Saturday, February 11, 2017

Song #133: "Keep It Dark"--Genesis (1981)

With the release of their LP "Abacab" in 1981, Genesis had completed the turn of the page from its experimental rock roots of the 1970's to a pop band for the 1980's, but not without taking some of the best elements of its past into its future.

The case in point is side one of the album. It begins with the title track, a seven-minute masterpiece of a rock song, continued by the eventual hit single, "No Reply At All", and concludes with today's song.

"Keep It Dark" wasn't released as a single in America, but was quickly discovered by fans who bought the album, and later by AOR radio listeners when they chose this as a "deep cut" from the LP.

What is a "deep cut"? That's when album-oriented rock stations (see? AOR?) would decide what non-single track(s) to play from a current album by an artist that fit their format. Genesis certainly continued to fit, even with its metamorphosis of sorts.

Parts of this song sound like they can be replicated in the kitchen with some wooden spoons and a few pots and pans turned upside down. In all, it's a great jam.

This is the fifth of ten Genesis songs in our countdown, meaning a whole lot of Genesis between now and the end. Partial spoiler alert! My favorite Genesis song will come late, perhaps, very late, or even near the end, of our journey.  :)


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