang, ein furioser Auftakt und ein wildes Gemisch aus Melodien und Ideen, wegweisend für das ganze Album. So ist schnell klar:Nursery Cryme ist Rock, aber von der merk-würdigen (!) Sorte. Auch zwei andere Stücke nehmen locker die Sieben-Minuten-Hürde, "The Fountain Of Salmacis" und das seltsame "The Return Of The Giant Hogweed", dafür krebsen andere Lieder hart an der zwei-Minuten-Grenze. Die Instrumentierung reicht von der E-Gitarre über Orgeln, Geigen, Tambourine bis zum Mellotron -- gewagt für das Jahr 1971. Musikalische Regeln mochte die Band damals nicht gelten lassen... vielleicht die wichtigste Premiere von Nursery Cryme: Die damals noch wilden Genesis konnten sich bei diesem Album zum ersten Mal künstlerisch völlig frei entfalten. Man hört's. Und staunt. Klingt wild.

Michael Ebert, Amazon.de



Tony Banks:

Steve was in the band a very short time when we recorded 'Nursery Cryme.' All the guitar parts on "Musical Box" were actually written by Mick; Steve tended to play pretty much what Mick had played 'cause there wasn't much time to learn new parts. Most of the guitar on it is Mike anyhow - all the rhythm guitar, it always was. There wasn't that much lead guitar on it.

I don't feel the album was much of an advance. I think two songs on it, "Musical Box" and "The Fountain of Salmacis" are exceptional. The rest of the album has a lot of low points: "For Absent Friends," "Harlequin" and "Giant Hogweed" are all lesser songs to me. We gained a certain quality on "Fountain of Salmacis" from having a fluent guitarist (Steve), but the response from the record company was very bad, and sales were almost identical to 'Trespass.' But then we had gone through what I considered probably our most traumatic period when Anthony left - far more serious because of our age and the state of the band at the time than either of the later departures.

We used to have flash pots on-stage for the last section of "Hogweed." Peter's stories between songs were developing quite a lot, and that was quite a strong feature; it was just to cover up our tuning. There were no other props. The masks in "The Musical Box" came about a year later; Peter put a fox's head on during that song just to get his picture on the front page of Melody Maker. There was no other justification for it. We then realized how effective a song like that could be from a publicity angle, but everything else we did was totally integrated. Every light, costume or whatever was thought out very carefully to go with the music.
 

 L y r i c s


The Musical Box

While Henry Hamilton-Smythe minor (8) was playing croquet with Cynthia Jane De Blaise-William (9),
sweet-smiling Cynthia raised her mallet high and gracefully removed Henry's head. Two weeks later,
in Henry's nursery, she discovered his treasured musical box. Eagerly she opened it and as "Old King Cole"
began to play, a small spirit- figure appeared. Henry had returned - but not for long, for as he stood in the
room his body began ageing rapidly, leaving a child's mind inside. A lifetime's desires surged through him.
Unfortunately the attempt to persuade Cynthia Jane to fulfill his romantic desire led his nurse to the nursery
to investigate the noise. Instinctively Nanny hurled the musical box at the bearded child, destroying both.

Play me Old King Cole
That I may join with you,
All your hearts now seem so far from me
It hardly seems to matter now.

And the nurse will tell you lies
Of a kingdom beyond the skies.
But I am lost within this half-world,
It hardly seems to matter now.

   Play me my song.
   Here it comes again.
   Play me my song.
   Here it comes again.

Just a little bit,
Just a little bit more time,
Time left to live out my life.

   Play me my song.
   Here it comes again.
   Play me my song.
   Here it comes again.

Old King Cole was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he.
So he called for his pipe,
And he called for his bowl,
And he called for his fiddlers three.

But the clock, tick-tock,
On the mantlepiece -
And I want, and I feel, and I know, and I touch,
Her warmth...

   She's a lady, she's got time,
   Brush back your hair, and let me get to know your face.
   She's a lady, she is mine.
   Brush back your hair, and let me get to know your flesh.

I've been waiting here for so long
And all this time has passed me by
It doesn't seem to matter now
You stand there with your fixed expression
Casting doubt on all I have to say.
Why don't you touch me, touch me,
Why don't you touch me, touch me,
Touch me now, now, now, now, now...


For Absent Friends

Sunday at six when they close both the gates
a widowed pair,
still sitting there,
Wonder if they're late for church
and it's cold, so they fasten their coats
and cross the grass, they're always last.

Passing by the padlocked swings,
the roundabout still turning,
ahead they see a small girl
on her way home with a pram.

Inside the archway,
the priest greets them with a courteous nod.
He's close to God.
Looking back at days of four instead of two.
Years seem so few (four instead of two).
Heads bent in prayer
for friends not there.

Leaving twopence on the plate,
they hurry down the path and through the gate
and wait to board the bus
that ambles down the street.


The Return Of The Giant Hogweed

Turn and run!
Nothing can stop them,
Around every river and canal their power is growing.
Stamp them out!
We must destroy them,
They infiltrate each city with their thick dark warning odour.

They are invincible,
They seem immune to all our herbicidal battering.

Long ago in the Russian hills,
A Victorian explorer found the regal Hogweed by a marsh,
He captured it and brought it home.
Botanical creature stirs, seeking revenge.
Royal beast did not forget.
He came home to London,
And made a present of the Hogweed to the Royal Gardens at Kew.

Waste no time!
They are approaching.
Hurry now, we must protect ourselves and find some shelter
Strike by night!
They are defenceless.
They all need the sun to photosensitize their venom.

Still they're invincible,
Still they're immune to all our herbicidal battering.

Fashionable country gentlemen had some cultivated wild gardens,
In which they innocently planted the Giant Hogweed throughout the land.
Botanical creature stirs, seeking revenge.
Royal beast did not forget.
Soon they escaped, spreading their seed,
Preparing for an onslaught, threatening the human race.


The Dance Of The Giant Hogweed

Mighty Hogweed is avenged.
Human bodies soon will know our anger.
Kill them with your Hogweed hairs
HERACLEUM MANTEGAZZIANI


Giant Hogweed lives

- ADVANCE -


Seven Stones

I heard the old man tell his tale:

Tinker, alone within a storm,
And losing hope he clears the leaves beneath a tree,
   Seven stones
   Lay on the ground.
Within the seventh house a friend was found.
And the changes of no consequence will pick up the reins from nowhere.

Sailors, in peril on the sea,
Amongst the waves a rock looms nearer, and not yet seen.
   They see a gull
   Flying by.
The Captain turns the boat and he asks not why.
And the changes of no consequence will pick up the reins from nowhere.
Nowhere.

   Despair that tires the world brings the old man laughter.
   The laughter of the world only grieves him,
                                  believe him,
   The old man's guide is chance.

I heard the old man tell his tale:

Farmer, who knows not when to sow,
Consults the old man clutching money in his hand.
   And with a shrug,
   The old man smiled,
Took the money, left the farmer wild.
And the changes of no consequence will pick up the reins from nowhere.
Nowhere.

   Despair that tires the world brings the old man laughter.
   The laughter of the world only grieves him,
                                  believe him,
   The old man's guide is chance.


Harold The Barrel

News:

         A well-known Bognor restaurant-owner disappeared
                        early this morning.
         Last seen in a mouse-brown overcoat,
                        suitably camouflaged,
                        they saw him catch a train.


Man-in-the-street:

               "Father of three its disgusting"
               "Such a horrible thing to do"
         Harold the Barrel cut off his toes and he served them all
                                                           for tea
     "Can't go far", "He can't go far".
     "Hasn't got a leg to stand on"
     "He can't go far".


Man-on-the-spot:

     I'm standing in a doorway on the main square
                        tension is mounting
     There's a restless crowd of angry people


Man-on-the-council:

                        "More than we've ever seen.
                        - had to tighten up security"

     Over to the scene at the town hall
     The Lord Mayor's ready to speak


Lord Mayor:

     "Man of suspicion, you can't last long, the British Public
                                                 is on our side"


British Public:

     "Can't last long", "You can't last long".
     "Said you couldn't trust him, his brother was just the same"
     "You can't last long".


Harold:

          If I was many miles from here,
          I'd be sailing in an open boat on the sea
          Instead I'm on this window ledge,
          With the whole world below
                  Up at the window
                  Look at the window...


Mr.Plod:
       "We can help you"

Plod's Chorus:
       "We can help you"

Mr. Plod:
       "We're all your friends, if you come on down
    and talk to us son"


Harold:
                You must be joking
                Take a running jump

          The crowd was getting stronger and our Harold
                      getting weaker;
          Forwards, backwards, swaying side to side
                      Fearing the very worst
                      They called his mother to the sight
              Upon the ledge beside him
              His mother made a last request.


67-yr-old Mrs Barrel:
         "Come off the ledge if your father were alive he'd be very,
                                                very, very upset.
         "Just can't jump, you just can't jump"
         "Your shirt's all dirty, there's a man here from
                                                the B.B.C."
         "You just can't jump"


Mr. Plod:
      "We can help you"

Plod's Chorus:
      "We can help you"

Mr. Plod:
      "We're all your friends, if you come on down
    and talk to us Harry"


Harold:
               You must be joking.
               Take a running jump......


Harlequin

Came the night a mist dissolved the trees
And in the broken light colours fly, fading by.
Pale and cold as figures fill the glade
Grey is the web they spin, on and on, and on and on.
Through the flame still summer lingers on
Though her pictures soon shatter.

   All, always the same.
   But there appears in the shades of dawning,
   Though your eyes are dim,
   All of the pieces in the sky.

There was once a harvest in this land.
Reap from the turquoise sky, harlequin, harlequin,
Dancing round, three children fill the glade,
Theirs was the laughter in the winding stream, and in between.
Close your door, the picture fades again
From the flames in the firelight.

   All, always the same,
   But there appears in the shades of dawning,
   Though your eyes are dim,
   All of the pieces in the sky.

   All, all is not lost,
   And light appears in the shades of dawning
   When your eyes can see
   Order the pieces, put them back, put them back.


The Fountain Of Salmacis

Hermaphrodite: a flower containing both male and female organs; a person or animal of both sexes.

The child Hermaphroditus was the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, the result of a secret love affair.
For this reason he was entrusted to the nymphs of the isolated Mount Ida, who allowed him to grow
up as a wild creature of the woods. After his encounter with the water-nymph Salmacis, he laid a curse
upon the water. According to fable, all persons who bathed in the water became hermaphrodites.


From a dense forest of tall dark pinewood,
Mount Ida rises like an island.
Within a hidden cave, nymphs had kept a child;
Hermaphroditus, son of gods, so afraid of their love.

   As the dawn creeps up the sky
   The hunter caught sight of a doe.
   In desire for conquest,
   He found himself within a glade he'd not beheld before.

Hermaphroditus:                   Narrator:
 "Where are you, my father?        "Then he could go no farther
  Give wisdom to your son"          Now lost, the boy was guided by the sun"

   And as his strength began to fail
   He saw a shimmering lake.
   A shadow in the dark green depths
   Disturbed the strange tranquility.

Salmacis:                         Narrator:
 "The waters are disturbed         "The waters are disturbed
  Some creature has been stirred"   Naiad queen Salmacis has been stirred"

As he rushed to quench his thirst,
A fountain spring appeared before him
And as his heated breath brushed through the cool mist,
A liquid voice called, "Son of gods, drink from my spring".

   The water tasted strangely sweet.
   Behind him the voice called again.
   He turned and saw her, in a cloak of mist alone
   And as he gazed, her eyes were filled with the darkness of the lake.

Salmacis:                                   Narrator:
 "We shall be one                       "She wanted them as one
  We shall be joined as one"        Yet he had no desire to be one"

Hermaphroditus:     "Away from me cold-blooded woman
                             Your thirst is not mine"
Salmacis:               "Nothing will cause us to part
                            Hear me, O Gods"

Unearthly calm descended from the sky
And then their flesh and bones were strangely merged
Forever to be joined as one.

   The creature crawled into the lake.
   A fading voice was heard:
   "And I beg, yes I beg that all who touch this spring
   May share my fate"

Salmacis:                         Narrator:
 "We are the one                   "The two are now made one,
  We are the one"                   Demi-god and nymph are now made one"

Both had given everything they had.
A lover's dream had been fulfilled at last,
Forever still beneath the lake.

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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