Wind & Wuthering

Wind & Wuthering
Studio album by Genesis
Released 17 December 1976
Recorded September–October 1976
Studio Relight Studios, Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands[1]
Genre
Length 50:54
Label
Producer David Hentschel and Genesis
Genesis chronology
A Trick of the Tail
(1976)A Trick of the Tail1976		 Wind & Wuthering
(1976)		 Spot the Pigeon
(1977)Spot the Pigeon1977
Singles from Wind & Wuthering
  1. "Your Own Special Way/It's Yourself""
    Released: 1977

Wind & Wuthering is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released on 17 December 1976 on Charisma Records and is their last album to feature guitarist Steve Hackett. Following the success of their 1976 tour to support their previous album A Trick of the Tail, the group relocated to Hilvarenbeek in the Netherlands to record a follow-up album, their first recorded outside the UK. Writing and recording caused internal friction as Hackett felt some of his contributions were dropped in favour of material by keyboardist Tony Banks.

The album received a positive response from critics and contributed to the band's growing popularity in the US. It reached No. 7 in the UK and No. 26 in the US and sold steadily, eventually reaching Gold certification by the British Phonographic Institute and the Recording Industry Association of America. The band's 1977 tour, their last with Hackett, was their first with Chester Thompson hired as their live drummer. Three tracks left off the album were released during this time as an extended play, Spot the Pigeon. The album was reissued with a new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mix in 2007.

Recording

By mid-1976, Genesis had survived the loss of original frontman Peter Gabriel, with drummer Phil Collins taking over lead vocals, and produced the critically and commercially successful album A Trick of the Tail and supporting tour. Recording began in September 1976 with producer David Hentschel at Relight Studios in Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands,[2] the first time Genesis recorded an album outside of the UK. The band worked hard, recording all the basic tracks for the album in twelve days.[3] Further work on the album was completed in October at Trident Studios in London;[4] the album was mixed there in three weeks.[3] The album's title derives from two pieces—"Wind" comes from "The House of the Four Winds", the title of one piece guitarist Steve Hackett wrote that became the bridge on "Eleventh Earl of Mar";[5] the "Wuthering" alludes to the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, the final sentence of which provides the titles of "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers..." and "...In That Quiet Earth".[lower-alpha 1] The album's sleeve was designed and illustrated by Hipgnosis.

Keyboardist Tony Banks recalled a considerable amount of music had been written before the album was recorded.[6] Bassist and rhythm guitarist Mike Rutherford said it took an estimated six weeks to write the album.[7] He pointed out the band wished to distance themselves from writing songs that were inspired by fantasy, something that their past albums "were full of".[8] They wanted to write songs that they enjoyed, rather than having to please all the fans.[4]

Hackett found himself arguing with the band as he felt his ideas were rejected in favour of material that Banks, in particular, had put forward.[9] Having already released his first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte, Hackett requested the band use more of his musical ideas on Wind & Wuthering. Banks ended up with six writing credits on the album's nine tracks, more than any other member.[10] Collins spoke of Hackett's request: "We just wanted to use what we agreed was the strongest material, irrespective of who wrote it".[4] He later said he did like Hackett's songs, but just thought Banks won the popular vote with the band.[11] Hackett was not interested in writing shorter and simpler songs, and felt "the wackiness was being toned down" in the band.[12]

Songs

Side one

"Eleventh Earl of Mar" refers to the historical figure of John Erskine, Earl of Mar, a Scottish Jacobite.[13] The first line of the song, "The sun had been up for a couple of hours, covered the ground with a layer of gold", is the opening line of the novel The Flight of the Heron by D. K. Broster. Rutherford, who wrote the song's lyrics,[7] got the idea after reading a "history book about a failed Scottish rising ... around 1715".[7]

"One for the Vine" was a track that Banks wrote during the writing sessions for A Trick of the Tail. He spent a year working on the song until he "got it right".[14] The lyrics were a musical fantasy about a man who had been declared a Christ-like religious figure, and was forced to lead people into battle, while the music featured a variety of styles.[10] The song became a live favourite, and regularly featured in the band's setlist for several years.[15]

"Your Own Special Way" was an acoustic ballad written by Rutherford, which included a previously unused instrumental piece in the middle. He later said it was easier to join bits of individual songs together than write a single cohesive short piece.[16]

Collins describes "Wot Gorilla?" as one of his favourite tracks on the album[17] as it brought in his influences of jazz fusion and Weather Report.[18] Rutherford said of the track, "[it is] a reprise of a section out of 'Vine'. It was Phil's idea to play a fast, jazzy rhythm,"[7] that built on the success of "Los Endos" from the previous album.[4]

Side two

""All In A Mouse's Night" is a comical tale based around Tom and Jerry. Banks wrote the lyrics with a cartoon-like feel.[10]

"Blood on the Rooftops" is a song concerning "the tedium and repetitiveness of television news and the overall mocking disgust that must sometimes accompany watching the news happen".[8] The music to its chorus was written by Collins with Hackett writing the music to the verses, song's lyrics and its acoustic guitar introduction.[19] According to Hackett, the song was a love song originally. He explained, "When I heard the other lyrics on the album, there was a bit of a romantic tinge anyway, so I decided to go right the other way and make it as cynical as possible." Banks and Rutherford both claimed it was Hackett's best song as a member of the group.[20]

"Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers..." and "...In That Quiet Earth" are two linked instrumental tracks. The titles refer to the last paragraph of the novel which inspired the album's title - "Wuthering Heights", by Emily Brontë. The tracks were written so that the band could showcase their instrumental talents, and stretch their musical skills as well as the songwriting.[10]

"Afterglow" is a straightforward and concise love song, and an important development in the group's career, as it proved to them they could write short songs that they still liked.[10] In contrast to the amount of time it took Banks to develop "One for the Vine", he wrote "Afterglow" "just about in the time it took to play it".[21] A few days after he wrote it he came to the sudden realization that its melody resembles that of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", which led to him playing it back and concluding "it wasn't the same".[22] A Moog Taurus, a foot operated analog synthesizer, was used to create a drone effect. It was a staple on Genesis tours for over ten years.[23]

Unreleased material

The group rehearsed Hackett's "Please Don't Touch" for Wind & Wuthering, but decided not to record it after Collins felt he "couldn't get behind" the song. Hackett later recorded the song for his solo album of the same name.[12]

In May 1977, Genesis released the extended play Spot the Pigeon containing three songs recorded during the Wind & Wuthering sessions but were left off the final track selection–"Match of the Day", "Pigeons", and "Inside and Out". Spot the Pigeon reached No. 14 in the UK.[24]

Release

Wind & Wuthering was released in the UK on 17 December 1976.[25] It peaked at No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart[26] and No. 26 on the U.S. Billboard 200. By April 1977, the album had sold roughly 150,000 copies in the U.S.[27] "Your Own Special Way" was released as a single in the U.S. that reached No. 62 on the Billboard singles chart, the band's first charting single with Collins as lead vocalist. In February 1977, the album was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry.[25]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[28]
Q[29]
Rolling Stone (1977)(favorable)[30]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[31]

When recording finished, Banks expressed some concern that the album would be too "heavy" and "difficult" for people on their first listen, but he knew fans would give the material a chance. He noted the three tracks recorded during the album's sessions that were ultimately left off were "quite simple"[32] and this meant the album had a heavier and more adventurous theme overall.[13] Hackett and Banks have named it as one of their favourite of all Genesis records.[33][13]

Wind & Wuthering turned out to be favourable with several critics at the time of release. In a positive review for Record Mirror, David Brown opened with "The grey misty, autumn cover gives away the mood of this album, with its mellow tones and airy songs". He believed the band's new following after the success of A Trick of the Tail would not be disappointed. He thought the album is "remarkably well-paced – the music flows ... in an almost undisturbed stream ... subtle instrumentals cleverly link the songs together".[34] Barbara Sharone reported her various positive impressions of Wind & Wuthering through multiple sessions listening to the album for Sounds. Her thoughts include "too much to digest on one listening", "less immediate but more substantial" than A Trick of the Tail, and "the band now seem relaxed and confident to be themselves". As the review progresses, she comments that "One for the Vine" is "Genesis' finest moment".[35] Rolling Stone gave the album a positive review, praising Genesis for being more experimental and steeped in conventional rock than their progressive rock contemporaries. They made particular note of "Your Own Special Way", calling it "a first-rate pop song".[30] Wind & Wuthering was included in Billboard magazine's Top Album Picks feature, noting "Genesis has grown into one of the premiere art-rock bands to come out of England and its fans will not be disappointed with the latest offering ... sometimes the music and the words are brilliant".[36] Stephen Lavers for National RockStar named the album the best from Genesis at the time of its release and their most ambitious work since The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.[37] Circus magazine described the album as "flawless" with "the most mature orchestration to date" from the band.[8] Bruce Malamut for Crawdaddy! said the "Unquiet Slumbers" suite was "majestic" with its "colorful sound textures".[38]

The album continued to receive praise from retrospective critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album a retrospective rating of four stars out of five on AllMusic. "Eleventh Earl of Mar" and "One for the Vine" were selected as the album's two "Track Picks". He made note of "Your Own Special Way", calling it "the poppiest tune the group had cut and also the first that could qualify as a love song" and summarised the album as "a standard Genesis record" that finds the band "working the same English eccentric ground that was the group's stock in trade since Trespass".[28] Andy Fyfe, writing for Q, named "One for the Vine" as one of Genesis's "moments of impressive songwriting".[29]

Tour

Following the album's release, Genesis embarked on a world tour covering Europe, North America, and their first dates in South America. The tour marked the first time Chester Thompson was hired as their touring drummer; Thompson replaced Bill Bruford who played drums on the A Trick of the Tail tour.[8] Bruford was critical of his stint with Genesis as he had no musical input, and consequently, had started rehearsing with John Wetton and Rick Wakeman.[39] Collins had become a fan of Frank Zappa's Roxy and Elsewhere album, which featured Thompson as one of two drummers, and consequently asked him to join the touring band without an audition.[40]

The band concentrated their stage set with an elaborate laser and lighting display.[8] The tour received enthusiastic responses from crowds. Collins recognised a growth in the size of their audience in some cities they visited in the US.[27] The tour began on 1 January 1977 with a sold-out UK leg, beginning with three nights at London's Rainbow Theatre where over 80,000 applications were made for the 8,000 available tickets.[8] On 31 January, the live film Genesis in Concert premiered at the ABC Cinema, Shaftesbury Avenue with Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in the audience.[41]

The North American leg saw Genesis play their first show at Madison Square Garden in New York City.[8] Their concerts in Brazil were attended by over 150,000 people, with a proposed 100,000-person gig cancelled for fear of rioting. Each band member was accompanied by an armed bodyguard during their stay.[42] By the middle of the tour, Hackett had become frustrated with the band, having lost interest in touring and wanted to make a solo record.[41] After the tour finished, and partway through mixing the live album Seconds Out, he decided to quit Genesis.[43]

Reissues

Wind & Wuthering was first reissued on CD in 1985 by Charisma Records.[lower-alpha 2] A remastered CD followed in 1994 by Virgin and Atlantic Records.[lower-alpha 3] In 2007, the album was released in a new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mix individually and as part of the Genesis 1976–1982 studio album box set engineered by Nick Davis and Tony Cousins, with bonus material including interviews, tour programs, and bootleg videos of live performances. The European and Japanese editions replace the CD with a hybrid Super Audio CD which contains the stereo and a multi-channel surround sound mix.[44][45]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Eleventh Earl of Mar"Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford7:39
2."One for the Vine"Banks9:59
3."Your Own Special Way"Rutherford6:15
4."Wot Gorilla?"Phil Collins, Banks3:12
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."All in a Mouse's Night"Banks6:35
2."Blood on the Rooftops"Hackett, Collins5:20
3."Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers..."Hackett, Rutherford2:27[lower-alpha 4]
4."...In That Quiet Earth"Hackett, Rutherford, Banks, Collins4:45
5."Afterglow"Banks4:10

Personnel

Genesis

Production

Certifications

Country Organization Album Year Certification Sales
UK BPI Wind and Wuthering – Original Edition
(17 December 1976)		 16 February 1977 Gold (+ 100,000)[46]
UK BPI Wind and Wuthering – Digital Remaster
(7 April 2008)		 22 July 2013 Silver (+ 60,000)[47]
US RIAA Wind and Wuthering – Original Edition
(17 December 1976)		 20 April 1990 Gold (+500,000)[48]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth."
  2. ↑ Charisma CDSCD 4005
  3. ↑ Virgin CDSCDX 4005
  4. ↑ The original North American edition combined "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers..." and "... In That Quiet Earth" as a single track for a running time of 7:12.

Citations

  1. ↑ Welch 2011, p. 80.
  2. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 128.
  3. 1 2 "Genesis – Wind and Wuthering – press kit – Atlantic Records". Atlantic Records. 1977. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 129.
  5. ↑ "Steve Hackett Interview: Beyond The Shrouded Riffs". Genesis News. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  6. ↑ Tony, Banks (2007). "Reissues Interview 2007" bonus feature from Genesis 1976–1982 box set for the album Wind & Wuthering. 1:48–:1:52. (DVD). Virgin.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Welch, Chris (25 December 1976). "Wuthering heights". Melody Maker. p. 14.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Frischvers, Richard (31 March 1977). "'Wind and Wuthering'". Circus. pp. 58–60.
  9. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, pp. 128-129.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 130.
  11. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 131.
  12. 1 2 Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 137.
  13. 1 2 3 Welch 2011, p. 81.
  14. ↑ Tony, Banks (2007). "Reissues Interview 2007" bonus feature from Genesis 1976–1982 box set for the album Wind & Wuthering. 9:23–:9:30. (DVD). Virgin.
  15. ↑ Welch 2011, p. 82.
  16. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 130-1.
  17. ↑ Phil, Collins (2007). "Reissues Interview 2007" bonus feature from Genesis 1976–1982 box set for the album Wind & Wuthering. 10:22–:10:26. (DVD). Virgin.
  18. ↑ Phil, Collins (2007). "Reissues Interview 2007" bonus feature from Genesis 1976–1982 box set for the album Wind & Wuthering. 10:31–:10:41. (DVD). Virgin.
  19. ↑ Steve, Hackett (2007). "Reissues Interview 2007" bonus feature from Genesis 1976–1982 box set for the album Wind & Wuthering. 5:13–:5:25. (DVD). Virgin.
  20. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, pp. 131-132.
  21. ↑ Tony, Banks (2007). "Reissues Interview 2007" bonus feature from Genesis 1976–1982 box set for the album Wind & Wuthering. 9:30–:9:40. (DVD). Virgin.
  22. ↑ Tony, Banks (2007). "Reissues Interview 2007" bonus feature from Genesis 1976–1982 box set for the album Wind & Wuthering. 9:45–:10:00. (DVD). Virgin.
  23. ↑ Song Review by François Couture. "Afterglow – Genesis | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  24. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 135.
  25. 1 2 "British album certifications – Genesis – Wind & Wuthering". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 December 2016. Enter "Wind & Wuthering" in the field 'Keywords'. Select 'Title' in the field 'Search by'. Select 'Album' in the field 'By Format'. Click 'Search'.
  26. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 247.
  27. 1 2 Clarke, Steve (16 April 1977). "Oh to be a tax exile, now that April's here...". NME. pp. 7–8.
  28. 1 2 Wind & Wuthering at AllMusic
  29. 1 2 Andy Fyfe Q, May 2007, Issue 250.
  30. 1 2 Marsh, Dave (24 February 1977). "Genesis: Wind & Wuthering : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  31. ↑ Brackett & Hoard, pp. 327–328.
  32. ↑ Tony, Banks (2007). "Reissues Interview 2007" bonus feature from Genesis 1976–1982 box set for the album Wind & Wuthering. 1:54–:2:23. (DVD). Virgin.
  33. ↑ Tony, Banks; Hackett, Steve (2007). "Reissues Interview 2007" bonus feature from Genesis 1976–1982 box set for the album Wind & Wuthering. 13:58–14:03. (DVD). Virgin.
  34. ↑ Brown, David (18 December 1976). "GENESIS: 'Wind & Wuthering' (Charisma CDS4005)". Record Mirror.
  35. ↑ Charone, Barbara (18 December 1976). "Wuthering heights". Sounds.
  36. ↑ "Billboard's Top Album Picks: Pop: GENESIS-Wind & Wuthering". Billboard. 15 January 1977. p. 45.
  37. ↑ Lavers, Stephen (8 January 1977). "GENESIS: 'Wind & Wuthering' (Charisma CDS4005)". National RockStar.
  38. ↑ Malamut, Bruce (March 1977). "Genesis reaches Wuthering Heights". Crawdaddy!.
  39. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 132.
  40. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 133.
  41. 1 2 Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 134.
  42. ↑ "Brazil goes nuts for Genesis". Sounds. 28 May 1977.
  43. ↑ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 136.
  44. ↑ "Various formats described". Genesis-news.com. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  45. ↑ "Explained in interview with producer and remixer Nick Davis". Genesis-news.com. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  46. ↑ "Certified Awards". BPI. Select keyword "Genesis"; By award: Gold, By Format: Album. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  47. ↑ "Certified Awards". BPI. Select keyword "Genesis", Search by: Artist. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  48. ↑ "RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Genesis". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 5 August 2011.

Bibliography

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