Genesis was formed in 1966 in Godalming, England by Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks. Genesis were known as a progressive rock band of the 70's and had a harder edge to their earlier music than the fluffy hits of the 80's. Beginning with 'Nursery Cryme', the band settled into a sound that often reached sublime heights. Genesis is most known the superb line-up Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, which played together between "Trespass" and "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". 'Foxtrot', 'Selling England By The Pound' and 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' are staples in any prog rock portfolio. Following the departure of lead vocalist Peter Gabriel, Genesis went on a short hiatus before regrouping with drummer Phil Collins at the fore. 'A Trick of the Tail' and 'Wind Wuthering' continued in the progressive vein, though the band streamlined their sound in the wake of guitarist Steve Hackett's departure. From that point on, under the popish influence of Phil Collins, the band took another path towards the commercial market.
ANTHONY BANKS -- organ, piano, mellotron, guitar, voices from 1968 - present
PETER GABRIEL -- lead voice, flute, accordion, tambourine and bass drum from 1968-1975
JOHN MAYHEW -- drummer for the 'Trespass' sessions
PHIL COLLINS -- drums, voices, assorted percussion from 1971, lead vocals from 1976
ANTHONY PHILLIPS -- acoustic 12-string, lead electric, dulcimer, voices from 1968 - 1970
MICHAEL RUTHERFORD -- acoustic 12-string, electric bass, nylon, cello, voices from 1968 - present
STEVE HACKETT -- electric guitar, 12 string and 6 string solo from 1971 - 1977
Chester Cortez Thompson - tour drums, from 1977
The Return of The Giant Hogweed - 'Nursery Cryme' Released on November 1971. "The Return of The Giant Hogweed" took guts as much as talent, epic in tone, where a window into 'Foxtrot' is found. Listeners will quickly hear elements of "Get 'Em Out By Friday" in the tale of the poisonous plant. By this point, lead singer Peter Gabriel, keyboard player Tony Banks and bass player Mike Rutherford were going through the motions as they lost original guitarist Anthony Phillips and went through drummers as drummer John Mayhew also quit. The three surviving members of Genesis held auditions for a new drummer and guitarist and settled on then 20 year old Phil Collins and Steve Hackett (who joined a few months after Collins joined). The former also brought some needed humor and a singing voice to off-set Gabriel's theatrics and the latter a superb guitar style. The addition of Phil Collins and Steve Hackett does change the sound of Genesis, but no more than Peter Gabriel's heightened sense of drama or Tony Banks' increased use of the mellotron. "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" tells a haunting but light-hearted tale which is a great song and has an awesome intro with Hackett's guitar and Banks' organ playing a haunting riff.
Watcher of the Skies - 'Foxtrot' Released on October 1972. From the first moments that Tony Banks heralds "Watcher of the Skies," it's clear that this is a different Genesis. Peter Gabriel inhabits the songs like a foot in a well-worn shoe, wiggling into different characters with ease and aplomb. With Mike Rutherford's bass providing the foundation, Phil Collins' drums are free to add delicious commentary throughout the record, underscoring gentle passages with a well-placed tap on the bell, ushering in stormclouds of sound with dexterous rolls on the drums. And of course there's Steve Hackett,his electric guitar sliding in and out of the music like sunrays through clouds.The piece begins with Banks' swirling mellotron intro and then morphs into a classic Genesis track with superb playing by the Genesis members and Gabriel's vocals just burn here.
I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - 'Selling England By The Pound' Released on October 1973. "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," became the band's first big single and the group's first British hit. This piece tells the story of a lawnmower sitting on the porch which was one of the band's first tracks to feature a synthesizer and a great piece. Steve Hackett works magic on this recording and Gabriel's vocals and character are perfect for this music. The band continued to experiment with new sounds in the studio. The most notable example is of an electric piano and an organ playing the same chord very slightly out of key. The resultant "beating" is responsible for the lawnmower sound on "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)".
Lillywhite Lilith - 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' Released on November 8 1974. Despite the on-going tensions in the group, Gabriel created one final masterpiece with Genesis before he left the band in May of 1975. 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' is arguably the band's finest album. It is a 90-minute theater piece filled with a wide variety of music and moods. 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' was a concept album about a Puerto Rican kid named Rael whom falls into a netherworld known as New York and struggles to find himself throughout the course of the album. This song has a rough edge that I wish was longer and at times feels as if it was half completed.
Counting Out Time - 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' Released on November 8 1974. "Counting Out Time" is a funny pop song. It was the lyrics that caught me with this song - the first time I heard about sex in a humorous way. One of the greatest lines by Genesis are in this song:
"Erongenous zones I question you -
Without you, what would a poor boy do?
Without you, what would a poor boy do?
Without you, mankind handkinds thru' the blues."
Dance on a Volcano - 'A Trick of the Tail' Released on February 2, 1976. Following the departure of Peter Gabriel, and letting more than a year pass for the other shoe to drop, the remaining quartet returned with 'A Trick of the Tail', conceding nothing. The album begins with the explosive "Dance on a Volcano," a tour de force that conceals one of Steve Hackett's more riveting musical nightmares. Phil reluctantly became Peter Gabriel's replacement as lead singer after fellow Genesis members (keyboard player Tony Banks, bass player Mike Rutherford and guitarist Steve Hackett) concluded that he was better than the four hundred some-odd people they were auditioning to replace Peter. Sounding "more like Gabriel that Gabriel did" according to some, this was Collins' moment as he filled the lead spot. Someone listening to "Dance on a Volcano" for the first time might think that the CD is skipping. It has a polyrhythm that becomes very catchy after listening to it a few times. You have Hackett strumming a tenuous, chromatic pattern until Collins checks in with his thunderous drumming
Squonk - 'A Trick of the Tail' Released on February 2, 1976. "Squonk" was Phil Collin's first vocal track recorded for this album. It's a powerful song and one of the best "story" songs genesis ever recorded ( based on a tall-tale myth from Pennsylvania). Written by the guitarist of the group, it features one of Mike Rutherford's best performances on doubleneck bass/electric with booming bass pedals.
Down and Out - '…And Then There Were Three' Released on March 1978. The line on '…And Then There Were Three' said that it marked the beginning of the band's commercial reinvention, which is misleading. Despite the loss of Steve Hackett and the presence of the popular "Follow You, Follow Me," the band still had one foot firmly planted in the progressive rock of yore. The opening track, "Down and Out," actually addresses the pressure they felt to create more commercial music -- tellingly, it's one of the album's more complex tracks. With the trio splitting the songwriting and Mike Rutherford assuming guitar duties, some different styles emerged. Not a complete failure, the album doesn't represent their complete transition to bastardized pop and the album keeps a more versatile side of progressive rock, mainly recognized in songs like the explosive, fast paced "Down And Out", its a song that gives the best hopes for the first listen to the album, possessing such a heavy performance that they had to take out the song from live performances.The song starts the album out quite powerfully, with an oddly accentuated beat like "Dance on a Volcano" and a wild, unexpected Arabian-flavored Tony Banks solo.
Deep in the Motherlode - '…And Then There Were Three' Released on March 1978. When the departures of original frontman Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett left Genesis a studio trio of Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford, few could have expected the band to climb to greater levels of commercial success. But that's exactly what happened. Phil Collins' drums assume a larger role in the mix, and he's clearly grown more comfortable as a vocalist, belting it out on songs like "Deep in the Motherlode."
Behind the Lines - 'Duke' Released on March 31 1980. 'Duke' saw Genesis start, somewhat unwillingly, to shed their progressive-rock mantle. Partly this was a response to the radically changing musical scene, partly a result of Phil Collins's new-found influence within the band as a songwriter, and partly it was a logical direction if they were to capitalize upon the success of "Follow You Follow Me" from 1978's '... And Then There Were Three'. The opening neo progressive song "Behind The Lines" also stands as one of the most remarkable, enjoyable and interesting compositions in the album, being composed by the trio.