Robbery, Assault and Battery
Encyclopedia
"Robbery, Assault and Battery" is a song by the band Genesis
, appearing on their 1976 album A Trick of the Tail
. It was written by Tony Banks
and Phil Collins
. Collins, in his first album as lead vocalist, mimicked former vocalist Peter Gabriel's occasional practice of using various accents to portray different characters.
A promotional video was made for the song (directed by Bruce Gowers
), depicting Collins as a bank robber who shoots an elderly guard (Mike Rutherford) as told in the first verses, and from then on is chased by policemen (Banks and Steve Hackett), with shots of the band playing the song showing up in the introduction and keyboard solo. According to Phil Collins in a 1994 interview, this was the first video Genesis ever did and was one of his favorite videos he ever made.
The keyboard solo is in the uncommon time signature 13/8, achieved by alternating bars of 7/8 and 6/8, ending with another bar of 6/8 in transition to the interlude verse section ("God always fights..."). This section is again in 13/8, but this time alternating 3 bars of 3/8 with one of 4/8, and ending by skipping the last 4/8 bar in transition to the keyboard melody that follows. This melody is in 13/8 again, but back to the alternation of 7/8 and 6/8.
The outro ("Done me wrong...") is 16/8, split in 2 bars of 5/8 and one of 6/8.
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
, appearing on their 1976 album A Trick of the Tail
A Trick of the Tail
-B Side:*This is the first song in the Genesis catalogue to feature an ellipsis in its name, used to convey the mysteriousness of the track. All future issues of this track omit the elipsis, however....
. It was written by Tony Banks
Tony Banks (musician)
This article is about the musician. For other people named Tony Banks, see Tony BanksAnthony George "Tony" Banks is a British composer, and multi-instrumentalist, who performs as a keyboardist and a guitarist...
and Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
. Collins, in his first album as lead vocalist, mimicked former vocalist Peter Gabriel's occasional practice of using various accents to portray different characters.
A promotional video was made for the song (directed by Bruce Gowers
Bruce Gowers
Bruce Gowers is an English television director and producer, best known for work on large-scale live music and event productions. He started his career in his native England where his landmark music video for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" brought him international recognition leading to his...
), depicting Collins as a bank robber who shoots an elderly guard (Mike Rutherford) as told in the first verses, and from then on is chased by policemen (Banks and Steve Hackett), with shots of the band playing the song showing up in the introduction and keyboard solo. According to Phil Collins in a 1994 interview, this was the first video Genesis ever did and was one of his favorite videos he ever made.
Time Signature
The intro is in 7/4, and all 3 verses and 2 choruses are in 4/4 (with one bar of 7/8 ending both choruses, in the little guitar melody).The keyboard solo is in the uncommon time signature 13/8, achieved by alternating bars of 7/8 and 6/8, ending with another bar of 6/8 in transition to the interlude verse section ("God always fights..."). This section is again in 13/8, but this time alternating 3 bars of 3/8 with one of 4/8, and ending by skipping the last 4/8 bar in transition to the keyboard melody that follows. This melody is in 13/8 again, but back to the alternation of 7/8 and 6/8.
The outro ("Done me wrong...") is 16/8, split in 2 bars of 5/8 and one of 6/8.