Throwing It All Away

"Throwing It All Away" is the seventh track on the 1986 album Invisible Touch by Genesis. It was the second single from the album in 1986, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100^[1] and No. 22 in Britain,^[2] where it was released as the last single of the album in 1987. In the U.S., it also went to No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in October 1986 and the Album Rock Tracks chart in August 1986. The working title was "Zephyr and Zeppo".

The song is a soft rock ballad structured around a guitar riff by Mike Rutherford, who also wrote the lyrics.^[3] The U.S. single included the instrumental "Do the Neurotic" as the B-side: the UK edition featured the track "I'd Rather Be You".

The CD version of the Invisible Touch album incorrectly lists the running time as 4:41; the correct time was 3:51.

Live performances

"Throwing It All Away" was performed live during the Invisible Touch,^[4] The Way We Walk,^[5] Calling All Stations and Turn It On Again^[6] tours; aside from the 1986 leg of the Invisible Touch tour, the song was transposed to a lower key to accommodate Collins' deepening voice.

Genesis performing "Throwing it All Away" in Pittsburgh, Mellon Arena, 9 September 2007

A live version appears on the The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts and Live Over Europe 2007 CDs and the When in Rome 2007 DVD.

During the intro and just before the end of the live performances, Collins would engage in Call and response with the audience using nonsensical language.

Music video

A music video for the song was composed of soundcheck footage and shots of the band travelling whilst on their Invisible Touch tour of North America, much of which was filmed by Phil Collins on his 1985 Sony Handycam. It is currently featured on their DVD The Video Show.

Reception

In Billboard magazine's Critics' Choice at the end of 1986, Kim Freeman chose the song as number seven in his top ten countdown, describing it as "a rare ballad that isn't too sappy to enjoy".^[7]

Stevie Chick, writing for The Guardian in 2014, called the song a "genuinely affecting ballad" but observed its similarity to Collins' solo work, stating it "could have easily fitted on his solo albums".^[8]

In his assessment of the song for AllMusic, François Couture claimed: "This love song featured heartfelt vocals, a simple piano accompaniment, and Mike Rutherford's trademark rhythm guitar, plus a very catchy chorus. Nothing striking, but all the elements came together nicely and adult contemporary radio stations played it extensively."^[9]

Track listing

7": Virgin / GENS 5 (UK)

"Throwing It All Away" – 3:41
"I'd Rather Be You" – 3:57

7": Atlantic / 7-89372 (US)

"Throwing It All Away" – 3:41
"Do The Neurotic" (Edit) – 5:21

12": Virgin / GENS 5–12 (UK)

"Throwing It All Away" (live)
"I'd Rather Be You"
"Invisible Touch" (live)

Also released on MC (GENSC5)
Live tracks recorded at The Forum, Los Angeles, 1986

Personnel

Phil Collins: vocals, drums, percussion
Tony Banks: keyboards
Mike Rutherford: electric guitars, bass guitar

Release history

Country	Date
United States	8 August 1986
United Kingdom	8 June 1987

References

↑ Billboard.com archive (link)
↑ Genesis UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
↑ Prasad, Anil (2007). "Genesis: Turning it on again". Innerviews. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
↑ Invisible Tour Songs & Dates
↑ The Way We Walk Tour Songs & Dates
↑ Turn it on again Tour Songs & Dates
↑ Billboard. 27 December 1986.
↑ Chick, Stevie (3 September 2014). "Genesis: 10 of the best". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
↑ "Song Review by François Couture". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2014.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Preceded by "Stuck with You" by Huey Lewis and the News	Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single 11 October 1986	Succeeded by "I'll Be Over You" by Toto

Genesis

Tony Banks Mike Rutherford Phil Collins Peter Gabriel Anthony Phillips Chris Stewart John Silver John Mayhew Mick Barnard Steve Hackett Ray Wilson Additional musicians: Bill Bruford Chester Thompson Daryl Stuermer Nir Zidkyahu Nick D'Virgilio Anthony Drennan

Studio albums	From Genesis to Revelation Trespass Nursery Cryme Foxtrot Selling England by the Pound The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway A Trick of the Tail Wind & Wuthering ...And Then There Were Three... Duke Abacab Genesis Invisible Touch We Can't Dance Calling All Stations

Live albums	Genesis Live Seconds Out Three Sides Live The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts/The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs Live over Europe 2007

Compilation albums	Turn It on Again – Best of '81–'83 Turn It On Again: The Hits Platinum Collection R-Kive

EPs	Spot the Pigeon 3×3

Singles	"The Silent Sun" A Winter's Tale Where the Sour Turns to Sweet / In Hiding "The Knife" Happy the Man / " Seven Stones" "Watcher of the Skies" / " Willow Farm" "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" "Counting Out Time" "The Carpet Crawlers" "A Trick of the Tail" "Entangled" "Your Own Special Way" "Follow You Follow Me" "Many Too Many" " Go West Young Man" "Turn It On Again" "Duchess" "Misunderstanding" "Abacab" "No Reply at All" "Keep It Dark" "Man on the Corner" "Paperlate" "Mama" "That's All" "Home by the Sea" / Second Home by the Sea "Illegal Alien" "Taking It All Too Hard" "Invisible Touch" "In Too Deep" "Land of Confusion" "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" "Throwing It All Away" "No Son of Mine" "I Can't Dance" "Hold on My Heart" "Jesus He Knows Me" "Never a Time" "Tell Me Why" "Congo" "Shipwrecked" "Not About Us" " The Carpet Crawlers 1999" " The Silent Sun 2006"

Box sets	Genesis Archive 1967–75 Genesis Archive 2: 1976–1992 Genesis 1970–1975 Genesis 1976–1982 Genesis 1983–1998 Genesis Live 1973–2007 Genesis Movie Box 1981–2007

Video albums	Genesis: In Concert Three Sides Live The Mama Tour Genesis Live at Wembley Stadium The Way We Walk - Live in Concert The Video Show Genesis Live in London 1980 When in Rome 2007

Tours	Trespass Tour Foxtrot Tour Selling England by the Pound Tour The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour A Trick of the Tail Tour Mama Tour Invisible Touch Tour We Can't Dance Tour Calling All Stations Tour Turn It On Again Tour

Related articles	List of Genesis medleys Brand X Flaming Youth Mike + The Mechanics GTR Stiltskin Simon Collins Sound of Contact Jonathan King Tony Smith The Musical Box Six of the Best Genesis: Together and Apart

Genesis discography Genesis awards Book Category

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.