Genesis (band)

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Genesis
Genesis in 2006, from left: Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Tony Banks.
Background information
Origin	Godalming, Surrey, England
Genre(s)	Progressive rock Pop rock Soft rock
Years active	1967 – 1999 2006 – Present
Label(s)	Virgin Atlantic Atco Charisma Decca ABC
Associated acts	GTR Mike + The Mechanics Brand X Stiltskin
Website	www.genesis-music.com
Members
Phil Collins (vocals, drums) Mike Rutherford (guitars, bass) Tony Banks (keyboards, vocals)
Former members
Peter Gabriel Steve Hackett John Mayhew Anthony Phillips John Silver Chris Stewart Ray Wilson

Genesis are an English progressive rock band 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] Genesis has won the Grammy Award, and its members have included Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, both of whom achieved success as solo artists.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Genesis evolved from a 1960s-style pop band, with moody, simple guitar-driven melodies, to a progressive art rock band, with complex song structures, elaborate instrumentation, and theatrical concerts —with twenty-three 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 has changed personnel several times. Collins (previously the band's drummer) became lead singer in 1975. In 1996, Collins was replaced by former Stiltskin singer Ray Wilson for the 1997 album Calling All Stations. Due to the commercial failure of the album, the band announced 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]

[edit] History

[edit] 1967–1969

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 —the genesis of his career. He later recalled "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]

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. King assembled the tracks as a concept album, and layered string arrangements into the arrangements during production. Genesis's first single, "The Silent Sun" (sample (help·info)), was released in February 1968. The album sold poorly, however, on advice from King, the band decided to make a career out of music.^[5] To this day, King claims 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, it is interesting to note that, during a show with the band Smile, Gabriel offered the job of drummer in the band to Roger Taylor (later of Queen fame),^[6] and played occasional gigs before securing a new deal with Charisma Records.^[7] The band built a following through live performances, and became known for hypnotic melodies that were often dark and haunting. Phillips left the band in 1970 following the release of Trespass, due mainly to ill health and stage fright.^[8] 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 doubt over whether Genesis could go on without him.^[9]

Eventually, the remaining members renewed their commitment to Genesis, and decided to replace drummer John Mayhew. Trespass set the format for Genesis albums throughout the '70s. The album consisted of lengthy, sometimes operatic pieces, as well as occasional very short, humorous numbers that typified the style of such progressive rock acts as King Crimson, Yes, and Gentle Giant. Trespass includes elaborate arrangements and time signature changes —key elements in subsequent albums. A key factor in their songwriting was that they would not write pentatonically, as most bands of their time were doing. This was a conscious decision continued by the band for years to come. Trespass features the nine-minute "The Knife", which Gabriel —a believer in nonviolence having been influenced by a book on Mahatma Gandhi— wrote showing "how all violent revolutions inevitably end up with a dictator in power".^[8]

Phil Collins joined Genesis on 4 August 1970, having impressed the other members with his drumming skills during an audition at Gabriel's parents' house. The band continued as a four-piece before playing shows with guitarist Mick Barnard. As the members felt Barnard was not up to their caliber of musicianship, they sought a more suitable replacement for Phillips.^[9] Late in 1970, Steve Hackett, formerly of 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.

[edit] 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" (sample (info)) 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^[10] — the 23-minute "Supper's Ready" (sample (info)) 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.^[11]

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.^[12] 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, the title of the Labour Party manifesto at the time.^[13] The album contained "Firth of Fifth" (sample (info)) 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.^[14] 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 (sample (info)) (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 to establish his freedom and identity.^[15] 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.^[16] 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".^[17] Collins later remarked "We were not stunned by Peter's departure because we had known about it for quite a while. We're going to carry on...this hasn't hit us suddenly, we've been talking about it for some time, and I think there will be room for both Genesis and Peter on his own. No - there were no musical differences."^[18] 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.

[edit] Phil Collins era: 1976–1996

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

The group began to audition lead singers without a clear idea about the kind of vocalist they were looking for. However they knew that they did not want a voice dissimilar from Gabriel's. Phil Collins —who had provided backing vocals during 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".^[19] Eventually, the band decided on Collins as their new lead singer, and began recording their first post-Gabriel album.

Genesis's first post-Gabriel album, 1976s A Trick of the Tail, was well received by critics, and outsold all previous releases. The album featured a markedly clearer production than previous recordings, which came courtesy of new producer David Hentschel, who had previously served as engineer on Nursery Cryme. An influential factor was that Collins, in the opinion of some, sounded "more like Gabriel than Gabriel did".^[20] The album featured the songs "Ripples", "Dance on a Volcano" (sample (info)) and "Entangled". Despite the success of Trick of the Tail, the group remained concerned with their live shows, which now lacked Gabriel's elaborate performances. Collins felt confident that he could handle live vocal duties, but needed a second drummer while he sang. 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.^[21]

Bruford was recruited as a session musician for the 1976 tour. For the 1977 tours, the jazz fusion-trained Chester Thompson —a veteran of Weather Report and Frank Zappa— took on live drumming duties to allow Collins to concentrate on vocals. Collins' approach to Genesis shows differed from the more theatrical performances of Gabriel, and his interpretations of older songs were lighter and more subtle. 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.^[22] That year, Genesis recorded Wind & Wuthering, which was released in December 1976, and was the first of two albums recorded at the Relight Studios in Hilvarenbeek, the Netherlands.^[3] The album took 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" inspired the titles of the seventh and eighth tracks.^[23] Wind & Wuthering features the songs "Blood on the Rooftops" and "Afterglow" (sample (info)), as well as the complex multi-part suite "One for the Vine". The animated film B.C. Rock features sections 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.

[edit] Hackett's departure

Guitarist Steve Hackett had become increasingly disenchanted with the band by the time Wind & Wuthering was released.^[16] The freedom he experienced during the making of Voyage of the Acolyte (1975) led him to feel constricted by 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".^[24] The rest of the band attempted 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— however the Hackett-composed "Blood on the Rooftops" was never performed live by the band, while his composition "Please Don't Touch" was rejected for inclusion on the LP, and was replaced by the three-minute instrumental "Wot Gorilla?". Following the release of the 1977 Spot the Pigeon E.P., Hackett left the band.

The Seconds Out live album, taken from the 1977 tour, was to be Hackett's final release with Genesis. Rutherford took over guitar duties in the studio, and alternated guitar and bass duties with the session musician Daryl Stuermer during live performances. The group continued as a trio; a fact reflected in the title of their 1978 album ...And Then There Were Three.... The album marked a further move away from the 10-minute-plus progressive epics, in favour of shorter, more radio-friendly tracks. It yielded their first American radio hit, "Follow You, Follow Me" (sample (info)). The song's popularity lead to ...And Then There Were Three... being the band's first U.S. Gold selling album.

[edit] A change in musical direction

In 1979, Genesis almost lost Collins when he moved to Vancouver, Canada, in an attempt to save his first marriage. However, two months and one 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 in which he pulled equal songwriting weight with Banks and Rutherford. While the previous album And Then There Were Three was an initial effort by the band to write shorter and more concise songs, Duke started the real transition from their 1970s sounds to their 1980s mega-hit pop era.^[16]

The use of the drum machine was a consistent element in subsequent Genesis albums, as well as in Collins' solo releases. 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 became Genesis's first UK number one album, while the tracks "Misunderstanding" (sample (info)) 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" (sample (info)). 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 featured a more forceful live drum sound from Collins, and included 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 volume threshold. This results in a powerful "live" sounding yet controlled drum sound. This distinctive sound was originally developed by Peter Gabriel, Collins, and their co-producer/engineer Hugh Padgham, when Collins was recording the backing track for "Intruder", the first song on Gabriel's 1980 solo album. The technique, in addition to 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.^[25]

[edit] "Invisible Touch" and "The Way We Walk" tour

Cover of the "Land of Confusion" single. The cover is inspired by the Beatles' album With the Beatles. The guitar riff accompanying the song owes a debt to The Who's Pete Townshend — subtly acknowledged in the line "my generation will put it right".^[26]

In 1982, the band released the live double album Three Sides Live. The U.S. version contained three sides of live material —hence the album's title— in addition to one side of studio material. The studio side included the song "Paperlate" (sample (info)), which again featured a 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 contain further live material, albeit taken from earlier tours. The year was capped with a once-off performance in the company of Gabriel and Hackett, under the name "Six of the Best" 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.^[27]

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" (sample (info)) and "That's All". Genesis 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, 1986s Invisible Touch, 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" (sample (info)) and "Invisible Touch" (sample (info)). The title track went to #1 in the United States; the only Genesis song to do so —despite only reaching #15 in the UK. In 1987, Genesis became the first band to sell out four consecutive nights at Wembley Stadium.^[28] Genesis were the first band to use Vari*Lite technology,^[29] 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, and played on the perception that the coalition's leaders were "trigger happy" with the nuclear "button". In addition to puppet representations of Banks, Collins and Rutherford, the video 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.^[23] The instrumental "The Brazilian" was used in the animated movie When the Wind Blows, whose score was written by Roger Waters. At the 1988 Princes Trust concert in 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, while Gabriel performed "Sledgehammer" that night. It was to be the last time the two Genesis frontmen publicly played together live.

After a hiatus of five years, Genesis reconvened for the 1991 release of We Can't Dance —Collins' last studio album with the group. The album features the hit singles "Jesus He Knows Me", "I Can't Dance", "No Son of Mine" (sample (info)), "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 included "Since I Lost You", which Collins wrote in memorial of the death of Eric Clapton's son, Conor. Having served Genesis for over 25 years, Collins left the band in March 1996. He later remarked that "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."^[30]

[edit] Ray Wilson Era: 1997–1998

The Calling All Stations album was Genesis's first without Phil Collins in 26 years.

Rutherford and Banks decided to continue. However, they required more than one new member because Genesis not only lost Phil Collins at this time, but also the live musicians Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson. The band approached Stuermer, at the time 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.^[8] The difference in the two playing styles was marked; D'Virgilio played softer, more subtle rhythms in comparison to Zidkyahu's bombastic technique. Anthony Drennan, previously of 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 candidates included Paul Carrack from Rutherford's Mike and the Mechanics, Francis Dunnery (ex- It Bites) and ex-Marillion vocalist —and two-time Banks collaborator— Fish.^[31] Kevin Gilbert was offered an audition just before he died tragically.^[32] According to producer Nick Davis, the only other serious candidate was David Langdon, who had never sung with a band before; and hence Wilson was given the job.

1997s Calling All Stations sold well in Europe, and the track "Congo" (sample (info)) reached # 29 in the UK. However, the album was less successful in America, and failed to reach the Billboard Top 50. Genesis canceled a planned American tour, due to the album's poor performance.

Genesis temporarily disbanded, however 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" (sample (info)) for the Turn It on Again: The Hits compilation. In 2000, 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.^[33] Most of the original members were involved in compiling the two Archive boxed-sets.

[edit] Turn It On Again: 2006–

After much speculation regarding a reunion, Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford announced Turn It On Again: The Tour on 7 November 2006, nearly 40 years after the band had first formed. The tour would take place during Summer 2007 and play twelve countries in Europe followed by a second leg in North America.

Originally, Collins, Banks and Rutherford wanted to reunite as a five-some with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett, for a live performance of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. 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.^[34] Hackett 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.^[35] In their stead, both Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson returned as backing musicians.

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.

On May 24, 2007, the band will be an honoree at the second annual VH1 Rock Honors, along with Ozzy Osbourne, Heart and ZZ Top.

[edit] Inspiration and influences

See also: List of Genesis covers

Genesis have been influenced by wide range of music ranging from classical music to mainstream rock and jazz. Banks drew influence from Alan Price of The Animals, who he regarded as "[t]he first person who made me aware of the organ in a rock context".^[36] 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, including 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 took influence from Nina Simone and King Crimson.^[37] Musical arrangements on the band's first album From Genesis to Revelation were drew on 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.^[38]

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

Other former members of Genesis have 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"^[23] and "Blood On The Rooftops". Hackett has 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 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".

[edit] Album cover art

The Foxtrot cover was designed by Paul Whitehead.

Genesis's album covers incorporated complex and intricate art intended to reflect themes explored in their albums. Their first album, From Genesis to Revelation contained a plain black sleeve with Genesis written in a green gothic typeface on the top left. The album covers of this album have changed with its numerous re-releases. Genesis's three subsequent album covers were developed by the popular Charisma Records graphic artist Paul Whitehead, who also developed the Charisma "Mad Hatter" logo. The Foxtrot sleeve is popular among Genesis fans; the front image 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.^[39] 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 1970s, various Hipgnosis artists —of whom Colin Elgie contributed heavily— designed all Genesis studio albums. The Trick of the Tail cover is 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 feature caricatures designed by Bill Smith Studios. Genesis's highest-selling album Invisible Touch features the artwork of Assorted Images, which had previously designed sleeves for Duran Duran and Culture Club. The We Can't Dance cover features the work of Felicity Bowers, and is reminiscent of Wind & Wuthering, now presented in hazy watercolour. The Calling All Stations and the compilation Turn it on Again: The Hits sleeves were designed by Wherefore Art?.

[edit] Criticism

Genesis's progressive rock roots set them apart from such contemporaries as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. An article in Q Magazine speaks of a 1977 Ray Lowry cartoon which depicted an arena of "either asleep, moribund, [or] comatose" fans watching a live Genesis performance, with the band's name emblazoned on a banner above the stage reading "GENESNOOZE".^[40] Much of the criticism surrounding the band in the 1970s centered around progressive rock in general, which many dismissed as "intellectual" or "pretentious". Gabriel's theatrics were unpalatable to a mainstream rock audience, as well as many Genesis fans.^[41] 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 —independently developed by Gabriel— proved difficult to understand and accept, and caused friction within the band.^[3] Collins later recalled that "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".^[9] 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.^[42]

Genesis's transition from lengthy, complex songs 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".^[43] Collins himself has often been blamed 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 remarked 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".^[44]

[edit] Discography

Main article: Genesis discography

[edit] References

• Banks, Collins, Rutherford. "Genesis Look At Themselves—An Autodiscography". Trouser Press. March 1982
• Eder, Bruce. "Genesis Biography". All Music Guide. 2006.
• Genesis. Inside Genesis 1975–1980 Classic Rock Legends, 2004
• Genesis. Inside Genesis 1970–1975 Classic Rock Legends, 2005
• Genesis. Revelations on Broadway. Archive 1967–75, 1998
• Genesis. Archive #2. 1976–1992. 2001
• Genesis. Genesis Archive, Vol.1: 1967–1975. 2000
• McMahan, Scott. "The Genesis Discography—The scattered pages of a book by the sea". January 1998 Ed.
• Mitchell, Paul. "The Book of Genesis". Music Scene. October 1973
• Welch, Chris. "THE BAND WHO WANT TO BE BOOED". Melody Maker. 23 September 1972
• Welch, Cris. The Complete Guide to the Music of Genesis. London: Omnibus Press. 1995
• Welch, Chris. "Genesis to Revelation". Melody Maker. 23 August 1975

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Genesis (band)

• Official Genesis homepage
• Official Daryl Stuermer Website
• World Of Genesis Up to date news in the world of Genesis.
• Authorised Genesis links