I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)

Infobox Single
Name = I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)


Artist = Genesis
from Album = Selling England by the Pound
B-side = Twilight Alehouse
Released = August 3, 1973
Format = Vinyl
Recorded =
Genre = Rock, progressive rock
Length = 4:07
Label = Charisma Records
Writer = Genesis
Producer = John Burns & Genesis
Certification =
Chart position =

• #17 (UK)

Last single = Happy The Man / Seven Stones
(1972)
This single = I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) / Twilight Alehouse
(1974)
Next single = Counting Out Time / Riding The Scree
(1974)
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Album = Selling England by the Pound
Type= Studio
prev_track = "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight"
prev_no = Track 1
this_track = "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"
track_no = Track 2
next_track = "Firth of Fifth"
next_no = Track 3

"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" was the first charting single by the rock band Genesis. Its original b-side was the non-album track, "Twilight Alehouse," a song about a lonely man who finds solace in the local tavern. The single was first released in the UK in August of 1973, but did not become a hit until April 1974.

"I Know What I Like" is also the second track on the "Selling England by the Pound" album. A lighthearted pop song, it provides a moment of comic relief after the opening number, "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight." The "Selling England" album cover, which was famous in its own right, provided inspiration for the song.

The song's lyrics, like many of Peter Gabriel's in his Genesis days, tell a story. It portrays a young man who pushes a lawn mower for a living and shares his philosophy on life that he does not want to grow up and do great things, being perfectly happy where he is.

The song has a somewhat Eastern sound, full of hand percussion rhythms and an electric sitar riff from Mike Rutherford (played in concert by Steve Hackett), and it foreshadows the world music that Gabriel would later experiment with in his solo career. Rutherford's bass playing is also highly prominent, and guitarist Steve Hackett uses an effect during the intro and ending to imitate the sound of a lawn mower.

Live versions of this song (such as the one on "Seconds Out") feature an extended instrumental section which includes snippets of various other Genesis songs – such as "Visions of Angels," "Blood on the Rooftops," "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" and "Stagnation" – and even songs by other artists, such as the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Phil Collins performed a dance and a tambourine act during these instrumentals, as can be seen in the film from 1977.

"I Know What I Like" was the band's only pop hit of their early years, at a time when progressive rock bands largely avoided the singles market. Its success would not be topped until "And Then There Were Three"'s "Follow You Follow Me," some four years later, and it remains the band's biggest hit without Phil Collins as frontman.

For the The Way We Walk and tours, this song was played as part of a medley of old Genesis songs. During the Turn It On Again tour shows, images from the band's history cycled by in the background.

In 1993, Marillion's ex-frontman Fish did a cover version of this song on his "Songs from the Mirror" album.

Personnel

*Peter Gabriel: Vocals and Flute
*Steve Hackett: Electric Guitar
*Mike Rutherford: Bass and Electric Sitar
*Tony Banks: Hammond Organ and ARP Pro-Soloist
*Phil Collins: Drums, Backing Vocals and Percussion