Invisible Touch is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 6 June 1986 by Atlantic Records in the United States and on 9 June 1986 by Charisma/Virgin Records in the United Kingdom. After taking a break in 1984 for each member to continue his solo career, the band reconvened in October 1985 to write and record Invisible Touch with engineer and producer Hugh Padgham. As with their previous album, it was written entirely through group improvisations and no material developed prior to recording was used.
Invisible Touch was a worldwide success and reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 3 on the US Billboard 200. It remains the band's highest selling album after it was certified multi-platinum for over 1.2 million copies sold in the UK and 6 million sold in the US. Genesis became the first band and foreign act to have five singles from one album reach the top five on the US Billboard Hot 100, with "Invisible Touch" being their first and only song to reach No. 1 on the charts. The album received mixed reviews upon its release and retrospectively, with its more pop-oriented approach and perceived similarities to lead singer Phil Collins' solo work receiving both praise and criticism. In 2007, the album was re-released with new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes.
Background
In February 1984, the band completed their 1983–1984 tour in support of their previous album Genesis (1983), which became their biggest selling album at the time of release and spawned the UK top five hit "Mama". The group followed this with a period of inactivity to allow each member to continue their respective solo careers; Mike Rutherford formed his group Mike + The Mechanics and had success with their debut album, Tony Banks concentrated on film scores and released Soundtracks (1986), and Phil Collins released his third solo album No Jacket Required (1985), which was a major worldwide commercial hit. In the summer of 1985, towards the end of his solo tour, Collins confirmed that Genesis had agreed to start work on a new album that October.[4] This put an end to a false announcement that aired on BBC Radio 1 suggesting the three had split.[9] Rutherford felt that the break affected the group's musical style: "We had done so much work outside the band, it seemed we had gone through a lot more musical changes, although the development is largely unconscious."[10]
Writing and recording
Invisible Touch was recorded between October 1985 and February 1986 at The Farm, the band's private recording studio in Chiddingfold, Surrey.[11][10] They were joined by engineer and producer Hugh Padgham, who had worked with the band since Abacab (1981) and produced the album with the group, with Paul Gommersall as assistant engineer.[12] Earlier in 1985, the studio was upgraded to a plan supervised by Masami "Sam" Toyishima.[13]
"On day one, we had no songs, no ideas, and a blank bit of paper. Phil was always keen to fill that bit of paper – he was very organised – and we let him."
The group approached the writing sessions for Invisible Touch with a greater sense of confidence, as they had now become a big live act in the US and had reached a new level of commercial success worldwide.[15] As with Genesis, they entered the studio with no preconceived ideas and developed songs from recorded jams and improvisations,[10] a process Collins compared to as "close to jazz".[14] The group considered their strongest songs were those arranged in this way, so they repeated this approach for Invisible Touch. Collins said: "You never quite know what's going to happen. It's just the three of us chopping away, fine-tuning and honing down all these ideas."[10] A typical session saw the trio work from 11am to as late as 2am the following morning,[11] and start with Collins setting up a drum pattern on the drum machine so Banks and Rutherford could jam ideas. Collins would then sing vocal lines, which created an atmosphere and the basis for a song.[16][17] Collins recalled his impetuous attitude during the writing sessions and suggested bits of songs be pieced together as early as possible, but Banks and Rutherford were reluctant to do so.[18] Many of the songs on the album evolved from Banks using the recording function on his E-mu Emulator to capture sounds in the studio, and listening back for potential sounds and rhythms that could be used in a song. The keyboard allowed just 17 seconds to be recorded.[19]
A Simmons electronic drum kit similar to the one Phil Collins plays on the album.
The album features Collins playing on a Simmonselectronic drum kit. In order to capture more of a sound from the Simmons kit rather than feeding it directly into the mixing desk, Padgham also fed the tracks through a mixer and into a PA system before playing it "very, very loud" in the studio. Padgham later said that the Simmons sounded "a bit thin and toneless."[20] Collins also used a Roland Pad-8, an electronic pad that triggers percussion sounds from the MIDI instruments used on the album, including a Roland TR-727 drum machine with Latin-inspired samples and Collins' own E-mu Emulator.[21]
After several jams had been put down on tape, the band listened back to them and picked out the strongest moments with the aim of arranging them into a song.[22] A drum machine was used to create a guiding rhythm, before the guitar and keyboard parts were fully arranged and re-recorded before Collins would replace the drum machine with his own drums last.[11][23] The band discussed a song's potential length, and whether to write lyrics for it or keep it as an instrumental.[10] The lyrics to a track were written after the music was recorded, and were penned by a single member as the group considered the individual had a strong enough direction to carry the song's message through.[24] Collins wrote the words for "Invisible Touch", "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", and "In Too Deep"; Rutherford wrote for "Land of Confusion" and "Throwing It All Away";[22] Banks wrote "Domino" and "Anything She Does".[24]
The group arranged a greater number of songs for Invisible Touch than before, which required additional time to select which tracks to release. This was not the case with Genesis, where strong enough ideas were more scarce; Banks said that "if a song was around, we put it on".[25] Rutherford noted that Genesis had a dark mood to it, yet Invisible Touch had a bigger energy.[26] During the writing sessions Collins realised the band were coming up with fresh and unique material that it had not done before, "which is not easy after 15 albums", and considered them stronger than those on Genesis.[10] Banks maintained this view, thinking the shorter tracks on Invisible Touch were stronger than the previous album.[10]
Songs
Side one
"Invisible Touch" originated as the band were working on "The Last Domino", the second part of "Domino". During the session Rutherford began to play an improvised guitar riff with an added echo effect, to which Collins replied with the off-the-cuff lyric, "She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah". This led to Collins writing the lyrics to the song, with his improvised line becoming its chorus hook. He wrote the lyrics based around a person who gets under one's skin which he had "Known a few. You know they’re going to mess you up, but you can't resist".[14][27] Collins later said that "large chunks" of the lyrics are about his first wife Andrea Bertorelli, to whom he was married from 1975 to 1980.[28] The group wanted to keep the song simple in structure, but thought an eight-bar bridge with a key change and using a sequenced keyboard part complemented the arrangement. Banks produced eight different versions in step time, some ideas for which he had thought of ahead of time while others were a rough improvisation. The chosen version was the "most random" one.[19] As the band performed "Invisible Touch" in a lower key on tour, Banks had to produce a new sequenced section which was "a real drag" as he was unable to make one as strong as the one on the album.[19] Rutherford expressed a desire for the band to explore different musical themes for the song, but later felt the lyric had "always felt so comfortable" to him and saw no reason to change it.[29] Collins rates the track highly and picked it as his favourite Genesis song.[14] He added: "It's a great pop song. It encapsulated the whole record and it pushed Genesis into a bit of an R&B area, a little like a Prince thing", and also compared his drumming on the track to American singer Sheila E, of whom he is a fan.[29][14]
The basis for "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" came about from Banks, who spent some time improvising with different keyboard sounds over a rhythm Collins and Rutherford were playing.[27] Similar to that of "Invisible Touch", Collins then came out with the word "monkey" and explored it vocally which led to the song's working title to be "Monkey/Zulu". The rest of the lyrics were then written around the word.[27] Rutherford thought the track resembled the "old-style Genesis" as it covers more ground musically with a "fairly involved" instrumental section in the middle.[27] Banks agreed with Rutherford's view on the song, pointing out its complexity.[10]
The lyrics to "Land Of Confusion" were written by Rutherford, and they were the last set of words written for the album. Rutherford was behind schedule to get the lyrics to the song finished, but thought the "time was right" for him to write a protest song.[30] He was struck with the flu when it was time for Collins to record the song's vocals. He recalled Collins "came over to my house ... he sat on my bed like a secretary ... I was in a kind of delirious state with a very high temperature and I dictated it to him and I remember thinking, 'I think I told him the right thing ... Was it all rubbish or was it any good?'".[29]
The lyrics to "In Too Deep" were written by Collins after he was approached to write a song for the soundtrack of the British crime drama film Mona Lisa (1986). He wrote the chorus during some spare time at a hotel in Sydney, Australia, but he was unable to write verses for it until the band were recording the song in the studio. They had difficulty in writing a chorus, so Collins suggested the part that he had written.[31]
Side two
Banks gained inspiration for "Anything She Does" from pictures of scantily clad women the band would cut out and place on the wall of their recording studio.[27] It features a brass sound that Banks sampled from "some tape" that he had; he clarified that the brass was not from the Phenix Horns, the brass section for Earth, Wind and Fire that were previously used on Abacab.[32]
"Domino" is a track split into two sections—"In the Glow of the Night" and "The Last Domino". Banks wrote the lyrics based on the idea that politicians often fail to think through their ideas and the consequences of their actions.[33] Rutherford thinks "Domino" is "one of the best things" the band has done.[34] He was aware that due to the popularity of MTV and the increased pressure to deliver hit singles, people would often forget about their longer songs like "Domino" in favor of the shorter, more commercial hits.[35]
"Throwing It All Away" developed from a guitar riff from Rutherford, who also wrote the lyrics. Collins described it as like a "one-note samba".[36] It was a heavy guitar song in its original form, with Collins "drumming in a John Bonham style". As the chorus developed, its mood changed to that of a softer one "matched by the single love-song lyric".[37]
"The Brazilian" is an instrumental based around a sample that Banks had recorded on his E-mu Emulator playing throughout the track, which he achieved by sticking a knife onto the keyboard. He realised he could have done it electronically, but the knife "looks better that way."[32] Collins recalled it was put together when the group were "fooling around" in the studio, and he had been experimenting with sounds that could be programmed into his Simmons kit.[38]
Additional material
Three additional songs - "Do the Neurotic," "Feeding The Fire," and "I'd Rather Be You" - were recorded during the album's sessions but were cut from the album's final track selection. They were subsequently released as B-sides across the five singles released from the album. The tracks were included in the 2007 box set Genesis 1983–1998 as well as the 2000 box set Genesis Archive 2: 1976–1992.
Artwork
The cover art was designed by 26-year-old David Baker (known as "Baker Dave") of Assorted iMaGes, who had previously designed the sleeve for No Jacket Required and several of Collins's singles. The band had no music prepared and no title at the time of the first briefing, but wanted a design that combined the personality of each member and the outer sleeve to not contain a group photograph. Baker produced several rough designs and presented them to the band for feedback, by which point some music had been put down and the album's title had been agreed upon. Baker took the themes suggested by the title and produced fifteen ideas, one of which was a graphical representation of how the inner ear takes in sound. Another was the image of a transparent hand which all three members liked, and Baker used that with a schematic design of a sound wave pattern with an image of a nuclear family in the background.[39]
Release
Invisible Touch was first released on 6 June 1986 in the US by Atlantic Records;[40] its release in the United Kingdom followed on 9 June 1986 by Charisma and Virgin Records.[41] The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart for three weeks from 21 June 1986 during a 96-week stay on the chart,[42] and peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 during an 85-week stay.[43]
The album received a mixed reaction from music critics upon release. J. D. Considine gave it a positive review for Rolling Stone, stating that "every tune is carefully pruned so that each flourish delivers not an instrumental epiphany but a solid hook. Much of the credit for this belongs to Tony Banks, whose synth style has never seemed more appropriate; it's his keyboards that set the mood for 'In the Glow of the Night' and maintain the tension in 'Tonight, Tonight, Tonight'."[52] Daniel Brogan of the Chicago Tribune was not as impressed, saying the album had "none of the inventiveness, illumination or power" of former Genesis singer Peter Gabriel's album So, released the prior month. He thought the contributions from Rutherford and Banks "seem far less apparent than usual", and that the first side of the album "could almost pass as outtakes from No Jacket Required". He concluded: "Will the Free World ever tire of Phil Collins?"[53] Several of Brogan's criticisms were mirrored in a review from Steve Hochman of the Los Angeles Times. Hochman asked "Was this record really necessary?" and stated the album "could easily pass as a Collins album. His thin voice and familiar MOR&B songwriting dominate, with only occasional evidence of input from Rutherford and Banks". He also suggested the record "was made to provide material for the next season of Miami Vice".[54]Associated Press writer Larry Kilman disagreed, who opened his review with "Genesis have come up with an irresistible Invisible Touch ... This is far from a Collins solo effort. The band's material is more complex than Collins' pop sound". He complimented the album's "great variety", picking out "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" as a highlight which reminded him of "the spare, art-rock sound of the early Genesis".[55]
In a retrospective review from Stephen Thomas Erlewine for AllMusic, the album received three stars out of five. He commented that "Invisible Touch was seen at the time as a bit of a Phil Collins solo album disguised as a Genesis album ... Genesis' poppiest album, a sleek, streamlined affair built on electronic percussion and dressed in synths" and he said "the heavy emphasis on pop tunes does serve the singer, not the band". He said that "[the] songs had big hooks that excused their coldness, and the arty moments sank to the bottom".[1] Mark Putterford of Kerrang! remarked on how the album showed "new ideas, new sounds, but still very definitely Genesis".[49]The Rough Guide to Rock describes Invisible Touch as "calculated and oddly emotionless AOR" and stated the hits were "by now barely distinguishable from Collins' songs as a solo artist".[56] In 2014, Stevie Chick, writing for The Guardian, said the album's "bright, polished pop title track, the baby boomer agit-rock of 'Land of Confusion', the genuinely affecting ballad 'Throwing It All Away' – could have easily fitted on his [Collins's] solo albums". Chick reserved particular praise for "Domino", saying the track "proved a final gasp of brilliance before the blandness of 1991's We Can't Dance and 1997's inexplicable, Collins-less Calling All Stations".[57]
Ultimate Classic Rock ranked Invisible Touch as the 13th best album by Genesis, stating "On the dark day in Genesis history when this record was released, the band fully transitioned from art-rock glory to radio-ready piffle, replete with all the worst that '80s overproduction had to offer. The fact that just the tiniest bit of the 'old' Genesis is discernible in a couple of tracks is the only thing that edges this album a notch ahead of We Can't Dance."[58]
Genesis performed four shows at London's Wembley Stadium
The Invisible Touch Tour consisted of 112 shows between September 1986 and July 1987. The core trio were joined by their longtime touring musicians, drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer. Every song on Invisible Touch was performed live during the tour, except for "Anything She Does" which was used during the show's introduction. The 1986 dates included a Genesis medley that included the final two sections of "Supper's Ready" from Foxtrot (1972). The stage production included 400 Vari-Lites which required five lorries to transport.
The tour opened with a sold out North American leg which included five nights at Madison Square Garden and also five at the Los Angeles Forum. Each date on the leg grossed an average of $300,000.[59] The US legs were sponsored by Michelob beer.[31] It was followed by the band's first and only tour of Australia and New Zealand; the former dates saw Genesis perform "Your Own Special Way" from Wind & Wuthering (1976) with a string section. A Chinese leg was announced, but later cancelled.[31] The tour ended with four sold out shows at London's Wembley Stadium, totalling 288,000 people in attendance, which set a new record. The final show was a benefit in aid of The Prince's Trust and attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales, a fan of the group.[citation needed]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Notes and references
Notes
↑ The original album sleeve lists "Throwing It All Away" with an incorrect running time of 4:41.[12]
↑ "British album certifications – Genesis – Invisible Touch". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2017. Enter "Invisible Touch" in the field 'Keywords'. Select 'Title' in the field 'Search by'. Select 'Album' in the field 'By Format'. Click 'Search'.
↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1sted.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p.263. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
Genesis were an English rock band formed at Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey, in 1967. The band's longest-existing and most commercially successful line-up consisted of keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and drummer/singer Phil Collins. In the 1970s, during which the band also included singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett, Genesis were among the pioneers of progressive rock.
We Can't Dance is the fourteenth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 11 November 1991 by Virgin Records in the UK and a day later by Atlantic Records in the US. It is their last studio album recorded with drummer and singer Phil Collins before his departure in 1996 to pursue solo projects full time. The album marked the return of band activity following an almost four-year hiatus after touring their previous album, Invisible Touch (1986).
Genesis is the twelfth studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 3 October 1983 by Charisma and Virgin Records in the UK and by Atlantic Records in the US and Canada. Following the band's tour in support of their 1982 live album Three Sides Live, Genesis took an eight-month break before they regrouped in the spring of 1983 to record a new album. It is their first written and recorded in its entirety at their studio named The Farm in Chiddingfold, Surrey, and the songs were developed through jam sessions in the studio with nothing written beforehand. Hugh Padgham returned as their engineer.
Duke is the tenth studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 28 March 1980 on Charisma Records. The album followed a period of inactivity for the band in early 1979. Phil Collins moved to Vancouver, Canada, in an effort to salvage his failing first marriage, while Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford recorded solo albums. Collins returned to the UK after his marriage ended and wrote a significant amount of material, some of which was used for Duke and some was later reworked for his first solo album, Face Value. Duke contained a mix of individually written songs and tracks that evolved from jam sessions in mid-1979, while recording took place at the end of the year. The break in activity rejuvenated the band, and they found the album an easy one to work on.
Abacab is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 18 September 1981 by Charisma Records. After their 1980 tour in support of their previous album, Duke (1980), the band took a break before they reconvened in 1981 to write and record a new album. Abacab is the first Genesis album recorded at The Farm, a recording studio bought by the group in Chiddingfold, Surrey. It marked the band's development from their progressive roots into more accessible and pop-oriented songs, and their conscious decision to write songs unlike their previous albums.
3×3 is the second extended play by the English rock band Genesis, released on 10 May 1982 on Charisma Records. Its three songs were originally written and recorded for their eleventh studio album Abacab (1981), but they were not included on the album's final track selection. 3×3 reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, its tracks were included on the international edition of the band's live album Three Sides Live (1982). The lead track, "Paperlate", peaked at No. 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
"In Too Deep" is a song by English rock band Genesis, included as the fourth track on their 13th studio album, Invisible Touch (1986). It was released as the second single from the LP in the UK and the fifth single in the US. The single was a success in America during the summer of 1987; it reached the No. 3 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the No. 1 spot on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song was only performed live during the 1986 North American legs during the Genesis 1986–87 Invisible Touch world tour. An October 1986 performance of the song was included on the 1992 live album The Shorts.
"Mama" is a song by the English rock band Genesis, released as the first single in 1983 from their self-titled album. It is recognisable for its harsh drum machine introduction composed by Mike Rutherford, which leads into minimalist synthesizer lines in a minor tonality and finally Phil Collins' reverb-laden voice. It remains the band's most successful single in the UK, peaking at No. 4 on the UK singles chart. It also made the top 10 in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was less popular in the US, only reaching No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. A 1992 re-release of the single managed to reach the Top 40 in Germany.
"Invisible Touch" is the title track and first single from the 1986 studio album of the same name by the English rock band Genesis. The song is a group composition which featured lyrics written by drummer and lead vocalist Phil Collins.
"Follow You Follow Me" is a love song written and recorded by English rock band Genesis. It was released in February 1978 as the first single from their ninth studio album, ...And Then There Were Three... (1978). The music was composed by the band, and the lyrics were written by bassist and guitarist Mike Rutherford. The single became Genesis' first top 10 hit in the UK and first top 40 hit in the US, reaching No. 7 and No. 23 respectively.
"Throwing It All Away" is the seventh track on the 1986 album Invisible Touch by Genesis. It was the second single taken from the album in the United States, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1986, as well as No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and the Album Rock Tracks chart. It was the last single released from the album in the UK in June 1987, reaching No. 22. The song was also a top 40 hit on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at No. 24. The working title was "Zephyr and Zeppo".
"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" is the second track on the 1986 album Invisible Touch by the English rock band Genesis, released in January 1987 as the fourth single from the album. It peaked at No. 3 in the US and No. 18 in the UK.
"That's All" is a song by the English rock band Genesis. It is a group composition and appears as the second track on their self-titled album (1983). It was the album's second single after "Mama". On June 17, 1993, MCA Records re-issued and re-released the song as a CD and "HiQ" cassette single.
"Abacab" is a song by the British rock band Genesis, released on 14 August 1981. It was produced by Genesis and distributed in the United States by Atlantic Records and Warner Music Group. The song, mainly written by Mike Rutherford with Tony Banks and Phil Collins with lyrics by Rutherford, was featured on Genesis' album of the same name and was a top 10 hit on the British pop chart, where it peaked at No. 9. The song was the second single from the album in the US, where it peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1982. It stayed in the Top 40 for six weeks.
Invisible Touch Tour is a live video by the English rock band Genesis, released on the 22nd May 1989 on Virgin Music Video. It was the first concert ever shot in High Definition and cameras and lenses had to be flown in from the United States and Japan. It was directed by Jim Yukich and produced by Paul Flattery of FYI. It was edited at the band's facilities known as The Farm by Jerry Behrens and David Foster. It documents the band's four sold out shows at Wembley Stadium in London between 2-3 July 1987 at the end of their Invisible Touch Tour promoting their thirteenth studio album, Invisible Touch. A limited edition release included a CD single containing the live version of "Domino" as performed on the video. In November 2003, the video was reissued on DVD and renamed Genesis Live at Wembley Stadium.
"Tell Me Why" is a song by English rock band Genesis. It first appeared as the seventh track on their 14th studio album, We Can't Dance (1991), and was issued as a single in Europe in 1992 and in the United Kingdom on 8 February 1993 by Virgin Records. It was the last Genesis single featuring Phil Collins on vocals before leaving the group in March 1996.
"Domino" is a song written by the band Genesis for their 1986 album Invisible Touch. The song was the sixth track on the album. The music was written by the band, while the lyrics were written by keyboardist Tony Banks. The song is divided into two parts, "In the Glow of the Night" and "The Last Domino".
The Way We Walk – Live in Concert is a 1992 live video from the We Can't Dance tour by Genesis. The footage was videotaped on 6th, 7 and 8 November 1992 at Earls Court in London, and first released on VHS on the 29th March 1993 as Genesis Live – The Way We Walk – In Concert. It was also available on PAL format LaserDisc. On November 26, 2001, the video was reissued on DVD.
The Invisible Touch Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the English rock band Genesis. The tour began on 18 September 1986 in Detroit and ended on 4 July 1987 in London. London dates at Wembley Stadium were filmed for a video release entitled Genesis Live at Wembley Stadium. The group earned as much as $300,000 a night in North America alone. The five shows in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. in May 1987 grossed $5.4 million and were attended by a total of 273,414 people.
The Last Domino? Tour was a concert tour by English rock band Genesis, staged following the announcement of their reunion after a 13-year hiatus. It featured the core trio of keyboardist Tony Banks, drummer/singer Phil Collins, and bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, the most commercially successful line-up in the band's history, with Daryl Stuermer on guitars and bass, and Collins's son Nic on drums.
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