The Cinema Show
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "The Cinema Show" | ||
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| Song by Genesis | ||
| from the album Selling England by the Pound | ||
| Released | 12th October, 1973 | |
| Recorded | August 1973 | |
| Genre | Progressive Rock | |
| Length | 11:10 | |
| Label | Charisma (UK) Atlantic/Charisma (U.S.) |
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| Writer(s) | Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel/Steve Hackett/Mike Rutherford | |
| Producer(s) | Genesis & John Burns | |
| Selling England by the Pound track listing | ||
| "After the Ordeal" (6) |
"The Cinema Show" (7) |
"Aisle of Plenty" (8) |
The Cinema Show is an epic rock song by British progressive rock band Genesis off of their 1973 album, Selling England by the Pound. The song references two characters, named Juliet and Romeo, who appear to be readying themselves for a date at a cinema show. The song also references "Father" Tiresias, who was turned into a woman for seven years by the Goddess Hera because he struck a couple of copulating snakes. When she transformed him back into a man, he became caught up in an argument between Hera and Zeus about which gender derives more pleasure from sex. They asked Tiresias, as he had experienced sex as a member of both genders. He replied that it is the woman who gets more pleasure ("there is in fact more earth than sea"), and in her rage, Hera struck him blind. Because of this, Zeus granted him the gift of foresight. Musically, the song starts out quietly based on a keyboard melody. After the second verse, it becomes a little louder. After the third verse, a short flute solo by Peter Gabriel is heard. The third verse is then repeated before segueing into a 4-and-a-half minute keyboard solo by Tony Banks. The solo, in the unusual time signature of 7/8, has frequently been integrated into the "Cage" melody that appeared in later years.
