GENESIS

Reviews from "The Billboard Guide To Progressive Music" © 1997 by Bradley Smith.
Reprinted without permission.

NURSERY CRYME. Released November 1971. Atlantic.

Although Genesis is heralded as one of the legends of progressive rock, their progressive phase (from 1971 to 1977) really constitutes a rather short segment of their overall history. Nursery Cryme, however, is an essential slice of early U.K. prog rock, and its sound doesn't seem even remotely like the later directions of this group's lineup (Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett), especially when their current gigantic solo careers are considered.

At the time of its release, Nursery Cryme was representative of the new "serious rock". Influenced by early King Crimson, Yes, and ELP, the band's sound here is an attractive blend of 12-string guitars, flute, and mellotron with bass, drums, organ, piano, electric guitar, and vocals. It is storytelling music, alternating between vocal parts and instrumental sections.

Nursery Cryme is notable for three lengthy epics of power and grandeur: "The Musical Box," representative of the band's theatrical and visual style; "The Return of the Giant Hogweed," a bizarre chunky groove; and "The Fountain of Salmacis," a piece of spacey classicism with outstanding lyrics. These are eccentric, no matter how you look at them, and all three wese longtime staples of Genesis' live shows. The connection with fantasy themes brings the music in a direction which allows for dramatic chord changes and extrapolations. An entire landscape is thus painted, and within it dialogues and conflicts are played out. With these three numbers, Genesis established a powerful prog rock persona, a style to be continued on their next few releases. The rest of the album is more typical of the band's later and current approaches, such as the brief folksy "For Absent Friends" (sung by Collins) and ballad-style "Harlequin." These, plus "Seven Stones" and "Harold the Barrel," really aren't progressive, but rather straight-ahead rock, having more in common with other U.K. bands from the period such as The Who, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple.

The production is very good, capturing a live, raw feel, and introducing Collins's big drum sound, a key feature of the music of Genesis. The legendary cover art by Paul Whitehead portrays the fairy tales told in the music.

FOXTROT. Released October 1972. Atlontic.

This recording is another classic, so similar to Nursery Cryme it sounds as if they were recorded at the same time. Even from the perspective of 1972, Genesis was an odd band. The whole of Foxtrot is pretty bizarre, and an aura of mystery and subculture imagery permeates the music, the song titles, the lyrics, the cover art, and even the band's appearance. Again, the longer tracks work best for them, as they did live in concert. "Watcher of the Skies" opens with a loud Gothic church organ intro, followed by a heavy rhythm section groove complete with lots of bass guitar riffs, anchoring the song's clearly defined structure and buildup drama (assisted by the piece's oblique lyrics). "Time Table" is another ballad more in the later Genesis style, with a prettiness that is more rock than prog. "Get 'Em Out by Friday," a lengthy tale of present-day class warfare, takes Genesis' concepts and jamming into the world of social commentary -- something they would later expand upon. Unfortunately, the song is led by dated, moldy organ sounds and tamborine shaking. "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is perhaps the pick for weirdest Genesis song; it is quite successful musically, but the lyrics are practically incomprehensible.

"Horizons" is an all-too-brief (at 1 1/2 minutes) acoustic guitar instrumental by Steve Hackett. It's very nice. "Supper's Ready," the group's legendary dramatic epic, sums up the sound and approach of the band in this period, and served as a rallying point of sorts for the group's audiences. A 23-minute conceptual track with several sections, from soft acoustic to hard electric, its structure is (still) quite avant-garde. The lyrical content is actually the most avant-garde, with free-form poetic asides that culminate in an oddly metaphysical good-versus-evil imagery, providing the themes for the track's final minutes of catharsis. This new "serious" rock music was linked to a kind of transformative spiritual experience, supported by classically influenced structures and modern electric instrumentation, all of which are essential components of prog rock. The playing is topnotch all round, and the album is a superb, cohesive group effort.

The sound of the first half of the album is flawed; it has an erratic mix and a good amount of hiss, and the dynamics are not sharp or punchy enough. The sound quality thankfully improves for the second half. The cover art, again by Paul Whitehead, like the art for Nursery Cryme, illustrates the fairy tales found within the music.

LIVE. Released August 1973. Atlantic.

Recorded (at two locations) before appreciative audiences in February 1973, this first live album from Genesis is an effective representation of the band. Rawer than the studio versions of these songs, with ballsier instrumentation, higher volume, and energetic delivery, it presents Genesis as a heavy, loud prog rock group. This is a powerful, well-recorded set of five songs ("Watcher of the Skies," "Get Bm Out by Friday," "The Return of the Giant Hogweed," "Musical Box," and "The Knife"). The major reason for Genesis' impact was not visual, as was so often ciaimed at the time, but musical. The tight and driving arrangements stand out, with the anchors of the group being Collins's crisp drums and Rutherford's muscular bass. The performances here are youthful and unpolished, representative of the group's music before they perfected their sound. It was shows such as that captured on Live that generated the acclaim Genesis began receiving.

Peter Gabriel was charming to hear in this era, presenting (although only briefly glimpsed on this release) a stage persona as a prog rock storyteller--a mysterious traveler illustrating and acting out the characters from the band's songs. This persona has been quite influential and oft-imitated, especially by many 1980s U.K. neo-prog bands. Hackett shows unbelievable restraint as a lead guitarist (too much so to some tastes). Only on "The Knife" does he really let it rip. Banks's keyboards are much further up-front, more at home with the rhythmic playing from Collins and Rutherford than with the guitar or vocals. The classic sleeve photos of the band on a small stage, seen in dark blue lighting, and with Gabriel in a weird costume, exudes an undeniable aura mystery that makes anyone seeing this album for the first time want to know what it sounds like. Live, then, is a perfect introductory disc for the progressive rock initiate, with a potent Genesis proving themselves to be one of the genre's leading innovators.

SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND. Released September 1973. Atlantic.

Coming just a month after the release of Live, Selling England by the Pound is mainstream prog rock, another good entry-level disc for newcomers from a much beloved era of the Genesis band. The arrangements are more multitextured and opened up a bit. Acoustic colorations of 12-string and nylon guitars from Hackett (whose guitars are more in evidence here) are at the center of the sound, while Banks expands his sounds as well, with more synths in addition to the mellotron, organ, and piano. Collins's extra percussive touches are imaginative and lively. The sound is light, pretty, and easy to like. The lyrical focus is now totally on contemporary British themes in a distinctly narrative (and wordy) form. This was now the trademark Genesis approach, as exemplified by the first piece, "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight."

The 8 1/2-minute "Firth of Fifth" is one of the band's finest songs. Supremely dramatic, with metaphysical lyrics, it's a perfect showcase for all of the members' talents: a rapid classical piano intro and outro from Banks; a flute solo from Gabriel; chunky bass lines from Rutherford; precise symphonic drumming from Collins; and a very emotional, spiritual, mournful spacey solo by Hackett's electric guitar. "The Battle of Epping Forest," an 11 1/2-minute epic jam, is not a medieval tale but rather one about present-day street toughs. "After the Ordeal" is a low-key 4-minute instrumental--quite rare in their repertoire at the time--featuring acoustic and electric guitars, piano, flute, bass, and drums. It's nice but surprisingly fey, even for 1973, and the opposite of the loud approach on the Live disc. The interplay among drums, keys, and bass on the 11-minute "The Cinema Show," is a keynote of the Genesis sound. While the mix here is too thin, this is one of their best and most representative pieces.

"I Know What I Like" and "More Fool Me" aren't prog, but rather pop. "I Know ..." was their first hit single, and "More Fool ..." is notable as an early lead vocal by Collins. The album's 54-minute running length was quite generous for a 1973 release. The sound quality is very good. The lovely cover painting reflects the album's lighter sound.

THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY. Released November 1974. Atlontic.

The Lamb ... is Genesis at their most didactic and ambitious. The concept album to end all concept albums, this obscure, verbose, epic-scale work probably couldn't be done today. Genesis certainly deserves a lot of credit for the project. Just as they were breaking through in the charts, they performed this vast work in its entirety on tour in 1974 before it had even been released. What a crazy move!

The Lamb ..., which is difficult and demands a lot from the listener, is not easily assimilated in a few listens. This complexity is what makes the album progressive, despite the fact that much of it is quite poppy, vocal, chorus-heavy rock (e.g., the title track, "Counting Out Time," "Carpet Crawl," "Lillywhite Lilith," etc.). It does go through a number of intriguing moods, though, and conveys classy sense of cerebral drama. A film of the piece was going to be made, but unfortunately it never happened. A problem with The Lamb... is that it really needs to be seen as well as heard. Genesis performed the work many times complete with an extensive slide show and costumes illustrating the story, but these performances were never filmed either. The Lamb... contains this band's most experimental instrumental pieces, a side to the group that wasn't really developed to the extent that it could have been. "The Waiting Room," a 5 1/2-minute track, begins with a number of odd percussions a la King Crimson, followed by a collage of tape effects, random synth sounds, and guitar noodling, eventually mutating into a full-band jam. This piece is a big favorite on bootlegs, as it was apparently played slightly differently each time. "Hairless Heart" and "Ravine" are two brief and similar pieces of soft guitar textures of poignant delicacy. "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats" is a celestial low-key, keyboard-dominated instrumental, again too brief. One wishes Genesis had explored these instrumental areas further.

The group's forte is their vocal pieces. This was a showcase for Gabriel, whose lyrics here are truly fine poetry. Regrettably, the album is a bit too word-heavy, which at certain points obscures some fine musical colors that are part of the story line. (The subject matter--a street tough--was certainly an unexpected choice--an attempt on their part to avoid the flowery prettiness of their fantasy-heavy earlier material.) "In the Cage" and "Riding the Scree" successfully capture the ominous new gritty feel, with rollercoaster keyboard/bass/drums workouts that demonstrate the by-now solidified core band interplay of Banks, Collins, and Rutherford. "Back in NYC," on the other hand, is somewhat plodding and murky in its attempt at a darker Genesis sound. Gabriel is most successful as a vocalist on this album, keeping the variety of moods (e.g., the cooing of "Cuckoo Cocoon" and the heavily filtered rants of "The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging") consistently intriguing. Hackett's playing is extraordinarily elusive throughout much of The Lamb... - it is difficult at times to pin down exactly what sounds are his, though by the second half his guitar is more at the forefront, taking center stage for numbers like the metaphysical wrap up masterpiece "It."

The sound mix of The Lamb ... is interesting. The sound quality is good, particularly in the all-important remastered version (the others were murky), but the production itself is rather odd and too thin for the supposedly more muscular sound they were aiming for. The bizarre high-art photos by Hipgnosis that adorn The Lamb... brilliantly represent key abstract images from the story line.

A TRlCK OF THE TAIL. Released February 1976. Atlantic.

This is one of the most successful and most popular of Genesis' prog-era releases. The Genesis sound is perfected here, with a truly first-rate production that rivals their later audiophile recordings like Abacab. The clarity and richness of the guitars and keyboards, and a drum sound that's way up in the front of the mix, produce a huge sound that's as rich as a high-calorie dessert. Gabriel was gone by now, and Collins's vocal performance was a major landmark for him and for Genesis. His emergence as one of the music world's greatest vocalists is already well in evidence on A Trick of the Tail. The lyrics are also very strong, with a leftist sociopolitical perspective, as on "Dance on a Volcano" and "Squonk." Banks here has a writing credit on every track, and the successes of the 1976 era of Genesis is in large part due to his vision.

"Entangled" features an essential progressive rock texture--a gorgeous, silken web of multiple 12-string acoustic guitars combined with mellotron, organ, and grand piano. While they had used this sound for years, here it is true magic, with a recording standard they didn't have previously. All the subtleties in Hackett's and Rutherford's guitar playing are beautifully captured, with a fantastic stereo separation that puts you directly in the middle of those trademark textures. A Trick of the Tail is a vocal-oriented prog album. There's a refreshing streak of romanticism in "Ripples" and "Mad Man Moon" that is perfectly suited to their sound. Collins's vocal delivery on these is exemplary. As usual, the lively interplay between Collins's drums and Banks's keyboards is the group's centerpiece, elevating basically pop numbers like "Robbery Assault and Battery" and giving them a prog rock excitement. There's not much in the way of electric guitar on A Trick of the Tail, but strangely enough it isn't missed given the melodic lushness of the 12 strings and keyboards.

"Los Endos" is one of Genesis' finest compositions. Compiling the musical themes of the various songs on the album, it's a compelling, driving, extremely entertaining instrumental, a great song in its own right and a perfect finale to the album. The sounds in the piece, all brilliantly recorded and mixed, represent all the facets of the Genesis prog era sound rolled into one. The cover artwork emphasizes the playful fantasy elements that are found in the lyrics of the title track, giving the album a warm appeal.

WlND AND WUTHERING. Released December 1976. Atlontic.

The often-underrated follow-up to A Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering is actually one of Genesis' best discs, and certainly one of their most progressive. This is Genesis at their most symphonic, with extended instrumental sections. An ambitious album similar in structure to A Trick of the Tail, the production is once again first-rate, lush and textured, with Banks's influence most prominent. The album is like a glossier, more polished Foxtrot, with keyboard-driven compositions of sophisticated, lengthy storytelling rock. The vocals are not too up front in the mix, putting the emphasis on the music. The mix of Hackett's acoustic, nylon, and classical guitars with Banks's ARP synth, grand piano, mellotron, organ, and electric piano, plus Collins's spot-on drumming, achieve a sound on that's as large and attractive as any in prog rock. Collins's vocals are keenly appropriate, especially considering he doesn't care for this material. Gabriel couldn't have done any better.

"One for the Vine" is one of the most notable Genesis compositions. Another lengthy (at 10 minutes) dramatic metaphysical tale that goes through a variety of moods and sounds, it's quite ambitious, and so successfully executed that it goes by almost a bit too smoothly considering its lyrical depth and musical grandeur. An amazing track. At the other end of the spectrum, however, is "Your Own Special Way," a blatant pop song sandwiched in between the progressive songs, which is more in the flavor of something from their 1986 Invisible Touch disc. "All in a Mouse's Night" sort of picks up where the fantasy themes in the song "A Trick of the Tail" ended, and is musically interesting, but too cutesy lyrically.

"Wot Gorilla'" is a 3-minute instrumental that comes on like a grander Brand X, once again focusing on the symphonic interplay between Banks's keyboards and Collins's percussion. "Blood on the Rooftops" is similar to the material from Hackett's Voyage of the Acolyte, with its classical guitar and spacey mellotron parts and a wistful vocal from Collins. "Afterglow" is more romanticism from Banks, and has excellent lyrics. Here Collins's vocal is too restrained, something he would improve upon on subsequent live performances. The two-part instrumental "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers ... In That Quiet Earth" demonstrates what Genesis was capable of when they wrote nonvocal material. "Unquiet Slumbers ..." features Hackett's sonorous guitar textures, combined with mellotron and bells. Spiritual, celestial, and spacey, it's a side of the group that's rarely heard.

The sound on this recording is very sharp, especially in the remastered version which is light years beyond the versions previously available, which were thin and muddled. The Hipgnosis cover is a dreamy painting of a gray landscape, perhaps inspired by the sonorities of "Unquiet Slumbers ...."

GENESIS IN CONCERT 1976 (video). Theatrical film released 1977. Laser disc import (Japan).

A 43-minute theatrical film of the Genesis summer tour in 1976 with Bill Bruford helping out on drums, this is perhaps the best way to experience the group's progressive era. It was the most successful filming of their performances up to that point. The footage of Genesis with Gabriel that had been filmed in past years for TV was darkly lit and suffered from technical difficulties. Genesis in Concert 1976 is actually a widescreen film, with a good stereo soundtrack, now available in this high-quality presentation on Japanese laser disc.

Not only are the performances outstanding, the visuals are truly remarkable. A slow tracking camera gives the concert footage a tense, unfolding feel. The visuals are well composed for the wide-screen format, and emphasize the dramatic aspects of the songs. The visual highlight is "Entangled," during which there is a fantasy sequence of a beautiful woman dancing on a beach as spacey effects wash through the picture. Also visually notable is "Supper's Ready," which features imagery of the ruins of antiquity, a visual key to the song's message.

The film begins with "I Know What I Like," which is fun, particularly if you're a fan, though there's little thatS really prog about it. "Fly on a Windshield" is next, an instrumental version of this cut from The Lamb . . ., and far superior to the vocal one. The band's dynamics here are much in evidence, as they go through a number of key prog rock moves despite the song's short running length. Hackett's soaring but modest electric guitar is the highlight. "The Carpet Crawlers" also features a superior guitar performance from Hackett (although the camera only shows us Collins singing). Hackett makes the piece his own with a silently suffering blues from the modest electric guitar, which quietly blazes away with tortured, low-key lament; it's the way the piece was meant to be heard, and is far superior to the thinner studio version on The Lamb ....

"The Cinema Show Pt. 2" is the instrumental section of that song, but with too much intercut footage of old silent movie comedies and not enough shots of the band. We do get to see a brief drum solo duet between Collins and Bruford, however. "Supper's Ready Pt. 2" is the more rocking half of the piece, and the performance is extraordinary. The bearded Collins looks like Jesus as he sings to the faithful crowd, which sways back and forth as he delivers the final lines, his image dissolving into a sea of red lighting, which then fades into the footage of the Greek ruins as Hackett solos on guitar. It's quite a transformative moment.

"Los Endos" concludes, and it's a ripping version, too, another real high point. The band plays up a storm, particularly Collins. The stereo sound is surprisingly good for a 1976 film recording, with wide separation, but not quite enough bass.

Note: I have an excellent (direct from laserdisc) copy of this video available for trade! Go to my trade page

SECONDS OUT. Released October 1977. Atlantic.

The two-disc Seconds Out is a decent concert reprisal of selections from their entire progressive phase, from Nursery Cryme to Wind and Wuthering. While the group would continue to perform this material in the years to come, beginning with 1978's And Then There Were Three, the compositional focus of the group moves toward more conventional rock and pop. As a result, Seconds Out serves as a sort of farewell to the progressive Genesis.

Taken primarily from a 1977 show in Paris, this is Genesis at their arena-level dinosaur size, with a professional and calculated sound, quite removed from the small-sized rawness of earlier days such as that on 1973's Live. The expansive stereo mix is technically excellent, but at times the music sounds distant, lacking in color despite the clarity and volume. This was perhaps not the best time for Genesis to do a double live album. The 1976 tour was better, and there is one track (Cinema Show) from that tour included here. The 1977 tour was a major trial by fire for new drummer Chester Thompson, who had to quickly learn some of the most complex drum parts in modern rock. He does quite well here, but would be even more in groove later on. With Collins away from the drum kit on half of this recording, the challenge for Collins as a vocalist is also formidable, and he's not as good as he could be. Songs like "Afterglow" would be delivered more passionately on 1982's Three Sides Live.

The first of the two discs is not as energetic as the second. The performances are a bit workmanlike, with a mix that emphasizes keyboards over guitars and bass. Although this was not necessarily a bad thing for Genesis, the sound occasionally lacks variety. Evidently Hackett's guitar was mixed down by the others after he left the band in 1977. The highlights of the first disc are "The Carpet Crawlers," a rendition where Collins's vocal eclipses Gabriel's, while Hackett's understated guitar tells the story; and "Firth of Fifth," another lucid moment of celestial sadness courtesy of Hackett's mournful soloing, made all the more effective by the dual drums of Thompson and Collins.

The second disc is excellent throughout. After a shaky start, "Supper's Ready" is pretty lively throughout and suitably dramatic, especially in the final wrap-up. Collins does quite well singing this, even though he has stated his dislike of the excessive verbiage of this era of Genesis. The 1976 track "Cinema Show" with Bill Bruford has the best sound mix overall, with some lovely textures in the first half and a more upfront guitar. The extension of "I Know What I Like" is also groovy, and "Dance on a Volcano" and "Los Endos" display real instrumental fire, concluding Seconds Out on a high note.

THREE SIDES LIVE. Released May 1982. Atlantic.

Now reissued and superbly remastered in its original U.K. release format with all live material (the U.S. release replaced one-fourth of this with studio recordings), Three Sides Live contains tight and driving concert versions of some of their progressive era epics. This is a two-disc set taken mostly from their 1981 American tour for Abacab, and the first disc features selections from that album, Duke, and And Then There Were Three. This is well performed, albeit mainstream, rock. Beginning with the second track on disc two, the rest is solidly in the prog rock area.

"In The Cage", the "Cinema Show"/"Slippermen" medley, and "Afterglow" (all taken from the 1981 shows) move at an adrenalin-rousing pace and the transitions connecting the pieces are glorious. Collins' vocals (especially on "Afterglow") make these the preferable versions, his singing being more forceful, moody, and emotional than on previous releases. The rapid-fire drums of Chester Thompson and Collins are the prime movers of this recording, never missing a beat. The sound is good, even though the mix is at times a bit erratic.

A real treat are the 1980 concert versions of "One For The Vine" and "The Fountain of Salmacis" as 1980 was the last time they performed these pieces. The sound is great -- crisp and lush. "One For The Vine" live is every inch the complex symphonic masterpiece it was on Wind and Wuthering. Thompson's drumming and Banks's keyboards are both exemplary here. "The Fountain of Salmacis" is fascinating; it's extremely interesting to hear Collins interpret this early material as a vocalist. And it's nice to hear the mellotron again, too.

From 1976 is "It/Watcher of the Skies," featuring Hackett and Bruford. "It" is performed in its entirety, while "Watcher..." is only a brief reprise. The two should have been seperated in the disc's tracking, but they are decently done and the sound is good.

The track listing on this disc contains several errors. "One For The Vine" is divided over tracks 4 and 5. "The Fountain of Salmacis" and "It/Watcher of the Skies" are all part of track 6.

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