...And Then There Were Three...

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(Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands)* Progressive rock

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...And Then There Were Three... (stylised in all lowercase) is the ninth studio album by the English rock band Genesis. It was released on 31 March 1978 by Charisma Records and is their first recorded as a trio of singer/drummer Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks, and bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, following the departure of guitarist Steve Hackett. The album marked a shift in the band's sound, mixing elements of their progressive rock roots with more accessible material, and Collins contributing to more of the group's songwriting.

The album received mixed reviews from critics, but reached Template:Thinspace on the UK Albums Chart and Template:Thinspace on the US Billboard 200. The lead single "Follow You Follow Me" became their highest charting at that point, reaching Template:Thinspace in the UK and Template:Thinspace in the US. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1988 for selling one million copies in the US. To further promote it, Genesis toured worldwide with live guitarist Daryl Stuermer and drummer Chester Thompson, both of whom would become mainstays of the band's touring lineup for the next three decades. The album was remixed in 2007 as part of the Genesis 1976–1982 box set in 5.1 surround sound and a new stereo mix by Nick Davis.

Production

Background

In July 1977, the Genesis line-up of drummer and vocalist Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist Mike Rutherford, guitarist Steve Hackett, and touring drummer Chester Thompson completed their tour in support of their eighth studio album, Wind & Wuthering. The band proceeded to edit and mix their second live album, Seconds Out, in August 1977, during which time Hackett left the band to pursue a solo career.<ref name=melodymaker1978/> Already having released one solo album in 1975, Voyage Of The Acolyte, Hackett had become increasingly frustrated by the band's lack of interest in his ideas. Further, since Genesis had recently performed at Madison Square Garden, Hackett felt the group had reached its pinnacle and thus he had no reason to continue performing with them.Template:Sfn His departure was not made public until 8 October, when Collins, Banks, and Rutherford were promoting Seconds Out.<ref name=nme1977>Template:Cite journal</ref> The trio were confident they could carry on, as they had formed the backbone of several Genesis classics, including the "Apocalypse in 9/8" section of "Supper's Ready", the instrumental part of "The Cinema Show" and the basics of A Trick of the Tail (written while Hackett was working on his first solo album).Template:Sfn They also agreed not to hire a replacement for Hackett, choosing instead to perform all instrumental work on their albums themselves going forward.

Writing and recording

Rehearsals began at Shepperton Studios and lasted for around six weeks.<ref name=radioone/> In September 1977, the remaining three members returned to Relight Studios in Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands to write and record their new album, the same venue as used for the Wind & Wuthering album.<ref name=CDS4010/><ref name=sounds1978>Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Sfn The group wished to record in a new location, but they could not find a studio that fit their needs and did not wish to travel too far from England. Rutherford wished to remain in London, but noted recording abroad was their "one tax concession".<ref name=sounds1978/> Joining the group was audio engineer and co-producer David Hentschel who had worked on the band's past two albums. Genesis also shared production duties and are credited on the album's sleeve.<ref name=CDS4010/> According to Rutherford, the material was recorded in two weeks.<ref name=sounds1978/> The band considered auditioning for a new guitarist or utilising a studio guitarist for the album, but Rutherford felt confident enough in his skills to take on the lead guitar parts himself, feeling he would enjoy the challenge of doing so.<ref name=sounds1978/>Template:Sfn Banks noticed recording as a three-member band was an easier and more pleasurable experience than before as each member had a clearly defined role, which reduced the risk of personnel clashes along the way.<ref name=melodymaker1978/>Template:Sfn Rutherford became aware that with three members, the basic tracks came across as sparse and not so easy to understand until the overdubs were recorded on top of them.<ref name=sounds1978/> Following the recording, the group mixed the album at Trident Studios in London.<ref name=CDS4010/>

Banks (four songs) and Rutherford (three songs) remained the dominant songwriters, with the remaining songs being one from Banks and Collins, and three tracks written by all three members.<ref name=sounds19780225>Template:Cite journal</ref> Collins had settled down with his wife and two children in South Ealing, and did not find much time to bring new songs to the sessions.Template:Sfn Rutherford later said he was impressed the group wrote "Follow You Follow Me", as they had had difficulty in the past writing songs that worked within a four minute framework.<ref name=ucr>Template:Cite journal</ref> The majority of the album was formed of pre-written songs, not ones developed from jams and improvisations.Template:Sfn Collins later thought the album lacked "rich, jazzy pieces" like "Los Endos" from A Trick of the Tail with its merging of rhythm and melody,<ref name=melodymakeraug1978/> but he could not contribute such ideas as it was difficult to play the drums in his flat in Ealing with his wife and two children.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The group were still growing in popularity in the United States and despite "Follow You, Follow Me", did not have a hit single, which Banks later admitted was a struggling point for them.<ref name=melodymaker1978/> The original album track order swapped "Undertow" with "Many Too Many" and "Scenes from a Night's Dream", before it was changed as the band felt it flowed better.<ref name=sounds1978/>

Sleeve design

As with their past three studio albums, the album cover and packaging was designed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis. Thorgerson later said the cover was "trying to tell a story by the traces left by the light trails". Models were used for the cover shot, not the members of the band. The photograph was shot using time-lapse to represent the "comings and goings" in the album's lyrics, and over the change in personnel.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Writing

The album marked a change in the band's sound, moving from their progressive rock roots towards shorter, more concise songs.<ref name=melodymaker1978>Template:Cite journal</ref> The motivation for this was to enable more musical ideas to be put on a single album, and to act as a response to the newly emerging punk rock and new wave scenes, where short and concise songs were standard.Template:Sfn Collins recognised how this decision gave the impression that Genesis was aiming to become "a singles band" that prioritised commercial success over artistic credibility, but maintained that the new material remained "fundamentally the same".<ref name=melodymakeraug1978>Template:Cite journal</ref> Rutherford in particular wanted to forge his own style and not copy Hackett's distinctive guitar tones, so the album was more dominated by Banks' keyboards, with sparser and simpler guitar parts.Template:Sfn

Side one

"Down and Out", one of the three tracks written collectively, was created during the band's rehearsals. Thompson found its more complex time signature difficult to reproduce on stage at first as Collins could not explain the riff and rhythm which Rutherford noted merely "added to the confusion".<ref name=sounds1978/> Collins wrote the lyrics, which concern American record labels who drop artists when they are no longer in fashion; the chorus is spoken from the artists's view and the verses from the label.<ref name=radioone>Template:Cite interview</ref>

The band had originally planned to develop and arrange Banks's song "Undertow" further, but its basic track of guitar, drums and piano, coupled with its simple chorus, was strong enough to remain intact. Banks plays a Yamaha electric grand piano on the track which also incorporates voice loops made by the band that were kept "low-key and subtle" in the final mix.<ref name=sounds1978/> Banks had written a two-minute introduction to the song, but recalled disagreement from the other members as there were enough keyboard parts on the album. The unused section was reworked and later used as a part of "From The Undertow", a track on Banks's first solo album A Curious Feeling (1979).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The lyrics to "Ballad of Big" were written by Collins. The introduction contains a wobbly guitar effect created by Rutherford whereby he rubbed his guitar strings with pieces of metal, giving it a "slightly Eastern strain". The end of the track has Banks and himself duelling between the Yamaha electric piano and his Roland guitar synthesiser.<ref name=sounds1978/>

For "Snowbound", Collins originally recorded his drum part at a considerably faster pace before the group decided to slow it down in order to fit the style of the song.<ref name=sounds1978/> Collins and Rutherford described it as a romantic song, with its lyrics about a man who wears a snowman outfit to hide from people but while inside, becomes paranoid and finds he cannot get out.<ref name=radioone/>

While Banks was writing "Burning Rope", he decided to shorten the track rather than stretch its arrangements into an extended piece as he wished to avoid repeating himself and drawing comparisons to his ten-minute "One for the Vine" from Wind & Wuthering.<ref name=banks2007>Banks, Tony. Reissues Interview 2007 bonus feature.</ref> It features a lead guitar solo that Rutherford found was a challenge to produce in the wake of Hackett's departure; he was pleased with the final result and called it his best on the album.<ref name=sounds1978/>

Side two

The original title to "Deep in the Motherlode" was "Heavy". Rutherford uses a bottleneck slide guitar which he was inexperienced with at first to the point of placing it "on the wrong hand".<ref name=sounds1978/>

"Many Too Many" features more lead guitar work from Rutherford. Once the basic tracks had been recorded, the group were unsure on how to finish the song and sought more instrumental parts to complete it, including a string sound Banks played on a Polymoog. At one point, they considered using orchestral instruments for the track but that idea was never attempted.<ref name=sounds1978/> Banks, who penned the song's lyrics, recalled an issue Collins had with singing the word "mama" in the chorus; Banks had to reassure him that he could sing it.<ref name=banks2007/> Banks also said in an interview that he actually played the string part on the Mellotron (its last appearance on a Genesis album) and a Roland string synth, as he felt "the basic string sound on the Polymoog isn't that great a string imitation".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

"Scenes From a Night's Dream" is based on a childhood dream,Template:Sfn itself inspired by the cartoon strip character Little Nemo; that character was part of a book that Collins had previously bought for his brother.<ref name=radioone/> The song developed from a musical idea from Banks who wrote the first draft of its lyrics, but he gave up halfway through as he felt they were unsuitable. The band instead settled on a set of lyrics that Collins offered during down time while mixing at Trident Studios that brought in a different melody and more harmonies.<ref name=sounds1978/><ref name=radioone/>

"Say It's Alright Joe", written by Rutherford and the penultimate track recorded for the album, is a torch song about an alcoholic who goes into a drunken stupor. The guitarist intended the track to be a "piss-take on the Dean Martin 'set 'em up Joe' alcoholic style'", but thought it was not going to work until Banks added his keyboard overdubs and the band started mixing the track, at which point it "came to life".<ref name=sounds1978/>

The introduction to "The Lady Lies" was meant to have a "strippers feel to it. Hence the title".<ref name=sounds1978/>

Genesis deliberately planned to close the album on a "lighter note" as a contrast to the heavier tracks on the record, so they placed "Follow You Follow Me" at the end.<ref name=sounds1978/> This was the only track on the album that had been written during the rehearsal stage, and went through numerous interactions before the group settled on the three-minute arrangement for the song.Template:Sfn Hentschel was dismissive of the song, but prepared an initial mix and presented it to the staff at Atlantic Records, who recognised it as a potential hit single for the band. The song was remixed and included on the album.<ref name=banks2007/> The lyrics were written by Rutherford and were inspired by his wife. He later said it was the easiest set of lyrics he had written, spending "about ten minutes" on it.<ref name=ucr/>

Release

...And Then There Were Three... was released in the UK on 31 March 1978<ref name=sounds19780225/><ref name=BPI>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Enter "And Then There Were Three" in the field 'Keywords'. Select 'Title' in the field 'Search by'. Select 'Album' in the field 'By Format'. Click 'Search'.</ref> and in the US on 28 March on Atlantic Records.<ref name=RIAA>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It reached Template:Thinspace on the UK Albums Chart during a 32-week stay on the chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Template:Thinspace on the US Billboard 200.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album continued to sell, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on 31 May 1978 for 500,000 copies sold in the US. It reached platinum status on 11 February 1988 for selling one million copies.<ref name=RIAA/> The album was considered a commercial breakthrough for Genesis, as it brought in sufficiently large audiences to be able to make a profit from touring, which before then had always run at a loss.Template:Sfn

Genesis released two singles from ...And Then There Were Three.... The lead single, "Follow You Follow Me", became their most successful since their formation, peaking at Template:Thinspace in the UK.Template:Sfn

A digitally remastered version was released on CD in 1994 on Virgin in Europe and Atlantic in the US and Canada.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> A SACD / DVD double disc set (including new 5.1 and Stereo mixes) was released on 2 April 2007. It was released in the US and Canada as part of the Genesis 1976–1982 box set. This includes the album in remixed stereo and surround sound, and includes related video tracks. The only track not remixed is "Say It's Alright Joe", because the band was unable to locate the multitrack recordings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Critical reception

In an April 1978 review for Melody Maker, reporter Chris Welch praised the album as "strong, confident" that is "as good as any they have made in the band's post-Gabriel years". Welch noted the songs have "a sense of purpose" and come with "a remarkably powerful sound", and picked "Ballad Of Big" as his favourite track.<ref name=melodymaker19780401>Template:Cite journal</ref> A review in The Town Talk praised the group for filling the gap Hackett left "confidently" and picks "Down And Out" as claim of their survival. The rest of the album is "a tapestry of imaginary landscapes filled with the struggling mythic heroes that Genesis has learned to depict so well".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gary Mullinax for The Morning News thought the album sounded little different to Wind & Wuthering and noted the dominance of Banks's keyboards over Rutherford's guitars, with "the same dreamy wall-of-sound music with the same high-pitched vocals" from Collins. He concluded that Genesis succeed at points on the album but thought many songs on it fail to go anywhere, "blending into one another like some sort of hip musak".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Charley Walters, writing in Circus, said that despite the exits of Gabriel and Hackett, Genesis have sacrificed "neither direction nor quality". The album, he thought, has "hard, almost ominous" tracks like "Down And Out" and "softer, more melodic" ones like "Say It's Alright Joe", all of which create "a magical, mystical sound that sets them apart from the numerous similar but usually inferior European art-rock ensembles". He names Banks as the one of the trio most responsible for their sound with his "rich" arrangements complemented by Rutherford's restrained guitar work which is "more felt than heard" which worked well to his praise on "Burning Rope". Walters, however, thought Collins's vocals has shortcomings that lacks expansion or breathtaking moments, though is a drummer who can still be melodic.<ref name=circus1978>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Globe and Mail opined that "the songs still sound like Tennyson set to music, but it's all done with precision and there isn't a sound which is not beautiful, fat, ornate and quite lush".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Other reviewers were more critical of the album, including Jon Pareles and Village Voice critic Robert Christgau, who said that "without lead guitarist Steve Hackett, the band loses its last remaining focal point; the rest is double-tracking. Hence a sound as mushy as the dread Moody Blues, with fewer excuses."<ref name="CG"/> In Crawdaddy, Michael Bloom found Banks's arrangements and keyboard sounds poor, saying the melodies tend to "practically vanish" and "slip through your fingers". He also declared Rutherford's lead guitar playing "unbearably clumsy" compared to Hackett but acknowledged that Rutherford remains a "rare bassist" and his 12-string guitar playing reminded the reviewer of Trespass (1970) and the surrounding period in the band's history. Bloom picked out "The Lady Lies" as Banks's strongest contribution both musically and lyrically, comparing the composition and lyrical message to "One For The Vine" on Wind & Wuthering, and also highlighted "Deep In The Motherlode" as a strong track, but found Collins's singing "uniformly insipid" and concluded that the album is "less of a disappointment than an interminable frustration".<ref name=crawdaddy1978>Template:Cite journal</ref> In his review for Rolling Stone, he panned Hackett's then-current album Please Don't Touch!, but also said that his ex-band fared even worse, concluding that "this contemptible opus is but the palest shadow of the group's earlier accomplishments."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Retrospective appraisals have also been mixed. In The Rolling Stone Album Guide, J. D. Considine deemed it "a genuine pop breakthrough" that "does hone the playing so that there's less empty flash and wasted energy",<ref name="RSguide"/> while MusicHound Rock (1996) said it "put Genesis on the radio with 'Follow You, Follow Me' but lacked the meaty songcraft and ambitious arrangements of its predecessors".<ref name="MH">Template:Cite book</ref>

Tour

Genesis embarked on the ...And Then There Were Three... Tour between March and December 1978, including nearly 100 shows covering Europe, the US and Japan, with only a single UK show at Knebworth Park on 24 June.Template:Sfn The US dates were important as they would allow the band to recoup touring costs, which were running at around $25,000 a day.Template:Sfn

The group needed an additional touring member to cover all the material, but Rutherford only wanted to play lead guitar on the new songs from ...And Then There Were Three... and return to bass and twelve-string for everything else. The successful applicant would have to play bass on the new material and cover Hackett's old lead parts.Template:Sfn They first approached Weather Report's Alphonso Johnson, but he was primarily a bassist and his style did not fit in with the rest of the band. Johnson suggested instead that they consider jazz-fusion guitarist Daryl Stuermer, who was already a Genesis fan. He tried out an audition in New York, playing bass on "Down And Out" and lead guitar on "Squonk" from 1976's A Trick of the Tail and was immediately hired.Template:Sfn "The Fountain Of Salmacis", the closing track from 1971's Nursery Cryme was reintroduced into the live set, so Stuermer could take a song with a distinctive Hackett solo and put his own stamp on it.Template:Sfn "Say It's Alright Joe" was performed with Collins in character wearing a raincoat and using Banks' keyboards as a makeshift bar.Template:Sfn

The tour had several breaks so the band could have time with their family at home. Collins later said the tour was "an end of an era" and thought the group did not need to play live as much in the future.Template:Sfn The tour was a major factor in Collins' divorce from his first wife, as she felt he was away from home too often and needed support at home. A row with his wife cancelled plans for her and their children to join Collins on the Japanese leg, and Collins recalled: "I went to Japan, and spent ten days drunk. I hated every minute of it. I couldn't sing and everyone was concerned about my welfare although there was nothing anyone could do about it."Template:Sfn

Track listing

All songs arranged and performed by Genesis.<ref name=CDS4010/>

Additional tracks

Additional songs recorded during the …And Then There Were Three… sessions

Title	Source
"The Day the Light Went Out"	"Many Too Many"
"Vancouver"

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's 1978 and 2007 liner notes.<ref name=CDS4010>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Genesis

• Tony Banks – keyboards
• Phil Collins – drums, vocals
• Mike Rutherford – basses, guitars

Production

• Genesis – production
• David Hentschel – production, engineer
• Pierre Geofroy Chateau – production assistant
• Steve Short – mixing assistant
• Geoff Banks – equipment
• Andy Mackrill – equipment
• Dale Newman – equipment
• Hipgnosis – sleeve design, photographs

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

Chart (1978)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name=aus>Template:Cite book</ref>	12
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)<ref name=FINI>Template:Cite book</ref>	25
French Albums (SNEP)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} Select Genesis from the menu, then press OK.</ref>	2
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "And Then There Were Three ".</ref>	6
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref name="JPN">Template:Cite book</ref>	75

Template:Album chart

Chart (2014-2024)	Peak position
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	14

Year-end charts

Template:Album chart

Chart (1978)	Position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	36
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	4
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	59

References

Citations Template:Reflist

Books

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DVD media

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