By the release of Genesis‘ ninth album …And Then There Were Three… Phil Collins started questioning some of the songs the band was releasing. By 1981, Collins started branching off from the Genesis and released his debut solo album Face Value, followed by Hello, I Must Be Going! and two No. 1s No Jacket Required in 1985 and his 1989 hit …But Seriously.
Genesis’ 14th album We Can’t Dance from 1991 would ultimately be Collins’ final one with the band with Ray Wilson taking on the lead vocals for the band’s 1997 release Calling All Stations. But Collins’ departure was brewing for some time. He even credited one song that made him want to leave the band nearly 20 years earlier.
“It’s a cruel thing to say, but [‘Burning Rope’ from ‘…And Then There Were Three…‘, it’s a song like this that made me leave Genesis,” said Collins in a 1997 interview.
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“Tony Banks will never talk to me again after this is published,” added Collins of the Genesis keyboardist. “This is one of his songs.”
A Slow Burn
Written by Banks for the band’s ninth album, “Burning Rope,” which is slang for smoking marijuana, had a more spiritual spin, touching on mortality and the transitory nature of life.
The warming sun, the cooling rain
The snowflake drifting on the breath of the breeze
The lightning bolt that frees the sky for you
Yet only eagles seem to pass on through
The words of love, the cries of hate
And the man in the moon who seduced you
Then finally loosed you
You climbed upon a burning rope to escape the mob below
But you had put the flaming out, so that others could now follow
To be out of the bounds and the barks of those who do not wish you well
You must blaze a trail of your own, unknown, alone
But keep in mind
Don’t live today for tomorrow like you were immortal
The only survivors on this world of ours are
Though never released as a single, “Burning Rope” was still added to the band’s setlist in 1978 and was one Genesis song Collins said he had difficulty performing live. “To me, this song is a period piece,” said Collins. “It doesn’t make it in the 20th century. I know there are people who like this music, but I just couldn’t get up on stage and play or sing this kind of material anymore. I had a lot of tom-toms back then.”
Collins continued, “The fill just keeps going down and down and down. I think I played this kind of thing back then because I didn’t like some of the material. I was trying to come up with ways to make it interesting.”
“Follow You Follow Me”
Despite Collins’ disregard for the album …And Then There Were Three… there was one track he admitted to liking, the closing “Follow You Follow Me,” which he co-wrote with Banks and bassist Mike Rutherford after it received praise from the jazz band Weather Report.
“If Weather Report like it, if Wayne Shorter and Josef Zawinul often listen to this and say, ‘This English stuff is cool,'” said Collins, “I thought we’ve done something right.”
Ultimately, …And Then There Were Three… was still a hit for Genesis, reaching No. 3 on the UK Albums chart and peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard 200.
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