La storia dei Genesis - 5: 'Selling England By The Pound'

Mi puoi dire dov'è il mio paese? - Genesis - La storia

All'indomani del primo disco dal vivo - Genesis Live -, firmato dal gruppo nel 1973, esce Selling England By The Pound.

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Leggi la presentazione e le recensioni degli album:

From Genesis To Revelation (1969)
Trespass (1970)
Nursery Cryme (1971)
Foxtrot (1972)
Selling England By The Pound (1973)
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974).

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5: Selling England By The Pound

"Vendendo l'Inghilterra a peso"

  "Sublime" è l'aggettivo che salta in mente a proposito di quest'opera. (Su Amazon, il CD remasterizzato.) I Genesis dimostrarono di saper mettere in 53 minuti tanta più musica meravigliosa di quanta non riuscirono a crearne molti loro colleghi nel corso dell'intera carriera. 

L'album ha un suono meno opaco, più cristallino di Foxtrot: merito della migliorata tecnica di registrazione. La Charisma aveva rinnovato la sua fiducia a John Burns, già responsabile della produzione di Foxtrot - dopo che John Anthony era stato licenziato a causa degli alti costi del singolo "Happy The Man".

 1973

 Banks 

I testi sono persino più smaliziati di quelli dell'album precedente e carichi di allusioni e sottintesi comprensibili solo ai britannici; si rifanno (una volta di più) sia alle notizie di cronaca che alla letteratura. Per fortuna di noi italiani, Armando Gallo traspose il tutto nella nostra lingua, contribuendo così a farceli comprendere (e probabilmente anche a far vendere di più l'album in Italia).

L'ispirazione di Gabriel prende le mosse dalla nativa Inghilterra, condannata pesantemente già fin nel titolo; "Selling England By The Pound" era lo slogan elettorale del Partito Laburista. Il patchwork di dramma psicologico e cronaca sociale (condito da un sottile sarcasmo) è legato ad arrangiamenti che cercano il loro pari: la chitarra simil-violino di Steve Hackett in "Firth Of Fifth", gli arpeggi alle tastiere di Tony Banks in "The Battle Of Epping Forest"...

 Gabriel nel panni di England e, sotto, con due maschere famose da album precedenti: la Volpe e il Fiore

In particolare il primo e il quarto solco, rispettivamente "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" e "The Battle..." ci presentano i Genesis sensibili ai problemi della società inglese del tempo. E' un album contro la decadenza dilagante, contro la fine degli usi e delle tradizioni sull'Isola di Albione e la sua progressiva americanizzazione. Si parla di "Green Shield Stamps", espressione che ricorda sia la leggenda di Sir Gawain e dei Cavalieri Verdi sia i punti-omaggio di certi prodotti alimentari. Si parla di "Wimpey Hamburgers"... E, nel titolo di chiusura "Aisle Of Plenty", è presente addirittura un elenco dei prezzi esposti dal supermercato all'angolo. Quest'ultima canzone, che riprende il passaggio di chitarra di "Moonlit Knight", si conclude con la frase: "Thankful for her Fine Fare Discount, Tess cooperates". Solo i Genesis potevano mettere in musica un simile testo!

 Ancora Gabriel

I suoni restano - come già detto - estatici, ispirati: una serie di madrigali e arabeschi destinati ad entrare nella storia del rock. La band suona a memoria, si direbbe, denotando una fluidità strumentale invidiabile che giustifica l'entusiasmo crescente dei fans.

"Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" inizia con Peter Gabriel che canta a cappella, prima che si accenda via via l'intero instrumentarium della band.

Ha fatto scuola la suggestione romantica e potente di un pezzo come "Firth Of Fifth", cucita dal pianoforte nelle sue varie fasi fino alla superba coda strumentale in cui si distingue la chitarra elettrica di Hackett.

"The Battle..." è la rappresentazione dello scontro tra due gangs rivali: altro ampio spazio per la versatilità da "attore" di Gabriel. Sembra spesso che il testo non collimi con le note, ma l'alto grado di teatralità e i ritmi incalzanti sono una scusa sufficiente.

Non mancano i soliti richiami alla mitologia classica, con "The Cinema Show" che ha come "protagonista" l'indovino Tiresia (colui che doveva appianare una diatriba tra Zeus ed Era e rivelare chi, tra uomo e donna, provi il piacere maggiore).

E anche i presunti "riempitivi" sono a un livello massimo, che li fanno prescindere dalle mode e dagli anni. La dolceamara ballata "More Fool Me" (che, contrariamente a quanto si crede, non è l'esordio di Phil Collins come cantante solista: Collins aveva già fatto da lead vocal in "For Absent Friends" in Nursery Cryme) strizza addirittura l'occhio al pop, così come "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". Ma sono eseguiti in maniera magistrale. E magistrale è anche l'instrumental "After the Ordeal".

 Rutherford

Live in Bataclan 1973

 Steve Hackett "on stage" con i Genesis a Shepperton nel 1973...

... e oggi. Il chitarrista è rimasto l'unico della band a rinverdire attivamente i tempi meravigliosi del periodo prog

La copertina non è opera di Paul Whitehead (come nei tre album precedenti), bensì è della pittrice Betty Swanwick (1915–1989); per meglio dire: una riproduzione del suo dipinto 'The Dream'. La Swanwick era nota per il suo stile "squisitamente inglese". E, dopo quelle di Trespass, di Nursery Cryme e di Foxtrot, si tratta di un'ennesima art cover molto ben riuscita.

 

"Can you tell me where my country lies?"
Per molti, il miglior album di tutti i tempi. C'è chi dice che uscì il 28 settembre 1973, altri affermano che venne pubblicato invece il 12 ottobre. Ed è questa anche la data ufficiale: "October 12th, 1973". Fatto è che Selling England By The Pound rimase nelle classifiche inglesi per 21 settimane, raggiungendo la terza posizione. In Italia salì fino al 4. posto (disco d'oro, 25.000 copie vendute). Fu disco d'oro negli U.S.A. (500.000 copie, 70. posizione nelle charts), in Francia (100.000) e disco di platino in Canada (100.000). In più ci sono i piazzamenti nelle classifiche di tanti altri Paesi (10. in Grecia, ad esempio).
Nel dipinto originale riprodotto in copertina, la falciatrice - "the lawn mower", quella di "I know what I like" - non c'è. La pittrice la aggiunse in seguito, dietro richiesta dei Genesis.
L'uomo sulla panca è Jacob, il giardiniere: lavora per i suoi ricchi padroni, non rischia nulla ("gambling only pays when you're winning"), non si scombina quando gli ordinano di fare questo e quello ("turn left, turn right..."). Mr. Farmer, che pensa che Jacob stia sciupando il suo tempo, lo tenta: "There is a future for you in the fire escape trade. Come to town". Ma Jacob è soddisfatto con il suo lavoro e con la sua vita apparentemente sempre uguale. "I know what I like and I like what I know."

  L'album intero 

Released: October 12, 1973 (Atlantic) Produced by: John Burns and Genesis Recorded: Island Studios, London, August 1973
Side One	Side Two
Dancing with the Moonlit Knight I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) Firth of Fifth More Fool Me	The Battle of Epping Forest After the Odeal The Cinema Show Aisle of Plenty
Group Musicians
Peter Gabriel – Lead Vocals, Flute Steve Hackett – Guitars Tony Banks – Piano, Keyboards Mike Rutherford – Bass, Guitars, Cello Phil Collins – Drums, Percussion, Vocals

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Tutti i testi di Selling England By The Pound

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight
(Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford)

"Can you tell me where my country lies?"
said the unifaun to his true love's eyes.
"It lies with me!" cried the Queen of Maybe
- for her merchandise, he traded in his prize.

   "Paper late!" cried a voice in the crowd.
   "Old man dies!" The note he left was signed 'Old Father Thames'
   - it seems he's drowned;
   selling england by the pound.

   Citizens of Hope & Glory,
   Time goes by - it's "the time of your life".
   Easy now, sit you down.
   Chewing through your Wimpey dreams,
   they eat without a sound;
   digesting england by the pound.

Young man says "you are what you eat" - eat well.
Old man says "you are what you wear" - wear well.
You know what you are, you don't give a damn;
bursting your belt that is your homemade sham.

   The Captain leads his dance right on through the night
   - join the dance...
   Follow on! Till the Grail sun sets in the mould.
   Follow on! Till the gold is cold.
   Dancing out with the moonlit knight,
   Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout.

   There's a fat old lady outside the saloon;
   laying out the credit cards she plays Fortune.
   The deck is uneven right from the start;
   and all of their hands are playing apart.

The Captain leads his dance right on through the night
- join the dance...
Follow on! A Round Table-talking down we go.
You're the show!
Off we go with - You play the hobbyhorse,
                 I'll play the fool.
                 We'll tease the bull
                 ringing round & loud, loud & round.

Follow on! With a twist of the world we go.
Follow on! Till the gold is cold.
Dancing out with the moonlit knight,
Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout.

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I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
(Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford)

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.

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Firth Of Fifth
(Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford)

The path is clear
Though no eyes can see
The course laid down long before.
And so with gods and men
The sheep remain inside their pen,
Though many times they've seen the way to leave.

He rides majestic
Past homes of men
Who care not or gaze with joy,
To see reflected there
The trees, the sky, the lily fair,
The scene of death is lying just below.

The mountain cuts off the town from view,
Like a cancer growth is removed by skill.
Let it be revealed.
A waterfall, his madrigal.
An inland sea, his symphony.

Undinal songs
Urge the sailors on
Till lured by sirens' cry.

Now as the river dissolves in sea,
So Neptune has claimed another soul.
And so with gods and men
The sheep remain inside their pen,
Until the Shepherd leads his flock away.

The sands of time were eroded by
The river of constant change.

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More Fool Me
(Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) 

Here am I
Who while away the mornings
Since you've gone
Too long have I lay alone
Not knowing which way to turn.

And there you are
Quite sure that you were right
Knowing full well
That I'd be the first one
                  To go down.

And you'd be the one who was laughing
Except when things weren't going your way
And then the lady would say that she'd had enough
Wandering around on her own.

The day you left
Well I think you knew you'd not be back
Well at least it would seem that way
Because you never said goodbye.
But when it comes round to you and me
I'm sure it will work out alright.

And you'd be the one who was laughing
And giving me something I don't need
And you know, I'd always hold you and keep you warm
Oh! more fool me.

Ah, but when it comes
Round to you and me
I ask myself
Do I really believe
In your love.

Yes, I'm sure it will work out alright.

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The Battle Of Epping Forest
(Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) 

Taken from a news story concerning two rival gangs fighting over East-End Protection rights.

Along the Forest Road, there's hundreds of cars - luxury cars.
Each has got its load of convertible bars, cutlery cars - superscars!
For today is the day when they sort it out, sort it out,
      'cos they disagree on a gangland boundary.
      They disagree on a gangland boundary.

There's Willy Wright and his boys -
   one helluva noise, that's Billy's boys!
With fully-fashioned mugs, that's Little John's thugs,
   the Barking Slugs - supersmugs!
For today is the day when they sort it out, sort it out,
      yes these Christian soldiers fight to protect the poor.
      East end heroes got to score in...

            the Battle of Epping Forest,
            yes it's the Battle of Epping Forest,
            right outside your door.
            You ain't seen nothing like it.
            No, you ain't seen nothing like it,
            not since the Civil War.

      Coming over the hill are the boys of Bill,
      and Johnny's lads stand very still.
      With the thumpire's shout, they all start to clout
      - there's no guns in this gentleman's bout.
      Georgie moves in on the outside left
      with a chain flying round his head;
      and Harold Demure, from Art Literature,
      nips up the nearest tree.
                    (Here come the cavalry!)

      Amidst the battle roar,
      accountants keep the score: 10-4.
      They've never been alone, after getting a radiophone.
      The bluebells are ringing for Sweetmeal Sam, real ham,
      handing out bread and jam just like any picnic.

It's 5-4 on William Wright; he made his pile on Derby night.
When Billy was a kid, walking the streets,
   the other kids hid - so they did!
And now, after working hard in security trade, he's got it made.
      The shops that need aid are those that haven't paid.

"I do my double-show quick!" said Mick the Prick, fresh out the nick.
"I sell cheap holiday. The minute they leave,
   then a visit I pay - and does it pay!"
And his friend, Liquid Len by name,
   of Wine, Women and Wandsworth fame,
      said "I'm breaking the legs of the bastard that got me framed!"

They called me the Reverend when I entered the Church unstained;
my employers have changed but the name has remained.
      It all began when I went on a tour,
      hoping to find some furniture.
      I followed a sign - it said "Beautiful Chest".
      It led to a lady who showed me her best.
      She was taken by surprise when I quickly closed my eyes.
      So she rang the bell, and quick as hell
      Bob the Nob came out on his job
      to see what the trouble was.
      "Louise, is the Reverend hard to please?"
      "You're telling me!"
      "Perhaps, sir, if it's not too late.
      we could interest you in our old-fashioned Staffordshire plate?"
"Oh no, not me, I'm a man of repute."
But the Devil caught hold of my soul and a voice called out "Shoot!"

      To save my steeple, I visited people;
      for this I'd gone when I met Little John.
      His name came, I understood,
      when the judge said "You're a robbing hood."
      He told me of his strange foundation,
      conceived on sight of the Woodstock nation;
      he'd had to hide his reputation.
      When poor, 'twas salvation from door to door.
      But now, with a pin-up guru every week,
      it's Love, Peace & Truth Incorporated for all who seek.

He employed me as a karma-ma-mechanic, with overall charms.
His hands were then fit to receive, receive alms.
That's why we're in

            the Battle of Epping Forest,
            yes it's the Battle of Epping Forest,
            right outside your door.
            We guard your souls for peanuts,
            and we guard your shops and houses
            for just a little more.

      In with a left hook is the Bethnal Green Butcher,
      but he's countered on the right by Mick's chain-gang fight,
      and Liquid Len, with his smashed bottle men,
      is lobbing Bob the Nob across the gob.
      With his kisser in a mess, Bob seems under stress,
      but Jones the Jug hits Len right in the mug;
      and Harold Demure, who's still not quite sure,
      fires acorns from out of his sling.
                    (Here come the cavalry!)

      Up, up above the crowd,
      inside their Silver Cloud, done proud,
      the bold and brazen brass, seen darkly through the glass.
      The butler's got jam on his Rolls; Roy doles out the lot,
      with tea from a silver pot just like any picnic.

Along the Forest Road, it's the end of the day
   and the Clouds roll away.
Each has got its load - they'll come out for the count
   at the break-in of day.
When the limos return for their final review, it's all thru'
- all they can see is the morning goo.
"There's no-one left alive - must be draw."
So the Blackcap Barons toss a coin to settle the score.

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After The Ordeal
(Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) 

(Instrumental)

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The Cinema Show
(Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) 

Home from work our Juliet
Clears her morning meal.
She dabs her skin with pretty smells
Concealing to appeal.
I will make my bed,
She said, but turned to go.
Can she be late for her cinema show?

Romeo locks his basement flat,
And scurries up the stair.
With head held high and floral tie,
A weekend millionaire.
I will make my bed
With her tonight, he cries.
Can he fail armed with his chocolate surprise?

Take a little trip back with father Tiresias,
Listen to the old one speak of all he has lived through.
I have crossed between the poles, for me there's no mystery.
Once a man, like the sea I raged,
Once a woman, like the earth I gave.
But there is in fact more earth than sea.

Take a little trip back with father Tiresias,
Listen to the old one speak of all he has lived through.
I have crossed between the poles, for me there's no mystery.
Once a man, like the sea I raged,
Once a woman, like the earth I gave.
But there is in fact more earth than sea.

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Aisle Of Plenty
(Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford) 

"I don't belong here", said old Tessa out loud.
   "Easy, love, there's the Safe Way Home."
- thankful for her Fine Fair discount, Tess Co-operates

            Still alone in o-hell-o
     - see the deadly nightshade grow

               ENGLISH RIBS OF BEEF CUT DOWN TO 47p LB
            PEEK FREANS FAMILY ASSORTED FROM 17 1/2 to 12
         FAIRY LIQUID GIANT - SLASHED FROM 20p TO 17 1/2
      TABLE JELLYS AT 4p EACH
   ANCHOR BUTTER DOWN TO 11p FOR A 1/2
BIRDS EYE DAIRY CREAM SPONGE ON OFFER THIS WEEK.

     It's Scrambled Eggs.