Genesis

Genesis
Genesis performing "The Carpet Crawlers" in Herning, June 2007
Background information
Origin	Godalming, Surrey, England
Genre(s)	Progressive rock Rock Pop
Years active	1967 – 1999, 2006 - present
Label(s)	Virgin Charisma Atlantic Atco Decca ABC Impulse! Rhino
Associated acts	GTR [[Mike + The Mechanics]] Bankstatement Brand X Stiltskin Six of the Best
Website	www.genesis-music.com
Members
Phil Collins (Vocals, Drums) Mike Rutherford (Guitars, Bass, Backing Vocals) Tony Banks (Keyboards, Backing Vocals) Chester Thompson (Drums, Percussion) (touring only, since 1977) Daryl Stuermer (Guitars, Bass, Backing Vocals) (touring only, since 1978)
Former members
Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute, oboe) Steve Hackett (guitars) Anthony Phillips (guitars) John Mayhew (drums) John Silver (drums) Chris Stewart (drums) Bill Bruford (Drums, Percussion) (1976 tour only) Ray Wilson (vocals)

Genesis is an English rock band formed in 1967. With approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, Genesis is among the top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time.^[1] In 1988 the band won a Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video. Genesis' members have included Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, Ray Wilson and Phil Collins, all of whom have achieved success as solo artists.

Genesis began as a 1960s pop band playing moody, simple keyboard-driven melodies. During the 1970s they evolved into a progressive rock band and began to incorporate complex song structures and elaborate instrumentation, while their concerts took on a more theatrical tone. This second phase was characterised by lengthy performances such as the twenty-three minute "Supper's Ready" and, in 1974, the concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The 1980s saw the band produce more accessible pop music based on melodic hooks; this change of direction gave them their first number one album in the United Kingdom, Duke, and their only number one single in the United States, "Invisible Touch".

Genesis have changed personnel several times. Collins, previously the band's drummer, replaced Gabriel as lead singer in 1975, and was replaced by former Stiltskin singer Ray Wilson for the 1997 album Calling All Stations. Due to the commercial failure of that album, the band announced an indefinite hiatus. In October 2006, Collins, Rutherford and Banks reunited for a world tour.^[2]

History

1967–1969

The original Genesis line-up in 1967, with Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel and Chris Stewart

Genesis was formed in the mid 1960s when founding members Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks were students at Charterhouse School in Godalming. Formed out of school bands "Garden Wall" and "Anon"^[3], the original line-up consisted of Peter Gabriel (vocals), Anthony Phillips (guitar), Tony Banks (keyboards), Mike Rutherford (bass & guitar) and Chris Stewart (drums).^[4]

Genesis recorded their first album in 1969, From Genesis to Revelation, after being discovered by Jonathan King, a Charterhouse School alumnus. King was a songwriter and record producer who had a hit single at the time, "Everyone's Gone to the Moon." King named the band "Genesis", recalling that he had "thought it was a good name... it suggested the beginning of a new sound and a new feeling". This was in fact King's second choice for the band's name. His first suggestion was "Gabriel's Angels".^[5]

The album was released on Decca Records. During the sessions, Stewart left and was replaced by John Silver. The band recorded a series of songs influenced by the light pop style of the Bee Gees, one of King's favourite bands, and The Beatles. King assembled the tracks as a concept album, and added string arrangements during the production. Their first single, "The Silent Sun" ( sample?), was released in February 1968. The album sold poorly but the band, on advice from King, decided to pursue a career in music.^[6] King still holds the rights to the songs on the From Genesis to Revelation album and has re-released it 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.

Silver was replaced by John Mayhew before the recording of Trespass. However, during a show alongside the band Smile, Gabriel had offered the job to Roger Taylor, later of Queen.^[7] The band secured a new recording contract with Charisma Records.^[8] The band built a following through live performances which featured the band's hypnotic, dark and haunting melodies.

Trespass was the template for Genesis' albums in the 1970s: lengthy, sometimes operatic, pieces and occasional short, humorous numbers resembling the style of progressive rock bands such as King Crimson, Yes and Gentle Giant. Trespass includes progressive rock elements such as elaborate arrangements and time signature changes. Trespass features Gabriel's nine-minute "The Knife", which shows "how all violent revolutions inevitably end up with a dictator in power".^[9]

Ill health and recurring stage fright caused Phillips to leave the band in 1970.^[9] Phillips went on to record many solo albums, one of which, The Geese and the Ghost, has vocals by Phil Collins. Phillips' departure traumatised Banks and Rutherford, and the remaining members had doubts over whether the band could continue^[10] However, the remaining members decided to continue, replacing Mayhew with Phil Collins on drums and recruiting Steve Hackett, formerly of Quiet World, on guitar.

1970–1975

Collins and Hackett made their studio debut in 1971 on Nursery Cryme, which features the epic "The Musical Box" and Collins' first lead vocal performance in "For Absent Friends". Foxtrot was released in October 1972 and contains what has been described as "one of the group's most accomplished works"^[11], the 23-minute "Supper's Ready" (sample (info)). Songs such as the Arthur C. Clarke-inspired "Watcher of the Skies" solidified their reputation as songwriters and performers. Gabriel's flamboyant and theatrical stage presence, which involved numerous costume changes and surreal song introductions, made the band a popular live act.^[12] Genesis Live, recorded on the Foxtrot tour, followed in 1973.

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.^[13] Gabriel insisted that the album be titled Selling England by the Pound, a reference to a Labour Party slogan at the time, in an effort to counter the impression that Genesis were becoming too US-oriented.^[14] The album contains "Firth of Fifth" (sample (info)) and "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"; these songs became part of Genesis' live repertoire, with the latter reaching #17 on the UK singles charts. During this period Hackett became an early user of the electric guitar "tapping" technique, which was later popularized by Eddie Van Halen, as well as "sweep-picking", which was popularised in the 1980s by Yngwie Malmsteen.^[15] These virtuoso guitar techniques were incorporated in the song "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight".

In 1974 Genesis undertook a double disc concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (sample (info)) which was released on 18 November. In contrast to the lengthy tracks featured on earlier albums The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a collection of shorter tracks, connected by a number of segues. The story describes the spiritual journey of Rael, a Puerto Rican youth living in New York City, and his quest to establish his freedom and identity.^[16] During his adventure, Rael encounters several bizarre characters including the Slippermen and The Lamia, the latter being borrowed from Greek mythology.

The band embarked on a world tour to promote the album, performed it 102 times in its entirety, with Gabriel adding spoken narration. During their live performances, Genesis pioneered the use of lasers and other light effects, most of which were built by the Dutch technician Theo Botschuijver. A customised handheld unit was used to channel laser light, which allowed Gabriel to sweep the audience with various light effects.

Creating the ambitious The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway album strained relations between band members, particularly Banks and Gabriel.^[4] Gabriel wrote the lyrics, while the other band members wrote the music, with the exception of "Counting Out Time" and "The Carpet Crawlers". "The Light Dies Down on Broadway" was co-authored by Banks and Rutherford. The other-worldly, blurbling, sequenced synth sounds and shattering glass loops in the track "The Waiting Room", as well as the vocal effects in the track "The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging" coined "Enossifications", were produced by the ambient composer Brian Eno.

During the Lamb tour, Gabriel announced that he was leaving the band,^[17], because he felt estranged from the other members, and because his marriage and the difficult birth of his first child added to his personal strain. In a letter to fans, entitled Out, Angels Out, Gabriel explained that 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."^[18] Collins later remarked that the other members "...were not stunned by Peter's departure because we had known about it for quite a while." The band decided to carry on without Gabriel. ^[19]

Gabriel's first solo album, Peter Gabriel 1977, features the hit single "Solsbury Hill", an allegory that refers to his departure from the band.

1976–1977

The group began to audition lead singers to find a replacement for Gabriel, including Jeff Lynne, Phil Lynott, Peter Frampton and David Cassidy. Collins, who had provided backing vocals, coached prospective replacements. Eventually, the band decided to consider using Collins as the lead vocalist ^[20] for 1976's A Trick of the Tail. The album was well received by critics, and outsold all previous albums combined. The new producer David Hentschel, who had served as engineer on Nursery Cryme, gave the album a clearer-sounding production. Critics noted that Collins sounded "more like Gabriel than Gabriel did".^[21]

Despite the success of the album, the group remained concerned with their live shows, which now lacked Gabriel's elaborate costume changes and dramatic behavior. Since Collins required the assistance of a second drummer while he sang, Bill Bruford, drummer for Yes and King Crimson was hired ^[22] for the 1976 tour. Genesis' first live performance without Peter Gabriel was on March 26, 1976, in London, Ontario Canada.

Later that year, Genesis recorded Wind & Wuthering, the first of two albums recorded at the Relight Studios in Hilvarenbeek in the Netherlands.^[4] Released in December 1976, 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", 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 new manager Tony Smith, who published all subsequent Genesis songs through his company Hit & Run Music Publishing.

For the 1977 Genesis' tour, the jazz fusion-trained Chester Thompson—a veteran of Weather Report and Frank Zappa—took on live drumming duties. Collins's approach to Genesis shows differed from the theatrical performances of Gabriel, and his interpretations of older songs were lighter and more subtle. At the 1982 Milton Keynes reunion show, Gabriel admitted that Collins sang the songs "better", though never "quite like" him.^[24]

Guitarist Hackett had become increasingly disenchanted with the band by the time of Wind & Wuthering's release,^[17] and he felt confined. He was the first member of the band to record a solo album, 1975's Voyage of the Acolyte, and greatly enjoyed the feelings of control over the recording process that working within a group could not provide. Hackett had asked that a quarter of Wind & Wuthering be allocated to Hackett's songs, which Collins described as "a dumb way to work in a band context".^[25] While Hackett was given songwriting credits on the two instrumental tracks "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers..."/"...In That Quiet Earth" , Hackett's "Blood on the Rooftops" was never performed live, and his song "Please Don't Touch" (which appeared as the title track to his next solo album released in 1978) was replaced by the three-minute instrumental "Wot Gorilla?". Hackett left the band following the release of the 1977 Spot the Pigeon E.P. while the band was in the studio mixing together the live album Seconds Out.

The Seconds Out live album was recorded during the 1977 tour, and was to be Hackett's final release with Genesis. Rutherford took on guitar duties in the studio, and during live performances alternated guitar and bass with the session musician Daryl Stuermer.

1978–1979

Following the departure of Hackett, Rutherford took on guitar duties in the studio and the band was getting closer to a balance of what each member provided from a creative standpoint. The group decided to continue as a trio, a fact they acknowledged in the title of the 1978 album ...And Then There Were Three.... The album was a further move away from lengthy progressive epics, and yielded their first American radio hit, "Follow You, Follow Me", whose popularity led to ...And Then There Were Three... being the band's first U.S. Gold-certified album.

For live performances that year, Rutherford alternated between guitar and bass with the session musician Daryl Stuermer. Generally, Rutherford played the guitar pieces he composed during the most recent album, but stuck with bass playing for all of the material recorded prior to 1978. Stuermer effectively played everything that Hackett would have performed had he remained with the band. Genesis' 1978 world tour took them across North America, over to Europe, back to North America, and, eventually, to their first performances in Japan at the end of 1978.

As the band had been recording and touring constantly since the winter of 1969-70, it was decided by Messrs. Banks, Collins, and Rutherford to take the majority of 1979 off. Collins had previously informed his bandmates that he needed to attempt to save his marriage by following his wife to her new home in Vancouver. If they planned to go back into the studio, they were going to have to count him out. Banks and Rutherford responded by proposing that the band go into hiatus for the majority of 1979 while he sorted out his family issues and they would record solo material in the meanwhile.

1980–1984

After his attempt to save his marriage had ended in divorce, Collins returned to the UK in August of 1979, and found himself in a holding pattern while Banks and Rutherford were working on solo recordings. With time to spare and new equipment in his home, Collins immersed himself in the recording of home demos that would become his first solo album Face Value (released in 1981) and provide two songs for the upcoming Genesis project. When the three bandmates came back together to begin recording their next album Duke the product was much more the result of all three working together equally. Duke was real transition from their 1970s progressive rock sound to the 1980s pop era.^[17] The use of a drum machine became a consistent element on subsequent Genesis albums, as well as on Collins's 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 was the band's first UK number one album, while the tracks "Misunderstanding" (sample (info)) and "Turn It On Again" became live performance favorites.

Duke was followed by the minimalist Abacab, which features a collaboration with the Earth, Wind & Fire horn section on the track "No Reply at All." Much of the album's rehearsals took place at The Farm, the band's newly-built studio in Surrey, and the site where all of Genesis' subsequent albums were recorded. The album used a forceful drum sound which used an effect called gated reverb, which uses a live—or artificially reverberated—sound relayed through a noise gate set, which rapidly cuts off when a particular volume threshold is reached. This results in a powerful "live" sounding, yet controlled, drum ambience. The distinctive sound was first 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's debut solo album. The "gated" drum sound would become an audio trademark of future Genesis and Collins albums.^[26]

In 1982, the band released the live double album Three Sides Live. The U.S. version contains three sides of live material—hence the album's title—in addition to a side of studio material. The studio material includes the song "Paperlate", which again features an Earth, Wind and Fire horn section. In the UK and the rest of Europe, the studio material was replaced by a fourth side of live recordings from previous tours. 1982 closed with a one-off performance alongside Gabriel and Hackett at the Milton Keynes Bowl, under the name Six of the Best. The concert was hastily put together to help raise money for Gabriel's WOMAD project, which at the time was suffering from considerable financial hardship.^[27] Hackett, who arrived late from South Africa, performed the final two songs of the show with his former bandmates.

1983s eponymous Genesis album became their third consecutive number one album in the UK. The album includes the radio-friendly tracks "Mama" and "That's All", and re-introduced the band's flair for lengthy pieces in "Home by the Sea". The track "Just a Job to Do" was later used as the theme song for the 1985's ABC detective drama The Insiders. Although the album was a success worldwide, all three members were suffering from a bit of writer's block and had precious little material "extra" at the end of the recording sessions. The sessions from the previous five studio albums dating back to 1976's A Trick of the Tail had all generated excess material that would be released as b-sides to singles or on EPs.

1986–1992

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".^[28]

Genesis' highest-selling album, Invisible Touch, was released in 1986, at the height of Collins's 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 "