I have been enjoying Genesis of late, especially the mid-70's efforts. I must say, my current favorite tracks are Blood on the Rooftops, One for the Vine, Mad Man Moon, Many Too Many, and doubtless Ripples. If in the mood to push the volume, Los Endos is a fine cut. Who else enjoys them?
While my favorite Genesis music is on 'Nursery Cryme', 'Foxtrot', and 'The Lamb', I also really like the first 4 or 5 post-Gabriel albums, too, especially the Tony Banks numbers. Tony is great at the epics!
In my opinion, they lost more from a purely musical standpoint, when Steve Hackett left the band, than when Gabriel left.
Sure, their very best material was recorded with Gabriel, but Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering are only small drop off in quality when compared to the Gabriel era.
But EVERYTHING after those recordings, is IMO, a huge drop in quality. Duke is the best post Hackett album, but even that is pretty mediocre.
In fact, I’d easily rate Hackett’s first half dozen, or so, solo albums better than anything the band did after he left.
I think I've got the title for first Genesis concert - November, 1971. We sat on folding chairs in the gymnasium at Paramus Community College. They were basically debuting Foxtrot.
Consequently, I'm partial to the early material. I'll go with Watcher of The Skies, Supper's Ready, and Firth of Fifth.
My friend and I saw Music Box on tour here in Phoenix a couple of months ago performing Selling England by the Pound and it was really moving. Those guys are amazing. When they opened the show with Watcher of the Skies, the entire audience shouted with joy.
Trespass Nursery Cryme Foxtrot Genesis Live - it´s a pity "Supper´s Ready" is missing as it originally was meant be a double album Selling England by the Pound - take away annoying and weak "More Fool Me" and put "Twilight Alehouse" instead and you´ll get the best prog album ever recorded The Lamb - too American really and the side four is quite lame, almost an anti-climax to the epic
Gabriel took the magic with him and Collins too weak for lead vocalist. Never cared for Gabriel´s post -GENESIS efforts either.
However, surprisingly ...and Then There Were Three... is a very strong and very big sounding album and "beats" earlier 2 albums and I don´t miss there Hackett either. Collins best and most powerful/intense lead captured on tape. Well done, Phil
Genesis Live at Belgium TV Studios, March 1972 is prog´s best video. The lads were barely 22 years old.
"Land of Confusion" and "Jesus He Know Me" are hilarious and very intelligent videos from the master musicians, the best on the planet.
Steve Hackett did a wonderful job to bring old stuff alive for audiences again, after forty years of Gabriel´s departure... GENESIS LIVE REVISITED in tour 2013-14.
I was there and I got nearly 3 hours good old GENESIS songs live performed brilliantly and exactly as the originals by the best musicians available, the singer´s voice was incredibly close to Gabriel´s. Nad Sylvan´s very true to original yet his very own powerful singing nailed the perfect illusion of being in a GENESIS gig in the early 70´s. Not a single dull moment. I´m blessed not to missed that fantastic band and event. I sadly missed the original band in concert. This was my best concert ever by a country mile.
Steve Hackett is a hero and the true Knight of all England. Me and by buddy were dancing with The Moonlit Knight and found ourselves shouting: Knife! Knife ! Knife!
Genesis was also my favorite band during the Gabriel years. After his departure the music seemed a little watered down to fit the masses. It was good, just not cutting edge and great after Peter. To answer the OP's question, The Cinema Show-Aisles of Plenty off Selling England, and Musical Box from Live.
Watcher of the Skies, Supper's Ready. I don't care for the post-Gabriel band at all. I'm a fan of Phil as a person and a drummer but not so much as singer/frontman. Besides Foxtrot I like the Genesis Lve album, which is from around the time I saw them.
I love the Seconds Out live album-shows how much their technique had progressed, using much more advanced synthesizers, and Banks's cross-hand technique on that piano solo on Supper's Ready was simply amazing.
Huge Classic Genesis (Peter Gabriel) fan here. For me "Trick Of The Tail" is the last of the so called Classic Genesis, even thou its has Phil on vocals. I like all their LP's but I prefer the peter years. Peter is playing in Las Vegas this Friday night and I will be be there. Oh yeah, 1973's "Live" is my fav.
Yes, I agree Tony Banks is the foundation of Genesis. The Lamb album was played in concert and, while sonically interesting, did not prove a good fit for live performance and led to disagreements especially between Gabriel and Banks. Genesis looked for a singer after Gabriel left and they settled on Phil, who some say sounded more like Peter than Peter. Phil's stage presence, however, was more straight forward than Peter's, but whose wouldn't be with all those animal costumes, etc. Steve Hackett left after his disappointment from the adoption of few of his contributions - George Harrison comes to mind. Nonetheless, when one hears Trick or Wind or for that matter Then There Were Three, one realizes where the core of Genesis lies.
I just wanted to add a couple of thoughts to my previous comments. The original lineup of Genesis with Peter Gabriel was of course in no way comparable to what came after, They produced some extraordinary musical moments, and like any other artist or group, had their less memorable outings. I think now that there was a lot of pressure on Phil Collins to carry on a legacy at first that he was not capable of. Not that he wasn't a talent on his own, but he couldn't (and shouldn't) be Peter Gabriel. I think after a couple of albums wiith himself in charge, the band became really a different entity altogether. What must be said though is that the brilliant, self-effacing Tony Banks has provided a brilliant background, and foundation to their sound throughout the years. A real artist.
I am off the opinion that Genesis hosted more artistic talent in its ranks for more years than perhaps any other pop/rock group there is. And they managed to achieve great commercial success as well.
Can nay other group match this? Of course the Beatles oozed talent of their own for a nice stretch. They are the leaders of the pack I would suppose for most people.
Beatles, Moody Blues and Genesis. These are perhaps my three desert island rock groups.
I was at one point in my life a Genesis fan or should I say freak. I have owned every Genesis album from start to 1978. My 3 brothers shared this same fondness for the band and most notably Peter Gabriel. The mid to late 70's material managed to get some play from me and I really loved it but it wasn't Selling England by the Pound and nothing they ever did managed to captivate my mind like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. I love Carpet Crawlers, Back in NYC, and Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist. I feel that everything they did right up to Duke was very good with a lot of it being flat out amazing.
1. Suppers Ready 2. Watcher of the Skies 3. Firth of Fifth 4. White Mountain 5. The Knife 6 The Musical Box 7. Keep It Dark 8. Land Of Confusion 9. Mama 10. Dodo/Lurker 11. Blood on the Rooftops 12. One for the Vine 13. Ripples
These come to mind. I probably forgot some. There are so many....
WHat a coincidence you bring this up! I have been seriously thinking about starting a GEnesis related thread!
I picked up my first CD copy of the orginal "From Genesis to Revelation" maaterial (under a different name/packaging of course) and have been giving it repeated listens of late end to end. It is a concept album that flows from song to song, so best listened to that way.
Genesis has been a top favorite of mine since I discovered several albums of theirs in the budget bin (including FGTR)for $1.00 back in the mid 70's.
The CD copy of FGTR cost me $3 at the Goodwill Store. Still a bargain.
This first real Genesis album is a special treat for any Genesis. It is not like any other. I was entralled with it when I first got it and find myself that way once more.
The flow, theme and lyrics are gorgeous. Peter Gabriel's voice in fine early form is a big part of that and adds an ethereal quality that brings what otherwise might be quite mundane alive. I also love the orchestral embellishments that Jonathan King ha David Greenslade (I believe) add! More gorgeous embellishments, although some might object to how they dominate when present and were clearly added to material that King did not care much for prior. The band hated this supposedly. I love it. It makes for unique Genesis that works in a totally different way than the rest. Also, this album and Trepass made me a big Anthony Phillips fan. He has many fine moments on this one, though not as in the forefront as much as Trespass. TOny Banks adds various piano passages that any classical piano lover can enjoy!
Interesting topic, and something I have thought about. Speaking of Genesis after Peter Gabriel's departure, I too really liked Wind and Wuthering and Trick of the Tail. For me, all of these years later, I find myself listening to them very infrequently, and usually skipping a couple of songs here and there. It isn't so much that they sound "dated", but more that the styling and lyrical content seems a little self-concious, and somtimes borders on being a little precious. When I listen, it seems hard to identify with any real emotions contained in the songs except for the personal memories they conjure of that time. On the other hand, I still frequently listen to the self-titled "Genesis", although there is definately a little bit of sleepy stuff on it. Still, both versions of Home by the Sea are very good, a great idea for a song I think, Mama and Silver Rainbow are other favorites. For me, the artistic zenith for Phil Collins with Genesis was on Invisible Touch. Like the self titled album, there were obviously personal relashionship issues going on in his life; apparent in many of the songs. But here, he reaches a lyrical peak. The musings and quaint allegories of the older albums are replaced by a much starker and clearly drawn slice of sadness, bitterness and even despair. The music sesitively tracks and expresses all of the emotion within the lyrics, and it makes for a very moving experience. Now, with the caveat that this is after all a later Genesis album, so there has to be a couple of dentist office sleepers, (In Too Deep, Throwing it All Away) The rest of the songs are focused and strong. For me "Domino", part one and two are the gems of the collection, full of unmasked emotion that has not been prettied up or sugar coated in any way. All of these years later, I am still moved by it.
Agree with Selling England by the Pound and Lamb Lies Down as Genesis at their best. Fly on a windshield was playing on my SB Radio this morning (random play), awesome song. Carpet Crawlers is one of my favorites.
Trick and Wind are great albums and were the two recordings that were the "least" afffected by Gabriel's departure. For me though it is the Gabriel era Genesis that I like the most. Selling and the The Lamb are my favorites with Foxtrot next. Gotta love those bass pedals.
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