Editing Abacab (section)

==Recording==
[[File:The Farm recording studio 2006.jpg|thumb|[[The Farm (recording studio)|The Farm]] studio, pictured in 2006. ''Abacab'' was their first album recorded there.]]
Genesis recorded ''Abacab'' in 14 weeks, and they typically worked between 12 and 14 hours a day while making it.<ref name=sounds1981/> The new studio environment had a productive effect on the writing process and the band had enough material for a [[double album]], but they discarded one hour of music because they considered the songs were too similar to their past albums. Though the band did not alter the way in which they approached the songwriting for ''Abacab'',<ref name=sounds1981>{{cite magazine|url=http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/hugh-fielder-interviews-genesis-sounds-26th-september/|title=The Great Escape|date=26 September 1981|first=Hugh|last=Fielder|magazine=Sounds|pages=18–20|access-date=23 December 2017}}</ref> Banks said a conscious effort was made by the group to avoid "Genesis cliches" such as using tambourines during a chorus, reprises, extended solos, lengthy instrumental passages,{{sfn|Welch|2011|p=101}} and keeping melodies simple, which signalled further changes in their direction.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=170}}{{sfn|Reissues Interview 2007}} Because of this, Banks considered ''Abacab'' to be the least technical Genesis album at the time of its release.<ref name=HR81/> Rutherford said the omission of songs that were too familiar to what they had done previously was required to avoid Genesis becoming a caricature of itself, and so the change in direction was therefore necessary.<ref name="Mike on Mike">Neer, Dan (1985). ''Mike on Mike'' [interview LP], Atlantic Recording Corporation.</ref><ref name=ItS>{{cite episode|last=Redbeard |last2=Rutherford|first2=Mike|last3=Collins|first3=Phil|date=September 2006|title="Duke/Abacab" 25th Anniversary|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Xs1dhJp8o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/M_Xs1dhJp8o |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|series=[[In the Studio with Redbeard]]|number=950|publisher=Beardedfisch|via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He picked the songwriting periods for ''Duke'' and ''Abacab'' as a "rethink" of Genesis' approach.<ref name=ItS/> Collins said the group adopted what they had done for ''Duke'' and took it further for ''Abacab'', specifically with group improvisational jams and writing with the aid of electronics such as a drum machine.<ref name=ItS/> The home studio allowed the group to stop working on a track if a rehearsal failed to produce any desired results and switch to another, which was not possible at a professional facility due to the limited time available.<ref name=sounds1981/>

The band's shift in direction was also underlined in their production with the departure of producer and engineer [[David Hentschel]], who had worked with them since 1975. He was replaced by [[Hugh Padgham]], who had worked with Collins on ''Face Value'' and former Genesis singer [[Peter Gabriel]]'s [[Peter Gabriel (1980 album)|third solo album]] which featured Collins on drums.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Flans|first=Robyn|url=http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_phil_collins_air/index.html|title=Classic Tracks: Phil Collins' ''In the Air Tonight''|journal=Mix|date=1 May 2005|access-date=25 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317065230/http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_phil_collins_air/index.html|archive-date=17 March 2007}}</ref> Gabriel's track "[[Intruder (song)|Intruder]]" features a [[gated reverb]] effect on Collins's drums that Banks and Rutherford liked, and wanted Padgham to do the same on ''Abacab''.{{sfn|Reissues Interview 2007}} The album marked the first time Genesis produced an album on their own, with Padgham credited as engineer.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=171}} The decision to bring the drums to the forefront of a song caused Banks to change his usual approach of writing and playing, which he found exciting.{{sfn|Reissues Interview 2007}} The band praised Padgham's fresh approach to recording; Banks recalled the attractive ideas he had for recording drums and his lack of knowledge in handling keyboards gave Banks the freedom to explore and obtain sounds that interested him.<ref name=sounds1981/> The band considered ''Abacab'' an album that closely represented their natural live sound.<ref name=sounds19811219>{{cite journal|url=https://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/live-review-genesis-waisted-and-hot-sounds-19th-december/|title=Waisted and hot|first=Hugh|last=Fielder|date=19 December 1981|journal=Sounds|access-date=2 December 2016}}</ref> The band would produce different mixes of finished songs and selected the one they all liked best.<ref name=sounds1981/>