Editing Abacab (section)

==Songs==
''Abacab'' is formed of nine tracks, six of which are group written with the remaining three solely credited to one of each member: "Me and Sarah Jane" is from Banks, "[[Man on the Corner]]" by Collins, and "Like It or Not" by Rutherford.<ref name=sleeve>{{cite AV media notes|title=Abacab|publisher=Charisma Records|id=CBR 102|year=1981}}</ref><ref name=sounds1981/> The group decided to have the album consist mostly of collective songs as they thought such tracks became the strongest on ''Duke''.{{sfn|Welch|2011|p=100}}

===Side one===
"[[Abacab (song)|Abacab]]" is titled after an early ordering of the sections of music the group had for the song, which at one point spelled "ABACAB". Rutherford said that the final version of the track is not the "ABACAB" order at all, "it's like 'Accaabbaac'."<ref name=ItS/> The song developed from a group jam session that had them playing along to a looped electronic drum track until the tape they were using to record on ran out.<ref name=sounds1981/>

[[File:Earth Wind and Fire.jpg|thumb|right|"No Reply at All" features members of the Phenix Horns]]
"[[No Reply at All|No Reply At All]]" is a rhythm and blues style track that features the [[Phenix Horns]] of the American band [[Earth, Wind & Fire]].{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=175}} This marked the first instance of Genesis using outside musicians for one of their tracks since a string section was used on their debut album, ''[[From Genesis to Revelation|From Genesis To Revelation]]'' (1969).<ref name=presskit>{{cite web|url=http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/abacab-press-kit/|title=Genesis – Abacab Press Kit|date=1981|publisher=Atlantic Records|via=The Genesis Archive|access-date=23 December 2017}}</ref> The band wanted to emulate the brass keyboard sound that was used on some parts on ''Duke'', and Collins had used the Phenix Horns on ''Face Value'' and suggested to Banks and Rutherford that they use them for the track. Collins thought the horns was a good move to "suddenly jar people and take them off automatic pilot" from the preconceived notions they had about Genesis.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/international-musician-and-recording-world-march-1982/|title=Genesis: A Revelation|magazine=International Musician and Recording World|date=March 1982|pages=23, 25, 27, 29|access-date=2 September 2018}}</ref> Their involvement created some initial reservations from Banks, but he grew to enjoy the track by the time it was complete.<ref name=sounds1981/> In rehearsal, Banks played a drum machine while Rutherford and Collins played a guitar and drum part, respectively; the band played until they found ideas and sequences that worked. Collins had the idea of writing a song that [[The Jackson 5]] would have wanted to record, and directed the band in a direction that they had never gone in before. Collins wrote the lyrics.<ref name=hitmen1986>{{cite web|url=http://www.philcollins.co.uk:80/hitmen86b.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801174547/http://www.philcollins.co.uk/hitmen86b.htm|archive-date=1 August 2008|date=1986|title=Phil Collins Interviews - Hitmen - 1986 Part Two|magazine=Hitmen|access-date=29 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

"Me and Sarah Jane" originated from takes that the group had recorded as early as the second day of recording.<ref name=sounds1981/>

"Keep It Dark" tells the story of a man who gets abducted to a surreal and peaceful alien planet but does not tell anyone as he thinks no one would believe him. Its original working title was "Odd", and became a favourite for Banks. It features the band taking two bars of a drum pattern previously recorded and playing the song on top of it.{{sfn|Welch|2011|p=101}}

===Side two===
"Dodo"/"Lurker" features lyrics written by Banks, who included a riddle in "Lurker". In a 1997 interview, he said: "There is no real solution [...] It was a bit of a joke [...] I honestly didn't really have a specific idea in mind."<ref name=RC>{{cite magazine|url=https://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/record-collector-october/|title=Genesis|date=1997|first=Joe|last=Parker|magazine=Record Collector|page=41|access-date=11 August 2018}}</ref> Early arrangements of the song including two songs later released as b-sides - "Naminanu" and "Submarine" - suggest that perhaps "submarines" were a basis for the lyric.

Banks described "Who Dunnit?" as a "real one-off piece".{{sfn|Welch|2011|p=101}} Featuring drums, guitar, and a [[Prophet-5]] analogue synthesiser, he obtained the track's distorted keyboard sound by changing its presets as he played the notes.<ref name=HR81>{{cite web|url=http://www.twronline.net/issues/twr59/twr59_abacab_what_the_band_said.htm|title="What The Band Said" - A look at some of the radio interviews given to promote the Abacab album|first=Alan|last=Hewitt|date=28 September 1981|access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref> He pushed Collins and Rutherford to record what ideas he had for the track, to which Collins wrote a lyric.{{sfn|Reissues Interview 2007}} The band improvised on top of the track for 30 minutes, which was cut into a three-minute arrangement.<ref name=TWR35>{{cite web|url=http://www.twronline.net/issues/twr35/twr35_atoz.htm|title="The A to Z of Genesis" - Tony Banks continues his discussion of his career in the band|publisher=The Waiting Room Online|date=August 1997|access-date=18 June 2021}}</ref> Padgham wanted the drums on the track to sound loud and exciting, and not like typical drum recording sounds of the 1970s.{{sfn|Welch|2011|p=102}} Rutherford played the drums alongside Thompson during live performances of the song on the album's tour.<ref name=recordm1981>{{cite news|url=https://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/big-creeps-way-robin-smith-interviews-mike-rutherford/|title=The Big Creep's Way|first=Robin|last=Smith|date=18 December 1981|newspaper=Record Mirror|access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref> While the group were deciding the final track listing for ''Abacab'', Atlantic Records president [[Ahmet Ertegun]] believed "Who Dunnit?" should be included.{{sfn|Reissues Interview 2007}} At one point, Genesis considered releasing "Who Dunnit?" as a single.<ref name=HR81/>

===Additional songs===
Among the songs that were left off the album were three that were picked for release on Genesis's second EP, ''[[3×3]]''.{{sfn|Welch|2011|p=101}} This contained "[[Paperlate]]", "You Might Recall", and "Me and Virgil", which were included on the international edition of their third live album ''[[Three Sides Live]]'', both released in 1982. Two other songs, "Naminanu" and "Submarine", originally part of a four-song suite with "Dodo"/"Lurker", were released as [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]] on the album's singles.