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"No Reply at All"
Single by Genesis
from the album Abacab
B-side"Dodo" (US)
  • "Naminanu" (EU)
ReleasedSeptember 1981 (US)
Recorded1981
Genre
Length4:40 (LP version)
4:00 (US promo single edit)
LabelVertigo (EU)
Atlantic (US)
Songwriter(s)Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford
Producer(s)Genesis, Hugh Padgham
Genesis singles chronology
"Abacab"
(1981) 		"No Reply at All"
(1981) 		"Keep It Dark"
(1981)

"No Reply at All" is a song by British band Genesis, released as the lead single in the US from their 1981 album Abacab. It was not released in the UK, where "Abacab" was the first single. [1] The US single release edit omits the second verse of the song as it appears on the Abacab album.

Structure

This song, like Phil Collins' solo track "I Missed Again" (recorded at around the same time), makes prominent use of a horn section, arranged by Tom Tom 84 (i.e. Thomas Washington, horn arranger for Earth, Wind & Fire) and played by that band's wind players, credited on the song as "EWF Horns". The song marks a step toward the mainstream pop direction Genesis was taking at the time, yet it still contains elements of their past: complex, melodic bass riffs, and a cross-hand technique on a Prophet-5, similar to the style used for the intro to "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway."

The song was released as the first single from Abacab in the U.S., and reached the U.S. Top 30 in the fall of 1981.[2] "No Reply at All" spent 18 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, longer than most of their hits which reached the Top 10, including "Invisible Touch", which spent only 17 weeks on the chart.

Record World praised "Michael Rutherford's playful bass figures and Phil Collins' inventive drumming."[3]

The song was performed live by Phish as a tribute to Genesis at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2010 induction ceremony. Phish also performed "Watcher of the Skies" that night.[citation needed]

Music video

The music video features only the band. Cameras revolve around the band playing their parts in a rehearsal setting. When the horn part is prominent, it cuts to a different shot of the band – wearing hats, sunglasses, and jackets to conceal their identity – playing the trumpet, saxophone and trombone.

Personnel

Chart performance

References

  1. ^ Bowler, Dave; Dray, Bryan (29 August 1992). Genesis: A Biography, UK discography. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 9780283061325.
  2. ^ "No Reply At All".
  3. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 26 September 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 334.
  6. ^ "Genesis - Abacab". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  7. ^ "Top 100 1981-12-05". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  8. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
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