Collecting the back catalogue of any band is probably a bad idea but you know how it is - you've got the really good ones already, you had this album x tears ago and you just have to spend those few extra pennies on this reminder of your youth.
So you buy Abacab. You get the the renowned title track that you already have anyway on the Greatest Hits collection you bought to kick off the memories. Then there are a few that you ho-hum along with as you remember them (Me and Sarah Jane, Man on the Corner). There has to be the obligatory Genesis execrable track (Who Dunnit? Why, for God's sake, why?). Then there is the odd gem that you had either forgotten you really liked first time around (Dodo), or that you discover with the benefit of hindsight is pretty good (Another Record).
Copy and paste the relevant parts of this review into And Then There Were Three, Duke, Genesis (gold bars) and We Can't Dance - just change the titles inside the brackets. For Genesis fans of a certain vintage only.
And how long can I resist getting Invisible Touch - I worry it's even more horrible than I remember it. But if the dead cert at 8/1 at Market Rasen comes in...

Collins ripped the heart out of Geneis and took them to sold out stardom right? It was never the same when Hackett left? Think again! This album is superb, it's a mixture of short catchy (horror!) tunes and some outstanding longer pieces (Dodo/Lurker and Abacab). It's different from previous releases and charts where Genesis will head for the next 15 years but it's a album that underlines the strength of Genesis in any era - superb songwriting, outstanding musicianship and album covers that reflect the time!

Genesis declared their decision to go commercial on their "And Then There Were Three" album with the song "Down and Out". With the excellent "Duke" they went back to their prog roots though songs like "Turn It On Again" are pure-pop. "Abacab" is their first pop album with songs conforming to the pop-song formula, with the possible exception of the 7-minute plus "Dodo/Lurker" and the extended ending of the title track, which doesn't make the radio cut of the song, which gets exhausted airplay on Planet Rock.

This record shows the potential of pop put into the hands of serious musicians/artists. Phil Collins's drumming, put into a pop context, is still stunning and amazing. The songs are energetic and refreshing, and the emotional content of "Me and Sarah Jane", "Man on the Corner", "Like it or Not", the break in "No Reply at All" took Genesis to a new level, proggers will probably not like this album very much, but anyone who is a fan of 80's pop will probably love it.

I came a little late to Genesis so I heard the new material before I started to collect and listen to the old. There has been much debate about how Phil Collins sold the band out or made them more "populist". I don't buy that, its the sign of any good band that they continually evolve and discover new sounds. After all if they all just did the same album over and over it would be a bit dull. So I understand why they modernised the sound and left behind all that whimsy and frivolity. So did it work?

Well, that back catalogue is the biggest problem with this album. If you judge this against other releases of its time its no more than average. Some tracks are quite catchy but really it doesn't stand out. Then you look at the previous material, it had character and was distinctive. Not all was accessible but that magikal stuff worked, it was rich and quirky and the musicianship was first rate. It was always interesting.

This is not a good record. The title track stands out and merits the two stars. The rest, like its successor, is ordinary and only deserves attention because of the band's history. It is tempting to search for nuggets but most people only looked at this because it was a Genesis record. Sadly that modernisation took Genesis into blandland. Save the money and dip into the pre 1978 material- it has more depth and is far more rewarding.

'Abacab' was released in September 1981 as the follow-up to the previous year's 'Duke' and appeared only a few months after Phil Collins' solo debut 'Face Value'. The album features a more stripped-down sound than 'Duke' courtesy of new producer Hugh Padgham.

This is the album that the die-hard fans of Genesis in the Peter Gabriel era (and post Gabriel era before the departure of Steve Hackett) love to hate. The best advice is to ignore critics and give the album a listen right through - there is plenty to enjoy here. Many will disagree but I found this a better album to listen to than 'Duke'. The early 80s was a time when the new Romantics and new wave artists were dominating the charts in the UK, and Genesis were trying to keep with the times as much as possible.

'Abacab' is shorter in comparison to earlier releases at 47 minutes in length, but most of the nine tracks work well. The first side of the original vinyl is pretty solid, kicking off with the title track to the album, followed by 'No Reply At All', with horns courtesy of EWF. The third cut 'Me and Sarah Jane' is one of the best songs of the album, and 'Keep It Dark' is a strong cut as well. The second side starts off with 'Dodo/Lurker', probably the most progressive cut on here, which showed that they hadn't completely abandoned the format of their earlier releases. 'Who Dunnit' is easily the weakest track on the set and it doesn't quite fit in with the rest, some listeners will find it awful others may find it amusing... I can play it through without skipping but I wouldn't miss it if it wasn't on the album. Next up is the rather haunting 'Man On the Corner', a slower piece which starts off quietly and gets louder 2/3 of the way through. While the last two tracks 'Like It Or Not' and 'Another Record' are a good listen they're not quite up to the standard of the best songs on the set.

'Abacab' can not be called a Phil Collins solo effort since all nine tracks were written by all 3 group members. There are some good lyrics to the songs for the most part. Their next album, the live 1982 release 'Three Sides Live' features live versions of 'Dodo/Lurker', 'Me and Sarah Jane' and the title track which are as good as the studio versions on here. Sure, 'Abacab' is no 'Foxtrot' or 'Selling England by the Pound' and never will be. It doesn't quite match even 'Trick of the Tail' and 'Wind and Wuthering' but 'Abacab' is one of the group's strongest albums of the 1980s.

An enjoyable release, one of the group's most underrated albums which still sounds fresh and is definitely worth considering.