Editing Abacab (section)

===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}}