Discografia
From Genesis To Revelation (Decca, 1969)Trespass (Charisma, 1970)Nursery Crime (Charisma, 1971)Foxtrot (Charisma, 1972)Genesis Live (Charisma, 1973, live)Selling England By The Pound (Charisma, 1973)The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (2 LP Charisma, 1974)
Rock Roots (Decca, 1975, anthology, with unpublished tracks)A Trick Of The Tail (Charisma, 1976)Wind And Wuthering (Charisma, 1976)Seconds Out (2 LP Charisma, 1977, live)...And Then There Were Three (Charisma, 1978)Duke (Charisma, 1980)The Story Of Genesis (2 LP Charisma, 1980, anthology)ABACAB (Charisma, 1981)Three Sides Live (Virgin, 1982, live + studio)Genesis (Vertigo, 1983)Invisible Touch (Charisma / Virgin, 1986)We Can't Dance (Virgin, 1991)Live - The Way We Walk Vol. 1 (Virgin, 1993, live)Live - The Way We Walk Vol. 2 (Virgin, 1993, live)Calling All Station (Virgin, 1997)Genesis Archives Vol. 1, 1967-75 (Virgin, 1998)Turn It On Again: The Hits (Atlantic / Wea, 1999)Platinum Collection (Rhino / Wea, 2005)
Il contesto musicale in cui Tony Banks utilizzava pianoforte, Hammond e Mellotron era qualcosa di unico. Ma tutt'e cinque (poi rimasero in quattro... infine in tre) lavoravano per un unico scopo: stupire, inebriare l'ascoltatore. La magia risultava dalla creatività, dalle melodie armonizzate, dall'evidente bellezza delle soluzioni musicali.
E non solo la loro musica sofisticata: anche i loro testi mi risultarono, fin da subito, assai accattivanti. Certo, diverse cose bisognava interpretarle (e non bastava un comune dizionario italiano-inglese per capirle!), ma a quell'epoca c'era il buon Armando Gallo (il più grande esperto italiano [o addirittura mondiale] di questo gruppo) che forniva puntualmente la traduzione con tanto di "note a pie' di pagina" su ogni involucro dei dischi "genesiani" destinati al Belpaese.
Tutto ebbe inizio esattamente nel 1968, con From Genesis To Revelation: un gioiellino di musica pop con influenze R&B e soul. Melodie struggenti che già rivelano la qualità eccelsa del songwriting, sostenuta dall'urgenza emotiva. Alcune canzoni di From Genesis To Revelation sono talmente belle e senza tempo che sarebbero capaci ancora oggi di scalare le hit parade di mezzo mondo.
Due pezzi esclusi dalla prima edizione (il celebre "album nero") e aggiunti in molte delle successive ristampe, cioè "One Eyed Hound" e "The Silent Sun (single mix)", lasciano capire la voglia di "rockare" che avevano i quattro ragazzi inglesi, voglia inibita da una produzione troppo "morbida" di cui è responsabile Jonathan King. King era uno sfegatato fan dei Bee Gees prima maniera (tutti coretti e arrangiamenti di archi) e, a sua volta, un cantante melodico.
Le edizioni più recenti dell'album sono state arricchite da due demo di quell'epoca: "Image Blown Out" e "She's So Beautiful".
Trespass (1970) segna il passaggio dei Genesis dalla Decca alla Charisma e nel contempo la loro entrata nell'universo prog. In quel torno di tempo, il rock progressivo era considerato "la nuova musica classica", e non a caso fu denominato anche "art rock".
Trespass, prodotto da John Anthony, fu registrato ai Trident Studios.
Da "Looking for Someone" a "The Knife", è un fantastico susseguirsi di madrigali e trascinanti cavalcate guidate dalle tastiere di Tony Banks e dalle chitarre di Michael Rutherford e Anthony Phillips. La band lascia già intravedere in che cosa consiste la sua grandezza: pianissimi strizzacuori si inframezzano a crescendi inattesi dove spesso la chitarra distorta cinge il sintetizzatore in un dolce abbraccio. La voce di Peter Gabriel è brillantemente graffiante, "cattiva".
Durante la tournée per promuovere l'album, Gabriel saltò giù dal palcoscenico del Friar's Inn di Aylesbury (dove il gruppo era praticamente di casa) e si spezzò una caviglia; mentre i suoi compagni continuavano imperterriti a suonare, il cantante fu ritrascinato sullo stage a forza di braccia affinché portasse a termine l'esibizione...
Phillips e il batterista John Mayhew si congedarono dopo la registrazione di Trespass...
Leggi la presentazione e le recensioni degli album (fino a The Lamb...):
From Genesis To Revelation (1969)
Trespass (1970)
Nursery Cryme (1971)
Foxtrot (1972)
Selling England By The Pound (1973)
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974).
From Genesis To Revelation (1969)
Trespass (1970)
Nursery Cryme (1971)
Foxtrot (1972)
Selling England By The Pound (1973)
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974).
Genesis - From Genesis To Revelation
Oddly enough, Jonathan King gave them a huge break when he did not drop them after the lack of success
of the singles; instead, he decided they were an album band, and let them record an entire album.
And not just an album, but a concept album entitled From Genesis To Revelation, with the subject
matter (suggested to the band by King) being the entire history of the world. The word pretentious
doesn't begin to describe it, but for such a concept album to be the first ever work of Genesis, it's
quite an accomplishment, especially when you consider that the members were still not much
more than seventeen or eighteen years old.
Genesis - Trespass - Including "Stagnation", "Visions of Angels" and "The Knife"
The second Genesis album was recorded at Trident Studios and produced by John Anthony. Anthony Phillips and drummer John Mayhew leave the band on album completion. It was during the promotion of this record that Peter Gabriel jumped off the stage at Friars Inn and broke his leg, however the trooper continued the gig on his back!
This album featured an incredible leap in Genesis' compositional skills, with Anthony
Phillips and Mike Rutherford pioneering the use of acoustic 12 string guitars in rock, something
that had not been done before. "Stagnation" was the first of many early studio efforts that would
become a Genesis trademark; such tracks had incredible power and scope in their works which
never typically came across on a studio album. The guitar parts were recorded many times, in the
hopes of picking one truly great take to be the final version, but in fact the band mixed all the
takes together, and created a murky sound which gave quite the opposite of the desired effect.
Genesis - Nursery Cryme
The band's third album, Nursery Cryme, took Genesis farther away from the sound of Trespass
into a new era. Some of the material on the album was leftover from Anthony Phillips' writing with
Genesis, some was written in the time between guitarists when Tony Banks played an electric
piano through a fuzz-box to simulate a guitar sound, and some additional material was
contributed by Steve Hackett. For all of Steve's incredible talents, however, his song-writing
contributions to Genesis were quite minimal the entire time he was in the band; throughout the
earliest days, Banks and Rutherford wrote the majority of the music, and Gabriel the majority of
the lyrics.
Weighed heavily by Banks' and Gabriel's musical tastes, dynamics are deeply explored in songs
like "The Musical Box" and "Fountain of Salmacis", contrasting with Trespass' either soft acoustic or
straight-forward "all-out" sound. Gabriel's love of mysterious lyrics slid off the deep end on songs
like "The Musical Box". Mythology, another staple of Genesis lyrical inspiration, took the forefront
in "Fountain of Salmacis", and Collins did his first Genesis vocal on the track "For Absent Friends",
although he never sang it live. Collins also sang backup vocals and harmony vocals from the very
start -- he would be very familiar to Genesis fans as a singer as well as a drummer, which would
prove advantageous later on.
The Mellotron was the distinctive part of Genesis' early sound, as well as of progressive rock in
general during the 70s. It is an analogue sampling instrument. Real live instruments such as the
violin and flute were recorded, and tapes made of each of the notes on the piano keyboard. When
someone like Tony Banks played a note, an analogue tape of the instrument played. This sound
only lasted about 8 seconds, after which the key would have to be released and the tape rewound.
Mellotrons were notoriously difficult to keep in good repair, especially on the road.
Genesis - Foxtrot Absolute "must"
It was with Foxtrot (1972) that Genesis scored their first major critical success. The grandiose musical ambitions and Gabriel's lyrical conceits and studied Englishness get their best shot here, and the songs, including "Watcher of the Skies" and the 23 minutes long epic "Supper's Out" (mainstays of the live group), still engage. Genesis = pure magic. This album is a spectacular example of the visionary nature of 70's symphonic rock and it signalled the group's move from cult to chart success in Britain. It reached #12, and led to their first major headline tour, as well as some successful US club dates. Genesis had arrived!
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
Genesis proved that you can put in 53 minutes of sounds as much music as all the other creators altogether in the 70's decade. Singer Peter Gabriel's heady mixture of dark drama and cryptic commentary is tied to some of the band's most stunning arrangements: Steve Hackett's violin-like guitar melodies on "Firth of Fifth," Tony Banks's synth arpeggios on "The Battle of Epping Forest," and crisp, tight drumming throughout from Phil Collins. Collins makes his Genesis lead vocal debut on the acoustic "More Fool Me."
Selling England By The Pound represents the best progressive rock ever made.
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway An intense hallucinogenic experience
When it comes to making albums of epic proportions, few rival this magnificent production that a trip the band took to New York City inspired in 1973. The underlying story is of a street kid named Rael who, thanks in part to the realities of big city life, undergoes a weird and mystical transformation.
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is an amazing trip through the imagination. Containing extended instrumental sections showcasing the extraordinary talents of Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, and Phil Collins, as well as the expressive vocals and often disturbing lyrics of Peter Gabriel, this is the album that located Genesis truly on the map.
A (Very) Brief History Of Genesis
The beginnings of what we now know as Genesis started in 1965 at the Charterhouse School in Surrey, London, where Anthony Phillips, Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel and Mike Rutherford all studied. Tony and Peter started a group called The Garden Wall while Ant and Mike started a rival band called Anon. When Anon folded, Mike, Anthony, and Chris Stewart (the first of many drummers) joined The Garden Wall. Several demos were made, and one of those demos were passed on to Jonathan King. He signed the band to Decca Records and renamed them Genesis. Armed with their second drummer (John Silver), their debut release - From Genesis To Revelation - was released in March 1969.
After John Silver left the group (and were dropped by Decca), John Mayhew became the 3rd Genesis drummer. Trespass, released in October 1970, saw the band moving into the art rock scene with songs like The Knife and Stagnation. Soon after, John Mayhew and Anthony Phillips left the group, almost forcing the band to break up. Phil Collins was introduced to the group by Tony Stratton-Smith, head of Charisma Records (their new label) and instantly brought stability to the rhythm section. After a short stint with Mick Barnard on guitar, the band found Steve Hackett.
From 1971-1975, Genesis released 4 of the greatest studio albums ever made: Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and a live album simply entitled Genesis Live. In 1975, Peter Gabriel left Genesis to pursue his own interests. After a long search for a new vocalist, drummer Phil Collins decided to "have a go at it" and became the new lead singer. After releasing A Trick Of The Tail, Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) joined the fold as the touring drummer, but that was shortlived. During the Wind & Wuthering sessions, Bill decided to leave, and was replaced by Chester Thompson. During the mixing of Seconds Out, Genesis's 2nd live album, Steve Hackett decided to leave. He was replaced by Daryl Stuermer - but (like Chester) only for live performances.
From 1978-1996, Genesis (in the studio) was a 3 piece: Tony, Mike and Phil. Going away from the progressive rock that defined them, they enjoyed their most fruitful time. Albums such as ...And Then There Were Three..., Duke, Abacab, Genesis, Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance found the band selling millions of records and playing to sold-out show after sold-out show. Although announced in 1995, Phil's decision to leave the fold was made in 1993. Determined not to make it "the end," Tony and Mike found Ray Wilson and employed two drummers - Nick D'Virgilio (from Spock's Beard) and Nir Zidkyahu on their latest release, appropriately titled Calling All Stations.
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