Album · Genesis
Abacab by Genesis
Abacab is an album by Genesis, released in 1981. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 74 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Abacab”, on 40 lists with a best position of #86.
Abacab, Genesis's eleventh album, came out on Charisma in September 1981, and it's the sound of the old prog giants taking a hacksaw to their own past. After touring Duke, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins took a break, then regrouped in 1981 at The Farm, the studio they'd bought in Chiddingfold, Surrey; this was the first Genesis record made there. Producing it themselves, they set out on purpose to write songs that sounded nothing like the old ones.
What came out is lean, punchy and pop-minded: Collins' drums up front and hard, Banks' keyboards stabbing rather than sprawling, Rutherford's guitar and bass locked tight. The title track and "No Reply at All" were the singles that did the business, and the record became their second UK number-one album and their first to crack the US top ten. The tour that followed supplied most of the live album Three Sides Live.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Abacab on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abacab | 40 | #86 | – | 1981–2026 | |
| 2 | Man On The Corner | 20 | #123 | – | 1982–2026 | |
| 3 | No Reply At All | 14 | #293 | – | 2012–2024 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.