Genesis | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Genesis started life as a progressive rock band, in the manner of Yes and King Crimson, before a series of membership changes brought about a transformation in their sound, into one of the most successful pop/rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s. In addition, the group has provided a launching pad for the superstardom of members Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, and star solo careers for members Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, and Steve Hackett. Their roots go back to 1965 and a pair of rival groups, the Garden Wall and the Anon, formed by students at the Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey. They merged, with the result that 15-year-olds Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, and Michael Rutherford joined with 14-year-old Anthony Phillips, calling themselves the New Anon and recording a six-song demo featuring songs primarily written by Rutherford and Phillips. Charterhouse alumnus, recording artist, and producer Jonathan King heard the tape and arranged for the group to continue working in the studio, and it was also King who renamed the band Genesis. In December of 1967 they cut their debut single, "The Silent Sun," a very deliberate Bee Gees-style pastiche -- it was released in February of 1968 without attracting much notice from the public, and a second single, "A Winters Tale," followed with similar neglect. They also ran through a couple of drummers during this period, Chris Stewart and John Silver. At this time, the groups music was a form of lyrical folk-based progressive pop, built on lush melodies primarily carried on acoustic guitar and piano, with lyrics that tended toward the florid and trippy -- psychedelia was in vogue, and Genesis showed an exceptional facility with poetic content as well as gorgeous melodies. Their debut album, From Genesis to Revelation -- which the group has all but disowned in the decades since -- was released in March of 1969, and passed without too much notice from the music press or the public. The members began thinking about getting on with their lives outside of music, and especially attending college. But they felt strongly enough about their work to try making it as a professional band. The re-formed in 1969 and got their first paying gig in September of that year, and spent the next several months working out new material, with new drummer John Mayhew aboard. Genesis soon became one of the first groups signed to the fledgling Charisma label, founded by Tony Stratton-Smith, and they recorded their second album, Trespass. That record, released in October of 1970, showed the first signs of the band that Genesis would become. The music was still folk-based, some of the songs couldnt quite carry their length, and they had some way to go in terms of vocal and instrumental finesse, but it had reach if not grasp -- most of the album was comprised of extended pieces, sung with dramatic intensity, and with complex parts for all of the instruments. Genesis then lost two members. Mayhew left over the unhappiness with aspects of his playing, and was replaced by Phil Collins, a former child actor turned drummer who had previously played with Flaming Youth -- he also added an occasional additional lead vocal to their sound. Much more unsettling was the departure of guitarist Anthony Phillips, who had developed crippling stage fright. For some time afterward, Genesis worked as a four-piece with the guitar parts covered by Banks keyboards. Finally, just prior to Genesis beginning work on their next album, their lineup was completed with the addition of guitarist Steve Hackett, a former member of Quiet World. The bands next album, Nursery Cryme, was recorded so close to his arrival that Hackett played on it, but some of the guitar parts were written and played by Michael Rutherford, while the centerpiece of the new album, "The Musical Box," used material that Phillips had composed. There was hardly a weak moment on the record, and the music was far more exciting -- and witty -- than most of the progressive rock of the period. The heart of the record was "The Musical Box," a song telling a Victorian-era story of children, murder, and ghostly apparitions that was worthy of the classic horror film Dead of Night. And while it might not have become a pop culture phenomenon, the album and the song did find an audience among collegiate listeners. The theatrical attributes of Gabriels singing fit in well with the groups live performances during this period as he began to make ever more extensive use of masks, makeup, and props in concert, telling the framing stories in order to set up their increasingly complicated songs. Part of the reason for the stories was practical -- it gave the others, especially Hackett, a chance to retune their instruments. When presented amid the groups very strong playing, this aspect of Gabriels work turned Genesis performances into multimedia events. And word soon began to spread about Genesis being an act that was worth hearing and, even more so, worth seeing in concert. Foxtrot, issued in the fall of 1972, was the flash point in Genesis history. The writing, especially on "Suppers Ready" -- a conceptual piece taking up an entire side of the LP -- was as sophisticated as anything in progressive rock, and the lyrics were complex and clever, but the record was never boring, or even less than bracing. It became their first to chart in England, reaching number 12. Genesis live performances by now were practically legend. Rock music had always contained a theatrical element, which had reached new levels in the late 60s. But Peter Gabriel, with his growing array of costume changes and acting out of roles, far transcended anything seen on a rock stage -- it was true rock theater, and an intense listening experience. In early 1973, the band allowed a group of performances to be taped for American radio, and with a live tape on hand and a gap to fill between studio albums, Stratton-Smith convinced the band to let him issue that same performance, in edited form, as the groups first concert album. Genesis Live featured songs from across three of their albums, including "The Knife," "The Musical Box," and "Watcher of the Skies," presented in their most recent and dramatic incarnations. The groups next release, Selling England by the Pound (1973), was also their biggest seller to date, reaching number three in England and number 70 in America. They were still a cult band in the United States, but thanks to a lot more FM radio play, their music was getting heard beyond the ranks of the cultists, and finding new listeners by the thousands, especially on college campuses. The release in late 1974 of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway also marked the culmination of the groups early history. A concept album with a very involved story and a large cast of characters, its composition had been difficult, involving a story outlined and written (along with most of the lyrics) exclusively by Gabriel. A creative split developed between him and the others, however, and the division grew worse during the tour that followed. In May of 1975, Gabriel announced that he was leaving Genesis, at what seemed the very moment of their commercial breakthrough. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway had been a breakthrough as well, played heavily on progressive FM stations and selling in far greater numbers than anyone expected of a double LP by this group -- it just missed the Top 40 in the United States, while in England it got to number ten. The group tried auditioning potential replacements, but it became clear that the remaining members all preferred that Phil Collins -- who had provided some vocals on the groups three prior albums -- take over as lead singer. Genesis returned to the studio as a quartet in October of 1975 to work on their new album, and the resulting Trick of the Tail was not a huge departure from their earlier work -- there were still musically challenging progressive songs on the album. The latter were reined in a bit, however, and there was some effort to make the album and the music as accessible as possible. And it worked, the album reaching number three in England and number 31 in America, their best chart showing up to that time. Their 1977 album Wind & Wuthering contained a genuinely appealing pop song, "Your Own Special Way," which helped to loft it to number three in the U.K. and number 26 in the United States. Soon after, Hackett announced that he, too, was leaving -- he was replaced on subsequent concert tours by Daryl Stuermer, but there was no permanent replacement in the studio; instead, Rutherford played all of the guitar parts on their subsequent recordings. In 1978, Genesis released the appropriately titled And Then There Were Three -- with sales driven by the hit single "Follow You, Follow Me," the album got the group its first gold record award. By this time, the group had become a pure pop outfit, and its subsequent albums Duke (1980) and Abacab (1981) both topped the charts in England while brushing near or reaching the Top Ten in America. In 1983, the band regrouped for the self-titled Genesis, which furthered the groups record of British chart-toppers and American Top Ten hits, becoming their second million-selling U.S. album. Two years later, the group outdid itself with the release of its most commercially successful album to date, Invisible Touch, which -- driven by a quintet of Top Ten U.S. singles, including a number one chart placement for the title song -- went platinum several times over in America. It was seven years before the band released its next album, We Cant Dance, which debuted at number one in England and got to number four in America. During that time off, each of the members had done extensive solo work, and Collins had already become a superstar in his own right. We Cant Dance was Collins last album with the group, and with him they also lost Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer from the touring band. Calling All Stations (1997), featuring new vocalist Ray Wilson, seemed to please neither critics nor fans, and Wilson left the group at the conclusion of the accompanying tour. The group was on hiatus for most of the next decade, which saw the release of a pair of box sets, Genesis Archives, Vol. 1 and Genesis Archives, Vol. 2, covering the Gabriel and Collins eras, respectively. Banks, Rutherford, Hackett, Collins, and Gabriel regrouped for a one-off re-recording of "The Carpet Crawlers" for inclusion on the compilation Turn It on Again: The Hits. Genesis were hardly heard from except in an archival capacity for most of the first decade of the 21st century. A 2007 reunion tour featuring Collins, Banks, and Rutherford got decidedly mixed critical reviews, and yielded a lackluster live CD/DVD set. But it coincided with a wave of upgraded, double-disc reissues of most of Genesis catalog and a quartet of box sets covering their history from Trespass forward -- including a complete issue of a legendary 1973 Rainbow Theatre performance -- which have rendered them among the most thoroughly documented groups of their generation. Rumors of a full-fledged reunion continued to circulate but only archival releases materialized, including the triple disc R-Kive which combined Genesis staples with solo cuts from the bands original lineup. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 34 Title: From Genesis to Revelation Released: 1969-03 Tracks: 25 Duration: 1:13:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Where the Sour Turns to Sweet (03:16) 2 In the Beginning (03:45) 3 Fireside Song (04:18) 4 The Serpent (04:38) 5 Am I Very Wrong? (03:31) 6 In the Wilderness (03:30) 7 The Conqueror (03:40) 8 In Hiding (02:41) 9 One Day (03:21) 10 Window (03:33) 11 In Limbo (03:30) 12 The Silent Sun (02:13) 13 A Place to Call My Own (02:00) 14 A Winter’s Tale (03:31) 15 That’s Me (02:41) 16 Silent Sun (mono single version) (02:17) 17 Interview (Jonathan King) - Kenneth King... (01:05) 18 Interview (Jonathan King) - Earth to the Moon (03:53) 19 Interview (Jonathan King) - Butchering of The... (01:56) 20 Interview (Jonathan King) - The Genesis of Genesis (03:59) 21 Interview (Jonathan King) - Peter Gabriel (01:05) 22 Interview (Jonathan King) - The Sessions (02:21) 23 Interview (Jonathan King) - Irony of Drummers (00:52) 24 Interview (Jonathan King) - The Black Album (01:37) 25 Interview (Jonathan King) - Beyond the First Album (04:25) |
 | Album: 2 of 34 Title: Trespass Released: 1970-10 Tracks: 6 Duration: 42:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Looking for Someone (07:04) 2 White Mountain (06:41) 3 Visions of Angels (06:49) 4 Stagnation (08:46) 5 Dusk (04:11) 6 The Knife (08:55) |
| Trespass : Allmusic album Review : Genesis first truly progressive album, and their first record for the Charisma label (although Trespass was released in America by ABC, which is how MCA came to have it), is important mostly as a formative effort. Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, and Michael Rutherford are here, but the guitarist is Anthony Phillips and the drummer is John Mayhew. Gabriel, Banks, Phillips, and Rutherford are responsible for the compositions, which are far more ambitious than the groups earlier efforts ("Silent Sun," etc.). Unfortunately, much of what is here is more interesting for what it points toward than what it actually does -- the group reflects a peculiarly dramatic brand of progressive rock, very theatrical as music, but not very successful. The lyrics are complex enough but lack the unity and clarity that would make Genesis subsequent albums among the most interesting of prog rock efforts to analyze. Gabriels voice is very expressive but generally lacks power and confidence, while the conventional backup vocalizing by the others is wimpy, and Phillips playing is muted. Tony Banks keyboards are the dominant instruments, which isnt that bad, but it isnt the Genesis that everyone came to know. The soft, lyrical "Visions of Angels" and "Stagnation" are typical, gentle works by a band that later learned how to rock much harder. Only one of the songs here, "The Knife" -- which rocks harder than anything else on Trespass and is easily the best track on the album -- lasted in the groups concert repertory past the next album. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 34 Title: Nursery Cryme Released: 1971-11-12 Tracks: 7 Duration: 39:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Musical Box (10:27) 2 For Absent Friends (01:45) 3 The Return of the Giant Hogweed (08:11) 4 Seven Stones (05:09) 5 Harold the Barrel (02:58) 6 Harlequin (02:56) 7 The Fountain of Salmacis (07:55) |
| Nursery Cryme : Allmusic album Review : If Genesis truly established themselves as progressive rockers on Trespass, Nursery Cryme is where their signature persona was unveiled: true English eccentrics, one part Lewis Carroll and one part Syd Barrett, creating a fanciful world that emphasized the bands instrumental prowess as much as Peter Gabriels theatricality. Which isnt to say that all of Nursery Cryme works. There are times when the whimsy is overwhelming, just as there are periods when theres too much instrumental indulgence, yet theres a charm to this indulgence, since the group is letting itself run wild. Even if theyve yet to find the furthest reaches of their imagination, part of the charm is hearing them test out its limits, something that does result in genuine masterpieces, as on "The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed," two epics that dominate the first side of the album and give it its foundation. If the second side isnt quite as compelling or quite as structured, it doesnt quite matter because these are the songs that showed what Genesis could do, and they still stand as pinnacles of what the band could achieve. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 34 Title: Foxtrot Released: 1972-10 Tracks: 6 Duration: 51:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Watcher of the Skies (07:22) 2 Time Table (04:47) 3 Get ’em Out by Friday (08:36) 4 Can‐Utility and the Coastliners (05:45) 5 Horizons (01:43) 6 Supper’s Ready (22:50) |
| Foxtrot : Allmusic album Review : Foxtrot is where Genesis began to pull all of its varied inspirations into a cohesive sound -- which doesnt necessarily mean that the album is streamlined, for this is a group that always was grandiose even when they were cohesive, or even when they rocked, which they truly do for the first time here. Indeed, the startling thing about the opening "Watcher of the Skies" is that its the first time that Genesis attacked like a rock band, playing with a visceral power. Theres might and majesty here, and it, along with "Get Em Out by Friday," is the truest sign that Genesis has grown muscle without abandoning the whimsy. Certainly, theyve rarely sounded as fantastical or odd as they do on the epic 22-minute closer "Suppers Ready," a nearly side-long suite that remains one of the groups signature moments. It ebbs, flows, teases, and taunts, see-sawing between coiled instrumental attacks and delicate pastoral fairy tales. If Peter Gabriel remained a rather inscrutable lyricist, his gift for imagery is abundant, as there are passages throughout the album that are hauntingly evocative in their precious prose. But what impresses most about Foxtrot is how that precociousness is delivered with pure musical force. This is the rare art-rock album that excels at both the art and the rock, and its a pinnacle of the genre (and decade) because of it. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 34 Title: 70’s Pop Sound Released: 1973 Tracks: 7 Duration: 46:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Watcher of the Skies (07:22) 2 Seven Stones (05:09) 3 Looking for Someone (07:04) 4 Harold the Barrel (02:58) 5 The Knife (08:55) 6 Get ’Em Out by Friday (08:36) 7 White Mountain (06:40) |
 | Album: 6 of 34 Title: Live Released: 1973-07 Tracks: 5 Duration: 46:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Watcher of the Skies (08:34) 2 Get ’Em Out by Friday (09:13) 3 The Return of the Giant Hogweed (08:14) 4 The Musical Box (10:55) 5 The Knife (09:47) |
| Live : Allmusic album Review : In early 1973, Genesis allowed the taping of a couple of live shows for broadcast in America as part of the King Biscuit Flower Hour syndicated radio show -- most of their current set, drawn from their albums up through 1972s Foxtrot, was represented. A few months later, Tony Stratton-Smith, the head of Charisma, to which the group was signed, approached them about allowing him to fill the extended gap between Foxtrot and their next album, Selling England by the Pound, by releasing a live album from this same taped performance. The bandmembers, who now say they were somewhat distracted at the time by their work on the new album, agreed to it. And the result was Live, which was originally the only official document of the group in performance with Peter Gabriel in the lineup. And its not just the singer, but everyone who shines here -- its doubtful that anyone ever got a richer sound out of a Mellotron on-stage than Tony Banks does on this album, and Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, and Phil Collins playing is all quite amazing as a whole unit, holding together some very complex music in a live setting. And on that basis alone, this album was an essential acquisition for fans of the group, as well as a key link in solidifying their growing popularity -- the intensity of the performances on "Watcher of the Skies," "Get Em Out by Friday," "Return of the Giant Hogweed," "The Knife, and, especially, "The Musical Box," easily transcend the work (superb though it was) on the studio originals, and is an in-your-face presentation of the theatrical intensity that Gabriel and company brought to their work on-stage. Whats more, the very fact that the band could pull off some of what they do on-stage -- and this was in an era where other prog rock bands, such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, were running up against a brick wall in terms of re-creating their complex studio sounds in concert -- is mighty impressive. Additionally, in the case of "The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed," both songs originally recorded on Nursery Cryme, the versions here documented this lineups true approach to these pieces -- at the time when Nursery Cryme was recorded, guitarist Steve Hackett had barely joined the group (and fragments of music composed by his predecessor, Anthony Phillips, still exist on the album), and most of the guitar parts there were actually the work of bassist Mike Rutherford (who did, in fact, take over most of the groups guitar chores after Hacketts departure in the late 70s). So what we hear on this album are the definitive interpretations of these pieces by this version of the band, more so than the studio originals. And one also gets to hear the classic version of the band tackle the oldest part of their repertory, "The Knife," which went back to their first Charisma album -- and its a killer compared to the original. And one could say that about the whole album, as well as being the best representation of this version of the band at this point in their history, but for one glaring flaw -- the original King Biscuit broadcast included the epic "Suppers Ready" from Foxtrot, which Stratton-Smith was compelled to leave off of the album, rather than face the economic challenge of issuing a three-sided double-LP. That flaw aside, this is about the best single-LP representation of what this band could do on-stage, and to the surprise of a lot of people, it actually won them lots of new fans ahead of the release of Selling England by the Pound. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 34 Title: Selling England by the Pound Released: 1973-09 Tracks: 8 Duration: 53:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dancing with the Moonlit Knight (08:03) 2 I Know What I Like (In your Wardrobe) (04:10) 3 Firth of Fifth (09:34) 4 More Fool Me (03:10) 5 The Battle of Epping Forest (11:43) 6 After the Ordeal (04:15) 7 The Cinema Show (10:41) 8 Aisle of Plenty (01:58) |
| Selling England by the Pound : Allmusic album Review : Genesis proved that they could rock on Foxtrot but on its follow-up Selling England by the Pound they didnt follow this route, they returned to the English eccentricity of their first records, which wasnt so much a retreat as a consolidation of powers. For even if this eight-track album has no one song that hits as hard as "Watcher of the Skies," Genesis hasnt sacrificed the newfound immediacy of Foxtrot: theyve married it to their eccentricity, finding ways to infuse it into the delicate whimsy thats been their calling card since the beginning. This, combined with many overt literary allusions -- the Tolkeinisms of the title of "The Battle of Epping Forest" only being the most apparent -- gives this album a storybook quality. It plays as a collection of short stories, fables, and fairy tales, and it is also a rock record, which naturally makes it quite extraordinary as a collection, but also as a set of individual songs. Genesis has never been as direct as theyve been on the fanciful yet hook-driven "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" -- apart from the fluttering flutes in the fade-out, it could easily be mistaken for a glam single -- or as achingly fragile as on "More Fool Me," sung by Phil Collins. Its this delicate balance and how the album showcases the bands narrative force on a small scale as well as large that makes this their arguable high-water mark. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 34 Title: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Released: 1974-11-18 Tracks: 23 Duration: 1:34:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (04:47) 2 Fly on a Windshield (02:46) 3 Broadway Melody of 1974 (02:11) 4 Cuckoo Cocoon (02:12) 5 In the Cage (08:14) 6 The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging (02:46) 7 Back in N.Y.C. (05:43) 8 Hairless Heart (02:10) 9 Counting Out Time (03:41) 10 The Carpet Crawlers (05:14) 11 The Chamber of 32 Doors (05:41) 1 Lilywhite Lilith (02:42) 2 The Waiting Room (05:25) 3 Anyway (03:08) 4 Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist (03:00) 5 The Lamia (06:56) 6 Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats (03:07) 7 The Colony of Slippermen: Arrival / A Visit to the Doktor / Raven (08:14) 8 Ravine (02:04) 9 The Light Dies Down on Broadway (03:33) 10 Riding the Scree (03:56) 11 In the Rapids (02:24) 12 It (04:17) |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway : Allmusic album Review : Given all the overt literary references of Selling England by the Pound, along with their taste for epic suites such as "Suppers Ready," it was only a matter of time before Genesis attempted a full-fledged concept album, and 1974s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was a massive rock opera: the winding, wielding story of a Puerto Rican hustler name Rael making his way in New York City. Peter Gabriel made some tentative moves toward developing this story into a movie with William Friedkin but it never took off, perhaps its just as well; even with the lengthy libretto included with the album, the story never makes sense. But just because the story is rather impenetrable doesnt mean that the album is as well, because it is a forceful, imaginative piece of work that showcases the original Genesis lineup at a peak. Even if the story is rather hard to piece together, the album is set up in a remarkable fashion, with the first LP being devoted to pop-oriented rock songs and the second being largely devoted to instrumentals. This means that The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway contains both Genesis most immediate music to date and its most elliptical. Depending on a listeners taste, they may gravitate toward the first LP with its tight collection of ten rock songs, or the nightmarish landscapes of the second, where Rael descends into darkness and ultimately redemption (or so it would seem), but theres little question that the first album is far more direct than the second and it contains a number of masterpieces, from the opening fanfare of the title song to the surging "In the Cage," from the frightening "Back in NYC" to the soothing conclusion "The Carpet Crawlers." In retrospect, this first LP plays a bit more like the first Gabriel solo album than the final Genesis album, but theres also little question that the band helps form and shape this music (with Brian Eno adding extra coloring on occasion), while Genesis shines as a group shines on the impressionistic second half. In every way, its a considerable, lasting achievement and its little wonder that Peter Gabriel had to leave the band after this record: they had gone as far as they could go together, and could never top this extraordinary album. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 34 Title: Rock Theatre Released: 1975 Tracks: 6 Duration: 44:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (04:10) 2 Harold the Barrel (03:02) 3 Harlequin (02:55) 4 Watcher of the Skies (03:44) 5 The Fountain of Salmacis (07:56) 6 Supper’s Ready (22:53) |
 | Album: 10 of 34 Title: A Trick of the Tail Released: 1976-02 Tracks: 8 Duration: 51:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dance on a Volcano (05:55) 2 Entangled (06:26) 3 Squonk (06:29) 4 Mad Man Moon (07:35) 5 Robbery, Assault and Battery (06:17) 6 Ripples… (08:06) 7 A Trick of the Tail (04:35) 8 Los Endos (05:46) |
| A Trick of the Tail : Allmusic album Review : After Peter Gabriel departed for a solo career, Genesis embarked on a long journey to find a replacement, only to wind back around to their drummer, Phil Collins, as a replacement. With Collins as their new frontman, the band decided not to pursue the stylish, jagged postmodernism of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway -- a move that Gabriel would do in his solo career -- and instead returned to the English eccentricity of Selling England by the Pound for its next effort, A Trick of the Tail. In almost every respect, this feels like a truer sequel to Selling England by the Pound than Lamb; after all, that double album was obsessed with modernity and nightmare, whereas this album returns the group to the fanciful fairy tale nature of its earlier records. Also, Genesis were moving away from the barbed pop of the first LP and returning to elastic numbers that showcased their instrumental prowess, and they sounded more forceful and unified as a band than they had since Foxtrot. Not that this album is quite as memorable as Foxtrot or Selling England, largely because its songs arent as immediate or memorable: apart from "Dance on a Volcano," this is about the sound of the band playing, not individual songs, and it succeeds on that level quite wildly -- to the extent that it proved to longtime fans that Genesis could possibly thrive without its former leader in tow. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 34 Title: Wind & Wuthering Released: 1976-12-27 Tracks: 9 Duration: 50:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Eleventh Earl of Mar (07:44) 2 One for the Vine (10:00) 3 Your Own Special Way (06:18) 4 Wot Gorilla? (03:19) 5 All in a Mouse’s Night (06:38) 6 Blood on the Rooftops (05:27) 7 ‘Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers… (02:23) 8 …in That Quiet Earth’ (04:49) 9 Afterglow (04:12) |
| Wind & Wuthering : Allmusic album Review : Wind & Wuthering followed quickly on the heels of A Trick of the Tail and theyre very much cut from the same cloth, working the same English eccentric ground that was the groups stock in trade since Trespass. But if A Trick of the Tail played like Genesis attempt at crafting a great Genesis record without Peter Gabriel, as a way of finding their footing as a quartet, Wind & Wuthering finds Genesis tentatively figuring out what their identity will be in this new phase of their career. The most obvious indication of this is Mike Rutherfords "Your Own Special Way," which is both the poppiest tune the group had cut and also the first that could qualify as a love song. It stands out on a record that is, apart from that, a standard Genesis record, but quite a good one in that regard. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 34 Title: …and Then There Were Three… Released: 1978-03-23 Tracks: 11 Duration: 53:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Down and Out (05:26) 2 Undertow (04:46) 3 Ballad of Big (04:50) 4 Snowbound (04:31) 5 Burning Rope (07:09) 6 Deep in the Motherlode (05:15) 7 Many Too Many (03:31) 8 Scenes From a Night’s Dream (03:29) 9 Say It’s Alright Joe (04:20) 10 The Lady Lies (06:07) 11 Follow You, Follow Me (03:59) |
| …and Then There Were Three… : Allmusic album Review : And Then There Were Three, more than either of its immediate predecessors, feels like the beginning of the second phase of Genesis -- in large part because the lineup had indeed dwindled down to Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Phil Collins, a situation alluded to in the title. But it wasnt just a whittling of the lineup; the groups aesthetic was also shifting, moving away from the fantastical, literary landscapes that marked both the early Genesis LPs and the two transitional post-Gabriel outings, as the bandmembers turned their lyrical references to contemporary concerns and slowly worked pop into the mix, as heard on the closing "Follow You Follow Me," the bands first genuine pop hit. Its calm, insistent melody, layered with harmonies, is a perfect soft rock hook, although theres a glassy, almost eerie quality to the production that is also heard throughout the rest of the record. These chilly surfaces are an indication that Genesis dont quite want to abandon prog at this point, but the increasing emphasis on melody and tight song structures points the way toward the groups 80s work. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 34 Title: Duke Released: 1980-03-28 Tracks: 12 Duration: 55:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Behind the Lines (05:31) 2 Duchess (06:25) 3 Guide Vocal (01:34) 4 Man of Our Times (05:35) 5 Misunderstanding (03:14) 6 Heathaze (05:00) 7 Turn It On Again (03:51) 8 Alone Tonight (03:57) 9 Cul‐de‐sac (05:05) 10 Please Don’t Ask (04:02) 11 Duke’s Travels (08:39) 12 Duke’s End (02:07) |
| Duke : Allmusic album Review : If And Then There Were Three suggested that Genesis were moving toward pop, Duke is where they leaped into the fray. Not that it was exactly a head-first leap: the band may have peppered the album with pop songs, but there was still a heavy dose of prog, as the concluding "Duke" suite made clear. This is modernist art rock, quite dissimilar to the fragile, delicate Selling England by the Pound, and sometimes the precision of the attack can be a little bombastic. Nevertheless, this is a major leap forward in distinguishing the sound of Genesis, the band, and along with a new signature sound come pop songs, particularly in the guise of "Misunderstanding" and "Turn It on Again." The first is a light, nearly soulful, heartache song, the latter is a thunderous arena rocker, and both showcase the new version of Genesis at its absolute best. The rest of the record comes close to matching them. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 34 Title: Abacab Released: 1981 Tracks: 9 Duration: 46:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Abacab (06:57) 2 No Reply at All (04:39) 3 Me and Sarah Jane (05:59) 4 Keep It Dark (04:31) 5 Dodo / Lurker (07:29) 6 Who Dunnit? (03:24) 7 Man on the Corner (04:25) 8 Like It or Not (04:52) 9 Another Record (04:20) |
| Abacab : Allmusic album Review : Duke showcased a new Genesis -- a sleek, hard, stylish trio that truly sounded like a different band from its first incarnation -- but Abacab was where this new incarnation of the band came into its own. Working with producer Hugh Padgham, the group escalated the innovations of Duke, increasing the pop hooks, working them seamlessly into the artiest rock here. And even if the brash, glorious pop of "No Reply at All" -- powered by the percolating horns of Earth, Wind & Fire, yet polished into a precise piece of nearly new wave pop by Padgham -- suggests otherwise, this is still art rock at its core, or at least album-oriented rock, as the band works serious syncopations and instrumental forays into a sound thats as bright, bold, and jagged as the modernist artwork on the cover. They dabble in other genres, lacing "Me and Sarah Jane" with a reggae beat, for instance, which often adds dimension to their sound, as when "Dodo" rides a hard funk beat and greasy organ synths yet doesnt become obvious; it turns inward, requiring active listening. Truly, only "No Reply at All," the rampaging title track (possibly their hardest-rocking song to date), and the sleek and spooky "Man on the Corner" (which hides a real melancholy heart underneath its glistening surface) are immediate and accessible -- although the Mockney jokes of "Who Dunnit?" could count, its too much of a geeky novelty to be pop. The rest of Abacab is truly modern art rock, their last album that could bear that tag comfortably. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 34 Title: Genesis Released: 1983-10-03 Tracks: 9 Duration: 45:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Mama (06:47) 2 That’s All (04:25) 3 Home by the Sea (04:52) 4 Second Home by the Sea (06:22) 5 Illegal Alien (05:15) 6 Taking It All Too Hard (03:58) 7 Just a Job to Do (04:47) 8 Silver Rainbow (04:29) 9 It’s Gonna Get Better (04:58) |
| Genesis : Allmusic album Review : Moments of Genesis are as spooky and arty as those on Abacab -- in particular, theres the tortured howl of "Mama," uncannily reminiscent of Phil Collins Face Value, and the two-part "Second Home by the Sea" -- but this eponymous 1983 album is indeed a rebirth, as so many self-titled albums delivered in the thick of a bands career often are. Here the art rock functions as coloring to the pop songs, unlike on Abacab and Duke, where the reverse is true. Some of this may be covering their bets -- to ensure that the longtime fans didnt jump ship, they gave them a bit of art -- some of it may be that the band just couldnt leave prog behind, but the end result is the same: as of this record, Genesis was now primarily a pop band. Anybody who paid attention to "Misunderstanding" and "No Reply at All" could tell that this was a good pop band, primarily thanks to the rapidly escalating confidence of Phil Collins, but Genesis illustrates just how good they could be, by balancing such sleek, pulsating pop tunes as "Thats All" with a newfound touch for aching ballads, as on "Taking It All Too Hard." They still rocked -- "Just a Job to Do" has an almost nasty edge to its propulsion -- and they could still get too silly as on "Illegal Alien," where Phils Speedy Gonzalez accident is an outright embarrassment (although in some ways its not all that far removed from his Artful Dodger accent on the previous albums "Who Dunnit?"), and thats why the album doesnt quite gel. It has a little bit too much of everything -- too much pop, too much art, too much silliness -- so it doesnt pull together, but if taken individually, most of these moments are very strong, testaments to the increasing confidence and pop power of the trio, even if its not quite what longtime fans might care to hear. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 34 Title: Invisible Touch Released: 1986-06-01 Tracks: 8 Duration: 45:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Invisible Touch (03:29) 2 Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (08:53) 3 Land of Confusion (04:46) 4 In Too Deep (04:58) 5 Anything She Does (04:09) 6 Domino: Part One: In the Glow of the Night / Part Two: The Last Domino (10:45) 7 Throwing It All Away (03:50) 8 The Brazilian (04:49) |
| Invisible Touch : Allmusic album Review : Delivered in the wake of Phil Collins massive success as a solo star, Invisible Touch was seen at the time as a bit of a Phil Collins solo album disguised as a Genesis album, and its not hard to see why. Invisible Touch is, without a doubt, Genesis poppiest album, a sleek, streamlined affair built on electronic percussion and dressed in synths that somehow seem to be programmed, not played by Tony Banks. In that sense, it does seem a bit like No Jacket Required, and the heavy emphasis on pop tunes does serve the singer, not the band, but its not quite fair to call this a Collins album, and not just because there are two arty tunes that could have fit on its predecessor, Genesis. There is a difference between Collins and Genesis -- on his own, Phil was lighter, and Genesis was often a bit chillier. Of course, the title track is the frothiest thing the band ever did, while "In Too Deep" and "Throwing It All Away" are power ballads that could be seen as Phil projects, but "Land of Confusion" was a protest tune and "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was a stark, scary tale of scoring dope (which made its inclusion in a Michelob campaign in the 80s almost as odd as recovering alcoholic Eric Clapton shilling for the brewery). But those songs had big hooks that excused their coldness, and the arty moments sank to the bottom, obscured by the big, bold pop hooks here -- pop that was the sound of the mainstream in the late 80s, pop that still effortlessly evokes its time. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 34 Title: Trespass / Nursery Cryme / Foxtrot Released: 1990 Tracks: 19 Duration: 2:12:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Looking for Someone (07:04) 2 White Mountain (06:41) 3 Visions of Angels (06:49) 4 Stagnation (08:46) 5 Dusk (04:11) 6 The Knife (08:55) 1 The Musical Box (10:27) 2 For Absent Friends (01:45) 3 The Return of the Giant Hogweed (08:11) 4 Seven Stones (05:09) 5 Harold the Barrel (02:58) 6 Harlequin (02:56) 7 The Fountain of Salmacis (07:55) 1 Watcher of the Skies (07:22) 2 Time Table (04:47) 3 Get ’em Out by Friday (08:36) 4 Can‐Utility and the Coastliners (05:45) 5 Horizons (01:43) 6 Supper’s Ready (22:50) |
 | Album: 18 of 34 Title: Selling England by the Pound / The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway I & II Released: 1991 Tracks: 31 Duration: 2:27:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dancing With the Moonlit Knight (08:04) 2 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (04:07) 3 Firth of Fifth (09:37) 4 More Fool Me (03:11) 5 The Battle of Epping Forest (11:48) 6 After the Ordeal (04:16) 7 The Cinema Show (11:05) 8 Aisle of Plenty (01:32) 1 The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (04:49) 2 Fly on a Windshield (04:22) 3 Broadway Melody of 1974 (00:33) 4 Cuckoo Cocoon (02:11) 5 In the Cage (08:14) 6 The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging (02:45) 7 Back in N.Y.C. (05:43) 8 Hairless Heart (02:09) 9 Counting Out Time (03:41) 10 Carpet Crawlers (05:14) 11 The Chamber of 32 Doors (05:40) 1 Lilywhite Lilith (02:42) 2 The Waiting Room (05:25) 3 Anyway (03:08) 4 Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist (02:59) 5 The Lamia (06:56) 6 Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats (03:07) 7 The Colony of Slippermen: Arrival / A Visit to the Doktor / Raven (08:14) 8 Ravine (02:04) 9 The Light Dies Down on Broadway (03:33) 10 Riding the Scree (03:56) 11 In the Rapids (02:24) 12 it. (04:17) |
 | Album: 19 of 34 Title: Turn It On Again: Best of ’81–’83 Released: 1991 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:11:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Mama (06:03) 2 Home by the Sea (04:45) 3 That’s All (04:25) 4 Illegal Alien (04:34) 5 Paperlate (03:16) 6 No Reply at All (04:36) 7 Takin’ It All Too Hard (03:58) 8 Man on the Corner (04:15) 9 Misunderstanding (live) (03:57) 10 Follow You, Follow Me (live) (04:39) 11 Abacab (live) (08:35) 12 Turn It on Again (live) (09:03) 13 Firth of Fifth (09:22) |
 | Album: 20 of 34 Title: We Can’t Dance Released: 1991-11-11 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:11:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 No Son of Mine (06:40) 2 Jesus He Knows Me (04:16) 3 Driving the Last Spike (10:10) 4 I Can’t Dance (04:00) 5 Never a Time (03:52) 6 Dreaming While You Sleep (07:17) 7 Tell Me Why (04:59) 8 Living Forever (05:42) 9 Hold on My Heart (04:38) 10 Way of the World (05:40) 11 Since I Lost You (04:11) 12 Fading Lights (10:15) |
| We Can’t Dance : Allmusic album Review : After spending the 1980s moving in an increasingly pop-friendly direction, 1991s We Cant Dance marked a return to earlier aesthetics for Genesis. Edgier with more prominent guitars and live drums than on Invisible Touch, the record was the bands strongest musical statement in over a decade. With "Driving the Last Spike" and the dark "Dreaming While You Sleep" the group revisited one of their forgotten strengths, telling extended stories. Thats not to say the album is a return to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway or Trick of the Tail. Indeed, while there are several extended pieces on the record, there is none of the eccentricities, odd meters, or extended virtuoso solos of the bands progressive heyday. The albums closer, "Fading Lights," comes the closest, featuring an outstanding instrumental mid-section. Unfortunately, the record also contains some gutless ballads and paeans for world understanding that sound miles away from any immediacy. However, the surprisingly gritty singles "No Son of Mine," "Jesus He Knows Me," and "I Cant Dance" help make up for the albums weaker moments. | ||
 | Album: 21 of 34 Title: Genesis Live: Follow You, Follow Me Released: 1997 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:05:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Follow You, Follow Me (04:31) 2 Turn It on Again (04:44) 3 Abacab (05:31) 4 Mama (04:07) 5 Thats All (04:59) 6 Invisible Touch (04:38) 7 Throwing It All Away (06:44) 8 Land of Confusion (04:45) 9 Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (04:39) 10 In Too Deep (05:12) 11 No Son of Mine (04:57) 12 I Cant Dance (05:15) 13 Jesus He Knows Me (05:02) |
 | Album: 22 of 34 Title: …Calling All Stations… Released: 1997-08-25 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:07:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Calling All Stations (05:43) 2 Congo (04:52) 3 Shipwrecked (04:23) 4 Alien Afternoon (07:53) 5 Not About Us (04:39) 6 If That’s What You Need (05:12) 7 The Dividing Line (07:44) 8 Uncertain Weather (05:29) 9 Small Talk (05:02) 10 There Must Be Some Other Way (07:55) 11 One Man’s Fool (08:47) |
| …Calling All Stations… : Allmusic album Review : Phil Collins left Genesis following the We Cant Dance tour and many observers expected Tony Banks and Michael Rutherford to finally call it a day. They decided to persevere instead, hiring former Stiltskin vocalist Ray Wilson to replace Collins. Given that Stiltskin was a European neo-prog band, it isnt a total surprise that Genesis returned to their art rock roots on Calling All Stations, their first album with Wilson. The music on Calling All Stations is long, dense, and lugubrious, but its given the same immaculate, pristine production that was the hallmark of their adult contemporary work with Collins. It wants to be an art rock album, but not at the expense of losing the pop audience -- which makes it all the stranger that the group doesnt really write pop songs on Calling All Stations. That may be because Wilsons voice isnt suited for pop, but works well with languid, synthesized prog settings. But even ponderous prog rock has to have musical themes worth exploring, and on that level, Genesis come up dry on Calling All Stations. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 34 Title: Archive 1967–75 Released: 1998-06-16 Tracks: 52 Duration: 4:10:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (06:29) 2 Fly on a Windshield (04:38) 3 Broadway Melody of 1974 (00:34) 4 Cuckoo Cocoon (02:17) 5 In the Cage (07:56) 6 The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging (04:25) 7 Back in N.Y.C. (06:18) 8 Hairless Heart (02:21) 9 Counting Out Time (03:59) 10 Carpet Crawlers (05:45) 11 The Chamber of 32 Doors (05:51) 1 Lillywhite Lilith (03:04) 2 The Waiting Room (06:14) 3 Anyway (03:28) 4 Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist (03:57) 5 The Lamia (07:18) 6 Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats (03:08) 7 The Colony of Slippermen (08:47) 8 Ravine (01:36) 9 The Light Dies Down on Broadway (03:37) 10 Riding the Scree (04:29) 11 In the Rapids (02:25) 12 It (04:20) 1 Dancing With the Moonlit Knight (07:05) 2 Firth of Fifth (08:28) 3 More Fool Me (03:59) 4 Supper’s Ready (26:34) 5 I Know What I Like (05:36) 6 Stagnation (08:53) 7 Twilight Alehouse (07:48) 8 Happy the Man (02:54) 9 Watcher of the Skies (03:42) 1 In the Wilderness (02:59) 2 Shepherd (04:00) 3 Pacidy (05:41) 4 Let Us Now Make Love (06:13) 5 Going Out to Get You (04:53) 6 Dusk (06:13) 7 Build Me a Mountain (04:12) 8 Image Blown Out (02:11) 9 One Day (03:08) 10 Where Sour Turns Sweet (03:14) 11 In the Beginning (03:31) 12 The Magic of Time (02:01) 13 Hey! (02:27) 14 Hidden in the World of Dawn (03:10) 15 Sea Bee (03:04) 16 The Mystery of the Flannan Isle Lighthouse (02:35) 17 Hair on the Arms and Legs (02:41) 18 She Is Beautiful (03:46) 19 Try a Little Sadness (03:20) 20 Patricia (03:04) |
| Archive 1967–75 : Allmusic album Review : Prog rock audiences have always been receptive to box sets, especially sets that include an abundance of rare material -- witness the success of the numerous King Crimson sets. When it came time to assemble their own box sets, Genesis chose to follow the path of rarities instead of merely rehashing their old hits. That means, of course, that Genesis Archives, Vol. 1: 1967-1975 is the province of hardcore fans and collectors, not casual listeners, since there is nothing but unreleased material on the four-disc set. The first two discs are devoted to a live performance of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 24, 1975; the third has a selection of live material from the London Rainbow Theatre on October 20, 1973, plus a handful of rare singles and a BBC session; the fourth has alternate mixes, BBC sessions, and demos from 1967-1969. Its a virtual cornucopia of rare material, much of which will be necessary to dedicated fans. However, for some listeners, the set may be frustrating, and not because it contains rarities -- its because those rarities have been tampered with. Peter Gabriel recut some of his vocals for The Lamb in 1998, claiming that he didnt give his best possible performance because his elaborate costumes were constricting. Steve Hackett followed suit and "brushed up" some guitar lines. This may frustrate some fans who would prefer to have the original tapes preserved, but it may be a minor thing to collectors, who will likely delight in having all these rare recordings -- many of which are quite terrific -- in one place. | ||
 | Album: 24 of 34 Title: Turn It On Again: The Hits Released: 1999-10-22 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:19:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Turn It On Again (03:51) 2 Invisible Touch (03:29) 3 Mama (05:18) 4 Land of Confusion (04:46) 5 I Can’t Dance (04:00) 6 Follow You, Follow Me (03:59) 7 Hold on My Heart (04:38) 8 Abacab (04:10) 9 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (04:07) 10 No Son of Mine (05:46) 11 Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (04:28) 12 In Too Deep (04:58) 13 Congo (04:03) 14 Jesus He Knows Me (04:16) 15 That’s All (04:25) 16 Misunderstanding (03:14) 17 Throwing It All Away (03:50) 18 The Carpet Crawlers 1999 (05:39) |
| Turn It On Again: The Hits : Allmusic album Review : Originally, there were plans for two Genesis box sets -- one covering the classic Peter Gabriel era, the other chronicling the bands development into hit-makers under the direction of Phil Collins. The Gabriel set was released in 1998, but instead of a second box following it in 1999, the single-disc Turn It on Again: The Hits appeared. Truth be told, it was a wise move, because even if the Collins set appears, there will be a market for a concise collection of hits, which Turn It on Again more or less is. Since Genesis had such a prolific career and had so many hits, it should come as no surprise that the compilation isnt complete, but its a little disappointing to discover that such latter-day non-entities as "Hold on My Heart" (from the last Collins album, We Cant Dance) and "Congo" (from the post-Collins album, Calling All Stations) are included in favor of such fine singles as "Paperlate" or "Man on the Corner." But thats nitpicking, since all the big hits are here: "Turn It on Again," "Invisible Touch," "Follow You, Follow Me," "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," "In Too Deep," "Thats All," "Misunderstanding," "Throwing It All Away," and the list goes on and on. True, the sublime Gabriel number "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" sounds completely out of place sandwiched between "Abacab" and "No Son of Mine," but its nice to have it here. Similarly, "The Carpet Crawlers 1999," reworked as a duet between Collins and Gabriel, is a surprisingly effective re-recording, and a nice inclusion. It may not be enough to convince hardcore fans that they need Turn It on Again, but this album is really for listeners whove thought of Genesis as a singles act, and theyre not going to be disappointed by this. | ||
 | Album: 25 of 34 Title: Archive #2 1976–1992 Released: 2000-11-06 Tracks: 34 Duration: 3:26:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 On the Shoreline (04:48) 2 Hearts on Fire (05:15) 3 You Might Recall (05:32) 4 Paperlate (03:21) 5 Evidence of Autumn (04:58) 6 Do the Neurotic (07:08) 7 I’d Rather Be You (03:58) 8 Naminanu (03:54) 9 Inside and Out (06:43) 10 Feeding the Fire (05:51) 11 I Can’t Dance 12″ (07:02) 12 Submarine (05:13) 1 Illegal Alien (05:31) 2 Dreaming While You Sleep (07:48) 3 It’s Gonna Get Better (07:32) 4 Deep in the Motherlode (05:54) 5 Ripples (09:53) 6 The Brazilian (05:17) 7 Your Own Special Way (06:51) 8 Burning Rope (07:28) 9 Entangled (06:57) 10 Duke’s Travels (09:31) 1 Invisible Touch 12″ (05:58) 2 Land of Confusion 12″ (06:59) 3 Tonight, Tonight, Tonight 12″ (11:46) 4 No Reply at All (live) (04:56) 5 Man on the Corner (live) (04:04) 6 The Lady Lies (live) (06:08) 7 Open Door (04:08) 8 The Day the Light Went Out (03:14) 9 Vancouver (03:03) 10 Pigeons (03:13) 11 It’s Yourself (05:25) 12 Mama (work in progress) (10:43) |
 | Album: 26 of 34 Title: Platinum Collection Released: 2004-11-29 Tracks: 40 Duration: 3:54:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 No Son of Mine (06:40) 2 I Can’t Dance (04:00) 3 Jesus He Knows Me (04:16) 4 Hold on My Heart (04:38) 5 Invisible Touch (03:29) 6 Throwing It All Away (03:50) 7 Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (04:28) 8 Land of Confusion (04:46) 9 In Too Deep (04:58) 10 Mama (06:47) 11 That’s All (04:25) 12 Home by the Sea (05:07) 13 Second Home by the Sea (06:06) 14 Illegal Alien (05:15) 15 Paperlate (03:23) 16 Calling All Stations (05:44) 1 Abacab (06:57) 2 Keep It Dark (04:34) 3 Turn It On Again (03:51) 4 Behind the Lines (05:43) 5 Duchess (06:06) 6 Misunderstanding (03:14) 7 Many Too Many (03:34) 8 Follow You Follow Me (04:08) 9 Undertow (04:46) 10 …in That Quiet Earth’ (04:49) 11 Afterglow (04:08) 12 Your Own Special Way (06:18) 13 A Trick of the Tail (04:35) 14 Ripples (08:08) 15 Los Endos (05:46) 1 The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (04:49) 2 Counting Out Time (03:36) 3 Carpet Crawlers (05:01) 4 Firth of Fifth (09:28) 5 The Cinema Show (10:48) 6 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (03:53) 7 Supper’s Ready (22:50) 8 The Musical Box (10:24) 9 The Knife (08:55) |
| Platinum Collection : Allmusic album Review : Platinum Collection is a triple-disc covering the biggest hits and anthems from Genesis career. Not a bad idea for a set, especially because it does contain the relatively rare non-LP single "Paperlate," but its not necessarily executed as well as it could be. First off, there are the inevitable omissions, highlighted by such Genesis standards as "Man on the Corner" and "No Reply at All," but also extending to such smaller 80s hits as "Just a Job to Do" and "Anything She Does," not to mention various album tracks, particularly from the Peter Gabriel era. Nevertheless, Platinum Collection handles the Gabriel years better than 1999s Turn It on Again: The Hits, primarily because it has the space to stretch out and serve up a full disc of early Genesis, and while "Watcher of the Skies" is missed, its hard to argue with any Gabriel comp that includes "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway," "Counting out Time," "Carpet Crawlers," "Firth of Fifth," "The Musical Box," "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," and a full-length "Suppers Ready." Actually, thats not entirely true -- there is one complaint that can be lodged against the Gabriel disc and that can be lodged against Platinum Collection as a whole: its sequenced in reverse chronological order (with the notable exception of the post-Phil Collins cut "Calling All Sections" being tucked away at the end of the first disc, since theres absolutely no way that even the most devoted Genesis fan would stick with rest of the comp if it began with that tune). While its not a fatal blow to the value of the compilation -- this does, after all, contain most of the songs casual fans would want in one handy little set -- starting with We Cant Dance and slowly rolling back over the years makes for some uneasy listening, since the reverse order not only prevents the album from gaining momentum, it doesnt provide any new insights to the bands work, the way that Jimmy Pages non-chronological sequencing on the Led Zeppelin box did. If the entire set was flipped around, beginning with "The Knife" and ending with "No Son of Mine," it would be a better listen as an album, but as a clearing-house for most, but not all, of the big Genesis songs, Platinum Collection is worthwhile for casual fans. | ||
 | Album: 27 of 34 Title: 14 From Our Past Released: 2007 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:10:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Knife (08:53) 2 Happy the Man (02:55) 3 Watcher of the Skies (07:21) 4 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (04:06) 5 The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (04:51) 6 Squonk (06:29) 7 Your Own Special Way (06:20) 8 Follow You, Follow Me (03:59) 9 Turn It on Again (03:53) 10 Abacab (04:10) 11 Thats All (04:27) 12 Land of Confusion (04:46) 13 Hold on My Heart (04:37) 14 Congo (04:03) |
| 14 From Our Past : Allmusic album Review : In presenting a concise career summary of Genesis, Starbucks and Hear Music have done a surprisingly even-handed job in terms of representing the bands early prog-rock days as well as their later pop-star phase. Thus, 14 FROM OUR PAST offers such arty Peter Gabriel-led 1970s epics as the mellotron-laden "Watcher of the Skies" and the bustling, organ-driven "The Knife," as well as such melodic pop confections of the bands later Phil Collins-fronted period as the McCartneyesque "Thats All" and the mellow, romantic "Hold On My Heart." If you want to get an overall picture of the stylistic expanses Genesis traversed in its lifetime, this is an excellent place to turn. | ||
 | Album: 28 of 34 Title: 1976–1982 Released: 2007-04-02 Tracks: 62 Duration: 5:17:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dance on a Volcano (05:55) 2 Entangled (06:26) 3 Squonk (06:29) 4 Mad Man Moon (07:35) 5 Robbery, Assault and Battery (06:17) 6 Ripples… (08:06) 7 A Trick of the Tail (04:35) 8 Los Endos (05:46) 1 Eleventh Earl of Mar (07:43) 2 One for the Vine (09:59) 3 Your Own Special Way (06:17) 4 Wot Gorilla? (03:20) 5 All in a Mouse’s Night (06:39) 6 Blood on the Rooftops (05:27) 7 Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers… (02:19) 8 …in That Quiet Earth’ (04:54) 9 Afterglow (04:14) 1 Down and Out (05:27) 2 Undertow (04:47) 3 Ballad of Big (04:50) 4 Snowbound (04:31) 5 Burning Rope (07:10) 6 Deep in the Motherlode (05:15) 7 Many Too Many (03:31) 8 Scenes From a Night’s Dream (03:29) 9 Say It’s Alright Joe (04:21) 10 The Lady Lies (06:08) 11 Follow You Follow Me (04:03) 1 Behind the Lines (05:31) 2 Duchess (06:37) 3 Guide Vocal (01:21) 4 Man of Our Times (05:35) 5 Misunderstanding (03:15) 6 Heathaze (04:59) 7 Turn It On Again (03:52) 8 Alone Tonight (03:57) 9 Cul-de-sac (05:04) 10 Please Don’t Ask (04:02) 11 Duke’s Travels (08:38) 12 Duke’s End (02:10) 1 Abacab (06:57) 2 No Reply at All (04:33) 3 Me and Sarah Jane (06:02) 4 Keep It Dark (04:32) 5 Dodo/Lurker (07:31) 6 Who Dunnit? (03:24) 7 Man on the Corner (04:27) 8 Like It or Not (04:58) 9 Another Record (04:38) 1 Paperlate (03:25) 2 Evidence of Autumn (04:58) 3 Pigeons (03:15) 4 You Might Recall (05:35) 5 Naminanu (03:54) 6 Inside and Out (06:48) 7 Vancouver (03:03) 8 Me and Virgil (06:19) 9 It’s Yourself (06:15) 10 Match of the Day (03:30) 11 Open Door (04:06) 12 The Day the Light Went Out (03:12) 13 Submarine (04:38) |
 | Album: 29 of 34 Title: 1983–1998 Released: 2007-10-01 Tracks: 48 Duration: 4:37:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Mama (06:52) 2 That’s All (04:25) 3 Home by the Sea (05:07) 4 Second Home by the Sea (06:07) 5 Illegal Alien (05:15) 6 Taking It All Too Hard (03:58) 7 Just a Job to Do (04:47) 8 Silver Rainbow (04:29) 9 It’s Gonna Get Better (05:14) 1 Invisible Touch (03:30) 2 Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (08:53) 3 Land of Confusion (04:46) 4 In Too Deep (05:02) 5 Anything She Does (04:20) 6 Domino: Part One: In the Glow of the Night / Part Two: The Last Domino (10:45) 7 Throwing It All Away (03:51) 8 The Brazilian (05:04) 1 No Son of Mine (06:40) 2 Jesus He Knows Me (04:16) 3 Driving the Last Spike (10:08) 4 I Can’t Dance (04:01) 5 Never a Time (03:50) 6 Dreaming While You Sleep (07:16) 7 Tell Me Why (04:59) 8 Living Forever (05:41) 9 Hold On My Heart (04:38) 10 Way of the World (05:39) 11 Since I Lost You (04:09) 12 Fading Lights (10:27) 1 Calling All Stations (05:43) 2 Congo (04:52) 3 Shipwrecked (04:23) 4 Alien Afternoon (07:53) 5 Not About Us (04:39) 6 If That’s What You Need (05:12) 7 The Dividing Line (07:44) 8 Uncertain Weather (05:29) 9 Small Talk (05:02) 10 There Must Be Some Other Way (07:55) 11 One Man’s Fool (08:47) 1 On the Shoreline (04:50) 2 Hearts on Fire (05:15) 3 Do the Neurotic (07:05) 4 Feeding the Fire (05:52) 5 I’d Rather Be You (04:04) 6 Anything Now (07:03) 7 Sign Your Life Away (04:45) 8 Run Out of Time (06:35) |
 | Album: 30 of 34 Title: The Early Days of Genesis Released: 2008 Tracks: 23 Duration: 27:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Where the Sour Turns to Sweet (03:15) 2 In the Beginning (?) 3 Fireside Song (?) 4 The Serpent (?) 5 Am I Very Wrong (?) 6 In the Wilderness (?) 7 The Conqueror (?) 8 In Hiding (?) 9 One Day (?) 10 Window (03:33) 11 In Limbo (?) 12 The Silent Sun (02:14) 1 A Place to Call My Own (02:00) 2 A Winter’s Tale (03:31) 3 One Eyed Hound (02:32) 4 That’s Me (?) 5 Image Blown Out (?) 6 She Is Beautiful (03:46) 7 Try a Little Sadness (demo version) (?) 8 Patricia (03:05) 9 Where the Sour Turns to Sweet (2006) (03:16) 10 The Silent Sun 2006 (?) 11 In the Wilderness (rough mix) (?) |
 | Album: 31 of 34 Title: 1970–1975 Released: 2008-11-10 Tracks: 60 Duration: 5:27:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Looking for Someone (07:04) 2 White Mountain (06:41) 3 Visions of Angels (06:49) 4 Stagnation (08:46) 5 Dusk (04:11) 6 The Knife (08:55) 1 The Musical Box (10:30) 2 For Absent Friends (01:48) 3 The Return of the Giant Hogweed (08:10) 4 Seven Stones (05:08) 5 Harold the Barrel (03:01) 6 Harlequin (02:56) 7 The Fountain of Salmacis (08:02) 1 Watcher of the Skies (07:23) 2 Time Table (04:47) 3 Get ’em Out by Friday (08:36) 4 Can-Utility and the Coastliners (05:45) 5 Horizons (01:41) 6 Supper’s Ready (22:55) 1 Dancing With the Moonlit Knight (08:04) 2 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (04:07) 3 Firth of Fifth (09:37) 4 More Fool Me (03:11) 5 The Battle of Epping Forest (11:48) 6 After the Ordeal (04:16) 7 The Cinema Show (11:05) 8 Aisle of Plenty (01:32) 1 The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (04:47) 2 Fly on a Windshield (02:46) 3 Broadway Melody of 1974 (02:11) 4 Cuckoo Cocoon (02:12) 5 In the Cage (08:14) 6 The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging (02:46) 7 Back in N.Y.C. (05:43) 8 Hairless Heart (02:10) 9 Counting Out Time (03:41) 10 The Carpet Crawlers (05:14) 11 The Chamber of 32 Doors (05:41) 1 Lilywhite Lilith (02:42) 2 The Waiting Room (05:25) 3 Anyway (03:08) 4 Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist (03:00) 5 The Lamia (06:56) 6 Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats (03:07) 7 The Colony of Slippermen: Arrival / A Visit to the Doktor / Raven (08:14) 8 Ravine (02:04) 9 The Light Dies Down on Broadway (03:33) 10 Riding the Scree (03:56) 11 In the Rapids (02:24) 12 It (04:17) 1 Happy the Man (03:08) 2 Twilight Alehouse (07:47) 3 Going Out to Get You (04:53) 4 Shepherd (04:04) 5 Pacidy (05:41) 6 Let Us Now Make Love (06:13) 7 Provocation (04:09) 8 Frustration (03:42) 9 Manipulation (03:48) 10 Resignation (03:03) |
 | Album: 32 of 34 Title: Live 1973–2007 Released: 2009-09-21 Tracks: 60 Duration: 7:45:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Watcher of the Skies (08:39) 2 Get ’em Out by Friday (09:08) 3 The Return of the Giant Hogweed (08:32) 4 The Musical Box (10:34) 5 The Knife (09:48) 6 Back in New York City (06:09) 7 Fly on a Windshield (02:54) 8 Broadway Melody of 1974 (02:18) 9 Anyway (03:33) 10 Chamber of 32 Doors (05:58) 1 Squonk (06:40) 2 Carpet Crawlers (05:20) 3 Robbery, Assault & Battery (06:02) 4 Afterglow (04:25) 5 Firth of Fifth (08:55) 6 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (08:44) 7 The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (04:58) 8 The Musical Box (closing section) (03:18) 1 Supper’s Ready (24:40) 2 The Cinema Show (10:58) 3 Dance on a Volcano (05:08) 4 Los Endos (06:19) 1 Turn It on Again (05:16) 2 Dodo (07:20) 3 Abacab (08:43) 4 Behind the Lines (05:24) 5 Duchess (06:42) 6 Me and Sarah Jane (06:07) 7 Follow You, Follow Me (04:49) 1 Misunderstanding (04:12) 2 In the Cage (medley): The Cinema Show / Slipperman (11:51) 3 Afterglow (05:13) 4 One for the Vine (05:04) 5 The Fountain of Salmacis (08:34) 6 It / Watcher of the Skies (07:03) 1 Land of Confusion (05:13) 2 No Son of Mine (07:01) 3 Driving the Last Spike (10:19) 4 Old Medley: Dance on a Volcano / The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway / The Musical Box / Firth of Fifth / I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (19:43) 5 Throwing It All Away (06:54) 6 Fading Lights (10:50) 7 Jesus He Knows Me (05:31) 8 Home by the Sea / Second Home by the Sea (12:03) 1 Hold on My Heart (05:54) 2 Domino: In the Glow of the Night / The Last Domino (11:20) 3 The Drum Thing (05:49) 4 I Can’t Dance (07:15) 5 Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (03:49) 6 Invisible Touch (05:27) 7 Turn It on Again (07:10) 8 Mama (06:48) 9 That’s All (04:58) 10 In Too Deep (05:35) 1 Dancing With the Moonlit Knight (09:15) 2 The Cinema Show (11:05) 3 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (05:23) 4 Firth of Fifth (08:32) 5 More Fool Me (03:24) 6 The Battle of Epping Forest (12:22) 7 Supper’s Ready (23:41) |
| Live 1973–2007 : Allmusic album Review : The last in a series of four deluxe box sets reissuing the entirety of Genesis catalog, Live 1973-2007 contains four of the groups five live albums -- 1973s Live, 1977s Seconds Out, 1982s Three Sides Live, and both volumes of 1992s Genesis Live: The Way We Walk, sequencing the two into concert order -- adding an empty slot for 2007s Live Over Europe, which was not included in this set. As a reflection of the shifting times, Live 1973-2007 doesnt have as many high-resolution audio options as the previous box sets, with only Live, Seconds Out, and Live at the Rainbow 1973 -- the latter a bonus in the form of the first official release of an early live concert that has been heavily bootlegged and excerpted on previous Genesis archival releases -- presented in DVDs with 5.1 Surround Sound (Three Sides Live and The Way We Walk are just CDs). Apart from this notable exception, this box maintains the high quality of the rest of the series right down to that excellent bonus disc from the Rainbow. While there isnt as much video material as the previous three box sets and some will (justifiably) bristle at the lack of 5.1 mixes, this nevertheless remains a fine conclusion to this excellent reissue series. | ||
 | Album: 33 of 34 Title: R-Kive Released: 2014-09-26 Tracks: 37 Duration: 3:53:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Knife (08:53) 2 The Musical Box (10:25) 3 Supper’s Ready (23:03) 4 The Cinema Show (10:50) 5 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (04:09) 6 The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (04:54) 7 Back in N.Y.C. (05:39) 8 Carpet Crawlers (05:15) 9 Ace of Wands (05:22) 1 Ripples (08:04) 2 Afterglow (04:11) 3 Solsbury Hill (04:21) 4 Follow You Follow Me (04:00) 5 For a While (03:39) 6 Every Day (06:14) 7 Biko (07:28) 8 Turn It on Again (03:51) 9 In the Air Tonight (05:30) 10 Abacab (07:01) 11 Mama (06:48) 12 That’s All (04:25) 13 Easy Lover (05:02) 14 Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground) (05:46) 1 Invisible Touch (03:28) 2 Land of Confusion (04:46) 3 Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (08:52) 4 The Living Years (05:24) 5 Red Day on Blue Street (05:49) 6 I Can’t Dance (04:01) 7 No Son of Mine (06:39) 8 Hold on My Heart (04:36) 9 Over My Shoulder (03:35) 10 Calling All Stations (05:46) 11 Signal to Noise (07:32) 12 Wake Up Call (05:14) 13 Nomads (04:39) 14 Siren (08:46) |
| R-Kive : Allmusic album Review : On paper, the 2014 triple-disc set R-Kive makes sense: tell the tale of Genesis from beginning to end, roughly separating each disc into an act -- disc one is devoted to the early years with Peter Gabriel; the second to the rise of Phil Collins; the third to Collins and beyond -- deepening the portrait by threading in solo recordings by its founding members along the way. It would seem this approach would offer a broader understanding of what Genesis and its various branches accomplished, but it tends to muddy waters due to its egalitarian compilation. Of the five original members, Gabriel and Collins were the undoubted superstars, racking up international hits in several different decades. Mike Rutherford had his run at the charts with Mike + the Mechanics -- "Silent Running" and "The Living Years" were nearly as ubiquitous in the late 80s as Collins "One More Night" and "Sussudio" -- but Tony Banks and Steve Hackett used their individual solo albums to pursue their prog roots, so when these are combined alongside album rock radio and chart hits from the band proper, the balance feels skewed. It also doesnt help matters that nearly half of the final disc is devoted to material recorded after 1991s We Cant Dance (the album itself is represented by three songs, the same number that were pulled from 1986s Invisible Touch and 1974s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway), material that cant be called classic by any stretch; nor is it welcome that apart from "In the Air Tonight," most of Collins major 80s hits are missing (his Philip Bailey duet "Easy Lover" is here, though), as are Gabriels, who is represented by "Solsbury Hill" and "Biko." So what is here, then? Most of Genesis standards, ranging from "Suppers Ready" and "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" to "Follow You Follow Me," "Turn It on Again," "Thats All," "Tonight Tonight Tonight," and "Hold on My Heart," and three cuts apiece from all five original members, which adds up to over a full third of this compilation. This does amount to a version of the Genesis story -- all of the groups struggles, triumphs, and constant evolution are readily apparent -- but theres too much excess and too much missing for R-Kive to be definitive. | ||
 | Album: 34 of 34 Title: 50 Years Ago Released: 2017-03-01 Tracks: 23 Duration: 1:15:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 In Hiding (vocals) (02:36) 2 One Day (new stereo mix) (03:29) 3 A Winter’s Tale (07:38) 4 A Place to Call My Own (vocals) (01:03) 5 The Silent Sun (02:14) 6 In Hiding (new stereo mix) (02:38) 7 On the Trail of the One Eyed Hound (new stereo mix) (02:40) 8 Where the Sour Turns to Sweet (03:25) 9 A Place to Call My Own (new mix) (02:22) 10 One Day (03:22) 11 In Limbo (03:27) 12 Am I Very Wrong? (03:02) 13 The Serpent (04:03) 14 The Serpent (vocals) (03:58) 15 The Silent Sun (alternate new mix) (02:13) 16 The Conqueror (03:28) 17 Image Blown Out (02:49) 18 That’s Me (02:38) 19 In the Wilderness (03:23) 20 The Window (03:34) 21 In the Beginning (new mix) (04:24) 22 Fireside Song (new mix) (03:39) 23 Where the Sour Turns to Sweet (new mix) (03:30) |