page_title: We Can't Dance
section_title: Recording
hierarchical_section_title: We Can't Dance / Recording
caption_attribution_description: English: An outside photo of the farm taken by me in June 2006
context_page_description: We Can't Dance is the fourteenth studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 28 October 1991 by Atlantic Records in the United States and 11 November 1991 on Virgin Records in the United Kingdom. It is their last studio album recorded with drummer and singer Phil Collins before his departure in 1996 to pursue solo projects full time. Production began after a four-year period of inactivity from the group, following the commercial success of Invisible Touch and its tour.
  We Can't Dance was a worldwide commercial success for the band. It became the band's fifth consecutive No. 1 album in the UK and reached No. 4 in the US, where it sold over 4 million copies. Between 1991 and 1993, six tracks from the album were released as singles, including "No Son of Mine" and "I Can't Dance". The latter received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1993. Genesis toured in support of We Can't Dance in 1992 which saw the band play large stadiums and arenas across North America and Europe.
context_section_description: Genesis recorded We Can't Dance from March to September 1991 at their private recording studio named The Farm in Chiddingfold, Surrey. The trio were keen to work together after such an extensive break, and after two-and-a-half months of what Collins described as "chopping away, fine-tuning, and honing down all these ideas", they had completed some fifteen tracks. They originally considered releasing a double album, but realised most people would be listening to their work on CD which gave them the additional time they wanted to present more of their musical ideas. As with Genesis (1983) and Invisible Touch, none of the material on We Can't Dance was conceived beforehand, and the band instead developed songs through lengthy improvisational jams in the studio. This was a deciding factor for Collins to remain in the band despite his solo success as he enjoyed the task of writing songs with his bandmates from nothing. A typical session would involve Banks and Rutherford playing chords on the keyboard or guitar, respectively, with Collins devising a drum pattern with a drum machine which allows him to sing notes and dummy lyrics. The words he sings may then be used to form a lyric or help create atmosphere for the song.
  Genesis authorised the filming of some recording sessions for the first time for their No Admittance documentary which aired on national television. Banks later admitted that the band avoided "any creative work" with the film crew present because they found it difficult, adding: "As soon as they were there, we shut off". Collins supported his view and pointed out a change in the atmosphere of working when someone from the filming crew entered the room.
  In a departure from their previous albums, Rutherford avoided playing a guitar synthesiser and only plays a Fender Stratocaster and two Steinbergers, one of them a GM series model that was new for the time, but on the song Tell Me Why, he is playing a Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar. He had asked the manufacturer to customise one with a larger body to suit his tall frame but they declined, leaving him to use a cardboard cutout of a body he wished for and sending it to luthier Roger Giffin to make it. He played all his guitar parts with a Groove Tubes amplifier that was suggested to him by his roadie and technician Geoff Banks.
  For recording, they enlisted then 28-year-old Nick Davis as co-producer and engineer who had previously worked with Banks and Rutherford on their solo projects, with the band also handing production duties. This marked the end of their association with Hugh Padgham which had begun with Abacab (1981). Rutherford said the group decided to switch producers before work on the album had begun, and insisted they were pleased with Padgham's contributions, but felt it was the right time for a change after having done three albums with him(Hugh had also produced Collins's four solo albums throughout the 80's). Davis was keen to feature Rutherford's guitar more prominently as an instrument than previous Genesis albums, and felt his approach was successful on some of the tracks on We Can't Dance. Banks took a liking to some of Davis's strong opinions towards certain aspects of recording and instruments which presented him the challenge of finding other ways of recording.
  Following a six-week break during the summer of 1991 the band reconvened and completed the mixing in late September, selecting a final 12-track running order that spanned 71 minutes. Banks said that compared to the more direct nature of Invisible Touch, the style of We Can't Dance offered more of a sense of mystery with effort put into each track having its own "individual quality", yet have an atmosphere that runs through the entire album.
caption: The Farm, where We Can't Dance was written and recorded
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