Skip to main content

The Sherbs - I Have The Skill

Take early 80s Genesis, add a tad more new wave to the sauce, drop 'em in the middle of a crocodile infested continent and you've got The Sherbs -- another great example of a late 70s band with proggy tendencies transitioning into early 80s pop.



The herky-jerky rhythm and loving dose of synthesizers in this tune is what stands out to me. I love the little arpeggios the dude throws in on the synths. It's just a smidge more prog than your typical new wave hit of '81. "I Have The Skill" hit 61 on the U.S. pop charts. Did you ever hear it on your FM station back in the day? Me neither. Why not, dude?

Singer, Daryl Braithwaite, throws in some great middle school metaphors throughout the tune. My favorite is "I am the shoreline, you are a breaker." So Aussie! But, when he gets to the end of the verse, he casts aside figurative language and gets starkly realistic with the line, "All I can say is this life that we're living is a death defying thrill." Then the chorus, "I have the skill. I have the skill!" Braithwaite imagines himself as a cyborg, awkwardly learning to cope with the challenges of human life. He has the skill. Even when life is death defying, he knows that his skills will get him through. It's part of his programming. Part of his DNA as a rock & roller. He's got the skills, mate.

Comments

Post a Comment

Trending Tracks

U.K. - In The Dead of Night

In the late 70s, as punk and post-punk bands spiraled towards their new wave destinies, prog dinosaurs stood paralyzed in the shadows. Bands like the Sex Pistols were meteors, igniting a global firestorm that would trigger prog's extinction. The British music press (Melody Maker, Sounds, NME, etc.), once proponents of prog darlings Genesis, Yes and ELP, now bashed any band releasing songs in odd time signatures and singing about aliens and whales. The punk revolution had turned the U.K. music industry and press on its head within a year (1976-1977). For me, this is one of the most interesting times in pop music. Although prog groups saw their audiences rapidly dwindle (Yes audiences had dropped from 20,000 to 3,000 by 1980's Drama tour), many record labels had built fortunes on the works of prog artists and were willing to foot the bill for some interesting transitional experiments. Yes' Drama , ELPs' Works , Genesis' . ..And Then There Were Three... were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Genesis - Supper's Ready

Clocking in at nearly 23 minutes, Supper's Ready was the first extended composition that Genesis attempted in the studio. It appeared on 1972's Foxtrot . With Steve Hackett's ornate and chiming guitars, Tony Banks classical sounding keys, Phil Collins' athletic drumming (hitting 9/8 in section VI) and, of course, Peter Gabriel's dramatic voice -- lifting from an ethereal hush to a fantastic shriek throughout, it's a prog-rock masterpiece. This was Genesis firing on all cylinders. They were in their formative stage as a band and in love with composing together. Ultimately, the tune would provide a perfect opportunity for Gabriel to develop costumes and portray a host of fanciful characters, including a giant daisy (pictured here). Lyrically, the song is expansive, dealing with themes of good and evil, particularly allusions to the Book of Revelations. Gabriel based the lyrics for the first section, Lover's Leap, on two otherworldly experiences. On one occ...
Post a Comment
Read more