Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Genesis
Label: Virgin Records
Released: 1977
Runtime: 13:22
Rating: 3.5/5
In 1977, Genesis recorded the EP »Spot The Pigeon«, their last studio release featuring the legendary guitarist Steve Hackett, and thanks to its relative rarity it has picked up extra collector value over the years. It contains three tracks that didn’t appear on any studio album and only got reissued many years later. Even though »Spot The Pigeon« went down well on home turf in Britain, reaching a solid number 14 on the charts, it was also one of the main reasons Hackett left the band. It included the track »Inside And Out«, which Steve had originally meant for the album »Wind And Wuthering« (1976), but the other three members of Genesis didn’t go for his suggestion, even though it’s a hugely strong piece of work, in fact the best of the three »Spot The Pigeon« compositions.
It was exactly this kind of rejection of his songwriting efforts that made him say goodbye to Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, who then carried on the Genesis story as a trio, while he preferred to go his own way. »Inside and Out« and »Pigeons« came out many years later on the Genesis archive collection »Archive Vol. 2: 1976-1992«, while the EP’s most commercial track, »Match Of The Day«, wasn’t reissued at all until 2007, when it finally appeared on the box set »Genesis 1976-1982«. None of the band members, Collins especially, liked it, and they’d have happily forgotten it. It got on their nerves mainly because, much like »Pigeons«, it was written to promote the English football league (the pigeon here is a metaphor for the football), and they even shot an accompanying video for it.
The rarity »Match Of The Day«, which tells the story of a Saturday football match, has a cheerful, bouncy pulse, which makes it one of the most ‘happy’ songs in the entire Genesis history, but also one of the simplest, so it doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression. It was more than obviously written with the aim of making a radio hit, since its structure is closer to pop rock than prog rock, and it’s not hard to see why it didn’t make it onto »Wind And Wuthering«. »Pigeons« is another upbeat piece with a slightly humorous pulse and a swaying rhythm. The rhythm backs up Hackett’s witty guitar phrasing and Collins’ exceptional vocal charisma, which makes this track an unexciting but thoroughly solid effort.
As mentioned, the most ambitious of the three »Spot The Pigeon« compositions turned out to be Hackett’s »Inside And Out«, which was truly unjustly left off »Wind And Wuthering«, where it would have fit in perfectly with the rest of the material. It opens as a gorgeous, ethereal ballad that’s a bit reminiscent of the more commercially minded »Your Own Special Way«, but over time, mainly through Hackett’s and Banks’ playful solos, it takes on more complex dimensions, and before long that unmistakable Genesis magic from their best, prog rock era takes over.
These days, the EP »Spot The Pigeon« is of interest only to collectors of rare records and Genesis fanatics who want to complete their collection. Until 2007 it was interesting mainly for the rarity »Match Of The Day«, but even that average track is no longer its main draw, so it’s a must-have only for those maniacs who want to own absolutely everything Genesis ever recorded.
Line-up
Phil Collins – vocals, drums, percussion
Steve Hackett – guitar
Mike Rutherford – bass guitar
Tony Banks – keyboards
Production
David Hentschel and Genesis
Track list
1. Match of the Day (3:24)
2. Pigeons (3:12)
3. Inside and Out (6:45)
