Genesis – Foxtrot [180g Vinyl LP] [Half-Speed Mastered]

Genesis – Foxtrot [180g Vinyl LP] [Half-Speed Mastered]

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Half-Speed Mastered, Gatefold, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: R1 516778
• Barcode: 603497896172
• Genre: Progressive Rock / Art Rock / Symphonic Rock
• Label: Craft Recordings / Charisma / Rhino
• Originally Released: 15 September 1972
• Reissue Released: 23rd August 2024
• Pressing: 180 Gram Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Foxtrot is Genesis's fourth studio album and the record that announced them as one of the most ambitious and fully realised bands in British rock. Released on 15 September 1972 via Charisma Records, it was the album that made their reputation — reaching number 12 on the UK Albums Chart and introducing two tracks that would become permanent live fixtures: the Mellotron-driven epic "Watcher of the Skies" and the extraordinary 23-minute suite "Supper's Ready" that closes the album.

Recorded in August 1972 at Island Studios in London during brief breaks from touring, the album was produced by Dave Hitchcock after early sessions with the original producer broke down. The lineup — Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett and Phil Collins — was firing on all cylinders. Gabriel's theatrical, literary lyricism had never been more assured; Banks's keyboard playing — weaving Mellotron, organ and piano into constantly shifting harmonic landscapes — was extraordinary; Hackett's guitar work introduced classical fingerpicking alongside rock power in a way nobody had quite managed before; and Collins, already a world-class drummer, gave the album a rhythmic precision that kept its most complex passages absolutely grounded.

The album opens with "Watcher of the Skies" — its iconic Mellotron introduction, famously likened to the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack, building into one of prog rock's defining set pieces. "Time Table" and "Get 'Em Out by Friday" — the latter a biting, satirical piece about housing redevelopment — follow with characteristic Genesis ambition. "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is among the most underrated tracks in their catalogue, and "Horizons" — a brief solo acoustic piece by Hackett — serves as a perfectly placed breath of calm before side two's centrepiece.

"Supper's Ready" is one of the most remarkable pieces of music of its era. Divided into seven movements — from the tender, acoustic opening of "Lover's Leap" through the theatrical drama of "Willow Farm" and the apocalyptic "As Sure as Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)" — it moves through pastoral folk, hard rock, free jazz, orchestral grandeur and back again without ever losing its emotional thread. It remains the longest track Genesis ever recorded and is widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements in progressive rock.

This 2024 Craft Recordings reissue features the acclaimed 2008 stereo remixes by Nick Davis & Genesis, cut at half-speed for maximum audio detail, pressed on 180g vinyl at Pallas in Germany, and housed in a faithful reproduction of Paul Whitehead's original gatefold artwork.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Watcher of the Skies
2. Time Table
3. Get 'Em Out by Friday
4. Can-Utility and the Coastliners

Side B

1. Horizons
2. Supper's Ready
   • i. Lover's Leap
   • ii. The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man
   • iii. Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men
   • iv. How Dare I Be So Beautiful?
   • v. Willow Farm
   • vi. Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)
   • vii. As Sure as Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)

Credits

• Peter Gabriel – Lead Vocals, Flute, Oboe, Percussion, Costumes
• Tony Banks – Keyboards, Mellotron, 12-String Guitar, Vocals
• Mike Rutherford – Bass Guitar, Bass Pedals, 12-String Guitar, Vocals
• Steve Hackett – Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
• Phil Collins – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
• Dave Hitchcock – Producer
• Nick Davis & Genesis – Remixed (2008)
• Label – Craft Recordings / Charisma / Rhino