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Genesis: LIVE Review

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 10 May 2007 04:39 (A review of Genesis Live [Definitive Edition Remaster])

Genesis Live is the first live album released by progressive rock group Genesis. The band in fact had no plans, at this time, to release a live album, but the decision was made on the part of their label, Charisma Records, to release Genesis Live as a budget-priced title to mark time while the band recorded the album Selling England by the Pound in mid-1973. The result became a boom for Genesis' most devoted fans, as this album represented the only legitimately released concert recording of the band (with Peter Gabriel on vocals) for 25 years.

The tracks on the album were recorded at De Montfort Hall, Leicester, on 25 February 1973 (except for "Return of the Giant Hogweed", recorded in Manchester on the previous day), when the band was touring in support of their Foxtrot album. A handful of early radio promotional double sets pressed on an extremely limited basis by dutch Philips Records exist, which include the epic-length "Supper's Ready", the band's signature live song from this period. Ultimately, the track was omitted and the album was released as a single LP. Despite this, the cover art still depicts a performance of "Supper's Ready". Genesis never officially released a live recording of "Supper's Ready" from the Foxtrot tour, but a recording of the song from the following tour finally made an appearance on the 1998 4-CD boxed set, Genesis Archive 1967-75. However, this shouodn't be considered a genuine archive recording since Peter Gabriel re-recorded vocals before this release, making it an extra rarity among the collectors' vaults as a variation of the legendary performances of April 21, 1974, at the University Sports Centre in Montreal.

A digitally remastered version was released on CD in 1994 on Virgin Records in Europe and on Atlantic Records in the US and Canada.

Track Listing:

All songs by Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel/Steve Hackett/Mike Rutherford except "The Knife", by Tony Banks/Peter Gabriel/Anthony Phillips/Mike Rutherford. The second guitar solo in "The Knife" has been adapted by Steve Hackett, and the drum parts differ from the original version, a change probably made by Phil Collins.

1. Watcher Of The Skies
2. Get 'Em Out By Friday
3. The Return Of The Giant Hogweed
4. The Musical Box
5. The Knife




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Supper's Ready Review:

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 9 May 2007 04:52 (A review of Foxtrot)

Supper's Ready is a song by the band Genesis. A recorded version appeared on their 1972 album Foxtrot, and the band performed the song regularly on stage for several years following this. Live versions appear on the albums Seconds Out (recorded in 1977) and the compilation Genesis Archive 1967-75 (recorded in 1973).

Nearly 23 minutes in length, the song could be described as a medley of seven separate shorter songs, although some musical and lyrical themes do re-appear throughout. True to some main tenets of progressive rock, the song undergoes multiple changes in time signature, key signature, Leitmotif, instrumentation, and mood. Even as such, the song's musical structure remains today to be quite avant-garde. The song's writing is credited jointly to the whole band (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford). In various interviews, Banks mentioned that he composed several of the musical progressions whilst still a university student; Gabriel authored most or all of the lyrical content; Collins apparently contributed much to the arrangements and segués from one section to another.

The song has been highly regarded by fans for its epic nature and cathartic climax, with Gabriel in particular delivering an emotionally charged vocal performance at the close of the song. Referring in part to the song's lyrical depiction of a struggle between good and evil, Gabriel has been quoted as saying he felt he was "literally singing for his life" in the recording studio - however in contrast Hackett is said to have responded to a fan who enthused "Steve, I actually saw God at the end!" with the rather more down-to-earth "Well, I was just trying to get the notes right".

"Supper's Ready" may be considered a good example of the long, multipart songs often recorded by progressive rock bands of that era.

The various sections of the song are detailed below:

"Lover's Leap"

This section harks backs to the band's folky roots, featuring a gentle arpeggiated guitar backing (Hackett, Banks and Rutherford all playing 12-string guitars, soft electric piano (Hohner pianet), bass pedals, cello and flute, and a section with folky three part vocal harmonies (which omit the third note of the chord). There are no drums. Lyrically it mingles imagery of a man returning home after a long time to be greeted by his lover, and mention of supernatural imagery ("six saintly shrouded men"), which Gabriel claims relate to a genuine supernatural experience which occurred with himself, his wife Jill and producer John Anthony.

"The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man"

This section sees Banks switch to Hammond organ, and Collins entering on drums. When performing the song live, Gabriel would don a "crown of thorns" costume at this point.

"Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men"

This section is much more dynamic than the previous two, with lively drums, a strong elegiac lead electric guitar solo from Hackett, and a lot of interplay between this guitar and the organ (including a section with fast organ and guitar arpeggios, Hackett employing the "tapping" style of playing). The lyrics refer to a battle of some sort, presumably involving Ikhnaton (Akhenaton).

"How Dare I Be So Beautiful?"

This is a slow and gentle section, the only instrumentation being treated acoustic piano chords, each chord being faded-in on the recording, thus losing the piano's characteristic attack and sounding more like an organ. The title is a catchphrase used by the band's early music-business contact, Jonathan King. The lyrics deal with the aftermath of the preceding battle, and referring to the Greek myth of Narcissus, who turned into a flower.

"Willow Farm"

Live in concert, this section provided what is perhaps one of Gabriel's most iconic moments - the lyrics commence with the question "A Flower?", which would see Gabriel appear in his "flower mask" (by Gabriel's own admission, partly inspired by the BBC children's programme The Flowerpot Men.) Musically, this section is somewhat bizarre, featuring amongst other things: vaudeville-style sections, the Mellotron Mark II's "combined brass" tape set, sped-up vocals, and musique concrete noises of trains and explosions. Lyrically, it has a Python-esque quality, dealing with elements of the absurd in the English psyche, mentioning Winston Churchill, dressing in drag, and numerous elements of word play, boarding schools and agricultural depravity. This could also be attributed to chaos in aftermath of the battle, proceeding the apocalypse, where the "12,000" are saved and the saints come back from the dead. The angels open the seven seals to symbolize the rapture.

At this point there is an unrelated interlude, not definitely belonging to either "Willow Farm" or the following "Apocalypse In 9/8", with bass pedal, electric guitar, organ and mellotron drones, followed by a reprise of a melody from the start of "Ikhnaton and Itsacon…" on acoustic guitar, flute and oboe.

"Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)"

At this point, the drums enter, with the rhythm section of Collins, Hackett and Rutherford striking out a pattern using the unusual metre of 9 beats to the bar. Over this, Gabriel sings lyrics filled with apocalyptic imagery akin to the Book of Revelation, alternating with a complex organ solo from Banks (played in 4/4 against the 9/8 rhythm section), then switching to a climactic vocal from Gabriel, and the mellotron "three violins" tape set. In live performances, during the organ solo, Gabriel would don a bizarre "Magog" outfit of geometrical head-dress (which can be seen on the cover of the band's Genesis Live album).

"As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)"

"Apocalypse" segués into this part via a slower section which reprises the lyrics from "Lover's Leap" in combination with the chord progression from "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man", backed by a pressed snare drum roll and tubular bells. As this reaches a peak, during live shows, Gabriel would let off a flash charge, discarding his Magog costume to reveal himself in shining white apparel. He would then perform a maneuver with a fluorescent blacklight tube as though it were a sword, or perhaps some symbol of holiness. During one gig, he infamously attempted flying on a kirby wire, and was nearly strangled. From this point to the end, drums, deep bass pedals and mellotron brass are present, Gabriel singing Blakean lyrics which reference Jerusalem and the Second Coming of Christ with allusions to the biblical Revelation 19: 17 ("I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, "Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God."), fading out on overdubbing cascading lead electric guitar parts from Hackett. On the original recording this section is in the key of A, but due to Gabriel's inability to properly recreate the same vocal performance onstage due to either hoarseness or tiredness, the band regularly had to change the key to G.

















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Foxtrot Review:

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 9 May 2007 04:38 (A review of Foxtrot)

Foxtrot is the fourth studio album by British progressive rock band Genesis and the second from the "classic" lineup of Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, and Steve Hackett.

The album was recorded and released in 1972 as the band's career quickly gained momentum. Foxtrot was also Genesis' first album to enter the UK charts, reaching # 12 and paving the way for a long and successful chart career for the band. Still, it failed to reach the US charts, as their contemporaries, Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Jethro Tull, were more popular at the time.

Both "Watcher of the Skies" and "Supper's Ready" rank among some of the band's most beloved works, and became live favorites. "Watcher of the Skies" and "Get 'Em Out by Friday" appeared on 1973's Genesis Live, while "Supper's Ready" was omitted. Live versions of that track did appear on 1977's Seconds Out (with Phil Collins on vocals), as well as the 1998 box set Genesis Archive 1967-75.

"Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is based on the legend of King Canute, who supposedly ordered the seas to retreat to mock the sycophancy of his followers. An early, longer version of the song was called "Bye Bye Johnny".

A digitally remastered version was released on CD in 1994 on Virgin Records in Europe and on Atlantic Records in the US and Canada. The remastered CD features lyrics to all of the songs in addition to the original album artwork.

A SACD / DVD double disc set (including new 5.1 and Stereo mixes) is planned for release in late 2007/early 2008.

SOUND:

With Trespass and Nursery Cryme as warmups, Foxtrot was the album that finally showed the full promise of Genesis as a progressive rock band. Book-ended by the Arthur C. Clarke-inspired "Watcher of the Skies" and the 23-minute "Supper's Ready", Foxtrot's sound shares much with Nursery Cryme while demonstrating a marked improvement in terms of songwriting, musicianship, and overall production. Rutherford made more prominent use of his bass pedals, for example adding great slabs of bass to the middle section of "Can-utility and the Coastliners", and using them as the main bass instrument for most of "Supper's Ready". Banks' mellotron intro to "Watcher of the Skies" is one of the most celebrated uses of the instrument in rock music.




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Track listing:

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 9 May 2007 04:33 (A review of Foxtrot)

1. Watcher of the Skies
2. Time Table
3. Get 'Em Out by Friday
4. Can-Utility and the Coastliners
5. Horizon's (Hackett)
6. Supper's Ready:
(I) Lover's Leap
(II) The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man
(III) Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men
(IV) How Dare I Be So Beautiful?
(V) Willow Farm
(VI) Apocalypse in 9/8 (co-starring the delicious talents of Gabble Ratchet)
(VII) As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)

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The Musical Box Review:

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 9 May 2007 04:29 (A review of Nursery Cryme)

"The Musical Box" is one of the most famous songs by progressive rock band Genesis and appears on the album Nursery Cryme of 1971. It has acquired the status of one of the band's signature tunes from their progressive rock-era and featured in their live repertoire right up to Phil Collins' departure after the We Can't Dance tour in 1992. Being the opening track on Nursery Cryme, the first album the band made after Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett's joining, the song is to all intents and purposes, the first ever Genesis song of what many regard as the 'classic' lineup of Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute) Mike Rutherford (bass), Tony Banks (keyboards), Phil Collins (drums, percussion) and Steve Hackett, the latter two having replaced John Mayhew and Anthony Phillips respectively. "The Musical Box" is a story with Victorian overtones and was indeed presented as a Victorian fairy story.

The song itself is a ten minute epic touching on themes of death, reincarnation and lust. The song was based on a young girl, Cynthia, who killed Henry by removing his head with a croquet mallet while playing a game. The story of the song begins with Cynthia discovering Henry's musical box that included the figure "Old King Cole" when she opened it. Cynthia saw the lifetime of desires go by as Henry aged with nothing but a child's mind and vision. Henry was attempting to have Cynthia pursue his romantic desire when she threw the musical box at the elderly looking child and destroyed them both. (This story can be found in the inside booklet of the Nursery Cryme album.) The album cover is also a depiction of this song and story. The figure holds a croquet mallet and there is hoop visible close by and a head is just about visible on the ground.

The climax to the song concerns itself with Henry's feelings towards Cynthia, representing his lustful view of her, shown no better than the words 'She's a lady, she is mine!' and then just after when Gabriel sings, 'Why don't you touch me? Touch me, NOW, NOW, NOW, NOW!' In live performances, Peter Gabriel would don an "old man" mask for the finale and creepy lighting would be used each time he shouted "NOW!" At the end of the song the old man would die.



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Track Listing

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 9 May 2007 04:20 (A review of From Genesis to Revelation)

1. Where The Sour Turns So Sweet
2. In The Beginning
3. Fireside Song
4. The Serpent
5. Am I Very Wrong?
6. In The Wilderness
7. The Conqueror
8. In Hiding
9. One Day
10. Window
11. In Limbo
12. Silent Sun
13. A Place To Call My Own
14. A Winter's Tale
15. One Eyed Hound
16. That's Me
17. Silent Sun (single version)


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Silent Sun Review:

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 9 May 2007 04:18 (A review of From Genesis to Revelation)

Silent Sun is the premier single by English rock band Genesis from their debut album, From Genesis to Revelation. The song is a fusion of folk rock and pop rock. The heavy use of orchestral strings and the inclusion of "baby" lyrics make this song a far cry from the progressive music that would follow on Genesis' next album, Trespass. The song, like most of From Genesis to Revelation, has been almost ignored by the band, as it has not appeared on any Genesis compilation or live album.

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From Genesis To Revelation Review:

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 9 May 2007 04:15 (A review of From Genesis to Revelation)

From Genesis to Revelation was the first album by Genesis, released in March 1969 on Decca Records in England (London Records in North America). It was produced by Jonathan King, the man who discovered them back in 1967 while the members of Genesis were pupils at Charterhouse School, King's alma mater as well.

Upon their inception in early 1967, Genesis originally consisted of Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Anthony Phillips, sans a drummer. Once one of their demo tapes caught the attention of Jonathan King, he took them under his wing and - with the addition of schoolmate Chris Stewart on drums - recorded "The Silent Sun" as their first single. It was later described by the band as a "Bee Gees pastiche" to win King's approval. Its February 1968 release on Decca Records - where The Rolling Stones were contracted at the time - was not a commercial success. Neither was the follow-up "A Winter's Tale" three months later. Undeterred, King decided that Genesis would be best heard on LP. After replacing Chris Stewart with John Silver on drums, Genesis' producer had them compose an album's worth of songs loosely based on the Bible. The album was cut in August 1968 - while the boys were on school holidays - and later overdubbed with strings and horns, much to the band's chagrin. When it was recorded, the ages of the band members ranged from 16 to 18, and none of them considered themselves proficient musicians at the time, with hardly any studio experience.

From Genesis To Revelation was issued several months later in a black sleeve with its title scribed in gothic gold on the top lefthand side. With little else to go by, the record shops stacked the LP in the religious sections and it was consequently impossible to find. Its initial sales tally was 600 copies (compared with the 20+ million worldwide sales of Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance roughly 20 years later). However, once the band began achieving worldwide success, From Genesis To Revelation briefly dented the US charts in 1974, peaking at #170.

Other than being part of the album title, the band's name was omitted from the sleeve because Decca had recently discovered an obscure American act also calling itself Genesis, and asked the band to consider changing its name to avoid confusion. Needless to say, King declined. The American "Genesis" in question was probably the LA-based one that released an LP called In The Beginning on the Mercury label in 1968.

Genesis soon split with both Decca and Jonathan King, preferring to strike out on their own musical terms. Although King had more experience and was aiming to present Genesis in a marketable way, they were feeling more and more constrained by King's attempts to curtail and limit their increasingly lengthy and adventurous new compositions. The band went professional in the autumn of 1969, and after replacing John Silver with John Mayhew - Phil Collins' predecessor - on drums, the five-piece Genesis began formulating the music that would lead to Trespass the following year and were soon signed to Charisma Records.

Although initially released on Decca Records, From Genesis To Revelation has since been licensed to many smaller labels, who often issue it with different artwork - even different titles.



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Nursery Cryme Review

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 8 May 2007 07:24 (A review of Nursery Cryme)

Nursery Cryme is the third studio album by Genesis and was recorded and released in 1971. It is also the first album to feature the lineup of Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, and Steve Hackett, the latter two replacing John Mayhew and Anthony Phillips on drums and guitar, respectively in 1970 following the release of Trespass. This lineup would remain consistent until Gabriel's departure in 1975.

"The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" - both the major highlights of Nursery Cryme - became staples of their live performances.

Although not a success upon release in their homeland, Nursery Cryme became an unexpected hit in Italy - spurring on Genesis' European success - with the album eventually reaching #39 in the UK in 1974.

A SACD / DVD double disc set (including new 5.1 and Stereo mixes) is planned for release in late 2007/early 2008.

Sound:

Though not as polished in production terms as the albums that followed (most of the songs were only recorded on 8-track), Nursery Cryme was still a large progression from the group's second album Trespass. Although the folky feel was still retained on songs such as "Harlequin" and "For Absent Friends", other tracks displayed a more aggressive and strident sound. Hackett's lead guitar playing contributed a lot to this, with strong solos contained within "The Musical Box", "The Return Of The Giant Hogweed" and "The Fountain of Salmacis".

Banks also contributed towards the more aggressive sound in various ways: for some time before Hackett's recruitment, Genesis had performed live as a four-piece, with Banks substituting for guitar by playing lead solos on his Hohner "Pianet" electric piano, played through a fuzz box. This technique can be heard on "The Musical Box" and the intro to "Return Of The Giant Hogweed". In addition, the band purchased their own Mellotron Mark II (from King Crimson). Banks employed the Mk II "three violins" sound to great effect in "The Fountain Of Salmacis" and "Seven Stones", whilst the climax of "The Return Of The Giant Hogweed" used fuzzed Mk. II "combined brass".

A further element in the band's growing sound was Rutherford's use of the stand-alone electronic bass pedal unit Dewtron "Mister Bassman". Even a song such as "Harold the Barrel", which used none of this new instrumentation, was possessed of a sprightly energy quite unlike anything on Trespass.



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The Knife- Trespass

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 8 May 2007 07:19 (A review of Trespass)

"The Knife" is one of the most famous songs by progressive rock band Genesis and the first timeless Genesis classic concerning Peter Gabriel's reflections on revolution and violence in general; it was also the only number from the album to make it onto the regular stage set. It appears on the album Trespass of 1970 and also appears on the live album, Genesis Live in 1973 as the last song. It's also the most — if not only — hard-rocking piece on the album. In fact, it might be the heaviest song ever recorded by the band. It's a natural way to get thrown out of the comatose state into a world of chaos, distortion, stormy organ solos and poisonous, sneering vocals. Not coincidentally, for many people, this is the only song on the entire album worth mentioning, just because it's different from every other song on "Trespass" - a great dynamic, psychotic ending for an otherwise calm, solemn, slow-paced, wintery kind of record.

The song is aggressive and bombastic, featuring some biting lyrics from Peter Gabriel, with Mike Rutherford playing fuzz bass


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