Sobota 29 Kwi 2006, 1:34

The first time I recall hearing of Genesis was probably in the pre-MuchMusic era, watching a video for That's All on some video show. It's possible that I heard them before then without being aware of it, though, because apparently my brother really liked Trespass. So my Genesis was the Phil Collins Genesis. I heard at some point that Peter Gabriel had used to be in the band, but then so did Mike Rutherford, whose Mike & The Mechanics project was going on at the time. I remember Invisible Touch and its endless stream of videos coming out around the same time as So. I couldn't reconcile Peter Gabriel with that Genesis at all.

I picked up some of the earlier Collins-era Genesis albums–Genesis and Abacab. A friend of mine, though, had a copy of A Trick of The Tail, which I liked, though it was quite different. I eventually got a listen to "Trespass", and didn't mind that either. I filled in a few of the gaps, with Duke and And Then There Were Three, as well as From Genesis To Revelation. It wasn't until picking up copies of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and Nursery Cryme that I got my first real taste of the Peter Gabriel era at its height. And I have to say that, all in all, I tend to like the Phil Collins era better. Not all of it, by any means, but I'd rather listen to Invisible Touch than The Return of The Giant Hogweed. I recently picked up Selling England By The Pound, which hasn't done much to change my mind either.

My real favourite album would have to be "A Trick of The Tail", though, which is on the cusp of both eras, after Peter Gabriel had left but before Phil Collins really took over. My favourite track from the album is Entangled, a waltz-time tale about the search for immortality, though there are other great tracks on it as well. Oddly enough, I don't much care for Wind & Wuthering at all, though it's the only other album after Peter Gabriel's departure that still had Steve Hackett.

Past that, it's mostly the odd single that I like. Keep It Dark's weird story of kidnapping and enlightenment, Mama's disturbing intensity, and Tonight, Tonight, Tonight's sweeping synths and guitars all appeal to me almost guiltily. "That's All" has also held up over the years, and for some reason, Mike Rutherford's guitar line on Throwing It All Away really appeals to me. We Can't Dance didn't have any really striking tracks on it, and I didn't think much of Calling All Stations, the post-Collins album.

It'll probably take another post or two to deal with Collins and Gabriel's solo work, so I'll leave it here for now.

Thought for the day:

What's gonna happen to Chess Piece Face? –Chess Piece Face