Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1983


That's All (Genesis song)

Buy That's All (Genesis song) now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




"'That's All'" is a song by English rock band Genesis. It is a group composition and appears as the second track on their 1983 album 'Genesis'. 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.

The U.S. single reached No. 6 in early 1984, making it their first 'Billboard' Hot 100 Top 10 hit; it included "Second Home by the Sea" as the B-side. The UK single featured "Taking It All Too Hard" as the flipside, and reached No. 16. Also released was a 12-inch single that included a live version of "Firth of Fifth" from 1981.

As the band's first break into the 'Billboard' Hot 100 Top 10, the song is included in 'Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era'.

Background and recording



The song was intended as an attempt to write a simple pop song with a melody in the style of the Beatles. Phil Collins acknowledged in a subsequent interview that the song also features one of his attempts at a "Ringo Starr drum part".[https://web.archive.org/web/20080801174547/http://www.philcollins.co.uk/hitmen86b.htm HITMEN, 1986 Part Two], 'Hitmen', 1986. reprinted at Collins's website in 2009; archived copy at archive.org.

The song begins with Tony Banks playing the main riff of the song on a Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano. The other keyboards used on this song are a Sequential Circuits Prophet-10 for organ pads and a Synclavier II for the organ solo in the middle section. The coda lapses into a guitar solo played by Mike Rutherford, as the drum beat intensifies, before the song fades away.

Reception



'Cash Box' said that "a light production touch uses a bouncy piano and keyboard foundation and makes for a moving tune, though theres no movement in the relationship described."

Music video



The video depicts the band as homeless men taking shelter outside a disused factory. They perform the song, eat soup, play cards, and keep warm around an open fire. It was the first time Genesis used director Jim Yukich, who would direct the majority of their next videos as well as many of Collins's solo videos.

Live performances



The song was played live during the 'Mama',[http://www.genesis-movement.org/php/listtour.php?tourid=14&addcommentsall= Mama Tour Songs & Dates] 'Invisible Touch',[http://www.genesis-movement.org/php/listtour.php?tourid=15&addcommentsall= Invisible Tour Songs & Dates] 'We Can't Dance',[http://www.genesis-movement.org/php/listtour.php?tourid=16&addcommentsall= The Way We Walk Tour Songs & Dates] and 'Calling All Stations' (with Ray Wilson on vocals)[http://www.genesis-movement.org/php/listtour.php?tourid=17&addcommentsall= Calling All Stations Tour Songs & Dates] Tours. The song was played only during the first few shows of the 'Calling All Stations' tour, before being discarded.[http://www.bluesnaggletooth12.com/boot-cas.html Calling All Stations Tour Bootleg info (with set lists)]

A live version appears on the albums 'The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts', and their DVD 'Genesis Live at Wembley Stadium', as well as their home video 'The Mama Tour'. An instrumental jazz version of the song appears on the live album 'A Hot Night in Paris' by The Phil Collins Big Band.

The first verse of the song is also part of the "Old Medley" featured on 'The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs' and 'The Way We Walk - Live in Concert'.

A more stripped-down version of the song was brought back as part of an acoustic set for 'The Last Domino?' tour.

Personnel



* Phil Collins drums, percussion, vocals

* Tony Banks keyboards, piano

* Mike Rutherford guitars, bass

Chart performance



Weekly charts



Year-end charts



Other versions



*Keane performed a live version of the song as a tribute to Genesis at the VH1 Rock Honors in 2007.

*Canadian country music group Doc Walker covered the song on their 2008 album 'Beautiful Life'.[ 'Beautiful Life'] It was released as the second single from the project and peaked at No. 68 on the Canadian Hot 100.[ Doc Walker Chart History]

*Canadian indie rock band Zeus covered the song on their 2009 debut EP 'Sounds Like Zeus'.

References




Buy That's All (Genesis song) now from Amazon

<-- Return to songs from 1983



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1109220787.