Genesis is the most prominent prog rock band โ probably after Pink Floyd – at least in the 1970s. This post focuses on that period. For each of the songs you can listen to, I refer to one or more characteristics of prog rock distinguished in the previous instalment.[1]
Genesis was formed in 1967 by pupils at Charterhouse School in Godalming (Surrey). The hard core consists of Tony Banks (keyboards) and Mike Rutherford (bass) guitar have been members of the band until its disbanding in 2022. Other members include Phil Collins (1970 – 1996) drums and vocals, Peter Gabriel (1967 – 1975) vocals and Steve Hackett (1971 – 1977) guitar.
Their first tracks, melodic pop songs like ‘The silent sun‘ (From Genesis to revelation, 1968) are not a commercial success. Nevertheless, the members of the band decide to carry on. They perform regularly in small venues and work steadily on their next album, Trespass (1970), with which the band scores much better. The song ‘The knive’ (Trespass, 1970) is illustrative of the band’s transition from psychedelic rock to prog rock, evidenced by its length, complexity and beat changes, among other things. This live recording was made in 1973 at Bataclan, Paris.
Nursery cryme (1971)
Meanwhile, the next album is in the works. This new album, Nursery Cryme has a conceptual and theatrical approach. The song ‘The musical box’ (Nursery cryme, 1971) illustrates this. The lyrics of this song are macabre and surreal, which is accentuated by Peter Gabriel’s theatrical recitation, to be see here in a live recording at Shepperton Studios in London (1973). It is easy to hear that a mellotron has also been added to the instrumentation.
The story is set in Victorian Britain. Henry is accidentally decapitated by his girlfriend Cynthia while playing criquet. At home, Cynthia turns on Henry’s old music box, which unleashes the ghost of Henry as an old man, who tries to seduce Cynthia. A nurse enters the room and throws the music box against the wall, destroying Henry.
The press pays more attention to Peter Gabriel’s costuming than the music, which evokes mixed feelings among the remaining band members but is good for public interest.
Another song from this album you can listen to here illustrates the use of mythological, historical and fantasy themes. This song (length 13 minutes) ‘The fountain of Salmacis’ (Nursery Cryme, 1971) is about Hermaphroditus and the nymph Salmacis and features alternately dreamy and dramatic musical support. The group’s popularity on the European continent is steadily increasing; that in the UK lags behind.
Foxtrot (1972)
We are a year later and then Foxtrot is released. The group now falls completely for producing long songs. The suite ‘Summer’s ready’ (Foxtrot, 1972) lasts 23 minutes and consists of seven parts, ranging from serene to bombastic. You’ll find almost all the hallmarks of prog rock in it. The recording you see dates from 1973 and was filmed in various locations.
Another track on this album, ‘Watcher of the skies’ (Foxtrot, 1972) stands out for its experimentation with electronic instrumentation. The intro evokes an ‘otherworldly’ atmosphere thanks to the use of the mellotron. Listening and watching this song recalls a variety of genres: opera, rock, surrealism and drama. Gabriel appears in a different costume in each song.
Peter Gabriel wrote the lyrics. The songs together project daily experiences of two lovers about good versus evil in the Old Testament. Find short descriptions of the individual parts of the suite here.
Selling England by the pound (1973)
The album ‘Selling England by the pound’ (1973) followed another year later. In the song ‘Firth of fifth’ (Selling England by the pound, 1973), symphonic and classical influences stand out in particular: Classical piano parts and an epic guitar solo give the impression of listening to a short symphony. The following recording (without the piano part, which was omitted during live performance) was made in Rome in 2007. The song consists of three parts, of which especially the first – the piano part – is complex in terms of rhythm and tempo and uses rare time signatures, such as 13/16 and 15/16 interspersed with 2/4 measure. This song is considered one of the best examples of prog rock.
The song’s title refers to the erratic and ever-changing estuary of the River Forth, a metaphor for man’s ever-changing and unpredictable life course.
Another song on this album โThe Cinema Showโ (Selling England by the Pound, 1973) also has complicated and unusual beat changes. The recording you watch and listen to here was filmed at the Apollo theatre in Glasgow and at the New Bingley Hall in Stafford on 9 and 10 June 1976, respectively. During the first part of the recording, we are watching a silent movie. Iโam always amazed at how this kind of film plays on the chuckles.
The lamb lies down on Broadway (1974)
After internal struggles over content, the next (concept) album, ‘The lamb lies down on Broadway’, is released in 1974. Ultimately, the story is about Rael, a Puerto Rican boy living in New York City who goes on a spiritual quest to establish his freedom and identity. In the process, he encounters several bizarre characters.
Most of the album’s lyrics are written by Gabriel, but he left the music to the other members of the group. He wanted to spend more time at home because his first child, Anna was born prematurely and had health problems. The other members of the band were not happy about this. As a matter of fact, they had been annoyed for some time by Gabriel’s increasing role as singer. Gabriel himself had already concluded that a solo career would do better justice to his artistic ambitions.
‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ (1974) is the last album Peter Gabriel was involved with. During the tour to promote the album, he announced he would be leaving the band.
A trick of the tail (1976)
The remaining members set to work on the next album ‘A trick of the tail’ (1976) after the tour. Finding a replacement for Gabriel was difficult, but then it turned out that the best candidate was already a member of the band, namely Phil Collins. He would increasingly leave the drumming to others as ‘frontman’ in the following years. Virtuosity, both of individual band members and as a group, is also a hallmark of prog pop. You can hear and see that in ‘Dance on a vulcano’ (A trick of the tail, 1976). The recording was filmed in the Lyceum ballroom in 1980.
in 1977, Steve Hackett also decides to leave the group. He feels shortchanged by Tony Banks and Mike Rutherfort, who increasingly disapproves of his lyrics and compositions. The deeper cause was a growing distance between their ideas about the band’s musical direction. Banks, Rutherford and Collins opted for accessible pop-oriented music, while Hackett was unfailingly attracted to the experimental and symphonic music that is characterising Genesis until then. Hackett, meanwhile, had made his first solo album ‘Voyage of the acolyte’ (1975), which was warmly received. He too opts for a solo career in which he can realise his artistic ideas. Compare ‘Ace of wands ‘(Voyage of the acolyte, 1975) by Hackett with ‘Follow you follow me’ (…And then there were three’, 1978) by Genesis and you’ll hear what I mean.
For Steve Hackettt, this was the beginning of a career in which he would made 24(!) solo albums to this day, taking every opportunity to experiment with a variety of musical genres. Together with ex-Yes guitarist Steve Howe, he made his highest-scoring hit, ‘When the heart rules the mind‘( 1985). You can also watch and listen to a performance of ‘Firth of Fifth’ (2013), together with large orchestra at London’s Royal Festival Hall, now with the piano intro.
Genesis’ fans are disappointed with the band’s new direction, but the number of new fans compensates. A period is now dawning for Genesis, with the group releasing one high-scoring album after another: ‘Land of confusion’ (Invisible touch, 1985) and ‘I can’t dance’ (We can’t dance, 1991) and more. Watch and listen to a recording of ‘I can’t dance’ in Rome (2007) here. Unadulterated pop, but worth listening to. Also note the grand staging.
In 1996, Phil Collins decides to leave the band after 25 years to take up other projects. He would later return for short periods a few more times. In 2014, the BBC broadcasts a programme on the band’s history, ‘Together and apart’ in which Hackett also takes part. The group gives its last concert on 26 March in London.
Genesis eventually sold between 100 and 150 million albums; most of them in the post-1980 period, when the group had traded prog rock for pop.
As was the case with other prog rock groups, it took a long time for Genesis to gain respect from music critics and for the public in general to discover the group. Later, most critics changed their minds and now Genesis ranks as one of the most prominent bands of the past 50 years: ‘Ultimate Classic Rock’ summed up, “There is no denying that Genesis helped create the identity of prog-rock and made some of the genre’s most essential albums,” but continued “the group’s music gradually became less and less progressive, until the band became an outright pop act.”
Starting with the band Rush’s transition from hard rock to prog rock and from prod rock to neo-progressive rock, the next articles will look at the development of neo-progressive rock between 1975 and 1985.
[1] This post is based on an analysis of articles in Wikipedia (Eng.) and recordings on YouTube. ChatGPT was used as an aid in structuring the information.
Music: Listen, Look and Enjoy 