Tag: Peter Gariel

Turn on the lava lamps and sit back and relax to some music that has sitar sounds in it, and I’m always up for sitar. When you think of Genesis in the mid-1970s, you don’t immediately picture them as a singles band like the later incarnation. This was the Peter Gabriel era, long concept pieces that made up an album. However, as we will see, not everything was that simple. 

This was on their 1973 album Selling England by the Pound, a quirky song that became their first charting single in the UK. The song is only about four minutes long (short by Genesis standards at the time), and it grooves along nicely. The band was almost embarrassed by a hit. Gabriel joked in later interviews that it was Genesis goes Top of the Pops, but the song showed that their long studio work could deliver something catchy and not be super long.

The lineup was Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute), Steve Hackett (guitars), Tony Banks (keyboards), Mike Rutherford (bass/guitars), and Phil Collins (drums/vocals). They were coming off the success of their last album Foxtrot, and there was pressure from their record company to deliver something more commercially accessible without ditching their progressive roots. That is a lot harder than it sounds. The sessions were long and argumentative. Genesis were perfectionists, which paid off with this album.

The song peaked at #21 on the UK Charts in 1974. The album Selling England by the Pound peaked at #3 on the UK Charts and #70 on the Billboard Album Charts. For me, it’s one of those tracks that feels like a bridge, still theatrical but also radio-friendly.

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)

It’s one o’clock and time for lunch,
When the sun beats down and I lie on the bench
I can always hear them talk

There’s always been Ethel:
“Jacob, wake up! You’ve got to tidy your room now.”
And then Mister Lewis:
“Isn’t it time that he was out on his own?”
Over the garden wall, two little lovebirds – cuckoo to you!
Keep them mowing blades sharp…

I know what I like, and I like what I know;
getting better in your wardrobe, stepping one beyond your show

Sunday night, Mr Farmer called, said:
“Listen son, you’re wasting your time; there’s a future for you
in the fire escape trade. Come up to town!”
But I remebered a voice from the past;
“Gambling only pays when you’re winning”
– I had to thank old Miss Mort for schooling a failure
Keep them mowing blades sharp…

I know what I like, and I like what I know;
getting better in your wardrobe, stepping one beyond your show

When the sun beats down and I lie on the bench,
I can always hear them talk.
Me, I’m just a lawnmower – you can tell me by the way I walk

…