Nursery Cryme is the third studio album by the English rock band Genesis. Released on 12 November 1971 on Charisma Records, It was their first to feature drummer/vocalist Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett. The album received a mixed response from critics and was not initially a commercial success; it did not enter the UK chart until 1974, when it reached its peak at No. 39. However, the album was successful in continental Europe, particularly Italy.
Following the recruitment of Collins and Hackett, the band extensively toured in support of their previous album Trespass (1970), and then began writing and rehearsing for a follow-up in Luxford House, East Sussex, with recording following at Trident Studios. Nursery Cryme saw the band take a more aggressive direction on some songs, with substantially improved drumming and new guitar techniques, such as tapping and sweep picking. The opening piece, "The Musical Box", uses the band's trademark mix of twelve-string guitars with harsh electric guitars and keyboards. The song, a macabre fairy story set in Victorian Britain, became the inspiration for the album cover, and went on to be a live favourite. Collins brought a new dimension to the group, covering the majority of the backing vocals (including his first lead vocal with Genesis on "For Absent Friends") and bringing in a sense of humour on tracks like "Harold the Barrel". Tony Banks made more prominent use of the Mellotron on several tracks.
The band toured the UK and continental Europe for one year to promote the album, which raised their profile in both territories. The tour included a successful Italian leg in April 1972, where the group played to enthusiastic crowds. Nursery Cryme was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry in 2013.
Background
Genesis recorded their second album as a professional outfit, Trespass, in July 1970, but immediately afterwards, founding member and guitarist Anthony Phillips quit owing to increased stress and unhappiness in touring. The other founders—singer Peter Gabriel, keyboardist Tony Banks and bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford—almost split up the group, but decided to carry on and replace drummer John Mayhew with someone who was of equal stature to the others.
Phil Collins joined as the new drummer in August, also becoming an important backing vocalist, but they were unable to find a suitable replacement for Phillips. This led to the group completing the first half of their 1970–1971 tour as a four-piece with Rutherford playing rhythm guitar and bass pedals and Banks playing lead guitar lines on a Pianet through a distorted fuzz box amplifier in addition to his own keyboard parts. Banks credited this with improving his technique, for it required him to play two keyboards simultaneously. The group felt that Collins was the best drummer they had worked with at that point, and his playing style and musical tastes gave a new dimension to their sound. Some songs were not practical to play live as a four-piece, so they looked again for a lead guitarist. In November 1970, Mick Barnard joined the group on recommendation from Friars Aylesbury's David Stopps, and "The Musical Box" was added to the live set. However, the rest of the group realised that Barnard was not up to the same standard as Phillips, and they kept a look-out for a better player.
Genesis recruited Steve Hackett after Gabriel spotted an advert he placed in Melody Maker in December 1970, which read "Imaginative guitarist/writer seeks involvement with receptive musicians, determined to drive beyond existing stagnant music forms." He saw Genesis play a concert at the Lyceum Theatre, London, on 28 December, and was told by Gabriel that Barnard would have to be replaced. Barnard was dismissed from the band on 5 January 1971. Hackett quickly developed a rapport with Rutherford, sharing their love of twelve-string guitars and new musical ideas, and joined the band in early 1971.
With the addition of Hackett, Genesis continued touring, which included the "Six Bob Tour" with their Charisma Records labelmates Lindisfarne and Van der Graaf Generator, their first overseas shows (which occurred in Belgium), and the first of three appearances at the annual Reading Festival. Early attempts to work on material for their next studio album whilst on tour, in what Hackett described as "the odd day in a windy church hall", were unproductive. This led the group to dedicate time specifically, and in July they began a three-month break from touring to write and record, which was Hackett's first experience of rehearsing with a group to a professional standard. The break was hastened by an injury Peter Gabriel sustained on June 19 during a show at Friar's club in Aylesbury, when he attempted one of the first stage dives into an audience and ended up breaking his ankle.
The five moved to Charisma owner Tony Stratton Smith's residence, Luxford House, a 16th-century Grade II listed building in Crowborough, East Sussex. The group nicknamed the house "Toad Hall". Genesis were apprehensive about writing without Phillips, and both Collins and Hackett were unsure of what level of musical contributions they would be able to make. The group bought a Mellotron; Banks had played a rented one on Trespass and greatly liked the sound. Some material had been written when Phillips was still in the band, and was reworked. Collins, in particular, was a workaholic and was happy to jam with anyone at any time.
Recording With the new material worked out, Genesis recorded Nursery Cryme at Trident Studios in London in August 1971 with John Anthony as producer and David Hentschel as assistant engineer, both of whom had performed the same roles for Trespass. The album features Hackett playing a Les Paul guitar which the band had bought him along with a Hiwatt stack amplifier. Hackett recalled some difficulty in understanding what Banks and Rutherford were talking about, as the two had devised their own sayings; for instance, a passage that they had played was referred to as a "nice guy".
Songs
"The Musical Box" "The Musical Box" was a lengthy piece that described a macabre story set in Victorian Britain. A young boy, Henry, is accidentally decapitated by his friend Cynthia while playing croquet. Returning to the house, Cynthia plays Henry's old musical box, which unleashes the spirit of Henry as an old man. Henry has become sexually frustrated and attempts to seduce Cynthia. The nurse enters the room and hurls the musical box at the wall, destroying both it and Henry.
The song originated when Phillips was in the group, who would often write with Rutherford on 12-string acoustic guitars. The latter had begun to experiment with unorthodox guitar tunings and had the top three strings tuned to F sharp, which provided the jangly sound heard in the opening and the chord that signalled the start of the electric guitar solo. The tuning influenced the title of an acoustic piece, "F" (pronounced "F sharp"), that became the basis of "The Musical Box", which was developed further after Phillips's departure. The opening section of the song features both Rutherford and Banks on twelve-string guitar. The high-pitched sound of the opening guitar phrase was created using a varispeed technique; Rutherford's guitar was recorded at half speed, so when played back it sounded higher than it did when it was recorded. An earlier version of the song, entitled "Manipulation", was performed with Phillips in 1970 for the soundtrack of an unreleased BBC documentary on painter Michael Jackson.
The guitar solos originated from Barnard's brief tenure in Genesis. Hackett modified sections that Phillips and Barnard had written while adding his own arrangements to the song. He realised that neither member had made a sound that resembled an actual musical box, so he took the opportunity to record a guitar lick that is heard before the lyric "Here it comes again". Gabriel, a big fan of the Who at the time, pushed for Rutherford to come up with "an arm waving, ballsy attacking" section in a similar style to their guitarist Pete Townshend. Gabriel incorporated themes of violence and sex into the lyrics.Gabriel, Peter. Reissues Interview 2007 at 18:43–20:11 Collins was inspired to play a rolling drum part during the middle section from hearing "The Weaver's Answer" by Family, and put it to the rhythm. Banks wrote the chord sequence for the final section of the song. Despite all these additions, Genesis biographer Mario Giammetti reckoned that the original composition written by Rutherford and Phillips in September 1969 amounted to "a good two thirds of this track".
The song became a live favourite during Gabriel's tenure with the band. He first decided on the idea of wearing costumes at a gig in the National Stadium, Dublin, in September 1972, leaving during the instrumental break and re-appearing at the conclusion wearing his wife's red dress and a fox's head. Later he would wear an "old man" mask for the song's ending, acting out the part of the aged Henry.
Other songs
"For Absent Friends" is an acoustic song, and the first Genesis song with Collins on lead vocals. The 12-string acoustic guitars were played by Rutherford and Hackett, and supplemented by a Hohner Pianet played by Banks. After coming up with the music himself and the lyrics with Collins, Hackett recalled being shy when he presented it to Gabriel as they were the new members of the group. Rather than feeling threatened, the original members were pleased that they were contributing to the songwriting, and Gabriel even approved when the other members suggested that Collins sing the lead for the song on the record. Hackett was inspired by "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles to write a straightforward song about a relationship, to which Collins suggested one about two old women who had lost their husbands. They wrote most of the lyrics together in the garden of Tony Stratton-Smith's country house.
"The Return of the Giant Hogweed" warns of the spread of the toxic plant Heracleum mantegazzianum (also known as giant hogweed) after it was "captured" in Russia and brought to England by a Victorian explorer. Though the real plant is extremely toxic and dangerous, the song's lyrics are a humorous exaggeration, suggesting the plant is attempting to wipe out the human race. The lyrics were written by Gabriel. The bulk of the song was written during Genesis's time as a four-piece of Banks, Collins, Gabriel, and Rutherford, though Hackett wrote the introduction after joining the band. Both "The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" feature Hackett's first use of guitar tapping, a technique whereby the index finger of the plucking hand is applied directly to the guitar fret board. The opening to the latter features Hackett and Banks playing triplets in harmony.
"Seven Stones" was conceived by Banks, who used what Rutherford described as "his big, schmaltzy, music hall chords [that] he loved." Hackett wrote the first half of the chorus, the part with wordless vocals. Melody Maker reporter Chris Welch described the song as "strangely mournful and inconclusive". He theorised that the old man addressed in the lyric is expressing his "profound belief that the secret of success and good fortune is based purely on random events and chance".
"Harold the Barrel" showed a humorous side to Genesis, which was encouraged by Collins. The lyrics show black humour of a man contemplating suicide by jumping off a building. The song was written primarily by Gabriel, with Collins assisting him with the lyrics. The track was recorded with Gabriel and Collins singing the song as a duet. Their vocals were mixed onto the same audio track, so they cannot be separated.