Play Me My Song - “Nursery Cryme” Gets Revisited

The first album by the classic lineup of prog pioneers

By 1971, things were finally starting to come together for Genesis. Vocalist Peter Gabriel, keyboardist Tony Banks, and guitarists Mike Rutherford and Anthony Phillips initially churned out short baroque pop pieces on their 1969 debut, From Genesis to Revelation, while they were still pupils at England’s prestigious Charterhouse boarding school. Producer Johnathan King fought to keep the group’s arrangements concise to a simple pop formula, but Genesis was keen to explore the outer limits of their creativity. Fueled by their love for King Crimson, the group grew into a progressive sound that leaned into folk territory driven by 12-string acoustic arrangements on Trespass, released the following year. After surviving a revolving door of drummers and Anthony Phillips’ departure from the group, the group solidified the lineup with drummer Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett.

Maintaining an album-a-year streak, the next recorded effort from Genesis was Nursery Cryme. This album proved that the lineup of Gabriel, Hackett, Rutherford, Banks, and Collins would go down as the classic lineup. Hackett’s guitar style was innovative, pioneering a tapping technique on the intro of “The Return of the Giant Hogweed” years before Eddie Van Halen glamorized it. Collins did more than just make the rhythm section more technical proficient by handling backing vocals, taking the lead vocal on “For Absent Friends,” and enabling the group’s humorous side on the black comedy-inspired “Harold The Barrell.” Tony Banks’ massive keyboard chords on “Seven Stones” and “The Fountain of Salmacis” lent elements of aggression and grandiosity to the band’s sound. Despite these advancements in sound, Genesis was still keen to hone in on their 12” string acoustic foundation on “Harlequin.” The album’s highlight is “The Musical Box,” which became a stage favorite where Peter Gabriel embraced his keenness for theatre by donning a red dress/fox head or old man mask during the song’s closing section. 

In the wake of the group’s reunion in 2007, Genesis’ catalog received a massive overhaul in the form of new stereo mixes by Nick Davis. While some of the early albums of their catalog benefited from this treatment, the remixes succumbed to a case of revisionist history, making the original mixes obsolete across all physical/digital media platforms. The last time the original mix of Nursery Cryme graced the grooves was in the early 2000s by Classic Records. Analogue Productions continuously honors Atlantic Records’ 75th anniversary by dusting off the tape vaults and providing the best-sounding pressings of a selection of their beloved catalog, much to the delight of Genesis purists. 

Paul Whitehead’s elegant yet macabre artwork, based on the lyrics of “The Musical Box,” graces a textured Stoughton jacket that matches the canvas quality of the original painting. The photo album-style gatefold, consisting of lyrics and illustrations for each track, is lifted faithfully from the original artwork. Technically speaking, Nursery Cryme never became a part of Atlantic’s catalog until it was reissued by the label in 1982, sporting the red/green label. This pressing gives the nod to the original UK Charisma pressing by using the “pink scroll” label, albeit a modified rendering that removes the stylized “famous Charisma label” text and uses the band’s name instead.

The soft opening section of “The Musical Box” offers intricate 12-string acoustic arrangements with detailed separation and distinctive stereo panning, from which the 45rpm treatment dramatically benefits. When the whole band kicks, the rhythm section of Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins shifts the track into abrasive high gear. Steve Hackett’s lead guitar work hops back and forth between the speakers, and Collins’ juxtaposed vocals hard-panned to the right give the soundstage a three-dimensional quality. Peter Gabriel’s lead vocals are mostly dry, but there is an element of intensity every time he proclaims, “Why don’t you touch me now, NOW!” during the song’s climax. In just over 10 minutes, this track encompasses and sets the scene for all the dynamic prowess a listener can expect from this pressing. 

One of Nursery Cryme’s distinctive sonic qualities is the integration of harder-edged approaches. Genesis were craftsmen of sound manipulation so that listeners couldn’t distinguish Hackett’s distorted guitar and Banks’ electric piano fed through a fuzz pedal. This practice comes across on “The Return of the Giant Hogweed,” a bruting piece of proto-metal driven by Collins’ thudding bass drum and Gabriel’s gritty vocal delivery. With a dodgy tape edit, the track shifts gears during the middle section with acoustic piano and palm-muted guitars. However, distorted guitars and Hammond organ provide power and muscle during the song’s apocalyptic finale. 

Progressive rock lends itself to having neo-classical qualities. Tony Banks’ Mellotron provides an element of drama on tracks like “Seven Stones” and “The Fountain of Salmacis;” the latter's introduction swells like an unbelievable symphony! Gabriel and Collins approached the vocals of “Harrold The Barrell” in distinctive styles correlating to the characters within the song’s narrative. Each “character” is EQ’d and mixed in intriguing ways that keep up with the comical quality of the track. The sparkling 12-string acoustic guitars and layered harmonies on “For Absent Friends” and “Harlequin” demonstrate that while these tracks are stripped-down sonically, their arrangements are just as complex.

Like most Genesis albums from the early 70s, reactions were mixed amongst critics when Nursery Cryme hit the record-buying public in 1971. In retrospect, the album is seen as a landmark in the progressive rock bible, cementing Genesis as genre pioneers.