The Genesis 2018 Discussion Thread

[OccultHawk]

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I totally understand not wanting to listen to any more Genesis than you absolutely have to.

lol

Do you also hate Yes?

[The Batlord]

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

lol

Do you also hate Yes?

I don't love them but I do like them. They can certainly be too noodly for their own good, but they're also far less lame and cringey. "South Side of the Sky" is hella sick nasty too.

[rubber soul]

Don't be sorry. I didn't even know they had recorded an album in 1969 until I saw the reissue (American version I might add) at a record store. I also discovered the Gods (pre-Uriah Heep) the same way. Yeah, I don't include bonus tracks in my reviews either. I just wanted to point out how much I liked That's Me. Anyhow, carry on .

[OccultHawk]

I remember buying it thinking holy **** I missed an early genesis record and then being like ugh.

[Trollheart]

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

I remember buying it thinking holy **** I missed an early genesis record and then being like ugh.

Pretty much my reaction too. Also, "Did I put on the right record?"

[Trollheart]

Trespass (1970)

As I’ve said many times before, and it is true, it’s not just me who makes the claim, this is in reality the album that should be considered Genesis’s debut. Free of the controlling influence of future child molester Jonathan King, the band were able to flex their musical muscle, draw on their deep creativity and fashion a real masterpiece of progressive rock. The amount of tracks on it, compared to those on the “debut”, clearly shows that the old axiom holds true: quality over quantity.

Looking For Someone
Whether it’s meant as such or not, the opener places Gabriel square in the spotlight, front and centre and makes no bones about his being the bandleader, creative force and frontman of this fledgling group of (still) youngsters. His voice is the first sound we hear, before the droning organ of Tony Banks comes in, and when this time the track goes through changes, from pastoral gentle almost lullaby to hard rocker, it seems planned rather than forced. It’s never been my favourite track on the album but it’s a hell of a better opener than “Where the Sour Turns to Sweet”, that’s for sure.
8/10

White Mountain
A real tour-de-force, a favourite of mine, not only on the album but within Genesis’s discography, and an example of a true storyteller plying his art, as Gabriel narrates a tale about wolves, crowns and kings, treachery and betrayal and death, all against the backdrop of a snowy, wintry wilderness. There’s almost the beginnings of what could possibly be termed “doom prog” in this song, with dark, funereal marching drums in one section of the song, and some frenetic keyboard work by Banks, to say nothing of the sprinkly acoustic guitar layered over the tune by Rutherford and Phillips. As the narrator though, Gabriel holds court over all, and his impressive range is displayed to its fullest extent here.
10/10

Visions of Angels
And another standout. A ballad, but with a terribly bitter edge, as Gabriel doubts the existence of God (quite risque for the seventies I would have thought), or at least if there is one, if He cares about us - “I believe there never is an end/ God gave up this world, its people, long ago.” Just beautiful piano turning into angry, stabbed organ (ouch!) from Banks and again it’s a total masterpiece, one of the songs which helps elevate this album to the position of high regard it holds among fans, and certainly with me.
10/10

Stagnation
Another chance for Gabriel to get a bit manic with his vocals, and they undergo some sort of phasing effect I think during this song, which kind of puts me in mind of the voices of the Slippermen on The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The refrain at the end is almost like a church organ, and I always thought he was singing the title, but he isn’t. Damn weird song when you look into the origins of the lyric, but I ain’t going into that here. Another virtually perfect piece.
10/10

Dusk
Without question, the quietest, most laid back and pastoral track on the album. Gabriel’s voice is at times almost inaudible as he appears to be humming nearly, and there are some lovely vocal harmonies. The music is to die for. I see Occult had this as or near his number one track, and I completely understand why. It really is a beautiful, understated, fragile masterpiece (sorry, I keep using that word, but it’s totally justified) of a song, and your last chance to relax before the final track hits.
10/10

The Knife
Anyone who says Genesis can’t rock needs to listen to this. Yes, it’s led by a keyboard-fest from Banks, bounces along like later Marillion’s “Market Square Heroes”, and tackles the subject of blindly following a charismatic leader, even if where he’s leading you is into Hell and to your own death, but it's a rocker for all that, and something we have, up to now, not really heard from this band. I would say it’s strange that this was released as a single, but I suppose it’s probably the only one of the album that lends itself to possible commercial appeal, if any do. It’s powerful, it’s energetic, it’s dark and it gives Gabriel the chance to play the mad megalomaniac. He must have loved it! A rip-roaring end to the album; you’re out of breath by the time the last stabbing keyboard chords and drumbeats pound out the finale.
9/10

Album Rating: 10/10

[rubber soul]

Well it's been awhile for this thread

I'm looking forward to see what you think about Foxtrot. I bought that one in the cut-out bin when I was a teenager.

[Trollheart]

Originally Posted by rubber soul

Well it's been awhile for this thread

I'm looking forward to see what you think about Foxtrot. I bought that one in the cut-out bin when I was a teenager.

I first heard it second-hand on cassette and later mostly through the Seconds Out live album. That was when I fell in love with "Supper's Ready".

[Trollheart]

Foxtrot (1971)

Perhaps it might be hard to understand today, in this world of hit singles making an album, but back in the seventies it wasn't actually all that necessary to have a hit for your album to sell well. People bought albums, and played them through, and made their decision based on all the tracks (or most of them), not just what was played on the radio. So, while there were no hit singles at all from Genesis's fourth album, it nevertheless became their biggest commercial success to that point. Coupled with Peter Gabriel's deliberate publicity stunt, where he wore the red dress and a fox mask on stage in imitation of the cover of the album, Foxtrot assured Genesis of near-legendary status. Even now, it's still seen as one of the benchmark prog albums of the time. It certainly allowed Gabriel, and the others, the room and the opportunity to flex their musical and indeed songwriting muscle in a way they had never done before, culminating in the longest song they had ever written, which closes the album and would forever be their totem.

Watcher of the Skies
An epic, brooding opening to the album, I totally disagree with ex-producer Bob Potter's comment that the song would have been better off without the long mellotron intro; for me, that's what makes the song and it really shows Tony Banks at his finest until about “Firth of Fifth”, but more importantly, shows how well he used the mellotron to develop and expand on Genesis's sound. After this, the band would pretty much always be linked with that instrument, at least in the seventies. A powerful song, it sees things from the point of view of an alien who has come across a destroyed and empty Earth, and the keys and mellotron hammer out the theme to Man's extinction, his requiem, not quite a funeral march, as it's bouncy and upbeat (kind of in contrast to the lyric) but certainly fatalistic. A great call-and-response near the end and a punchy ending brings us right into one of Genesis's top albums with a top song. One of my very favourite of theirs.

10/10

Time Table
Like “For Absent Friends” on the previous album, this is my least favourite track on the album. One of Banks' solo efforts, it's really not that good, and has that gentle, lilting feeling from the debut that makes it not quite folk, but hardly prog. It's all right I suppose, but on a storming album like this it's very definitely the weak link. Meh. You can do so much better, Tony, and you will.

3/10

Get 'em Out by Friday
If “Harold the Barrel” was a mini comic opera, then this is the full thing, with script by Gabriel, a full cast of characters, a plot and a subplot, and some damn fine music. It's also quite humourous, as Gabriel announces “This is a message from Genetic Control: it is my sad duty to inform you of a four foot restriction on humanoid height!” Some lovely sweeping guitar music, a punchy opening that settles into a kind of almost waltz, a beautiful midsection and a story well told, if slightly farcical. The first, perhaps, Genesis song to tackle real-word problems such as unscrupulous landlords and the dwindling rights of tenants.

10/10

Can-Utility and the Coastliners
The first instance of Gabriel's clever usage of word play, where Can-Utilty refers to Canute, the king who supposedly tried to order the waves of the sea back, and the Coastliners would then be referring to that event Very medieval beginning, almost like a lute or something (presumably twelve-string though) and some boppy upbeat keyboard, with perhaps odd lyric but it kind of makes sense, and parallels have been drawn, whether correct or no, between the story of Canute and Gabriel's own dissatisfaction at the fawning sycophants that appear once fame beckons you. I particularly like the frenzied keyboard run that ends the song.

9/10

Horizons
One minute and thirty-nine seconds of pure bliss from Steve Hackett. Reserved, introspective and totally gorgeous. A chance to catch the breath, perhaps, before the massive epic comes to close out the album, but also the first real chance to appreciate properly how important this man was to Genesis, the classical and intricate touches he brought to the band, and what they lost when he departed in 1976. Just pure beauty, effortless and understated.
10/10

Supper's Ready
I can't be certain, but I believe this may be the first time a song of this length was attempted by any band, never mind a prog one. Probably wrong of course, but it certainly was the first time I heard what would come to be known as the progressive rock epic suite, and it absolutely floored me. Without question Genesis's most ambitious song ever, and it still remains so, “Supper's Ready” runs for a few seconds shy of twenty-three minutes, taking up almost the entire second side of the album. It's split into seven sections, each of which is very different and yet all of which meld together to become more than the sum of their parts. A quiet acoustic and mellow opening turns into bouncy rock, twenties ragtime almost, relaxed ambient/atmospheric, some incredible instrumental sections, amazing vocal gymnastics by Gabriel, and a pounding, literally apocalyptic ending. No surprise at all that this was, and remains, one of Genesis's most famous and favourite songs, and that it spawned so many imitations down the years. A truly staggering achievement, and a hell of a way to end the album.
10/10

Album Rating: 9/10

[Chula Vista]

Troll, you should check out the song "The Great Nothing" off of the Spock's Beard album V.

In the "Supper's Ready" pantheon. Lyrics are definitely a nod to Kevin Gilbert, who worked with the band earlier in their career.
The last few verses bring me to tears every time.