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Genesis (band)

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Genesis are a Grammy Award-winning English progressive rock band who formed in 1967. With approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, Genesis are one of the top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time.[1] The group's members have included Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, both of whom achieved success as solo artists and in other music ventures.

Genesis

During the 1970s and 1980s, Genesis evolved from a 60's pop band, with moody, simple guitar-driven melodies, to a progressive art rock band, with complex song structures, elaborate instrumentation, and theatrical concerts (with 23 minute songs such as "Supper's Ready" and the 1974 concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway), to a more pop oriented sound. Genesis's change of musical direction to accessible music with melodic hooks gave them their first #1 album in the United Kingdom, Duke, and their only #1 single in the United States, "Invisible Touch".

Initially fronted by Peter Gabriel, Genesis have changed personnel several times over their history. Collins took over from Gabriel after the latter's departure from the group in 1975. After over two decades of being the band's frontman, Collins left the group in 1996 and was replaced by former Stiltskin singer Ray Wilson for the 1997 album Calling All Stations. Due to the commercial failure of the album, and after three decades of activity, the band announced that they were on an indefinite hiatus.

On 18 October 2006, the BBC announced that members of Genesis, including Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, had agreed to reunite for a world tour and were exploring the possibility of recording new material.[2]

History

The beginning: 1967–1969

File:Genesis 1967 lineup.jpg
The original Genesis lineup in 1967, with Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel and Chris Stewart

The band's origin lies in the late 1960s, when founding members Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks were students at Charterhouse School. The original line-up consisted of Gabriel (vocals), Anthony Phillips (guitar), Banks (keyboards), Mike Rutherford (bass & guitar), and Chris Stewart (drums).[3]

Genesis recorded their first album, 1969's From Genesis to Revelation, after being spotted and named by Jonathan King, an alumnus of their school and a songwriter and record producer who had a hit single at the time called "Everyone's Gone to the Moon". King supposedly named the band Genesis because they were the first serious band he had worked with, or the genesis of his career. As he recalled later — "I named them Genesis because I thought it was a good name...it suggested the beginning of a new sound and a new feeling".[4]

Template:Genesis timeline The album was released by Decca Records. During the sessions, drummer Stewart left the band and was replaced by John Silver. The band recorded a series of songs reflecting the light pop style of the Bee Gees, of whom King was very fond, and King assembled these tracks into a concept album, layering on string arrangements into the music during production. The band's first single, "The Silent Sun" (Audio file "Genesis SilentSun.ogg" not found), was released in February 1968. The album sold poorly, and the band, taking advice from King, decided to try to make a proper career out of it .[5] To this day, King asserts his responsibility for the band's subsequent success. It was he who introduced them to eventual label boss Tony Stratton Smith. King still holds the rights to the songs on the From Genesis to Revelation album and has re-released the album many times, under a variety of names including In The Beginning, Where the Sour Turns To Sweet, Rock Roots: Genesis, ...And The Word Was, and most recently The Genesis of Genesis, in addition to the original title.

Genesis recruited a new drummer, John Mayhew, playing occasional gigs until landing a new deal with Charisma Records founder Tony Stratton-Smith. Through live performances the band became known for hypnotic melodies that were often dark and haunting. Phillips left the band in 1970 after the release of Trespass because of ill health and stage fright.[6] The departure of Phillips traumatised both Banks and Rutherford, as Phillips had been a founding member and a primary force behind the band turning professional. There was also doubt over whether Genesis could go on without him.[7]

Eventually, the remaining members renewed their commitment to Genesis, also deciding to fire drummer John Mayhew in the bargain. Trespass set the format for Genesis albums throughout the '70s. The album consisted of lengthy, sometimes operatic pieces and occasional very short, humorous numbers that typified the style of progressive rock of King Crimson, Yes, and Gentle Giant. Trespass included elaborate arrangements and time signature changes — key elements that continued to be featured in Genesis's subsequent albums. Another key factor in their songwriting was that they did not write pentatonically, as most bands of their time did. This was a conscious decision by the band for the years to come. Trespass featured the nine-minute "The Knife" which Gabriel, a believer in nonviolence after having been influenced by a book on Mahatma Gandhi, wrote showing "how all violent revolutions inevitably end up with a dictator in power".[6]

Phil Collins joined Genesis on 4 August 1970 after successfully impressing the other band members with his drumming skills during an audition at Gabriel's parents' house. The band continued as a four-piece before playing a few shows with guitarist Mick Barnard. As the band felt that Barnard was not up to their caliber of musicianship, they sought a proper replacement for Phillips.[7] Late in 1970, Steve Hackett, who performed in the band Quiet World, placed an advertisement for a band in Melody Maker. Hackett went to see Genesis in concert and enjoyed the type of music they were playing. The band liked the tone of the advertisement, and after a meeting at his parents' apartment, hired Hackett immediately.

Peter Gabriel-led era: 1970–1975

Collins and Hackett made their studio debut on the album Nursery Cryme (originally released November 1971), which featured the epic "The Musical Box" (Audio file "Genesis TheMusicalBox.ogg" not found) and Collins's first lead vocal performance on "For Absent Friends". Foxtrot, released in October 1972, contained what many consider to be one of the group's most accomplished works[8] — the 23-minute "Supper's Ready" (Audio file "Genesis SuppersReady.ogg" not found) and the Arthur C. Clarke-inspired "Watcher of the Skies", that solidified their reputation as songwriters and performers. Gabriel's flamboyant and theatrical stage presence, which involved numerous costume changes and surreal introductions to each song, made the band one of the most talked-about live acts in the early '70s UK rock scene.[9]

File:Genesis Group.jpg
Genesis, circa 1973, clockwise from left: Banks, Collins, Hackett, Rutherford, Gabriel

Selling England by the Pound followed in November 1973 and was well received by critics and fans.[10] According to one biographical account, Gabriel was very conscious of lyrics and references that might suggest a slant towards American audiences. He was keen to avoid this and insisted that the album carry the title Selling England by the Pound, also the title of the Labour Party manifesto at the time.[11] The album contained "Firth of Fifth" (Audio file "Genesis FirthOfFifth.ogg" not found) and "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)", songs that remained part of Genesis's repertoire in future live performances. During this period, guitarist Hackett became one of the first to use the "tapping" technique (first used in the guitar solo of "The Musical Box"), normally credited to Eddie Van Halen, and "sweep-picking", popularized in the '80s by Yngwie Malmsteen.[12] These techniques were used in the song "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight".

Genesis ventured into a more ambitious project with the double disc concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Audio file "Genesis TheLamb.ogg" not found) (1974). The album was released November 18, 1974. The story features the spiritual journey of protagonist Rael, a Puerto Rican youth in New York City, and his journey through a parallel reality. During his adventure, Rael encounters several bizarre characters such as The Lamia, borrowed from Greek mythology, and the Slippermen during some satirically twisted circumstances. Interpretation of the Lamb remains a matter of speculation as there is no official explanation of its meaning. All accounts of this album's recording say it was rushed, and that Gabriel did not have time to completely finish his lyrics. There is no known interview in which Gabriel expounds on the obscure story. The entire work was performed live on the tour after it was recorded. At one point, Gabriel appeared across the stage from a mannequin double, apparently illustrating the split personality concept. With Gabriel's immediate departure from the band after that tour, only a few songs from that album were played afterwards. Rather than the lengthy tracks featured on prior albums, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway collected many shorter tracks connected by a variety of segues. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway strained relations between members of the group, particularly Banks and Gabriel.[3] The other members of Genesis essentially wrote the music to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway without Gabriel's participation (with the exception of "Counting Out Time" and "The Carpet Crawlers"). Gabriel focused on the story and its lyrics separately from his band mates (with the exception of the song "The Light Dies Down on Broadway", written by Banks & Rutherford). Genesis embarked on a world tour promoting The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and, since this was a concept album, performed it in its entirety.

Gabriel announced his departure from Genesis in August 1975, following the tour for The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. He felt estranged from the band, and his marriage and birth of his first child added to his personal strain. Gabriel explained his departure in a letter to fans entitled Out, Angels Out:

The vehicle we had built as a co-op to serve our songwriting became our master and had cooped us up inside the success we had wanted. It affected the attitudes and the spirit of the whole band. The music had not dried up and I still respect the other musicians, but our roles had set in hard.[13]

Gabriel's first solo album (Peter Gabriel, 1977) featured the hit single "Solsbury Hill", an allegory about his departure from Genesis.

During their live performances Genesis pioneered the use of lasers and other light effects; most of these were custom built by a Dutchman named Theo Botschuijver. A special handhold unit channeled laser light and allowed Gabriel to sweep the audience with various light effects.

Phil Collins era: 1976–1996

File:Genesis Live in Buffalo 1983.jpeg
Phil Collins performing "That's All" in Buffalo, NY, 1983. Also visible are Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks and Daryl Stuermer.

The group began auditioning lead singers without a clear idea about the kind of singer they were looking for, although they knew that they did not want a voice too dissimilar from Gabriel's. Phil Collins, whose backing vocals had featured previously in the Genesis sound of the Gabriel era, was given the job of coaching prospective replacements. In a later interview, Collins stated, "I really wanted to have a crack at it...[b]ut I wasn't about to ask. I wanted someone to ask me"[14]. Eventually, Genesis settled with Collins as their new lead singer, and began recording their first post-Gabriel album.

Genesis's first post-Gabriel album, A Trick of the Tail 1976), was well received, outselling all previous Genesis albums. The album featured a markedly clearer production than previous albums, which came courtesy of new producer David Hentschel, who had previously served as engineer on Nursery Cryme. Another influential factor was that Collins, in the opinion of some, sounded "more like Gabriel than Gabriel did".[15] The album featured "Ripples", "Dance on a Volcano" (Audio file "Danceogg.ogg" not found) and "Entangled". Despite the success of Trick of the Tail, the group remained concerned with their live shows considering Gabriel's elaborate performances. Collins felt confident that he could handle live vocal duties, but definitely needed another drummer while he sang. The job was offered to Queen's Roger Taylor,[16] who turned it down. Bill Bruford, drummer for Yes and King Crimson, offered to drum while Collins attended to vocal duties — a suggestion that was palatable to the band.[17]

Bruford joined as a session musician on tour in 1976. For their tours starting in 1977, the jazz fusion-trained Chester Thompson, a veteran of Weather Report and Frank Zappa, took over live drumming duties to allow Collins to concentrate on vocals. Collins' approach to live Genesis shows differed from the more theatrical performances of Gabriel, and his interpretations of prior songs were lighter and subtler. Years later, Gabriel told Collins at the 1982 Milton Keynes reunion show that Collins sang the songs better than Peter, but never quite like him.[18] Also in 1976, Genesis recorded Wind & Wuthering, released in December 1976; this was the first of two Genesis albums to be recorded at the Relight Studios in Hilvarenbeek, the Netherlands.[3] The album got its name from Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights, whose last lines — "how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth" also inspired the names of the seventh and eighth tracks of the album.[19] The album featured "Blood on the Rooftops" and "Afterglow" (Audio file "Genesis Afterglow.ogg" not found), as well as the complex multi-part suite "One for the Vine". The animated film B.C. Rock featured bits of "Afterglow". The band signed with a new manager Tony Smith, and all their songs were thereafter published through his company, Hit & Run Music Publishing.

Hackett's departure

Guitarist Steve Hackett had become increasingly disenchanted with the band by the time Wind & Wuthering was released.[20] He became the first band member to record a solo album. The freedom he experienced during the making of Voyage of the Acolyte (1975) led him to feel constricted at what he regarded as the confines of Genesis. Hackett wanted a quarter of the Wind & Wuthering album to be given over to his own material, which, according to Collins, was "a dumb way to work in a band context".[21] The rest of the band tried to placate him by giving extra songwriting credits on the two instrumental tracks "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers..."/"...In That Quiet Earth" (originally intended to be a single track, composition credit to all four band members), but the Hackett-composed "Blood on the Rooftops" was never performed live by the band and his composition "Please Don't Touch" was rejected for inclusion on the LP, to be replaced by the three-minute instrumental "Wot Gorilla?". Following the release of the Spot the Pigeon E.P. (1977), consisting of extra tracks from the Wind & Wuthering sessions, Hackett left the band.

The Seconds Out live album of the 1977 tour became Hackett's final release with Genesis. Rutherford took over his guitar duties in the studio and would alternate guitar and bass duties with session musician Daryl Stuermer for live performances. The group continued as a trio, a fact reflected in the title of their 1978 album ...And Then There Were Three.... This album began another change away from 10-minute-plus progressive epics and towards shorter, more radio-friendly tracks. It yielded their first American radio hit, "Follow You, Follow Me" (Audio file "Genesis FollowYouFollowMe.ogg" not found). The song's popularity caused ...And Then There Were Three... to be the band's first U.S. Gold selling album.

A change in musical direction

In 1979, Genesis almost lost Collins as he moved to Vancouver, Canada in an attempt to save his first marriage. However, two months and a divorce later, Collins returned to the UK and immersed himself in Duke (1980). He later claimed that his marriage breakup accelerated his growth as a songwriter, and Duke became the first Genesis album with which he pulled equal songwriting weight with Banks and Rutherford. While the previous album And Then There Were Three was the initial effort by the band to write shorter and concise songs, Duke started the real transition from the sounds and concepts that identified Genesis in the 1970s towards their 1980s mega-hit pop leanings.

The use of the drum machine was a consistent element in forthcoming Genesis albums as well as in Collins' solo albums. (The first album on which he used a drum machine was the 1979 Brand X album Product, on the song "Wal to Wal". The first Genesis song to feature a drum machine was the Duke track "Duchess".) The more commercial Duke was well received by the mainstream media and was Genesis's first UK number one album, and the tracks "Misunderstanding" (Audio file "Genesis Misunderstanding.ogg" not found) and "Turn It On Again" became two of the band's stand-bys.

Genesis followed Duke with 1981's minimalist Abacab, which featured horn and wind instruments and a collaboration with Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) on the track "No Reply at All" (Audio file "Genesis NoReplyAtAll.ogg" not found). Much of the rehearsing for Abacab was done in the newly-built Genesis studio — The Farm, in Surrey, England, where all four of Genesis's subsequent albums were recorded.

Abacab also featured a more forceful live drum sound from Collins, including the use of gated reverb where the live (or artificially reverberated) sound is relayed through a noise gate set to rapidly cut off the sound when it reaches a particular threshold volume. This results in a powerful "live" sounding yet very controlled drum sound. This distinctive sound was originally developed by Peter Gabriel, Collins and co-producer/engineer Hugh Padgham when Collins was recording the backing track for "Intruder", the first song on Gabriel's 1980 solo album. This, as well as Padgham's production, had been apparent on Face Value (1981), Collins' debut solo album. The "gated" drum sound would become an audio trademark of future Genesis and Collins albums.

"Invisible Touch" and "The Way We Walk" tour

 
Cover of the "Land of Confusion" single. The cover is inspired from the Beatles' album With the Beatles. The guitar riff accompanying the song owes its debt to The Who's Pete Townshend — subtly acknowledged in the line "my generation will put it right".[22]

In 1982, the band released the double live album Three Sides Live. The U.S. version of this album had three sides of live material (hence the album's title) plus one side of studio tracks. The studio side included the song "Paperlate" (Audio file "Genesis Paperlate.ogg" not found), again featuring the EWF horn section. In the UK, the three songs on the "Paperlate" side of the album had previously been released on the EP 3 X 3. This enabled the UK version of Three Sides Live to also contain further live material, albeit from earlier tours. The year was capped with Genesis performing in the company of Gabriel and Hackett under the name "Six of the Best" for a one-off concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl. The concert was hastily put together to help raise money for Gabriel's WOMAD project, which was suffering from considerable financial hardship.[23]

The eponymous Genesis (1983) album (sometimes referred to as "Shapes" for the geometric shapes on its cover) was their third consecutive number 1 album in the UK. The album featured radio friendly pieces such as "Mama" (Audio file "Genesis Mama.ogg" not found) and "That's All". Genesis also re-introduced the band's flair for lengthy pieces in "Home by the Sea", which did particularly well in Asia for its use of the pentatonic scale. The album track "Just a Job to Do" became the theme song of the 1985 ABC detective drama The Insiders.

Genesis released their highest-selling album, Invisible Touch (1986), at the height of Collins' popularity as a solo artist. The album yielded five U.S. Top 5 singles, "Throwing it All Away", "In Too Deep", "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", "Land of Confusion" (Audio file "Genesis LandOfConfusion.ogg" not found) and "Invisible Touch" (Audio file "Genesis InvisibleTouch.ogg" not found). The title track went to #1 in the United States, the only Genesis song to do so (despite only climbing to #15 in the UK). In 1987, Genesis became the first band to sell out four consecutive nights at Wembley Stadium.[24] Genesis were the first band to use Vari*Lite technology,[25] and the Prism sound system, all of which are now standard features of arena rock concerts.

 
Genesis performing "Land of Confusion" in Knebworth, England (2 August 1992)

Earlier that year, Collins saw a spoof of himself on Spitting Image, a satirical British television show that featured politicians and celebrities in puppet form. Impressed with the representation, Collins and Genesis commissioned the show's creators, Peter Fluck and Roger Law, to work on the video for "Land of Confusion". The video was a sarcastic commentary on the Cold War, played to the perception of each coalition's leaders as being "trigger happy" with the nuclear "button". As well as puppet versions of Banks, Collins and Rutherford, the video also showed Ronald Reagan dressed as Superman. It was nominated for the MTV "Video of the Year", losing to Gabriel's "Sledgehammer".

"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was used in a Michelob commercial (as was Collins' "In the Air Tonight"), while "In Too Deep" was featured in the film Mona Lisa.[19] The instrumental "The Brazilian" was used in the animated movie When the Wind Blows (whose score was written by Roger Waters).

In 1988, at the Princes Trust concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel played live together for the first time since 1982. Collins was the drummer for the house band and Gabriel performed "Sledgehammer" that night. It is the last time the two Genesis frontmen have publicly played together live.

After a hiatus of five years, Genesis reconvened to release We Can't Dance in 1991 — Collins' last studio album with the group. The album featured the successful singles "Jesus He Knows Me", "I Can't Dance", "No Son of Mine" (Audio file "Genesis NoSonOfMine.ogg" not found), "Hold on My Heart", "Tell Me Why" and "Never a Time" (U.S. release only) as well as lengthy pieces such as "Driving the Last Spike" and "Fading Lights". The album also included "Since I Lost You", which Collins wrote in memorial of the death of Eric Clapton's son, Conor.

After serving Genesis for over 25 years, Collins left the band in March 1996, stating:

Having been in Genesis for 25 years, I felt it time to change direction in my musical life. For me now, it will be music for movies, some jazz projects, and of course my solo career. I wish the guys in Genesis all the very best in their future. We remain the best of friends.[26]

Ray Wilson Era: 1997–1998

 
The Calling All Stations album was Genesis's first without Phil Collins in 27 years.

Rutherford and Banks elected to go on, but this required more than one new member. Indeed, Genesis not only lost Phil Collins at this time, but also live musicians Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson. The band approached Stuermer, who was touring with Collins. Thompson inquired regarding the vacant drum stool, but upon demanding full-band membership, ended his 19-year association with the band. Eventually, drumming duties were shared by Nir Zidkyahu, an Israeli session drummer who had played with Hidden Persuaders, and Nick D'Virgilio from the progressive rock band Spock's Beard.[6] The difference in the two play styles was noticeable, as D'Virgilio played softer, subtle rhythms in comparison to Zidkyahu's more bombastic playing. Anthony Drennan, who had played with Paul Brady and The Corrs, was recruited as a session guitarist. The new lead singer of Genesis would be ex-Stiltskin singer Ray Wilson. Other considered performers included Paul Carrack from Rutherford's Mike and the Mechanics, Francis Dunnery (ex- It Bites) to ex-Marillion vocalist (and two-time Banks collaborator) Fish[27] to Gabriel. Kevin Gilbert was offered an audition just before he died tragically.[28] According to producer Nick Davis, the only other serious candidate was David Langdon, who had never sung with a band before; hence, Wilson got the job.[29]

1997s Calling All Stations sold well in Europe, with the track "Congo" (Audio file "Genesis Congo.ogg" not found) peaking at UK# 29. However, the album failed in America without reaching the Billboard Top 50. Genesis canceled a planned American tour due to the album's commercial failure.

Genesis disbanded, at least temporarily, but many of the members remained in regular contact. The 1971–75 lineup of Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett and Rutherford recorded a new version of "The Carpet Crawlers" (Audio file "Genesis CarpetCrawl.ogg" not found), done over many separate sessions, for Turn It on Again: The Hits. Collins, Banks and Rutherford performed an acoustic rendition of "I Can't Dance" at the Music Managers Forum in honor of their manager Tony Smith in 2000.[30] Most of the original members were involved in the two Archive boxed-set compilations.

"Turn It On Again": 2006–

After much speculation regarding a reunion, Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford announced the "Turn It On Again" reunion tour on 7 November, 2006, nearly 40 years after the band were first formed. Members of the band confirmed that they would embark on the first leg of the tour in Europe. The Genesis Turn It On Again Tour takes in 12 countries starting in Helsinki, Finland in June 2007 and ending in Rome, Italy in July. The tour would then follow that up with a 20-date American tour. In a statement released to the press, the band stated that songs dating back to 1973 would be on the tour setlist (though it is worth noting that songs older than that had been played on the band's last few tours, at least in part). The setlist would include some longer instrumental passages and well-known pop hits —the band also stated the setlist would not include any songs from Calling All Stations.

Originally, Collins, Banks and Rutherford wanted to reunite as a five-some with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett and play The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway live. Peter Gabriel had reportedly agreed in principle to perform, but could not commit to a date. "Peter is a little over-cautious about going back to something which fundamentally is fun", Collins said.[31] Hackett also declined participation but still maintains good relations with the rest of the band. A short note expressing his good wishes for the reunion tour currently appears on his Web site.[32]

The band held a press conference in New York City on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 at noon EST to announce the details of the North American leg of the Turn it On Again reunion tour which will begin in September and run through into October.

The band and long-time producer, Nick Davis, are re-releasing their back catalogue in three batches throughout 2007. The batches consist of each album (from Trespass to Calling All Stations) in a boxset-style release. Each album will be a double-disc set containing a multi-channel hybrid Super Audio CD and a DVD-Video with DTS 96/24 and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. The DVD will have extras including promo videos and new interviews talking about the period of each album release. The Hybrid SACDs will be standard CDs for the US and Canada and will be issued as box sets starting with Genesis : 1976-1981 on April 24.

Inspiration and influences

A wide range of music ranging from classical music to mainstream rock and jazz influenced Genesis. Banks drew his influences from Alan Price of The Animals, who, according to Banks, was "[t]he first person who made me aware of the organ in a rock context".[33] Other organists included Procol Harum's Matthew Fisher and Keith Emerson of The Nice (and later Emerson, Lake and Palmer, although by that time not an influence). Classical influences include Rachmaninov, Ravel, Mahler and Shostakovich.

Many of their contemporaries and immediate predecessors — The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Simon and Garfunkel — affected the band's music. Collins has cited Buddy Rich and the jazz outfit The Mahavishnu Orchestra, while Gabriel's early career with Genesis was influenced by the music of Nina Simone and King Crimson.[34] Musical arrangements on the band's first album From Genesis to Revelation were influenced by the works of The Moody Blues, Family, and the Bee Gees as Jonathan King was a self-professed admirer of their music. Though similar to the extent that both Gabriel and David Bowie relied on on-stage theatrical performances, neither claimed the other to be an influence.[35]

As a group that influenced the growth of the progressive rock genre, Genesis have been cited as an influence for many progressive rock groups such as Dream Theater, Camel and Kansas. Several Genesis tribute bands such as Re-Genesis, The Musical Box and In The Cage routinely perform Genesis's older material from the Peter Gabriel era. Incidentally, Collins became the first artist to cover a Genesis song — "Behind The Lines", which he included as the third track of Face Value.

Past members of Genesis have also covered Genesis material live on solo shows — Gabriel played "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" and "Back in NYC" while Hackett has performed "In That Quiet Earth", "Los Endos", "Horizons"[19] and "Blood On The Rooftops". Hackett has also performed "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" on solo tours and on tour with his short lived supergroup GTR in 1986. Ray Wilson covered the greatest amount of Genesis songs during his solo concerts. On his two solo live albums Live and Life and Acoustic one can find the Genesis songs "Carpet Crawlers", "Follow You Follow me", "I Can't Dance", "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "No Son of Mine", "Shipwrecked" and "Mama". Surprisingly he also interpreted two solo career songs of his two predecessors in Genesis as he sang "In the Air Tonight" (Collins) and "Biko" (Gabriel). Jeff Buckley reworked "Back in NYC" on the posthumously released 1998 Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. The Swedish death metal band In Flames covered "Land of Confusion" on Trigger (EP), as did Disturbed on their 2005 album Ten Thousand Fists. Disco-pop band Alcazar, also from Sweden, have covered parts of "Land of Confusion in their song "This is the world we live in".


Album cover art

 
The Foxtrot cover was designed by Paul Whitehead.

Genesis's album covers incorporated complex and intricate art to reflect the themes presented in their albums. Their first album, From Genesis to Revelation was a plain black album cover with Genesis written in a green gothic typeface on the top left of the cover. The album covers of this album have changed with its numerous re-releases. Genesis's three subsequent album covers were developed by popular Charisma Records graphic artist Paul Whitehead, who also developed the Charisma "Mad Hatter" logo. The Foxtrot album cover is popular among Genesis fans; the front cover depicts a feminine figure in a red dress with the head of a fox. Whitehead stated in an interview that Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" was an inspiration for the character he created.[36] After Whitehead moved to Los Angeles, Genesis signed with the reputed Hipgnosis, whose artists had created high profile album covers for Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy. Hipgnosis's first Genesis album cover was for The Lamb, which for the first time in Genesis's history featured a male model. The model, credited simply as "Omar" on the album sleeve, portrayed the The Lamb protagonist "Rael".

Through the rest of the 1970s, various Hipgnosis artists, of whom Colin Elgie contributed heavily, designed all Genesis studio albums. The Trick of the Tail album cover was representative of many of the characters in the album — the robber from "Robbery, Assault and Battery", the beast from the title track and a metaphoric image of old age reminiscing about youth from the song "Ripples". Beginning with Duke, Genesis albums featured caricatures designed by Bill Smith Studios. Genesis's highest-selling album Invisible Touch featured the artwork of Assorted Images which had previously designed album covers for Duran Duran and Culture Club. The We Can't Dance cover features the work of Felicity Bowers — the cover is reminiscent of Wind & Wuthering, and is presented in hazy watercolour. The Calling All Stations and the compilation Turn it on Again: The Hits covers were designed by Wherefore Art?.

Criticism

Genesis's progressive rock roots made them unlike many of their rock contemporaries such as Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. Indeed, one article in Q Magazine speaks of a 1977 Ray Lowry cartoon that depicted an arena of "either asleep, moribund,[or] comatose" fans watching Genesis perform live, with the band's name emblazoned on a banner above the stage reading "GENESNOOZE".[37] Much of the criticism surrounding the band in the 1970s was centered around progressive rock in general, which many dismissed as "intellectual" or "pretentious". Gabriel's theatrics appeared unpalatable to mainstream rock fans as well as many Genesis fans.[38] This was exemplified during live performances of Gabriel's last Genesis album, The Lamb, during which he appeared on stage as various characters in his storyline such as the Slipperman. The storyline for The Lamb, which was independently developed by Gabriel, proved hard to understand and accept and caused friction within the band.[3] Collins recalled later, "He'd be in a Slipperman costume trying to get a mike anywhere near his throat, and be out of breath - all twisted up. Towards the end I felt the singing wasn't really being heard; the songs weren't really being heard".[7] Sometimes, criticism of Genesis crossed into literature and popular culture; Nick Hornby's High Fidelity puts the band in a list of five bands who should be shot.

Genesis's transition from playing lengthy complex material to more compact, radio friendly material was not well received by many critics; one particular review of ...And Then There Were Three... read, "[i]n short, this contemptible opus is but the palest shadow of the group's earlier accomplishments. Not only is the damage irreversible, it's been widely endorsed: ...And Then There Were Three... is Genesis's first U.S. gold record".[39] Collins himself has often been criticized for Genesis's transformation from a progressive rock outfit to a mainstream rock / pop band, playing much the same type of music that Collins did as a solo artist. "I don't feel we've bastardised the way we were", Collins said in an interview with Music Express. "On a generous day I'll blame me for the change, but I just think it is us growing up, listening to different things".[40]

Discography

Main article: Genesis discography

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Phil Collins". atlanticrecords.com. Retrieved on 15 March, 2007.
  2. ^ "Rockers Genesis plan reunion tour". bbc.co.uk, 18 October, 2006. Retrieved on 15 March, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d Welch, Cris. The Complete Guide to the Music of Genesis. London: Omnibus Press. 1995 Cite error: The named reference "completeguide" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Tracy, John. "And The Word Was ... GENESIS" genesis-path.net. Retrieved on 15 March, 2007.
  5. ^ King, Jonathan. "In the Beginning". From Genesis to Revelation (sleeve notes). 1993 release
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  8. ^ Welch (1995), p. 21
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  12. ^ Alspach, Steve. "Interview with Steve Hackett". Music Street Journal, 2002. Retrieved on 23 March, 2007.
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  14. ^ "Genesis Archive #2". Gelring Limited. Atlantic Recording Corporation. 2000
  15. ^ "A Father's Love". Golden Slumbers 2005. Retrieved on 23 March, 2007.
  16. ^ Cargill Erin, Cargill, Pieter. "1975-03-XX - Circus - Review of Queen's Sheer Heart Attack". queenarchives.com. Retrieved on 23 March, 2007.
  17. ^ "An interview with Bill Bruford". World of Genesis.com. Retrieved on 23 March, 2007.
  18. ^ Genesis. Inside Genesis 1975-1980. "Classic Rock Legends", 2004
  19. ^ a b c McMahan, p. 371 Cite error: The named reference "scottmcmahon" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  20. ^ "Steve Hackett Interview"
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  37. ^ Maconie, Stuart. ""Genesis: The Loathed and Loved"". Q Magazine, December 1994. Retrieved on 23 March, 2007.
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  40. ^ "Phil Collins Interviews". "Musical Express", 1990. Retrieved on 23 March, 2007.


 
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