On Genesis twelfth (!) album, Genesis, the band finally caught the eye of the common shopper. A combination of being in the right place and at the right time plus Phil Collins’ meteorical rise, their self-titled album was an inflection point on their career.

The band became a trio in 1978, barely surviving Peter Gabriel’s departure, and they stumbled (commercially) for a couple of albums. Their steady tour schedule and a refinement of their found finally clicked here. I think it helped that Genesis had their own studio (The Farm in Chiddingfold), and had enough experience under their wrinkly eyes (!) to get it just right.

Lead single Mama was eerie but still commercially palatable, a dark pop hit that somehow (and thankfully) clicked with the public. Their choice for a follow-up single had to be something easy. They chose That’s all.

That’s all is deceptively easy going. You can feel Collins’ pent-up anger with every “that’s all!” half-screamed through the song. “It’s always the same, it’s just a shame, that’s all” waves a flag of tiredness and frustration. Such a beautiful song juxtaposed with heavy hitting lyrics. My fave.

Genesis would only record two more albums with Collins after this. Invisible Touch continued this commercial prog pop path, finishing with 1991’s We Can’t Dance. It’s a good three album run, parallel to Collins’ tremendous chart dominance, which also ended with the new decade.

-Sam J. Valdés López