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In praise of Genesis

I've been revisiting Gabriel-era Genesis recently, if only out of boredom, and have been surprised at how much a lot of it has stood the test of time. I remember them as a kind of 'gateway' band. I first became aware of them in 1977, when I was 14, as did a number of contemporaries I knew. They, more than any other band, drew us away from chart music/ passive Radio One listening, and eventually opened up the whole spectrum of rock, and soon after reggae, for us. In the spirit of the times, I was also drawn to punk, which eventually took my priorities, but (secretly, as with many other who were into punk) never managed to relinquish my liking for the suddenly persona-non-grata old bands like Genesis, despite hardly ever actually listening to Genesis, except on the radio, for about four decades.

'Selling England' is massively underrated, and contains some great musical passages. How anybody can dislike 'Wardrobe' is a mystery. 'Harold the Barrel'-what can you say... 'Supper's Ready' is, in light of the Ukraine war and its possible consequences, a song for our times ('A young figure sits still by a pool; he's been stamped human bacon by some butchery tool.') 'The Lamb' is an (almost unfathomable) work of flawed genius. On it, as on 'Selling England,' Steve Hackett is let loose and shines in a way that differentiates him from other guitarists of the time. Gabriel, whatever else you can say about him, was a skilled lyricist,

This is understated and, for that, beautiful. Could have been written by Lennon and McCartney.

Not the sound they became known for (arguably, they should have continued in this vein), but this is pretty good considering the line-up at the time were 16 or so years old.
 
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hash tag said:
I listened to 4 or 5 genesis albums today and wind and Wuthering really hits the spot right now.
Also listened to Revelation which was not engaging, was cold and self indulgent
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Just noticed I replied to the wrong post just above. 'Blood on the Rooftops' is the best track , imo, on W&W, not 'The Lamb.'

The perils of posting when pissed...
 
RD2003 said:
Play at top volume.

Click to expand...

'The porcelain mannequin, with shattered skin, fears attack...' 'The liquid has congealed, which has seeped out through the crack, and the tickler takes his stickleback...' (or at least that's what it sounds like.)

I don't know wtf it means, but I wish I'd had the imagination to write it.
 
kalidarkone said:
One of the most disappointing nights of my life was when a friend and I dropped some acid and went to the planetarium to see the stars accompanied the music of Pink Floyd.

Except it wasn't.

It was FUCKING Genisis 🤮🤮🤮
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Sounds like chemical interrogation.
 
I posted this some time ago on the prog rock section but perhaps worth posting here ?

"In this alternative timeline, Anthony Phillips remains in the band. This album is released in early 1971. It features more of Phillip's 12-String guitar and also more vocals by the band's new drummer Phil Collins."

 
The39thStep said:
I posted this some time ago on the prog rock section but perhaps worth posting here ?

"In this alternative timeline, Anthony Phillips remains in the band. This album is released in early 1971. It features more of Phillip's 12-String guitar and also more vocals by the band's new drummer Phil Collins."

Click to expand...


A bit of a hardcore fan thing but this is quite extraordinary. When Hackett joins they become more of a rock prospect but I prefer the more pastoral Phillips era and I like this dreamy version of Musical Box.

Just learnt where Happy the Man got their name from.
 
Another 'imagined' album. I particularly like the track that begins atround 26.50. The Rolling Stones seem to have pissed them off a bit ('You can get what you want when you rip it off'.)

Much more of a Beatles influence on Genesis than I was able to discern as a kid. Especially noticeable in these, and other, stripped-down outtakes.


 
Want to see Phil Collins' film debut?
m.imdb.com

Calamity the Cow (1967) - IMDb

Calamity the Cow: Directed by David Eastman. With John Moulder-Brown, Elizabeth Dear, Stephen Brown, Phil Collins. Farmer Grant's children get him to buy a cow from another farmer. The children work hard to make the cow fit and healthy enough for the show ring. But at the last minute the other...
m.imdb.com m.imdb.com
 
Can't understand why Genesis are so reviled.As someone mentioned upthread after years of chart music and radio one they came pretty much as a revelation to a whole generation of teenagers.Listening to it now decades later Nursery Crimes And Then There Were Three ,Foxtrot - largely because it's all on Spotify- is quite a strange experience.The joys of double Art on Thursday afternoon🙂
 
krtek a houby said:
It was the punk thing for a while, trash prog in public but treasure it in private. Apart from some die hards, most got over the music wars. It's possible to have The Clash, Genesis and Beyonce in the same collection.
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No.
Clash, genesis, pistols, Floyd, Mozart, Verdi, yes....all in collection but Beyonce 😱
 
Selling England by the Pound doesn't quite land for me (aside from Phil's little song). They were definitely refining and expanding their compositional approach going in a new almost pop almost soul direction and I really want to be on board but I'm just not quite with them. Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show, are really interesting, there's the light and the dark there and they're using interesting chords to get that light and dark but I'm not really there for it. I like Trick of the Tail though. It feels like a return to the explorative approach of the first three albums with all the subtracted emotional weight of the intervening years.

Incidentally if you do like Selling England by the Pound remember to vote for it for aoty 1973.
 
Not Genesis, but... I used to like the third Gabriel album, but on reflection the first two are his best. Found it hard to like his MTV period.

It's a bit messy, and not 'Prog,' but pretty good.
 
Steve Hackett; Genesis Revisited. I have just had my first listen of this recently acquired album and it will be last. After Waters remake of Dark Side, this is probably
one of the worst albums I have ever bought by an artist I like. Some of the instrumentation of one or two numbers is ok some dreadful. Likewise the vocals.
I know what I Like has been destroyed. Has he tried to make it a very laid back dub style thing? The atmosphere and energy have totally gone. The tempo changes in a way
that is incomprehensible. If he wants it remade in that sort of style, let Easy All Stars have a crack. Woeful.
 
I just finished Phil Collins’ autobiography, Not Dead Yet. Surprisingly enjoyable and he does a good line in self-depreciation.

Wouldn’t particularly call myself a Genesis fan, although I do have a soft spot for Trespass.
 
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