Genesis
- Thread starter Mosh
- Start date
For this band, I shall do something a bit different. Instead of posting about individual albums, here is a primer for the band's entire career, similar to what Dog did in the BOC thread. (Complete with youtube links in spoiler tags)
The Early Years (1969-1970):
Two albums during this period, From Genesis To Revelation and Trespass. The former is usually forgotten and the band themselves ignores its existence. This is for good reason, the band still hadn't found their sound yet and two key members are missing. You'll only want this for completion sake. Trespass is more like what the band would become. But Phil Collins and Steve Hackett still hadn't joined the band at this point, and overall it's no more than a taste of what's to come. There is only one song an aspiring Genesis fan needs to hear from this era, and that's The Knife.
The "Classic" Era (1971-1974):
This is where the band was at its peak. There are four classic albums here. The band's classic lineup had been complete and the songwriting and playing was getting exponentially better, Peter Gabriel began introducing theatrics to the live show. Genesis was earning their place as a classic Prog Rock band. Nursery Cryme was the first album released during this period, and sets the bar high from the start with the epic opener, The Musical Box. Foxtrot has my favorite Genesis song, Supper's Ready. At 22 minutes, it is their longest song, and is an amazing piece. It's probably my favorite Genesis album overall, with every song being pretty good. Selling England By The Pound is the album I would recommend to a new fan. It does a good job at showing what the band was capable at the time.
The climax of this era is The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, the ambitious concept double album. While a great album, many fans are divided on it, and it's a lot to take in at first. It'd be a good idea to listen to the other 3 albums from this period first, and then tackle The Lamb. This was also the last album with Gabriel in the band, and thus, the end of an era.
Continuing Without Gabriel (1976):
I'll be honest here, I'm not very familiar with this era as it didn't appeal to me much. I'll try to go over it the best I can, but maybe there is someone else on here who knows it better.
Anyway, here the band was without a singer and a frontman. After unsatisfying auditions, Phil Collins took the mic. The band was still proggy, but they were transitioning, it was time for a new direction. Long songs were still present, but shorter songs began to be more common. And the band was beginning to have softer, more commercial sounding songs. The album I'd recommend from this period is A Trick Of The Tail. The title would probably sound familiar to a Maiden fan as the line is used in the song Holy Smoke. And yes, it is a Genesis reference*. After the album Wind And Wuthering, Yet another member, Steve Hackett, left the group. The band was now down to three members.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AryXkeAoCec[/spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA_uWtbXnh8[/spoiler]
The Trio Era (1978-1991)
This is where the band became the most successful commercially. With many hit songs and high charting albums, the band became mainstream. While the keyboard dominated pop sound might be a turnoff for prog snobs, the material here is very good and refreshing. There is also a handful of proggy songs to keep the old school fans happy. There's a few albums worth checking out here. Duke is probably the most balanced with pop and prog. The original idea was to have a side long suite, but the band decided they didn't want people to compare it to Supper's Ready. So the suite is broken up into smaller songs spread throughout the album. One of Genesis' most well known songs, Turn It On Again, is part of this suite. Abacab is a bit on the experimental side, but also moves the band further into the pop direction. It's definitely worth checking out. My personal favorite from this era is Invisible Touch, which probably has the most well known songs on it. Despite being one of the most poppy albums in the Genesis canon, it also has a fair amount of longer, proggier songs. Including the multipart epic, Domino. For someone wanting to try this era of Genesis out, you can't go wrong with any of these three albums.
This era ended with Phil Collins' departure from the band. Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford found a new singer and made one more album under the Genesis name, but I like to think that the band ended with We Can't Dance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StfLy3pzno0[/spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI0fk_gCdzE[/spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lv_WqK6k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lv_WqK6k[/spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf3qKmMnHDg[/spoiler]
*There's another Genesis reference found in Sign Of The Cross. "11 saintly shrouded men.." comes from the line in Supper's Ready, "Six saintly shrouded men/move across the lawn slowly".
The Early Years (1969-1970):
Two albums during this period, From Genesis To Revelation and Trespass. The former is usually forgotten and the band themselves ignores its existence. This is for good reason, the band still hadn't found their sound yet and two key members are missing. You'll only want this for completion sake. Trespass is more like what the band would become. But Phil Collins and Steve Hackett still hadn't joined the band at this point, and overall it's no more than a taste of what's to come. There is only one song an aspiring Genesis fan needs to hear from this era, and that's The Knife.
The "Classic" Era (1971-1974):
This is where the band was at its peak. There are four classic albums here. The band's classic lineup had been complete and the songwriting and playing was getting exponentially better, Peter Gabriel began introducing theatrics to the live show. Genesis was earning their place as a classic Prog Rock band. Nursery Cryme was the first album released during this period, and sets the bar high from the start with the epic opener, The Musical Box. Foxtrot has my favorite Genesis song, Supper's Ready. At 22 minutes, it is their longest song, and is an amazing piece. It's probably my favorite Genesis album overall, with every song being pretty good. Selling England By The Pound is the album I would recommend to a new fan. It does a good job at showing what the band was capable at the time.
The climax of this era is The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, the ambitious concept double album. While a great album, many fans are divided on it, and it's a lot to take in at first. It'd be a good idea to listen to the other 3 albums from this period first, and then tackle The Lamb. This was also the last album with Gabriel in the band, and thus, the end of an era.
Continuing Without Gabriel (1976):
I'll be honest here, I'm not very familiar with this era as it didn't appeal to me much. I'll try to go over it the best I can, but maybe there is someone else on here who knows it better.
Anyway, here the band was without a singer and a frontman. After unsatisfying auditions, Phil Collins took the mic. The band was still proggy, but they were transitioning, it was time for a new direction. Long songs were still present, but shorter songs began to be more common. And the band was beginning to have softer, more commercial sounding songs. The album I'd recommend from this period is A Trick Of The Tail. The title would probably sound familiar to a Maiden fan as the line is used in the song Holy Smoke. And yes, it is a Genesis reference*. After the album Wind And Wuthering, Yet another member, Steve Hackett, left the group. The band was now down to three members.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA_uWtbXnh8[/spoiler]
The Trio Era (1978-1991)
This is where the band became the most successful commercially. With many hit songs and high charting albums, the band became mainstream. While the keyboard dominated pop sound might be a turnoff for prog snobs, the material here is very good and refreshing. There is also a handful of proggy songs to keep the old school fans happy. There's a few albums worth checking out here. Duke is probably the most balanced with pop and prog. The original idea was to have a side long suite, but the band decided they didn't want people to compare it to Supper's Ready. So the suite is broken up into smaller songs spread throughout the album. One of Genesis' most well known songs, Turn It On Again, is part of this suite. Abacab is a bit on the experimental side, but also moves the band further into the pop direction. It's definitely worth checking out. My personal favorite from this era is Invisible Touch, which probably has the most well known songs on it. Despite being one of the most poppy albums in the Genesis canon, it also has a fair amount of longer, proggier songs. Including the multipart epic, Domino. For someone wanting to try this era of Genesis out, you can't go wrong with any of these three albums.
This era ended with Phil Collins' departure from the band. Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford found a new singer and made one more album under the Genesis name, but I like to think that the band ended with We Can't Dance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StfLy3pzno0[/spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI0fk_gCdzE[/spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lv_WqK6k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lv_WqK6k[/spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf3qKmMnHDg[/spoiler]
*There's another Genesis reference found in Sign Of The Cross. "11 saintly shrouded men.." comes from the line in Supper's Ready, "Six saintly shrouded men/move across the lawn slowly".
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Not many replies eh Mosh? Well, I enjoyed your writings. A while back I listened to all the Gabriel era albums and also went a bit further until Duke (1980) and I think you described them pretty well. You shared some essential songs.
From the first five albums I'd like to add: Dancing with the Moonlit Knight (from Selling England by the Pound)
And The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is for me probably the most satisfying Genesis-with-Gabriel-album as a whole. It might not have the best individual songs (none would reach a top 10 or even top 20) but it has the best collection of songs, and the atmosphere is quite something. Exactly what a concept album should achieve. Pulling you in.
From A Trick of the Tale Dance on a Volcano cannot be unmentioned:
From Wind & Wuthering the same goes for Eleventh Earl of Mar:
(haunting vibe!)
...And Then There Were Three... was for me the most difficult album. Can't quite grasp it.
Duchess from the Duke album has one of the better vocal melodies they recorded with Collins.
Although the song is too lengthy. But I keep playing it because of that opening vocal!
From later work I like these songs you have not mentioned the best:
From Genesis: Mama, and Home by the Sea:
... and of course No Son of Mine from We Can't Dance.
From the first five albums I'd like to add: Dancing with the Moonlit Knight (from Selling England by the Pound)
And The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is for me probably the most satisfying Genesis-with-Gabriel-album as a whole. It might not have the best individual songs (none would reach a top 10 or even top 20) but it has the best collection of songs, and the atmosphere is quite something. Exactly what a concept album should achieve. Pulling you in.
From A Trick of the Tale Dance on a Volcano cannot be unmentioned:
From Wind & Wuthering the same goes for Eleventh Earl of Mar:
...And Then There Were Three... was for me the most difficult album. Can't quite grasp it.
Duchess from the Duke album has one of the better vocal melodies they recorded with Collins.
From later work I like these songs you have not mentioned the best:
From Genesis: Mama, and Home by the Sea:
... and of course No Son of Mine from We Can't Dance.
Vap
Ancient Mariner
These songs from The Lamb stand out for me:
Disc 1: In The Cage, Back In N.Y.C., Carpet Crawlers
Disc 2: Anyway, The Light Dies Down On Broadway, It
I enjoy listening to most of the other songs alone too, these are the top tracks for me. I didn't include the title track because I already have Light there.
Hardly listened to the trio era stuff. I'll listen to some this week. Duke is the first on my list.
Superb songs. Dance On A Volcano is my favorite of the Collins-led prog stuff. Moonlit Knight is my favorite song from Selling England.
Disc 1: In The Cage, Back In N.Y.C., Carpet Crawlers
Disc 2: Anyway, The Light Dies Down On Broadway, It
I enjoy listening to most of the other songs alone too, these are the top tracks for me. I didn't include the title track because I already have Light there.
Hardly listened to the trio era stuff. I'll listen to some this week. Duke is the first on my list.
Superb songs. Dance On A Volcano is my favorite of the Collins-led prog stuff. Moonlit Knight is my favorite song from Selling England.
That's a great song too. Love the way it reprises in Aisle of Plenty.
That's one thing I forgot to mention. The reason why I prefer Genesis over Yes (and most prog bands for that matter) is the atmosphere of their music. The atmosphere of the early albums is something that can't be topped, it certainly sits with me better than the "look how well we can play our instruments!" aesthetic of much of the 70's progressive rock scene.
Those are my favorites too, but I never listen to them alone.
Also, as a prog fan, Duke is probably the best starting point for the trio era.
Is anybody else here into Peter Gabriel's solo stuff? On the whole, I find him far more interesting than later Genesis (which makes sense, given that he's the main attraction of the band for me). I've been listening a lot to his third self-titled album lately (commonly known as "3" or "Melt").
Cosmiceddie
Back From The Edge
My favourite Genesis albums are:
1. We Can't Dance
2. Trespass
3. Selling England By The Pound
'Carpet Crawlers' must be the best song they've written. 'Firth Of Fifth' and 'Cinema Show' are awesome, too.
I'm really fond of Peter Gabriel's voice and I do like lots of his solo stuff.
1. We Can't Dance
2. Trespass
3. Selling England By The Pound
'Carpet Crawlers' must be the best song they've written. 'Firth Of Fifth' and 'Cinema Show' are awesome, too.
I'm really fond of Peter Gabriel's voice and I do like lots of his solo stuff.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Next to the already mentioned Solsbury Hill, I like the last two songs from his debut album: Down the Dolce Vita & Here Comes the Flood. Haven't heard much later stuff yet, apart from a few eighties hits which I found less thrilling than later Genesis work.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
@Mosh: When Rush will come on, on Maidenfans Week, would you be so kind to add all their studio albums in a poll, in the same topic?
I thought it would be cool if everybody would post and vote for their favourite albums (shall we do 5?), and then we can see which album will get the most votes.
Thanks in advance! (If too much trouble I could open a separate topic and poll.)
I thought it would be cool if everybody would post and vote for their favourite albums (shall we do 5?), and then we can see which album will get the most votes.
Thanks in advance! (If too much trouble I could open a separate topic and poll.)
SixesAlltheway
Ancient Mariner
The Fountain of Salmacis!