Black Moth Super Rainbow’s Steve Reidell Covered All Of Genesis’ Duke For Its 40th Anniversary Today
Forty years ago today, Genesis released Duke — their 10th album overall, second with the three-man lineup of Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford, and first to hit #1 in the UK. The album was a key step in the band’s transition from ’70s prog weirdos to ’80s pop icons. The transformation wouldn’t properly kick in until the following year’s Abacab, but hit singles like “Misunderstanding,” at that point the best-charting Genesis song to date in the US, indicated Genesis were already starting to pop off.
Steve Reidell knows a little something about straddling the borderline between weirdo art music and pop. Reidell plays bass in the Pittsburgh experimental rock band Black Moth Super Rainbow, and he’s also one half of the mashup duo the Hood Internet. So it’s no surprise to learn that he loves Duke so much that he’s covered the whole album in honor of today’s anniversary.
Reidell’s 40th anniversary Duke remake features some guests, including BMSR leader Tobacco handling lead vocals on “Misunderstanding.” Other performers include Mike Lust of Tight Phantomz, Johnny Caluya of Verma, rapper Auggie The 9th, and Showyousuck, who creates with Reidell under the name Air Credits. Reidell’s partner Stacey Marquardt also contributes some vocals and helmed the art direction, creating a new version of the Duke cover art.
Dive into Reidell’s full-length Duke cover below.