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Welcome to the behind the Song podcast, taking you deeper into classic rock's most timeless tunes. Here's your host, Janda it was the very first song to enter the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 for Genesis, 12 albums into their career. That's all from the band's self titled album released in 1983 was the start of many hits that would come in that day for Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. A song about a hard to deal with relationship and a push into pop that would make this version of Genesis the most commercially successful version of the group. They'd come a long way from being one of the pioneers of progressive rock and were about to embark on a hit making ride that would yield seven top 10 hits in the 80s. A complete departure from the early, very avant garde Peter Gabriel fronted era of the band. Let's get into this pivotal song in this episode of the behind the Song podcast. If you like it, give it a thumbs up and hit. Subscribe, Let us know in the comments. Genesis effectively became a three piece after Steve Hackett left the group in 1977. Peter Gabriel left to do his own thing a couple of years before that. So by this time Genesis were well established as a trio and it dipped into more pop friendly, radio friendly songwriting already with songs like Follow you, Follow Me from the and then there were three album in 1978, a song that was their first entry into the top 40. Not to say that Genesis had completely abandoned their progressive roots as you can hear on other songs on this self titled album, multifaceted songs like Home by the Sea and second Home by the Sea and Mama. But the songs were changing, driven by Phil Collins, who had enormous success with his first solo album, 1981's Face Value, the album that gave us the hit in the Air Tonight and his second solo effort, 1982's hello, I Must Be Going, which yielded the hit cover of the Supremes you Can't Hurry Love, which is about as far from prog rock as you can possibly get. His profile had increased so much in the pop music world because of these solo hits that there was really no going backward for Genesis for this album either. To find the balance, the trio wrote songs as a collective unit for it, sharing songwriting duties in ways that they hadn't done for years. That's all was cobbled together from Tony Banks piano hook and from there they looked to the Beatles for inspiration. There's a certain Paul McCartney style catchiness to the piano melody, and Phil Collins has said that he purposefully set out to create a Ringo Starr sounding beat on the drums. Mike Rutherford's bass walks the groove throughout the song before unleashing his guitar solo at the end. The production on this album sounds so good. Hugh Padjam, the producer credited with coming up with the gated drum sound that makes in the Air Tonight so memorable, was brought on to co produce and engineer in the band's own studio called the Farm in the countryside in Surrey, southwest of London. The vibe was relaxed and remarkably, all of the songs were created through improv jam sessions with no material written out beforehand. That's all deals with the relationship in limbo in the lyrics, with Collins inhabiting the lead vocal, delivering a story about being torn between two extremes in a can't live with ya, can't live without you kind of relationship. There's ingenuity in how this is put together line by line, as heartfelt as it is plain spoken and to the point. The song starts like Just as I thought it was going all right I found out I'm wrong when I thought it was right it's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all I could say day and you'd say night Tell me it's black when I know that it's white Always the same, it's just a shame and that's all Two people who can't seem to see eye to eye bearing out each day in the relationship and the song goes on. I could leave but I won't go Though my heart might tell me so I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes but why does it always seem to be me looking at you, you looking at me it's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all there's an almost bluesy approach to the lyrics, a can't win for losing feeling that anyone who's ever felt like they were treading water in a relationship you can relate to. Collins lists the complaints as the song goes on. Turning me on, turning me off Making me feel like I want too much Living with you is just putting me through it all of the time Running around, staying out all night, taking it all instead of taking one bite Living with you is just putting me through it all of the time I could leave but I won't go, it'd be easier I know I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes but why does it always seem to be me looking at you, you looking at me it's always the same, it's just a Shame, that's all as he sings those lyrics, his approach gets a little more edgy with every line, but then in the next part, he brilliantly changes his delivery to convey that feeling of being so torn why it's so hard to remain undecided about how to continue in this relationship Truth is I love you more than I wanted to there's no point in trying to pretend there's been no one who makes me feel like you do say we'll be together till the end the music goes on a little stroll in this part of the song, giving you time as a listener to take in that verse, understanding that while this relationship is hard, it's not going to be easy to let go of the lyrics. Repeat he could leave but he won't go there's no point in trying to pretend that anyone else can make him feel this way it was going all right but not anymore Two opposites Black and white Night and day Just a shame, that's all the lyrics get across perfectly the root issue at the heart of so many relationship troubles an inability to communicate when conflicts arise because everything is at an extreme black and white and so on, there's no middle ground to stand on. And because the love or the attachment is so strong, it's impossible to just simply write off. And so the cycle continues. These incredibly relatable lyrics proved to be the sweet spot for Genesis. That's all went to number six on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and it opened the doors for even bigger hits to come when their Invisible Touch album was released in 1986, five singles went into the top 10, and they were global superstars. Phil Collins left the band in 1996 to focus on his solo work, but the trio reunited to tour several times following that. Genesis have sold between 100 million and 150 million albums worldwide, over 15 studio and six live albums. Their later work hardly resembles the wildly experimental music from their early days, but the different stages of their career and sound have inspired countless other bands to follow suit. And in Phil Collins, you have one of the very few frontmen in rock who is also the drummer, making the trio version of Genesis even more remarkable. In 2010, Genesis were inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. It's fair to note that of the three members in this most successful version of the band, Phil Collins is the only one who's been married more than once. His contributions to songs about relationships and their ups and downs are part of the reason that Genesis became so very popular with super relatable lyrics set to an often undeniable and unforgettable beat. So what other songs about being in a hard to figure out relationship come to mind? Something to think about. Until next time, I'm Janda and this has been behind the song. If you like this episode, give it a like and subscribe to the channel. Special thanks as always to Christian Lane for the music you hear on these podcast episodes and you can find me on the air at 97.1fm the drive in Chicago and at wdrv.com on the way. Much more classic rock and roll.