From International Times No. 57, May 23 - June 5, 1969.
by Mark Williams.
'FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION'
DECCA SKL 4990
It's all so sad that it sometimes makes me sick with disgust (a fact you may have deduced from the article, 'Pop Protest - the media is the Message', IT/56), so many of our native groups and individuals are making records that are musically tremendous and yet record company executives are still putting all the commercial pressure behind crap like one hears on 17 way Family Favourites. 'From Genesis to Revelation' has received almost no publicity from the mighty Decca org., despite the fact that whizz-kid and jam-kicker Jonathan King produced the thing and yet it's a beautiful, entirely valid musical exercise.
The group who performed this work were called Genesis but have had to stop using the title because of the American band of the same name, now they are nameless but individually Peter Gabriel, who sings and plays flute, Tony Phillips, guitarist and zither plucker, Tony Banks, who plays organ and piano, Mike Rutherford, bass and John Silverman [!] the drummer-man. The most noteworthy aspect of the group is that they are all young, from 17 to 20, and are therefore only in the early stages of their musical development which is an awe-inspiring thought because the ideas they express on this album are already streets ahead of so many other groups. The album sets out to recall the memories of adolescence in all their fleeting naivety and it succeeds quite exellently. At times, however, the words border on the pretentious but then one's teens are oftens pretentious anyway, if it needles you though, involve yourself in Art Greenslade's intricate arrangements [!] which are even better than those off the Earth Opera LP.
The group's style is vaguely similar to that of Manfred Mann and Peter Gabriel's singing, particularly on 'A Place To Call My Own', reminds me a little of Roger Daltry's work on 'Tommy'. The album is wholly fresh, though and I advise instant purchase before the group are allowed to plunge into obscurity by a headless British Music Industry.
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by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:05
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
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by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:06
From Melody Maker, November 1, 1969.
by B.D.
IT'S NOT often a new group or a new record comes along that sends me leafing through the dictionary for superlatives.
This time it's both. The group is Flaming Youth and the album is 'Ark 2', due for release by Philips - you may already have heard the single, 'Orion', from the LP. On paper, 'Ark 2' could have turned out to be a load of oretentious rubbish. It's a suite dealing with the escape from burning earth by the last space ship.
In fact it's superbly done. The lyrics are adult, bitingly witty and sophisticated. The tunes have both instant appeal and are memorable - a rare combination. The group are the most promising I have heard in a long while - "Flash" Gordon Smith (vcl, gtr, bass gtr), Brian Chatton (organ, pno, vcl), Ronnie Caryl (bass gtr, gtr, vcl) and Phil Collins (drs, percussion, vcl).
The group was originally formed as Hickory to back the Gladiators who were, as Phil puts it, "doing a Four Tops thing." They ended up backing John Walker but decided they wanted to go their own way. They were approached by the writers of "Ark 2" and spent 200 hours working on it, doing the arrangements themselves. The writers, incidentally, wish to remain anonymous because they feel their previous associations might harm the image of the record and the group.
Phil, a former Artful Dodger in the West End production of "Oliver", seems to have most to say in the group and explained to me what exactly their "thing" was. "We do some writing ourselves and play some of Flash's numbers," he told me. "But mainly we take other people's numbers apart and put them together again so you can hardly recognise them. We also attempt to play some jazz."
Flaming Youth are all good musicians. As organist Brian put it: "The audience got to the limit of the three-chord stuff. Now they won't listen if you can't play your instrument. And they really are willing to listen now. It took somebody like Eric Clapton to say: 'I'm going to play what I want to play' and it opened the way for everybody to be able to do their own things." "We also like to think we are an entertaining group," interposed Ronnie.
Flash, the group's resident cynic, feels their future must eventually lie abroad. "England is played out," he said. "They only go to a dance because there is nowhere else to go. Audiences on the Continent will really listen, they don't just go to drink. Flash, in fact, spent a long time on the Continent as a member of the Crawdads. Brian was formerly with a group called the Warriors and Phil and Ronnie with the Freehold.
If there's any justice they have a smash hit album on their hands.
by B.D.
IT'S NOT often a new group or a new record comes along that sends me leafing through the dictionary for superlatives.
This time it's both. The group is Flaming Youth and the album is 'Ark 2', due for release by Philips - you may already have heard the single, 'Orion', from the LP. On paper, 'Ark 2' could have turned out to be a load of oretentious rubbish. It's a suite dealing with the escape from burning earth by the last space ship.
In fact it's superbly done. The lyrics are adult, bitingly witty and sophisticated. The tunes have both instant appeal and are memorable - a rare combination. The group are the most promising I have heard in a long while - "Flash" Gordon Smith (vcl, gtr, bass gtr), Brian Chatton (organ, pno, vcl), Ronnie Caryl (bass gtr, gtr, vcl) and Phil Collins (drs, percussion, vcl).
The group was originally formed as Hickory to back the Gladiators who were, as Phil puts it, "doing a Four Tops thing." They ended up backing John Walker but decided they wanted to go their own way. They were approached by the writers of "Ark 2" and spent 200 hours working on it, doing the arrangements themselves. The writers, incidentally, wish to remain anonymous because they feel their previous associations might harm the image of the record and the group.
Phil, a former Artful Dodger in the West End production of "Oliver", seems to have most to say in the group and explained to me what exactly their "thing" was. "We do some writing ourselves and play some of Flash's numbers," he told me. "But mainly we take other people's numbers apart and put them together again so you can hardly recognise them. We also attempt to play some jazz."
Flaming Youth are all good musicians. As organist Brian put it: "The audience got to the limit of the three-chord stuff. Now they won't listen if you can't play your instrument. And they really are willing to listen now. It took somebody like Eric Clapton to say: 'I'm going to play what I want to play' and it opened the way for everybody to be able to do their own things." "We also like to think we are an entertaining group," interposed Ronnie.
Flash, the group's resident cynic, feels their future must eventually lie abroad. "England is played out," he said. "They only go to a dance because there is nowhere else to go. Audiences on the Continent will really listen, they don't just go to drink. Flash, in fact, spent a long time on the Continent as a member of the Crawdads. Brian was formerly with a group called the Warriors and Phil and Ronnie with the Freehold.
If there's any justice they have a smash hit album on their hands.
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
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by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:07
From Rolling Stone, October 26, 1971.
by Richard Cromelin.
'NURSERY CRYME'
CHARISMA CAS 1052
The countryside cottage in which (it says here) Genesis regrouped their creative energies must have had a lot of strange stuff coming out of the walls to have been worthy of hosting this new contender for the coveted British weirdo-rock championship.
The cover of 'Nursery Cryme' is a De Chirico-like painting of a croquet field littered with Surrealist paraphernalia. At stage center stands a large-eyed Alice sort, her mallet raised to poke through the wicked one of the disembodied heads that lie scattered about. Paul Whitehead's painting was "inspired by 'The Musical Box,'" the album's opener: playing croquet, Cynthia gracefully lops off Henry's head; two weeks later a tiny Henry makes an appearance in his music box, and his body begins aging rapidly; "a lifetime of desires" surges through him, desires that Cynthia will be no party to; the nurse enters and hurls the music box at the bearded child, "destroying both."
OK? Well, with the exception of 'The Return of the Giant Hogweed', the rest of it isn't quite that bizarro. 'Harold the Barrel' and 'For Absent Friends' are observations of British life and characters that remind (in theme if not quality) of the Kinks; 'Seven Stones' and 'Harlequin' are vaguely poetic and impressionistic, and 'The Fountain of Salmacis' relates the myth of Hermaphroditus and Salmacis in a straightforward manner.
'Nursery Cryme's main problem lies not in Genesis' concepts, which are, if nothing else, outrageously imaginative and lovably eccentric, nor with their musical structures - long, involved, multi-movemented frameworks on which they hang their narratives - nor even with their playing, which does get pretty lethargic at points. It's the godawful production, a murky, distant stew that at best bubbles quietly when what is desperately needed are the explosions of drums and guitars, the screaming of the organ, the abrasive rasp of vocal chords.
It might really be there, and at times you can actually detect a genuine electricity in their music (which lies roughly within the territory staked out by Yes, Strawbs and Family, with a touch of Procol Harum). It could be simply a matter of taking off the lid.
Some numbers, including 'The Musical Box', survives even under this handicap. 'Harold the Barrel' moves well and features lots of enjoyable musical ideas and some fine lines. 'Salmacis' swims about in a nicely drawn atmosphere and is a good example of Genesis' refusal to indulge in gratuitous eclecticism at the expense of rock & roll. And 'Hogweed', while perhaps a bit stilted, is admirably ambitious and uses its excessive wordiness to humorous advantage.
It's definitely a type of music that skulks down back alleys far from the beaten path, but if Genesis (which consists of Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Phil Collins) learn how to gear things up to explosion level and manage to develop their ideas a bit more thoroughly, they could be the ones to successfully repopulate those forgotten passageways.
by Richard Cromelin.
'NURSERY CRYME'
CHARISMA CAS 1052
The countryside cottage in which (it says here) Genesis regrouped their creative energies must have had a lot of strange stuff coming out of the walls to have been worthy of hosting this new contender for the coveted British weirdo-rock championship.
The cover of 'Nursery Cryme' is a De Chirico-like painting of a croquet field littered with Surrealist paraphernalia. At stage center stands a large-eyed Alice sort, her mallet raised to poke through the wicked one of the disembodied heads that lie scattered about. Paul Whitehead's painting was "inspired by 'The Musical Box,'" the album's opener: playing croquet, Cynthia gracefully lops off Henry's head; two weeks later a tiny Henry makes an appearance in his music box, and his body begins aging rapidly; "a lifetime of desires" surges through him, desires that Cynthia will be no party to; the nurse enters and hurls the music box at the bearded child, "destroying both."
OK? Well, with the exception of 'The Return of the Giant Hogweed', the rest of it isn't quite that bizarro. 'Harold the Barrel' and 'For Absent Friends' are observations of British life and characters that remind (in theme if not quality) of the Kinks; 'Seven Stones' and 'Harlequin' are vaguely poetic and impressionistic, and 'The Fountain of Salmacis' relates the myth of Hermaphroditus and Salmacis in a straightforward manner.
'Nursery Cryme's main problem lies not in Genesis' concepts, which are, if nothing else, outrageously imaginative and lovably eccentric, nor with their musical structures - long, involved, multi-movemented frameworks on which they hang their narratives - nor even with their playing, which does get pretty lethargic at points. It's the godawful production, a murky, distant stew that at best bubbles quietly when what is desperately needed are the explosions of drums and guitars, the screaming of the organ, the abrasive rasp of vocal chords.
It might really be there, and at times you can actually detect a genuine electricity in their music (which lies roughly within the territory staked out by Yes, Strawbs and Family, with a touch of Procol Harum). It could be simply a matter of taking off the lid.
Some numbers, including 'The Musical Box', survives even under this handicap. 'Harold the Barrel' moves well and features lots of enjoyable musical ideas and some fine lines. 'Salmacis' swims about in a nicely drawn atmosphere and is a good example of Genesis' refusal to indulge in gratuitous eclecticism at the expense of rock & roll. And 'Hogweed', while perhaps a bit stilted, is admirably ambitious and uses its excessive wordiness to humorous advantage.
It's definitely a type of music that skulks down back alleys far from the beaten path, but if Genesis (which consists of Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Phil Collins) learn how to gear things up to explosion level and manage to develop their ideas a bit more thoroughly, they could be the ones to successfully repopulate those forgotten passageways.
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
- Posts: 2470
- Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 11:08
- Location: Italy
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by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:07
From New Musical Express - NME, April 22, 1972.
by Tony Tyler.
THE CLASSIC way of pulling a band together, of ironing out the bugs, of setting the final seal of quality on a group's music, is by the tour. And, of course, there are tours and tours.
In America a group can expect endless plane flights, unlimited horrid hamburger and - in general - smooth, efficient organisation.
Germany is similar, except that distances are shorter and food worse: A major compensation is the beer; a major drawback is the Teutonic pest - the burgeoning free-rock Kultur.
Italy? Something else again.
In Italy it's no use in oiling the tour machine till the cogs mesh smoothly; Italy will throw spanners into the best of works. Pointless to prepare finely-drawn schedules; the Italian way of doing things will take care of that too.
But Italy is still a nice place to play. To people, as they say in the Pan-Am guidebooks, are friendly. The weather is clement. The wine? Ace. Travel? Italian motorways are excellent and fast, and their Pavesi autostrada eateries make the Blue Boar look like a fleapit.
So what is so different about Italy? To find out, Tony Tyler spent four days with Genesis on the road in the northern provinces east of Venice. Here's his report.
VENICE AIRPORT. Sun. Yippee. Met by Paul Conroy, Charisma trailboss, Phil Collins, Genesis' demon drummer, and lugubrious Italian promotor named Maurizio Salvadore. He's not very old - and he's never gonna be, judging by the way he drives the Alfa.
Takes 20 minutes to cover the 20 miles to the first gig: Treviso. Collins tells me that although 'Nursery Cryme' reached number five in the Italian hot slot, it was 15 before the group arrived to exploit the situation. Pity, but we are cheered by hordes of luxurious posters advertising the gig.
Arrive at hostelry, check in, shower and descend to eat. Hotel has enormous "ristorante" sign, and chops are licked in anticipation. But Italy strikes back. Sorry, signori, the restaurant isn't serving right now. OK, we'll wait. The truth of the matter is, signori, that the restaurant is actually closed all day.
Oh well. To the village, then.
Maurizio has disappeared with the car.
As the rest of Genesis are touring Venice and aren't expected till later, we walk. Two kilometres.
When Genesis return from the glories of Venice we all pile into truck and depart to view the gig site.
Illuminated
It's named Apollo 2000 (although another illuminated sign says Apollo 2001) and is a typical Italian "locale", vast, ornate, space-age and just a little sterile. Not designed to catch passing trade, by George.
Interior appointments would shame any British club, and Genesis, hardened troupers though they are, are overawed. Downstairs and separate is another gaff: An amazing disco, decorated with atom like structures made of light bulbs. Someone climbs into DJ's plastic cockpit and sets myriad patterns of lights dancing.
Enter Italian DJ ("Andy Dunklini", says Tony Banks, master organist), who gets uptight at foreigners playing with his beloved controls.
Upstairs, people are beginning to filter in. No greatcoats, no levis here. The Treviso mob are dressed in their best. Pucci sweaters, tended locks, ornate birds. Difference between here and England is amazing. There's no scent of exotic cheroots, no cheerful rock'n'rollers. The Italians are dedicated in their approach to "Il Pop", and the long bar is crowded with serious-faced purchasers of Whisky-coca.
Genesis are greeted with roar of approval from the Pucci-and-coke crowd. Before tuning is completed, there are hollers for numbers from 'Nursery Cryme', but the group stick to their pre-arranged set and begin with 'Happy The Man', a shortie featuring three 12-stringers - even Tony Banks plays "12" for this one.
Modulated appreciation. Set continues, and it's incredible how clever this band is. Not only in lyrics - which are quite excellent - and in presentation, which is simultaneously dramatic and pensive, but in sheer instrumental ability.
Mike Rutherford, bassist, deps on guitar now and again, and keeps the bass lines moving by means of a neglected fruit of rocktech: bass pedals, which he operates from a sitting position while playing his Rickenbacker. Vocalist Peter Gabriel is the only member of Genesis who stands onstage. Stern, with folded arms and flowing sleeves, he resembles a cross between an art nouveau drawing and Mandrake the magician. He also flails a tambourine and pedals a solitary bassdrum with his right foot. Extraordinary chap.
High point
'Fountain Of Salmacis' is the high point of the Treviso gig. Easily translatable title and the kind of drama that is international. Fluid piano figures and sweeping mellotron introduce the pacey lyrics from Peter, while Steve Hackett on lead contributes volume-pedalled sighs from his Les Paul.
Now 'Musical Box', another biggie with the Treviso mob, 'Return Of The Giant Hogweed' - which baffles them - and Genesis' finisher, 'The Knfe'. We all depart to eat (after fighting the usual autograph battle) for a second time.
SATURDAY
From Treviso to Trieste is about 180 miles. A long enough distance to get good'n'mad when a classic Italian foul-up occurs. We'd had it too easy that first day, you see, and Italy needed her revenge. Word reaches us that the Trieste gig is in jeopardy. Somebody has been busted in the club, and the Trieste police (all Italian cops have arbitrary powers and are seemingly answerable to nobody) have closed - or are threatening to close - the club. The lugubrious Salvadore departs to tackle the police and we await marching orders, passing the time by the odd hand of brag. After all, maybe something can be arranged...
At one o'clock we are phoned and told to leave for Trieste. Exultation. We pay our bill and split.
Should have known better.
We are met at the Trieste club by the club owner, who looks dejected as only an Italian can. Little chance of playing. We hold Press conference, signori, and denounce the infamous polizia, signori, but I think you don't play. So we wait in nearby bar, drinking coffee and eating seafood. Time passes. Game of footy. More time passes. Salvadore returns, with face so long there's shoepolish on his chin. No dice and no gig. Let's go.
Into the vehicles, by God, and let's see who can get to Verona (Sunday's gig, and exactly back the way we have just come) first.
SUNDAY
Verona is a different scene altogether. It's our turn to make out today, remember. Italy won yesterday, and it's definitely Genesis who win today.
The gig is very near Verona, and hordes of Genesis freaks flock from the fabled city to get off on the band's music. Sunday gigs in Italy are doubles - which is to say that there are two sets - one in the afternoon for the teenagers who have been let off the leash by their parents for a few hours, and one in the evening for the more hardened regulars.
The afternoon gig is lovely: place packed, flowing liquor, excellent performance from greatly cheered Genesis, now recovered in morale from Saturday's disaster. And, although there are less people for the evening set, the band play better still. Echoes of Crimson in the swirling Mellotron and seated guitarist; echoes of rock'n'roll in the punchy drumming of Phil Collins; echoes of doom in the intense appearance of Gabriel, dominating the stage like a Beardsley etching.
I leave after the gig, slightly inebriated. Wish everybody well. Shake hands. Climb into Alfa deathtrap with Paul Conroy and an unbelievably-smiling Salvadore. To Milan. Then London.
MONDAY
But Italy hasn't finished yet - she still has one last card left to play. There's a strike at Milan airport. Italy won, after all.
by Tony Tyler.
THE CLASSIC way of pulling a band together, of ironing out the bugs, of setting the final seal of quality on a group's music, is by the tour. And, of course, there are tours and tours.
In America a group can expect endless plane flights, unlimited horrid hamburger and - in general - smooth, efficient organisation.
Germany is similar, except that distances are shorter and food worse: A major compensation is the beer; a major drawback is the Teutonic pest - the burgeoning free-rock Kultur.
Italy? Something else again.
In Italy it's no use in oiling the tour machine till the cogs mesh smoothly; Italy will throw spanners into the best of works. Pointless to prepare finely-drawn schedules; the Italian way of doing things will take care of that too.
But Italy is still a nice place to play. To people, as they say in the Pan-Am guidebooks, are friendly. The weather is clement. The wine? Ace. Travel? Italian motorways are excellent and fast, and their Pavesi autostrada eateries make the Blue Boar look like a fleapit.
So what is so different about Italy? To find out, Tony Tyler spent four days with Genesis on the road in the northern provinces east of Venice. Here's his report.
VENICE AIRPORT. Sun. Yippee. Met by Paul Conroy, Charisma trailboss, Phil Collins, Genesis' demon drummer, and lugubrious Italian promotor named Maurizio Salvadore. He's not very old - and he's never gonna be, judging by the way he drives the Alfa.
Takes 20 minutes to cover the 20 miles to the first gig: Treviso. Collins tells me that although 'Nursery Cryme' reached number five in the Italian hot slot, it was 15 before the group arrived to exploit the situation. Pity, but we are cheered by hordes of luxurious posters advertising the gig.
Arrive at hostelry, check in, shower and descend to eat. Hotel has enormous "ristorante" sign, and chops are licked in anticipation. But Italy strikes back. Sorry, signori, the restaurant isn't serving right now. OK, we'll wait. The truth of the matter is, signori, that the restaurant is actually closed all day.
Oh well. To the village, then.
Maurizio has disappeared with the car.
As the rest of Genesis are touring Venice and aren't expected till later, we walk. Two kilometres.
When Genesis return from the glories of Venice we all pile into truck and depart to view the gig site.
Illuminated
It's named Apollo 2000 (although another illuminated sign says Apollo 2001) and is a typical Italian "locale", vast, ornate, space-age and just a little sterile. Not designed to catch passing trade, by George.
Interior appointments would shame any British club, and Genesis, hardened troupers though they are, are overawed. Downstairs and separate is another gaff: An amazing disco, decorated with atom like structures made of light bulbs. Someone climbs into DJ's plastic cockpit and sets myriad patterns of lights dancing.
Enter Italian DJ ("Andy Dunklini", says Tony Banks, master organist), who gets uptight at foreigners playing with his beloved controls.
Upstairs, people are beginning to filter in. No greatcoats, no levis here. The Treviso mob are dressed in their best. Pucci sweaters, tended locks, ornate birds. Difference between here and England is amazing. There's no scent of exotic cheroots, no cheerful rock'n'rollers. The Italians are dedicated in their approach to "Il Pop", and the long bar is crowded with serious-faced purchasers of Whisky-coca.
Genesis are greeted with roar of approval from the Pucci-and-coke crowd. Before tuning is completed, there are hollers for numbers from 'Nursery Cryme', but the group stick to their pre-arranged set and begin with 'Happy The Man', a shortie featuring three 12-stringers - even Tony Banks plays "12" for this one.
Modulated appreciation. Set continues, and it's incredible how clever this band is. Not only in lyrics - which are quite excellent - and in presentation, which is simultaneously dramatic and pensive, but in sheer instrumental ability.
Mike Rutherford, bassist, deps on guitar now and again, and keeps the bass lines moving by means of a neglected fruit of rocktech: bass pedals, which he operates from a sitting position while playing his Rickenbacker. Vocalist Peter Gabriel is the only member of Genesis who stands onstage. Stern, with folded arms and flowing sleeves, he resembles a cross between an art nouveau drawing and Mandrake the magician. He also flails a tambourine and pedals a solitary bassdrum with his right foot. Extraordinary chap.
High point
'Fountain Of Salmacis' is the high point of the Treviso gig. Easily translatable title and the kind of drama that is international. Fluid piano figures and sweeping mellotron introduce the pacey lyrics from Peter, while Steve Hackett on lead contributes volume-pedalled sighs from his Les Paul.
Now 'Musical Box', another biggie with the Treviso mob, 'Return Of The Giant Hogweed' - which baffles them - and Genesis' finisher, 'The Knfe'. We all depart to eat (after fighting the usual autograph battle) for a second time.
SATURDAY
From Treviso to Trieste is about 180 miles. A long enough distance to get good'n'mad when a classic Italian foul-up occurs. We'd had it too easy that first day, you see, and Italy needed her revenge. Word reaches us that the Trieste gig is in jeopardy. Somebody has been busted in the club, and the Trieste police (all Italian cops have arbitrary powers and are seemingly answerable to nobody) have closed - or are threatening to close - the club. The lugubrious Salvadore departs to tackle the police and we await marching orders, passing the time by the odd hand of brag. After all, maybe something can be arranged...
At one o'clock we are phoned and told to leave for Trieste. Exultation. We pay our bill and split.
Should have known better.
We are met at the Trieste club by the club owner, who looks dejected as only an Italian can. Little chance of playing. We hold Press conference, signori, and denounce the infamous polizia, signori, but I think you don't play. So we wait in nearby bar, drinking coffee and eating seafood. Time passes. Game of footy. More time passes. Salvadore returns, with face so long there's shoepolish on his chin. No dice and no gig. Let's go.
Into the vehicles, by God, and let's see who can get to Verona (Sunday's gig, and exactly back the way we have just come) first.
SUNDAY
Verona is a different scene altogether. It's our turn to make out today, remember. Italy won yesterday, and it's definitely Genesis who win today.
The gig is very near Verona, and hordes of Genesis freaks flock from the fabled city to get off on the band's music. Sunday gigs in Italy are doubles - which is to say that there are two sets - one in the afternoon for the teenagers who have been let off the leash by their parents for a few hours, and one in the evening for the more hardened regulars.
The afternoon gig is lovely: place packed, flowing liquor, excellent performance from greatly cheered Genesis, now recovered in morale from Saturday's disaster. And, although there are less people for the evening set, the band play better still. Echoes of Crimson in the swirling Mellotron and seated guitarist; echoes of rock'n'roll in the punchy drumming of Phil Collins; echoes of doom in the intense appearance of Gabriel, dominating the stage like a Beardsley etching.
I leave after the gig, slightly inebriated. Wish everybody well. Shake hands. Climb into Alfa deathtrap with Paul Conroy and an unbelievably-smiling Salvadore. To Milan. Then London.
MONDAY
But Italy hasn't finished yet - she still has one last card left to play. There's a strike at Milan airport. Italy won, after all.
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
- Posts: 2470
- Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 11:08
- Location: Italy
Vecchi articoli della stampa inglese
by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:08
From Sounds, September 30, 1972.
by Jerry Gilbert.
Have you got a copy of the new album yet? Mike Rutherford inquired meekly as Genesis prepared to go onstage at the Marquee last week. Well I did have the album, and momentarily I found it impossible to reconcile his almost apologetic demeanour with what must surely become one of the major works of the year.
'Foxtrot' (Charisma CAS 1058) shows us the Genesis that we've seen all too often on stage and been longing for on record. This time they're ... well they've almost achieved the perfect album on their first outing with producer David Hitchcock.
Vitality
There are occasions when the overall sound does lack the required vitality and other occasions where Genesis are trying just that little bit too hard, but these moments are sporadic indeed,and by and large the album is a showcase for the genius of this young experimental band, which manifests itself in numerous different ways.
The music covers vast areas of time and space - it's well over 20 minutes a side and builds and recedes on a vertical plane rather than a horizontal one, sometimes slipping away to the simplicity of an acoustic 12-string, or Pete Gabriel's flute, other times incorporating Tony Banks' thick, throaty organ, Steve Hackett's electric guitar and Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins going flat out to keep the rhythm there.
New dimensions of Genesis are shown in the group's writing which is largely couched in Peter Gabriel's wildly flamboyant little allegories; but when it comes to lyrical flow, they fit the bill beautifully.
Paradox
'Watcher Of The Skies', already a stage favourite, opens and closes with Banks' funeral organ lamenting the passing of Earth and beholding the skies above. "This is the end of man's long union with the Earth" sings Peter Gabriel.
'Time Table' presents a paradox in that it is born simply on Tony Banks' piano, although structurally it is one of the more complex Genesis songs and has the same wistful theme, this time a retrospective mindflight back to the days of yore.
'Get 'Em Out By Friday', on the other hand, deals with a far more immediate problem of tenant eviction, in which Peter Gabriel assumes the identities of the unfortunate tenants, the property owner and his "winkler", closing with the immortal memo "With land in your hand you'll be happy on earth then invest in the church for your heaven", and offering other precious little gems like "It is my sad duty to inform you of a 4 ft. restriction on humanoid height". All good stuff.
Side one closes with 'Can-Utility And The Coastliners', a strange allusion to King Canute which, although Genesis have worked it into their stage repertoire, I don't find the most exciting aspect of the album by any means.
Aside from a short Steve Hackett introduction, side two is set aside to one composition called 'Supper's Ready' which incorporates seven separate movements. And "separate" is the operative word for each sub-section is quite divorced from its adjacent piece and one wonders how 'Supper's Ready' begins to embrace the overall concept like a giant umbrella.
Logical
Sufficient to say that it is difficult to follow Peter Gabriel's thought patterns at the most logical times and the whys and wherefors of his words are best left unchallenged. More iunlike characters meander in and out of the story at intervals, and whilst a couple of the sequences are little more than interludes or linking passages, there are three particularly strong numbers in their own right - 'Willow Farm' which taxes the imagination more than Maggie's farm ever did, 'The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man' which heads rather obliquely in the direction of Bowie and seems to be about a supersonic space age farmer.
Finally 'Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-starring The Delicious Talents of Gabble Rachet)' - and sort that one out if you can.
Lyrically and musically 'Foxtrot' comes across as a total mind trip, with imagination and musical ideas being allowed to run wild and in turn strech the imagination of the listener. Genesis have taken a lot of chances, but these days they have the full courage of their convictions to back them up. They're in a territory all of their own and picking up supporters all the way - I hope that this outstanding album receives the patient, repeated listening that it deserves.
by Jerry Gilbert.
Have you got a copy of the new album yet? Mike Rutherford inquired meekly as Genesis prepared to go onstage at the Marquee last week. Well I did have the album, and momentarily I found it impossible to reconcile his almost apologetic demeanour with what must surely become one of the major works of the year.
'Foxtrot' (Charisma CAS 1058) shows us the Genesis that we've seen all too often on stage and been longing for on record. This time they're ... well they've almost achieved the perfect album on their first outing with producer David Hitchcock.
Vitality
There are occasions when the overall sound does lack the required vitality and other occasions where Genesis are trying just that little bit too hard, but these moments are sporadic indeed,and by and large the album is a showcase for the genius of this young experimental band, which manifests itself in numerous different ways.
The music covers vast areas of time and space - it's well over 20 minutes a side and builds and recedes on a vertical plane rather than a horizontal one, sometimes slipping away to the simplicity of an acoustic 12-string, or Pete Gabriel's flute, other times incorporating Tony Banks' thick, throaty organ, Steve Hackett's electric guitar and Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins going flat out to keep the rhythm there.
New dimensions of Genesis are shown in the group's writing which is largely couched in Peter Gabriel's wildly flamboyant little allegories; but when it comes to lyrical flow, they fit the bill beautifully.
Paradox
'Watcher Of The Skies', already a stage favourite, opens and closes with Banks' funeral organ lamenting the passing of Earth and beholding the skies above. "This is the end of man's long union with the Earth" sings Peter Gabriel.
'Time Table' presents a paradox in that it is born simply on Tony Banks' piano, although structurally it is one of the more complex Genesis songs and has the same wistful theme, this time a retrospective mindflight back to the days of yore.
'Get 'Em Out By Friday', on the other hand, deals with a far more immediate problem of tenant eviction, in which Peter Gabriel assumes the identities of the unfortunate tenants, the property owner and his "winkler", closing with the immortal memo "With land in your hand you'll be happy on earth then invest in the church for your heaven", and offering other precious little gems like "It is my sad duty to inform you of a 4 ft. restriction on humanoid height". All good stuff.
Side one closes with 'Can-Utility And The Coastliners', a strange allusion to King Canute which, although Genesis have worked it into their stage repertoire, I don't find the most exciting aspect of the album by any means.
Aside from a short Steve Hackett introduction, side two is set aside to one composition called 'Supper's Ready' which incorporates seven separate movements. And "separate" is the operative word for each sub-section is quite divorced from its adjacent piece and one wonders how 'Supper's Ready' begins to embrace the overall concept like a giant umbrella.
Logical
Sufficient to say that it is difficult to follow Peter Gabriel's thought patterns at the most logical times and the whys and wherefors of his words are best left unchallenged. More iunlike characters meander in and out of the story at intervals, and whilst a couple of the sequences are little more than interludes or linking passages, there are three particularly strong numbers in their own right - 'Willow Farm' which taxes the imagination more than Maggie's farm ever did, 'The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man' which heads rather obliquely in the direction of Bowie and seems to be about a supersonic space age farmer.
Finally 'Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-starring The Delicious Talents of Gabble Rachet)' - and sort that one out if you can.
Lyrically and musically 'Foxtrot' comes across as a total mind trip, with imagination and musical ideas being allowed to run wild and in turn strech the imagination of the listener. Genesis have taken a lot of chances, but these days they have the full courage of their convictions to back them up. They're in a territory all of their own and picking up supporters all the way - I hope that this outstanding album receives the patient, repeated listening that it deserves.
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
- Posts: 2470
- Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 11:08
- Location: Italy
Vecchi articoli della stampa inglese
by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:09
New York Times, April 7, 1973:
'GENESIS CROSSES OCEAN WITH THEATRICAL ROCK'
A black-clad singer has large batwings on his shoulders; the organ player rumbles along, a mixture of Notre Dame de Paris and Fillmore East; black lighting makes everything luminous violet; flash and flare come from the sides of the stage -- theater rock is alive again in New York, delivered by the British group Genesis at Philharmonic Hall on Monday.
Theater rock groups often pay too much attention to externals and not enough to the music. Happily, this is not so with the members of Genesis who are held together firmly by the lead singer Peter Gabriel -- articulate, precise, given to mime and accents, show -- bizarre and one of the most original artists to come along. The material, such as the tale of the little boy who had his head removed or Old Michael, who uses his bare feet tapping to get earthworms to the surface, is offbeat, to say the least.
Sandy Denny, who is also British and has the classic clarity associated with that country's best folk artists, opened the concert as a solo. Her closing number, "At the End of the Day" (by which time she had overcome some audience restlessness), was a thing of beauty and a joy that deserved an encore.
by Ian Dove
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concert Reviews in 'The New York Times', Dec. 15, 1972:
'TWO BRITISH BANDS, NEW HERE, INDICATE EVOLUTION IN ROCK'
Two British rock bands performed for the first time in the United States Wednesday night in the Philharmonic Hall, and both of them had something to say. But to call either a "rock" band shows how malleable the term has become, how far the primitive plunkings of the fifties have evolved.
Genesis, the headliner, is a quintet that blends perversely fashionable theatrics with complex, often ingeneous arrangements. The visual focus is Peter Gabriel, the lead singer, who center-parts his hair to the crown of his head, changes costumes frequently (from clinging pants suits to dresses and back again) and is clearly working hard to project an androgynous demonism. He succeeds, especially when helped by fireflash and smoke bombs set off on the beat at the climax of the act.
Mr. Gabriel sings well enough, but musically Genesis is most notable for its hammering, heavy obstinatos and luxurious organ playing. Occasionally things get mired in pretension, or lose their rythmic grip. But the climax worked, and climaxes are what rock is all about.
String Driven Thing, which opened the show, is a relatively new group from Glasgow consisting of a violinist, singer-rythm guitarist, bass guitarist and singer-tambourinist, the last a woman. While Genesis throws everything it can think of into the pot, String Driven Thing makes a persuasively focused effect within and [sic] almost too tightly delineated idiom, the infectious energy of the rythm section set against Graham Smith's eerie violinistic wailings.
The concert was a benefit for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, presented by WNEW-FM and Charisma Records.
by John Rockwell
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov. 26, 1973:
'GENESIS GETS TOGETHER A MUSICAL SPECTACLE'
Genesis's program at the Felt Forum on Wednesday opened with the singer Peter Gabriel, menacing in black cloak with bat wings sprouting from his shoulders, intoning a lyric about "Watcher of the Skies." It ended with a bang as Mr. Gabriel loosed a magnesium flare after two hours of music and theater.
On previous trips to New York, the British group was bedeviled by sound and lighting problems. Now, on its third visit here, Genesis runs the full spectrum, employing back projection, mime costume changes and a little spectacle. Not that Genesis's music needs any window dressing to disguise any inadequacies: it is not rock perhaps, but stories and ideas, decked out in costume and gesture, tied together strongly by the music.
Genesis appears to be poised at the brink of a real American career.
by Ian Dove
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 6, 1974:
PETER GABRIEL STAR IN ROCK BY GENESIS'
Genesis, the British rock group with a srrong line of on-stage theatrics, returned Saturday for a sell-out solo concert at the Academy of Music on 14th Street.
Musically, it was more or less the same two-hour, interval-less concert Genesis presented on its last Manhattan visit (the quintet has been touring continously since then). However, some of the special effects were different: Genesis' lead singer, Peter Gabriel, for instance, now concludes the concert by being hoisted a dozen feet in the air, legs dangling, still singing, with lights, flash, glitter and dry ice fumes to punctuate the song. Understandably it brings the crowd to a standing ovation.
Lighting and stage visuals -- including slide projection of photographs and art, ancient and abstract -- play a large part in Genesis's approach to rock music, but again much attention is centered on Mr. Gabriel.
He runs through costume changes, from batwings to his celebrated impersonation of a day-glow daisy, make-up switches and several masks. His narration of strange surreal anecdotes before the beginning of some Genesis favorites adds a bizarre touch -- the stories have little bearing on the songs that follow. But in story and song Mr. Gabriel presents a picture of an actor singing and a singer acting. In composite, Genesis owns a unique blend of controlled rock and theater.
by Ian Dove
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec. 8, 1974:
'GENESIS OF BRITAIN DARING AT ACADEMY'
Genesis, the British rock-theater group, was ambitious, even daring, at the Academy of Music on East 14th Street, on Friday. The quintet has made several recent tours in the United States, building an audience for its dadaesque songs, and quietly sophisticated slide-and-light show.
But on Friday the group threw out all the familiar (one rock theory is that familiarity breeds applause, a group must play its hits). Genesis produced what was virtually a one-and-a-half-hour stage version of its current record album, "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway."
Peter Gabriel, the band's singer who has previously been given to dressing on stage as Merlin the Magician, appeared this time in "punk" street clothes-- leather jacket, T-shirt and jeans--to fit the story.
As usual, Genesis (which prepares music as a unit) was occasionally profound, sometimes bombastic, now and then overblown and with music to match all these moods -- not to mention the non-abstract slides the group projects along with the story. For all the high-seriousness, Mr. Gabriel has always been able to inject some esoteric humor into the show. There were only flashes of it on Friday -- maybe being a lamb on Broadway does that.
by Ian Dove
'GENESIS CROSSES OCEAN WITH THEATRICAL ROCK'
A black-clad singer has large batwings on his shoulders; the organ player rumbles along, a mixture of Notre Dame de Paris and Fillmore East; black lighting makes everything luminous violet; flash and flare come from the sides of the stage -- theater rock is alive again in New York, delivered by the British group Genesis at Philharmonic Hall on Monday.
Theater rock groups often pay too much attention to externals and not enough to the music. Happily, this is not so with the members of Genesis who are held together firmly by the lead singer Peter Gabriel -- articulate, precise, given to mime and accents, show -- bizarre and one of the most original artists to come along. The material, such as the tale of the little boy who had his head removed or Old Michael, who uses his bare feet tapping to get earthworms to the surface, is offbeat, to say the least.
Sandy Denny, who is also British and has the classic clarity associated with that country's best folk artists, opened the concert as a solo. Her closing number, "At the End of the Day" (by which time she had overcome some audience restlessness), was a thing of beauty and a joy that deserved an encore.
by Ian Dove
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concert Reviews in 'The New York Times', Dec. 15, 1972:
'TWO BRITISH BANDS, NEW HERE, INDICATE EVOLUTION IN ROCK'
Two British rock bands performed for the first time in the United States Wednesday night in the Philharmonic Hall, and both of them had something to say. But to call either a "rock" band shows how malleable the term has become, how far the primitive plunkings of the fifties have evolved.
Genesis, the headliner, is a quintet that blends perversely fashionable theatrics with complex, often ingeneous arrangements. The visual focus is Peter Gabriel, the lead singer, who center-parts his hair to the crown of his head, changes costumes frequently (from clinging pants suits to dresses and back again) and is clearly working hard to project an androgynous demonism. He succeeds, especially when helped by fireflash and smoke bombs set off on the beat at the climax of the act.
Mr. Gabriel sings well enough, but musically Genesis is most notable for its hammering, heavy obstinatos and luxurious organ playing. Occasionally things get mired in pretension, or lose their rythmic grip. But the climax worked, and climaxes are what rock is all about.
String Driven Thing, which opened the show, is a relatively new group from Glasgow consisting of a violinist, singer-rythm guitarist, bass guitarist and singer-tambourinist, the last a woman. While Genesis throws everything it can think of into the pot, String Driven Thing makes a persuasively focused effect within and [sic] almost too tightly delineated idiom, the infectious energy of the rythm section set against Graham Smith's eerie violinistic wailings.
The concert was a benefit for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, presented by WNEW-FM and Charisma Records.
by John Rockwell
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov. 26, 1973:
'GENESIS GETS TOGETHER A MUSICAL SPECTACLE'
Genesis's program at the Felt Forum on Wednesday opened with the singer Peter Gabriel, menacing in black cloak with bat wings sprouting from his shoulders, intoning a lyric about "Watcher of the Skies." It ended with a bang as Mr. Gabriel loosed a magnesium flare after two hours of music and theater.
On previous trips to New York, the British group was bedeviled by sound and lighting problems. Now, on its third visit here, Genesis runs the full spectrum, employing back projection, mime costume changes and a little spectacle. Not that Genesis's music needs any window dressing to disguise any inadequacies: it is not rock perhaps, but stories and ideas, decked out in costume and gesture, tied together strongly by the music.
Genesis appears to be poised at the brink of a real American career.
by Ian Dove
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 6, 1974:
PETER GABRIEL STAR IN ROCK BY GENESIS'
Genesis, the British rock group with a srrong line of on-stage theatrics, returned Saturday for a sell-out solo concert at the Academy of Music on 14th Street.
Musically, it was more or less the same two-hour, interval-less concert Genesis presented on its last Manhattan visit (the quintet has been touring continously since then). However, some of the special effects were different: Genesis' lead singer, Peter Gabriel, for instance, now concludes the concert by being hoisted a dozen feet in the air, legs dangling, still singing, with lights, flash, glitter and dry ice fumes to punctuate the song. Understandably it brings the crowd to a standing ovation.
Lighting and stage visuals -- including slide projection of photographs and art, ancient and abstract -- play a large part in Genesis's approach to rock music, but again much attention is centered on Mr. Gabriel.
He runs through costume changes, from batwings to his celebrated impersonation of a day-glow daisy, make-up switches and several masks. His narration of strange surreal anecdotes before the beginning of some Genesis favorites adds a bizarre touch -- the stories have little bearing on the songs that follow. But in story and song Mr. Gabriel presents a picture of an actor singing and a singer acting. In composite, Genesis owns a unique blend of controlled rock and theater.
by Ian Dove
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec. 8, 1974:
'GENESIS OF BRITAIN DARING AT ACADEMY'
Genesis, the British rock-theater group, was ambitious, even daring, at the Academy of Music on East 14th Street, on Friday. The quintet has made several recent tours in the United States, building an audience for its dadaesque songs, and quietly sophisticated slide-and-light show.
But on Friday the group threw out all the familiar (one rock theory is that familiarity breeds applause, a group must play its hits). Genesis produced what was virtually a one-and-a-half-hour stage version of its current record album, "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway."
Peter Gabriel, the band's singer who has previously been given to dressing on stage as Merlin the Magician, appeared this time in "punk" street clothes-- leather jacket, T-shirt and jeans--to fit the story.
As usual, Genesis (which prepares music as a unit) was occasionally profound, sometimes bombastic, now and then overblown and with music to match all these moods -- not to mention the non-abstract slides the group projects along with the story. For all the high-seriousness, Mr. Gabriel has always been able to inject some esoteric humor into the show. There were only flashes of it on Friday -- maybe being a lamb on Broadway does that.
by Ian Dove
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
- Posts: 2470
- Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 11:08
- Location: Italy
Vecchi articoli della stampa inglese
by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:09
'Sixteen Thousand Dollar Debut...'
- SOUNDS special on Genesis' extraordinary US debut at the Philharmonic Hall, New York, 12.12.72.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Sounds, December 23, 1972
Report by Jerry Gilbert.
(There are a couple of "drop outs" in the middle of the article - a few words and sentences were unreadable.)
"OK. Let's see your papers," barked the customs official at Kennedy International Airport. "But we are the papers," someone bounced back in diplomatically dulcet tones; whereupon we became integrated in the largest promotional campaign ever launched by Buddah and Charisma Records.
Genesis were up for sale in the biggest make-or-break attempt since Brinsley Schwarz played the Filmore East three years ago.
Promote
Top New York FM station WNEW had linked up with Buddah to promote a single show at New York's three thousand capacity Philharmonic Hall on 45th and Broadway, and all the leading American writers had homed in the gig - from Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, and, of course, Los Angeles.
Acquaintances were struck up, reunions brought about and impressions exchanged during the heady atmosphere of anticipation at Buddah before the gig. And all because one New York radio station, in particular DJ Scott Muni - had been flooding the air with the new British wonder product. The seductive voice of Alison Steele had rammed Genesis down the throats of all WNEW listeners, Pete Gabriel tuned in apprehensively and then broke into a grin: "My life has changed since I started using Genesis," he mimicked, and by this time the whole event had become slightly surreal.
A double deck London Transport omnibus drew up outside the Americana Hotel on 7th and 53rd to take us to the gig and America's writers finally extricated themselves from their discourses on the [ars noya? - almost unreadable] of the English rock culture that Genesis represented and awoke to their new unprecedented environment. A double deck bus, wow, man, far out man. "Hey man if they have an accident down there do we have the same accident up here? Wow man far out. Hey man I've never seen Manhattan from this height before."
Try and picture the situation in which Genesis had suddenly become fixed. The politics of experience humming about their ears like a bad dream; no one wanted to be disappointed, no one was there for the slaughter but it was evident that no American critic would shed any tears if the gig went sour.
Shrewd
The interpreters and annalists have been stretched beyond the demarcation lines by English charlatans, it appears, and whatever they were going to make of the Genesis gig views were pretty certain to be dogmatic and polarised. Yet the shrewd mechanics behind the operation require some qualification for the initial maneouvres contributed in no small measure to the ultimate success.
WNEW hold an annual Christmas concert in aid of the Cerebral Palsy Fund. It's a goodwill concert, profits to charity, an exchange of gifts and a general exhibition of charity which, like everything else in New York, is tastelessly ostentatious.
Scott Muni is one of the big shots at MNEW and an Anglofile who picked up on Genesis as soon as Buddah had started the ball rolling. Soon he was playing tracks like 'Watcher Of The Skies', which may be edited down for a single release, and 'Supper's Ready', and as the campaign gained momentum so interest picked up in Philadelphia, Phoenix and, more important, in Cleveland, Ohio, which has suddenly become the place where trends begin.
String Driven Thing, the new Charisma band booked to support Genesis had also been given good air play on album tracks like 'Circus', and 'My Real Hero', and there was every chance that they would create a similar impact. But as the hours of hours approached, the acute sense of anticipation changed to one of mild foreboding.
Proceedings were thirty minutes late kicking off and the capacity audience were subjected to all kinds of platitudinous preamble as deeiavs [?] were introduced and they in turn did their PR thing for the Cerebral Palsy Fund. The slow hand-clapping which prefaced the arrival of String Driven Thing must have put the fear of God up them, but luckily they withstood the pressure, settled quickly and showed remarkable composure and equilibrium for such an inexperienced group.
They opened confidently with 'Let Me Down', and as if already primed to New York audienced they ignored the shit that was hurled sporadically and really got off on the predominant appreciation. By the time they reached 'My Real Hero' and 'Regent Street Incident', they had conveyed sufficient Scottish traits and British enthusiasm tto have convinced those who were willing to be convinced.
Some picked it up from Chris Adams' down to earth, almost self-indulgent rock and roll, others fixed on the petite waif-like figure of his wife Pauline and the freaks found something to associate with in the weird spectral appearance of Graeme Smith, who wove strange wafer thin violn lines over the top of solid rock and roll. String Driven Thing had their hassles - little equipment problems but the time they wrapped up the set with the traditional flavoured 'Jack Diamond' they earned their champagne and had justified a 3.000 mile journey for a mere 45 minutes.
Genesis' preparatory work had been slow and meticulous, allowing no room for last-minute slip ups - or so they thought. Richard McPhail and his road crew had crossed the Atlantic a week in advance to check out the hall, arrange the special effects and figure out an eleventh hour "rehearsal" gig before a handful of kids in Boston the night before. It was then that their worst fears were confirmed. The voltage changes into the American circuit had left problems with Tony Banks' organ and musically the Boston gig just didn't get of the ground. There were all kinds of sound problems although Richard was confident that an early start at the Philharmonic Hall would enable a satisfactory sound check well ahead of schedule. At least that's what would have happened had the Philharmonic Hall been available to the group on the afternoon of the gig.
"But we couldn't take over the hall until 4 o'clock," Peter Gabriel explained afterwards: "We didn't want to do it with only four hours' setting up time. In the end we didn't get the sound check done at all because Philharmonic Orchestra were using the hall, and it was the first time in two years that we haven't done a sound check before the gig. On top of that we were using strange equipment and the whole thing had become quite absurd." And that wasn't all, for Peter had become a victim of the Gorham Hotel's less than adequate ventilation and had woken in a stifled room with signs of catarrh and symptoms of flu.
Watching the group take the stage, Tony Stratton-Smith must have felt like the manager of an injury dogged football team making their first sorti into Europe. The MC gave a nice introduction, reminding the audience of Keith Emerson's recommendations and Genesis stormed straight into one of the best versions of 'Watcher Of The Skies' I have heard.
Problems
From there the impact intensified and when Peter Gabriel appeared through the darkness during the late stages of 'Musical Box' and the lights suddenly greeted the strange apparation of the fox's head and long red dress, the audience reacted volubly.
In retrospect the Gabriel mannerisms which we in England now take for granted, probably won the evening for Genesis in New York; I doubt whether the audience would have tolerated the ensuing hassles but for the shimmering mysticism which Gabriel constantly represented. He handled the situation beautifully, almost punctiliously, whilst being forced to concede that the band were only playing "at around 70 per cent". As one critic pointed out afterwards, the slightest evidence of glitter and razzle dazzle would have blown it completely.
As usual Gabriel prefaced his songs with fantastic stories, but it was after 'Fountain Of Salmacis' that the problems began. Mike Rutherford tried desperately to cure an intermittent buzz from his bass and as the breakdowns at the end of each number grew longer and more embarrassing, [...unreadable, sorry...]
"It demanded a lot of sensitive singing that I wasn't able to provide," Pete reflected, but the combined skills of Steve Hackett, gliding and whining staccato style across his new Les Paul, and Tony Banks strung out, detatched and insignificant on the right flank [ ... ] so the onus lent heavily on Peter Gabriel and drummer Phil Collins. "It was after that third number that I began to lose control of the situation because we were having all the hassles of the equipment," Pete recalled. "If we could have had all the facilities and the time to get things right then this would have been the way I'd like to have tackled America," he decided.
Meanwhile, the concert had continiud to balance on a fine edge as Genesis approached 'Supper's Ready'. Gabriel again came up with the perfect gesture when, during one of the all too frequent interludes, he produced a camera, strode to the front of the stage, focused on the audience and shot, flash gun and all. It evoked the sort of response that must have brought a deep sigh of relief from Tony Stratton Smith. "I've never been so nervous before a gig since I've been in the business," he declared. "The only comparable occasion was the Nice's first gig at the Fillmore East. But what impressed me was that in spite of the technical hang ups they got 100 per cent reaction," he added.
Combined
"I felt that if one was ever to take a gamble - and it was an enormous gamble - then it should be done with a group that (a) had a really fine show and (b) a group that was coming to the top of the curve in terms of confidence, the right point in time to do this sort of thing. It was a tremendous challenge for the band."
In a sense the band were a little too ambitious in tackling the epic composition, 'Supper's Ready', and sure enough just when it mattered most Pete Gabriel's voice failed him, disappearing at worst into a hoarse and inaudible whisper. [ ... ] to keep the number building towards something like its usual climatic ending; audience response, however, was fairly indifferent although the sporadic cry for some rock and roll which had shattered the silence earlier in the evening was repeated.
'Return Of The Giant Hogweed' brought back memories of early Family and it was a good number with which to close the show. Gabriel seemed to find a second wind and the show closed as powerfully as it had started with those that could move surging to the front, those that couldn't moving significantly into the aisles.
Genuine
The final ovation was tremendous by any standards. The reaction was genuine - the crowd wanted more - and that's an extremely rare sight for a little-known British band making their debut in New York. And so Genesis came back to do 'The Knife', after which the house lights were quickly up.
The band retired and the unmitiated might justifiably have thought it would be to celebrate their success. Instead they locked themselves away in the dressing room and would speak to noone. They were mentally exhausted, psychologically brought down because they'd played a million gigs better than that one. It was scant consolation that however well they'd played they could scarcely have created more impact. Mike Rutherford, the man whom the Gods had treated particularly harshly, appeared at the backstage door and was greeted with a bitter sweet mixture of congratulations and condolences.
It is on such occasions that aftermath parties become slightly embarrassing and it was conspicuous that the guests were well into their cocktails before Genesis had regained sufficient equilibrium to make it along to the Tavern On The Green on Central Park's west side. It seemed rather predictable that as the party swung into the morning and Genesis began to straighten out a little, there was still no sign of Peter Gabriel. He showed up eventually, but it was obvious that the gig had taken its toll and, like Richard MacPhail, his voice was suffering.
Next day the Buddah office was buzzing with genuine excitement excitement from the feedback that was starting to filter through and excitement as a result of what they had seen with their own eyes. Executives kept wandering past muttering superlatives at noone particular. Neil Bogart was "overwhelmed" everybody kept saying, and when the man himself fluttered by, sure enough, he was indeed overwhelmed.
Sha Na Na's manager kept appearing from nowhere and accosted all and sundry with a battery of beautiful lines. He eventually caught up with Peter Gabriel in one of the executive rooms where we congregated to hear a WNEW radio playback on the group. A rotound, jocular man, he duly approached Peter: "Y'know, your representative explained the group to me in such a way that I knew our relationship would be one of class warfare..."
The place broke up, the tension eased. Gabriel and Rutherford were in good spirits, Tony Banks and Steve Hackett were typically tacit and Phil Collins continued to grin and jest - just as he had been doing since the band arrived in the States. He was getting off on the entire junket and intermittent punctuations were purely incidental as far as he was concerned.
And so Thursday night the party made its way out to Kennedy Airport for a short stop over at London before flying out to Hamburg for what could only be an anti-climax - "a routine gig".
Memory
Peter Gabriel emerged from the 747 frantically pulling his hair across the shaved area of his head which two nights before had been glistening with white paint. Suddenly he was faced with the reality of customs officials and his one aim was to make himself look presentable and ease his plight. The customs deck - where the story came in, Peter Gabriel turned, proferred a hand, inquired in his humble manner whether there was anything else I wanted to know, and disappeared.
The gathering disseminated and the operation which had cost Buddha and Charisma a total of $16.000 to promote, was now a memory. Sixteen thousand grand for one operation - a small price to pay for an ephemeral onslaught which will be ringing around the United States for a long time yet.
- SOUNDS special on Genesis' extraordinary US debut at the Philharmonic Hall, New York, 12.12.72.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Sounds, December 23, 1972
Report by Jerry Gilbert.
(There are a couple of "drop outs" in the middle of the article - a few words and sentences were unreadable.)
"OK. Let's see your papers," barked the customs official at Kennedy International Airport. "But we are the papers," someone bounced back in diplomatically dulcet tones; whereupon we became integrated in the largest promotional campaign ever launched by Buddah and Charisma Records.
Genesis were up for sale in the biggest make-or-break attempt since Brinsley Schwarz played the Filmore East three years ago.
Promote
Top New York FM station WNEW had linked up with Buddah to promote a single show at New York's three thousand capacity Philharmonic Hall on 45th and Broadway, and all the leading American writers had homed in the gig - from Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, and, of course, Los Angeles.
Acquaintances were struck up, reunions brought about and impressions exchanged during the heady atmosphere of anticipation at Buddah before the gig. And all because one New York radio station, in particular DJ Scott Muni - had been flooding the air with the new British wonder product. The seductive voice of Alison Steele had rammed Genesis down the throats of all WNEW listeners, Pete Gabriel tuned in apprehensively and then broke into a grin: "My life has changed since I started using Genesis," he mimicked, and by this time the whole event had become slightly surreal.
A double deck London Transport omnibus drew up outside the Americana Hotel on 7th and 53rd to take us to the gig and America's writers finally extricated themselves from their discourses on the [ars noya? - almost unreadable] of the English rock culture that Genesis represented and awoke to their new unprecedented environment. A double deck bus, wow, man, far out man. "Hey man if they have an accident down there do we have the same accident up here? Wow man far out. Hey man I've never seen Manhattan from this height before."
Try and picture the situation in which Genesis had suddenly become fixed. The politics of experience humming about their ears like a bad dream; no one wanted to be disappointed, no one was there for the slaughter but it was evident that no American critic would shed any tears if the gig went sour.
Shrewd
The interpreters and annalists have been stretched beyond the demarcation lines by English charlatans, it appears, and whatever they were going to make of the Genesis gig views were pretty certain to be dogmatic and polarised. Yet the shrewd mechanics behind the operation require some qualification for the initial maneouvres contributed in no small measure to the ultimate success.
WNEW hold an annual Christmas concert in aid of the Cerebral Palsy Fund. It's a goodwill concert, profits to charity, an exchange of gifts and a general exhibition of charity which, like everything else in New York, is tastelessly ostentatious.
Scott Muni is one of the big shots at MNEW and an Anglofile who picked up on Genesis as soon as Buddah had started the ball rolling. Soon he was playing tracks like 'Watcher Of The Skies', which may be edited down for a single release, and 'Supper's Ready', and as the campaign gained momentum so interest picked up in Philadelphia, Phoenix and, more important, in Cleveland, Ohio, which has suddenly become the place where trends begin.
String Driven Thing, the new Charisma band booked to support Genesis had also been given good air play on album tracks like 'Circus', and 'My Real Hero', and there was every chance that they would create a similar impact. But as the hours of hours approached, the acute sense of anticipation changed to one of mild foreboding.
Proceedings were thirty minutes late kicking off and the capacity audience were subjected to all kinds of platitudinous preamble as deeiavs [?] were introduced and they in turn did their PR thing for the Cerebral Palsy Fund. The slow hand-clapping which prefaced the arrival of String Driven Thing must have put the fear of God up them, but luckily they withstood the pressure, settled quickly and showed remarkable composure and equilibrium for such an inexperienced group.
They opened confidently with 'Let Me Down', and as if already primed to New York audienced they ignored the shit that was hurled sporadically and really got off on the predominant appreciation. By the time they reached 'My Real Hero' and 'Regent Street Incident', they had conveyed sufficient Scottish traits and British enthusiasm tto have convinced those who were willing to be convinced.
Some picked it up from Chris Adams' down to earth, almost self-indulgent rock and roll, others fixed on the petite waif-like figure of his wife Pauline and the freaks found something to associate with in the weird spectral appearance of Graeme Smith, who wove strange wafer thin violn lines over the top of solid rock and roll. String Driven Thing had their hassles - little equipment problems but the time they wrapped up the set with the traditional flavoured 'Jack Diamond' they earned their champagne and had justified a 3.000 mile journey for a mere 45 minutes.
Genesis' preparatory work had been slow and meticulous, allowing no room for last-minute slip ups - or so they thought. Richard McPhail and his road crew had crossed the Atlantic a week in advance to check out the hall, arrange the special effects and figure out an eleventh hour "rehearsal" gig before a handful of kids in Boston the night before. It was then that their worst fears were confirmed. The voltage changes into the American circuit had left problems with Tony Banks' organ and musically the Boston gig just didn't get of the ground. There were all kinds of sound problems although Richard was confident that an early start at the Philharmonic Hall would enable a satisfactory sound check well ahead of schedule. At least that's what would have happened had the Philharmonic Hall been available to the group on the afternoon of the gig.
"But we couldn't take over the hall until 4 o'clock," Peter Gabriel explained afterwards: "We didn't want to do it with only four hours' setting up time. In the end we didn't get the sound check done at all because Philharmonic Orchestra were using the hall, and it was the first time in two years that we haven't done a sound check before the gig. On top of that we were using strange equipment and the whole thing had become quite absurd." And that wasn't all, for Peter had become a victim of the Gorham Hotel's less than adequate ventilation and had woken in a stifled room with signs of catarrh and symptoms of flu.
Watching the group take the stage, Tony Stratton-Smith must have felt like the manager of an injury dogged football team making their first sorti into Europe. The MC gave a nice introduction, reminding the audience of Keith Emerson's recommendations and Genesis stormed straight into one of the best versions of 'Watcher Of The Skies' I have heard.
Problems
From there the impact intensified and when Peter Gabriel appeared through the darkness during the late stages of 'Musical Box' and the lights suddenly greeted the strange apparation of the fox's head and long red dress, the audience reacted volubly.
In retrospect the Gabriel mannerisms which we in England now take for granted, probably won the evening for Genesis in New York; I doubt whether the audience would have tolerated the ensuing hassles but for the shimmering mysticism which Gabriel constantly represented. He handled the situation beautifully, almost punctiliously, whilst being forced to concede that the band were only playing "at around 70 per cent". As one critic pointed out afterwards, the slightest evidence of glitter and razzle dazzle would have blown it completely.
As usual Gabriel prefaced his songs with fantastic stories, but it was after 'Fountain Of Salmacis' that the problems began. Mike Rutherford tried desperately to cure an intermittent buzz from his bass and as the breakdowns at the end of each number grew longer and more embarrassing, [...unreadable, sorry...]
"It demanded a lot of sensitive singing that I wasn't able to provide," Pete reflected, but the combined skills of Steve Hackett, gliding and whining staccato style across his new Les Paul, and Tony Banks strung out, detatched and insignificant on the right flank [ ... ] so the onus lent heavily on Peter Gabriel and drummer Phil Collins. "It was after that third number that I began to lose control of the situation because we were having all the hassles of the equipment," Pete recalled. "If we could have had all the facilities and the time to get things right then this would have been the way I'd like to have tackled America," he decided.
Meanwhile, the concert had continiud to balance on a fine edge as Genesis approached 'Supper's Ready'. Gabriel again came up with the perfect gesture when, during one of the all too frequent interludes, he produced a camera, strode to the front of the stage, focused on the audience and shot, flash gun and all. It evoked the sort of response that must have brought a deep sigh of relief from Tony Stratton Smith. "I've never been so nervous before a gig since I've been in the business," he declared. "The only comparable occasion was the Nice's first gig at the Fillmore East. But what impressed me was that in spite of the technical hang ups they got 100 per cent reaction," he added.
Combined
"I felt that if one was ever to take a gamble - and it was an enormous gamble - then it should be done with a group that (a) had a really fine show and (b) a group that was coming to the top of the curve in terms of confidence, the right point in time to do this sort of thing. It was a tremendous challenge for the band."
In a sense the band were a little too ambitious in tackling the epic composition, 'Supper's Ready', and sure enough just when it mattered most Pete Gabriel's voice failed him, disappearing at worst into a hoarse and inaudible whisper. [ ... ] to keep the number building towards something like its usual climatic ending; audience response, however, was fairly indifferent although the sporadic cry for some rock and roll which had shattered the silence earlier in the evening was repeated.
'Return Of The Giant Hogweed' brought back memories of early Family and it was a good number with which to close the show. Gabriel seemed to find a second wind and the show closed as powerfully as it had started with those that could move surging to the front, those that couldn't moving significantly into the aisles.
Genuine
The final ovation was tremendous by any standards. The reaction was genuine - the crowd wanted more - and that's an extremely rare sight for a little-known British band making their debut in New York. And so Genesis came back to do 'The Knife', after which the house lights were quickly up.
The band retired and the unmitiated might justifiably have thought it would be to celebrate their success. Instead they locked themselves away in the dressing room and would speak to noone. They were mentally exhausted, psychologically brought down because they'd played a million gigs better than that one. It was scant consolation that however well they'd played they could scarcely have created more impact. Mike Rutherford, the man whom the Gods had treated particularly harshly, appeared at the backstage door and was greeted with a bitter sweet mixture of congratulations and condolences.
It is on such occasions that aftermath parties become slightly embarrassing and it was conspicuous that the guests were well into their cocktails before Genesis had regained sufficient equilibrium to make it along to the Tavern On The Green on Central Park's west side. It seemed rather predictable that as the party swung into the morning and Genesis began to straighten out a little, there was still no sign of Peter Gabriel. He showed up eventually, but it was obvious that the gig had taken its toll and, like Richard MacPhail, his voice was suffering.
Next day the Buddah office was buzzing with genuine excitement excitement from the feedback that was starting to filter through and excitement as a result of what they had seen with their own eyes. Executives kept wandering past muttering superlatives at noone particular. Neil Bogart was "overwhelmed" everybody kept saying, and when the man himself fluttered by, sure enough, he was indeed overwhelmed.
Sha Na Na's manager kept appearing from nowhere and accosted all and sundry with a battery of beautiful lines. He eventually caught up with Peter Gabriel in one of the executive rooms where we congregated to hear a WNEW radio playback on the group. A rotound, jocular man, he duly approached Peter: "Y'know, your representative explained the group to me in such a way that I knew our relationship would be one of class warfare..."
The place broke up, the tension eased. Gabriel and Rutherford were in good spirits, Tony Banks and Steve Hackett were typically tacit and Phil Collins continued to grin and jest - just as he had been doing since the band arrived in the States. He was getting off on the entire junket and intermittent punctuations were purely incidental as far as he was concerned.
And so Thursday night the party made its way out to Kennedy Airport for a short stop over at London before flying out to Hamburg for what could only be an anti-climax - "a routine gig".
Memory
Peter Gabriel emerged from the 747 frantically pulling his hair across the shaved area of his head which two nights before had been glistening with white paint. Suddenly he was faced with the reality of customs officials and his one aim was to make himself look presentable and ease his plight. The customs deck - where the story came in, Peter Gabriel turned, proferred a hand, inquired in his humble manner whether there was anything else I wanted to know, and disappeared.
The gathering disseminated and the operation which had cost Buddha and Charisma a total of $16.000 to promote, was now a memory. Sixteen thousand grand for one operation - a small price to pay for an ephemeral onslaught which will be ringing around the United States for a long time yet.
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
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Vecchi articoli della stampa inglese
by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:10
'Words & Music'
January, 1973
GENESIS
Foxtrot
(Charisma CAS-1058): Tony Banks (or, mellotron, keyboards, g, vo); Steve Hackett (lead g); Phil Collins (d, vo); Pater Gabriel (vo, f, d, tambourine, o); Michael Rutherford (b, g, vo, clo). Watcher In The Skies; Time Table; Get 'Em Out By Friday; Can-Utility And The Coastliners; Horizons; Supper's Ready (I thru VII).
This is Genesis' fourth album, their second for Charisma, and the second as a mature band. The tracks (I omit the word 'songs' purposely) on 'Foxtrot' seem more accessible, more defined, than on their last album, 'Nursery Cryme'.
The opener, 'Watcher In The Skies' [sic], is a beautifully constructed Sci-Fi tale presented against glittering sheets of cascading sound, running in torrents like a burst dam, across the aural spectrum; it rolls and boils and flows like thick velvet of varying colors.
By contrast, 'Time Table', is simplicity itself - Tony Banks' medieval piano behind Pete Gabriel's voice spinning its web of wonder.
But it's 'Get 'Em Out By Friday' that is the real gem of the album ( even though Side Two holds a marvelous seven part suite). It is, in fact, an execution, a mini-opera with six characters represented. On the surface, the struggle concerns Styx Enterprises (represented by Mr. John Pebble and Mr. Mark Hall) who have just bought an apartment building, and Mrs. Barrow (a tenant) who's threatened with eviction. But this is the year 2012, and Genetic Control has put a "four foot restriction on humanoid height." And why, pray tell? Because G.C. had the foresight to buy up housing property and now can get double the number of tenants in each building. The track ends with the reading of a memo from Satin Peter of Rock Developments Ltd.: "With land in your hand you'll be happy on earth / Then invest in the Church for your heaven."
All this is presented unceremoniously, unpretentiously and with the utmost professionalism. Throughout there are acres of marvelous musicianship, both ensemble and solos. But Genesis really transcends such banal and pedestrian inventions as categories.
This is, needless to say, an important album to listen to. Maybe you'll dig it, maybe you won't, but this is the kind of band (especially now) that we need to support. And the word is that they're even better live. This I've gotta see. And I will.
- Eric Van Lustblader
January, 1973
GENESIS
Foxtrot
(Charisma CAS-1058): Tony Banks (or, mellotron, keyboards, g, vo); Steve Hackett (lead g); Phil Collins (d, vo); Pater Gabriel (vo, f, d, tambourine, o); Michael Rutherford (b, g, vo, clo). Watcher In The Skies; Time Table; Get 'Em Out By Friday; Can-Utility And The Coastliners; Horizons; Supper's Ready (I thru VII).
This is Genesis' fourth album, their second for Charisma, and the second as a mature band. The tracks (I omit the word 'songs' purposely) on 'Foxtrot' seem more accessible, more defined, than on their last album, 'Nursery Cryme'.
The opener, 'Watcher In The Skies' [sic], is a beautifully constructed Sci-Fi tale presented against glittering sheets of cascading sound, running in torrents like a burst dam, across the aural spectrum; it rolls and boils and flows like thick velvet of varying colors.
By contrast, 'Time Table', is simplicity itself - Tony Banks' medieval piano behind Pete Gabriel's voice spinning its web of wonder.
But it's 'Get 'Em Out By Friday' that is the real gem of the album ( even though Side Two holds a marvelous seven part suite). It is, in fact, an execution, a mini-opera with six characters represented. On the surface, the struggle concerns Styx Enterprises (represented by Mr. John Pebble and Mr. Mark Hall) who have just bought an apartment building, and Mrs. Barrow (a tenant) who's threatened with eviction. But this is the year 2012, and Genetic Control has put a "four foot restriction on humanoid height." And why, pray tell? Because G.C. had the foresight to buy up housing property and now can get double the number of tenants in each building. The track ends with the reading of a memo from Satin Peter of Rock Developments Ltd.: "With land in your hand you'll be happy on earth / Then invest in the Church for your heaven."
All this is presented unceremoniously, unpretentiously and with the utmost professionalism. Throughout there are acres of marvelous musicianship, both ensemble and solos. But Genesis really transcends such banal and pedestrian inventions as categories.
This is, needless to say, an important album to listen to. Maybe you'll dig it, maybe you won't, but this is the kind of band (especially now) that we need to support. And the word is that they're even better live. This I've gotta see. And I will.
- Eric Van Lustblader
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
- Posts: 2470
- Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 11:08
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Vecchi articoli della stampa inglese
by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:11
The Buddah Group
__________________________________________________________________________
810 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York, 10019 / Phone (212) 582-6900
Readings from the book of Genesis
England is beginning to broadcast messages about Genesis. And from the time of the early Betles to the recent emergence of America, these messages are taken seriously by those in the know.
A couple of sample readings:
Melody Maker: "Genesis are going to cause outrage and chaos in the coming year. Already they are breaking through with a blend of showmanship and original music. At recent concerts, their flute balancing leader Peter Gabriel has wrought ovations with his sensational drum juggling act and comic monologues."
Sounds: "Peter Gabriel has an incredible double personality; off stage he is shy and timid, but as soon as he steps up he becomes the focal point of a very visual act, with Mick Jagger/Roger Chapman gesticulations."
Melody Maker: "Most striking ... is the amazing prowess of Phil Collins. As drummer he is incredible. I heard Baker and Phil is better, much better ... Peter Gabriel has the best voice I have heard for some time, clear, melodic and controlled."
A review of their most recent album 'Nursery Cryme' goes: " ... In parts it reaches as close to perfection as I've never heard. The mixture of soft and heavy is so natural as to make you wonder if this wasn't the way all music should sound ... no one should be without a copy."
Genesis
In the beginning, they were a group of 4 songwriters who got together in the blooming year of 1966. The magical mystery tour of fame and fortune, however, passed them by, and they entered a phase of exploration and uncertainty. A long sojourn in a cottage in the countryside helped them to regroup their creative energies. It was there that the compelling, fresh style of narrative songwriting of rich instrumental accompaniment began to form. Three of the original songwriters are still with the group. The on-stage charismatic lead singer Peter Gabriel, the organist Tony Banks, and bass guitarist, Michael Rutherford. To this nucleus has been added the "legendary" drummer, and ex-Flaming Youth, Peter Collins [sic], and Steve Hackett on lead guitar.
A group whose considerable talents left them a bit sprawling, Genesis had the good fortune to attract the attention of the head of Charisma Records, Tony Stratton-Smith. Smith put them together with a "benevolent and indulgent" producer, John Anthony, and paid a considerable tab for studio time at the Trident Studios in London. This was a wise and necessary investment. The results are 'Nursery Cryme', as well as a very tight, beautifully rehearsed sound that has dazzled the ears of their swelling ranks of English fans.
If anything, the years of isolation have turned out to be in their favor. They have freshness and originality that steers them clear of the glut of imitative groups that are all clamoring for a slice of the same market.
"Their music is full of imagination, variety and fascination," says Sounds, adding " ... At the famous Mothers Club they are regarded as the best small band to have appeared there."
Genesis is on Charisma Records.
Charisma Records is part of the Buddah Group.
__________________________________________________________________________
810 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York, 10019 / Phone (212) 582-6900
Readings from the book of Genesis
England is beginning to broadcast messages about Genesis. And from the time of the early Betles to the recent emergence of America, these messages are taken seriously by those in the know.
A couple of sample readings:
Melody Maker: "Genesis are going to cause outrage and chaos in the coming year. Already they are breaking through with a blend of showmanship and original music. At recent concerts, their flute balancing leader Peter Gabriel has wrought ovations with his sensational drum juggling act and comic monologues."
Sounds: "Peter Gabriel has an incredible double personality; off stage he is shy and timid, but as soon as he steps up he becomes the focal point of a very visual act, with Mick Jagger/Roger Chapman gesticulations."
Melody Maker: "Most striking ... is the amazing prowess of Phil Collins. As drummer he is incredible. I heard Baker and Phil is better, much better ... Peter Gabriel has the best voice I have heard for some time, clear, melodic and controlled."
A review of their most recent album 'Nursery Cryme' goes: " ... In parts it reaches as close to perfection as I've never heard. The mixture of soft and heavy is so natural as to make you wonder if this wasn't the way all music should sound ... no one should be without a copy."
Genesis
In the beginning, they were a group of 4 songwriters who got together in the blooming year of 1966. The magical mystery tour of fame and fortune, however, passed them by, and they entered a phase of exploration and uncertainty. A long sojourn in a cottage in the countryside helped them to regroup their creative energies. It was there that the compelling, fresh style of narrative songwriting of rich instrumental accompaniment began to form. Three of the original songwriters are still with the group. The on-stage charismatic lead singer Peter Gabriel, the organist Tony Banks, and bass guitarist, Michael Rutherford. To this nucleus has been added the "legendary" drummer, and ex-Flaming Youth, Peter Collins [sic], and Steve Hackett on lead guitar.
A group whose considerable talents left them a bit sprawling, Genesis had the good fortune to attract the attention of the head of Charisma Records, Tony Stratton-Smith. Smith put them together with a "benevolent and indulgent" producer, John Anthony, and paid a considerable tab for studio time at the Trident Studios in London. This was a wise and necessary investment. The results are 'Nursery Cryme', as well as a very tight, beautifully rehearsed sound that has dazzled the ears of their swelling ranks of English fans.
If anything, the years of isolation have turned out to be in their favor. They have freshness and originality that steers them clear of the glut of imitative groups that are all clamoring for a slice of the same market.
"Their music is full of imagination, variety and fascination," says Sounds, adding " ... At the famous Mothers Club they are regarded as the best small band to have appeared there."
Genesis is on Charisma Records.
Charisma Records is part of the Buddah Group.
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
- Posts: 2470
- Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 11:08
- Location: Italy
Vecchi articoli della stampa inglese
by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:13
The A to Z of Genesis
Tony Banks in conversation about Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY PETER MORTON, JONATHAN DANN & ALAN HEWITT AT THE FARM
How much of the material was written for Nursery Cryme before Steve joined?
Pretty much everything apart from The Musical Box, which was a hangover
from the days of Mike and Ant. It always was more Mike's thing as he used a
tuning on the twelve-string where the top three strings were all tuned to
F#- that's where the working title comes from. Ant certainly embellished
those parts and I always felt that Ant should have got a credit on that
song as part of the writing team. We then took it somewhere else and the
melody line at the end of the song was actually written at the time that
Mick Barnard was with the group so that was his contribution to the song.
That track has the influence of three guitarists on it. Everything else on
that album was in some sort of form by then. In fact on Fountain of
Salmacis the first main part was something that I wrote when I was at
University; I had that bit in the back of my brain for a long time as
something to use and it wasn't until we got things like the mellotron and
realized the things that it could do that it took shape. Most of the songs
were written during a rehearsal period, the majority of which was done down
at Tony Stratton-Smith's house in Crowborough. It wasn't a particularly
easy period as I remember, we were struggling a bit with some of the songs.
At that point Musical Box was a live success, we wrote Giant Hogweed and
that took over from The Knife as being the song to close the live set and
it worked pretty well. Fountain of Salmacis worked well, it was something
of a departure from the norm. There were a couple of rather weird songs on
that album - For Absent Friends, which I could live without, and Harlequin,
which was a bit embarrassing. I think the song is alright but the
performance is rather poor.
Who wroteHappy The Man? Did you think it made a good single?
I didn't have much to do with it really, I was sort of there if you know
what I mean! (laughter). I was happy with being a single, I quite liked it
actually. That was quite good fun to do. Once again, Mike had another
tuning on the guitar where everything was tuned to a chord and he played a
riff on that that sounded good. I played guitar along with him and we built
it from there. We had two or three songs like that, we had a song before
that called Grandma. That dates back to Ant's time with the group, it had a
folky feel to it. I really didn't have much to do with the writing of it I
have to say but it was a nice easy song to play live. I suppose it came as
a result of being on the road just too long with Lindisfarne (laughter), we
had to one song like that! It was also a nice contrast to the heavy intense
stuff.
Gradually as the albums progressed the tracks became longer until they
culminated with Supper's Ready. Were the band trying with this piece in
particular to create a rock symphony?
I don't think so. We didn't realize how long it was until we put it all
together. I said before that Stagnation * as the most significant track on
Trespass for me, then we did The Musical Box which was a development from
Stagnation. When we began work on Foxtrot we started writing a song that
sounded as if was going to become a similar number. So I had this idea that
in the middle of all the softer sounding parts that we should go straight
into Willow Farm, which was a song that Peter had written completely on his
own. So we did that and it sounded great. Then from that came the idea that
we could go on to the next sections, with the improvised 9/8 section, which
was just a jam which Mike, Phil and I put together. It came together in the
studio. I had a part at the beginning with just chords and a part at the
end with just chords. The part at the beginning I'd always seen with vocal
on it, the part at the end I'd just seen as being a big bank of harmonies.
Peter had all these Iyrics and when we were in the studio he started
singing over that last part. When he first did it I thought, "This is
wrong, this is my bit, I want my keyboard solo there!" (laughter). So I was
a bit against it but I soon realized that I sounded really good and we kept
it. The idea of reprising The Guaranteed eternal Sanctuary Man came with
that. The song didn't seem that long, we thought that we'd written a track
that was perhaps a little longer than before but we didn't realize that it
was a long as it became until we finished recording it. It wasn't until we
finished recording it that we got to hear it all the way through, as it was
done in sections. We different engineers and producers for that album, and
some parts were done with one engineer and other sections with another.
Why were different producers involved with the album?
Charisma wanted us to have a hit so they thought they'd bring in Bob Potter
who had worked with Bob Johnson in America with people like Dylan and Simon
and Garfunkel. He'd also worked with Lindisfarne. Bob Potter had been his
engineer and Charisma thought that he could tighten things up a bit and
stop things getting too arty for their own good. He came in and we just
didn't see eye to eye at all. I did the introduction to Watcher of the
Skies and he said it was awful, he felt it sounded just like 2001. We were
playing the song live by that time and that part seemed to work well so
after a week he went. He was quite straight up about it, he said that he
felt we didn't see eye to eye. So Charisma scrambled about trying to find
someone and they came up with Dave Hitchcock. We changed engineer during
the course of the album as well as we weren't happy with the sound the guy
was getting. We realized when we got John Burns in as the engineer that we
could communicate with him, we were after the same sort of thing. It was
such a relief actually and we found ourselves bypassing Dave Hitchcock more
and more. Eventually it got to the stage where we almost didn't need him
there. It was quite a difficult album to make but when we finished it and
heard Supper's Ready all the way through we thought it was really great. We
played it to Richard (MacPhail) and he thought it was great, he was playing
in the van all the time. We thought we'd written something strong, we
hadn't performed it live at that point so the whole thing came about by
accident. There were little parts on there like the Apocalypse section
where the organ solo on that started off as a very tongue in cheek thing, I
thought I'd play like Keith Emerson to see what it sounds like. There were
little phrases in there that were supposed to be almost humorous in a way.
The other idea on that was to just keep the notes simple. Mike had a riff
which was very simple, and I said, "If you can keep just to the three notes
E, F sharp and B then I can do any chord I want on top of it". I could go
major, minor and all sorts of things. It was great fun actually as I could
go for the real dramatic stuff like a C major chord on top of that, which
sounds very tense and that was how it developed. I was very satisfied with
the result of that.
How do you look back on the song now?
It was a very important piece, it justified it's length which is quite
difficult to do sometimes. It was obviously a series of pieces but the
concept of the Iyric was good in the sense that it was completely over the
top, a fight between good and evil. I think on most levels it worked very
well, although it was perhaps something of a fluke - I have to say that.
There are one or two parts that in reality we shouldn't have stuck with if
we'd had the chance to review it but all the parts pretty much stand up,
they flow nicely from one to the other. In particular the reprise of
Sanctuary Man at the end was good. That was a part that I'd written at
University which I wrote on guitar. It has simple chords but they sound
nice on guitar. The idea of doing it at the end of the song with the
mellotron was something that never occurred to me but it sounded great.
There's some lovely guitar at the end there too. There are just lots of
little bits that came together.
Get 'Em Out By Friday was perhaps Genesis' first protest song. What
Inspired that?
The lyric was Peter's lyric. As is the case with virtually all -- -v- _ .
written first. It was developed out of a riff that I had and it became a
bigger sort of jam. I think it was based on something he read in a paper
but I can't remember very much about that. With PAs in those days you could
never hear the voice so we actually performed one song on stage with no
Iyrics, Pete was just making noises! (laughter). He introduced it as a song
called I've Been Traveling All Night Long and no one noticed the
difference! It's a good Iyric, I like it a lot although I had nothing to do
with it at all.
Do you remember recording the In Concert show for the BBC at the Paris Studios?
No, I have to say I remember absolutely nothing about it at all!
(laughter). I didn't know we did that one! The only thing that I remember
from that period was the Belgian TV show and that's because I've seen a
video of it recently, where we're playing in front of the white background.
I thought the sound on that was surprisingly good but I don't remember that
In Concert one I'm afraid.
And that's where we leave it for another issue. Our thanks to Tony once
again for taking the time to talk to us.
Tony Banks in conversation about Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY PETER MORTON, JONATHAN DANN & ALAN HEWITT AT THE FARM
How much of the material was written for Nursery Cryme before Steve joined?
Pretty much everything apart from The Musical Box, which was a hangover
from the days of Mike and Ant. It always was more Mike's thing as he used a
tuning on the twelve-string where the top three strings were all tuned to
F#- that's where the working title comes from. Ant certainly embellished
those parts and I always felt that Ant should have got a credit on that
song as part of the writing team. We then took it somewhere else and the
melody line at the end of the song was actually written at the time that
Mick Barnard was with the group so that was his contribution to the song.
That track has the influence of three guitarists on it. Everything else on
that album was in some sort of form by then. In fact on Fountain of
Salmacis the first main part was something that I wrote when I was at
University; I had that bit in the back of my brain for a long time as
something to use and it wasn't until we got things like the mellotron and
realized the things that it could do that it took shape. Most of the songs
were written during a rehearsal period, the majority of which was done down
at Tony Stratton-Smith's house in Crowborough. It wasn't a particularly
easy period as I remember, we were struggling a bit with some of the songs.
At that point Musical Box was a live success, we wrote Giant Hogweed and
that took over from The Knife as being the song to close the live set and
it worked pretty well. Fountain of Salmacis worked well, it was something
of a departure from the norm. There were a couple of rather weird songs on
that album - For Absent Friends, which I could live without, and Harlequin,
which was a bit embarrassing. I think the song is alright but the
performance is rather poor.
Who wroteHappy The Man? Did you think it made a good single?
I didn't have much to do with it really, I was sort of there if you know
what I mean! (laughter). I was happy with being a single, I quite liked it
actually. That was quite good fun to do. Once again, Mike had another
tuning on the guitar where everything was tuned to a chord and he played a
riff on that that sounded good. I played guitar along with him and we built
it from there. We had two or three songs like that, we had a song before
that called Grandma. That dates back to Ant's time with the group, it had a
folky feel to it. I really didn't have much to do with the writing of it I
have to say but it was a nice easy song to play live. I suppose it came as
a result of being on the road just too long with Lindisfarne (laughter), we
had to one song like that! It was also a nice contrast to the heavy intense
stuff.
Gradually as the albums progressed the tracks became longer until they
culminated with Supper's Ready. Were the band trying with this piece in
particular to create a rock symphony?
I don't think so. We didn't realize how long it was until we put it all
together. I said before that Stagnation * as the most significant track on
Trespass for me, then we did The Musical Box which was a development from
Stagnation. When we began work on Foxtrot we started writing a song that
sounded as if was going to become a similar number. So I had this idea that
in the middle of all the softer sounding parts that we should go straight
into Willow Farm, which was a song that Peter had written completely on his
own. So we did that and it sounded great. Then from that came the idea that
we could go on to the next sections, with the improvised 9/8 section, which
was just a jam which Mike, Phil and I put together. It came together in the
studio. I had a part at the beginning with just chords and a part at the
end with just chords. The part at the beginning I'd always seen with vocal
on it, the part at the end I'd just seen as being a big bank of harmonies.
Peter had all these Iyrics and when we were in the studio he started
singing over that last part. When he first did it I thought, "This is
wrong, this is my bit, I want my keyboard solo there!" (laughter). So I was
a bit against it but I soon realized that I sounded really good and we kept
it. The idea of reprising The Guaranteed eternal Sanctuary Man came with
that. The song didn't seem that long, we thought that we'd written a track
that was perhaps a little longer than before but we didn't realize that it
was a long as it became until we finished recording it. It wasn't until we
finished recording it that we got to hear it all the way through, as it was
done in sections. We different engineers and producers for that album, and
some parts were done with one engineer and other sections with another.
Why were different producers involved with the album?
Charisma wanted us to have a hit so they thought they'd bring in Bob Potter
who had worked with Bob Johnson in America with people like Dylan and Simon
and Garfunkel. He'd also worked with Lindisfarne. Bob Potter had been his
engineer and Charisma thought that he could tighten things up a bit and
stop things getting too arty for their own good. He came in and we just
didn't see eye to eye at all. I did the introduction to Watcher of the
Skies and he said it was awful, he felt it sounded just like 2001. We were
playing the song live by that time and that part seemed to work well so
after a week he went. He was quite straight up about it, he said that he
felt we didn't see eye to eye. So Charisma scrambled about trying to find
someone and they came up with Dave Hitchcock. We changed engineer during
the course of the album as well as we weren't happy with the sound the guy
was getting. We realized when we got John Burns in as the engineer that we
could communicate with him, we were after the same sort of thing. It was
such a relief actually and we found ourselves bypassing Dave Hitchcock more
and more. Eventually it got to the stage where we almost didn't need him
there. It was quite a difficult album to make but when we finished it and
heard Supper's Ready all the way through we thought it was really great. We
played it to Richard (MacPhail) and he thought it was great, he was playing
in the van all the time. We thought we'd written something strong, we
hadn't performed it live at that point so the whole thing came about by
accident. There were little parts on there like the Apocalypse section
where the organ solo on that started off as a very tongue in cheek thing, I
thought I'd play like Keith Emerson to see what it sounds like. There were
little phrases in there that were supposed to be almost humorous in a way.
The other idea on that was to just keep the notes simple. Mike had a riff
which was very simple, and I said, "If you can keep just to the three notes
E, F sharp and B then I can do any chord I want on top of it". I could go
major, minor and all sorts of things. It was great fun actually as I could
go for the real dramatic stuff like a C major chord on top of that, which
sounds very tense and that was how it developed. I was very satisfied with
the result of that.
How do you look back on the song now?
It was a very important piece, it justified it's length which is quite
difficult to do sometimes. It was obviously a series of pieces but the
concept of the Iyric was good in the sense that it was completely over the
top, a fight between good and evil. I think on most levels it worked very
well, although it was perhaps something of a fluke - I have to say that.
There are one or two parts that in reality we shouldn't have stuck with if
we'd had the chance to review it but all the parts pretty much stand up,
they flow nicely from one to the other. In particular the reprise of
Sanctuary Man at the end was good. That was a part that I'd written at
University which I wrote on guitar. It has simple chords but they sound
nice on guitar. The idea of doing it at the end of the song with the
mellotron was something that never occurred to me but it sounded great.
There's some lovely guitar at the end there too. There are just lots of
little bits that came together.
Get 'Em Out By Friday was perhaps Genesis' first protest song. What
Inspired that?
The lyric was Peter's lyric. As is the case with virtually all -- -v- _ .
written first. It was developed out of a riff that I had and it became a
bigger sort of jam. I think it was based on something he read in a paper
but I can't remember very much about that. With PAs in those days you could
never hear the voice so we actually performed one song on stage with no
Iyrics, Pete was just making noises! (laughter). He introduced it as a song
called I've Been Traveling All Night Long and no one noticed the
difference! It's a good Iyric, I like it a lot although I had nothing to do
with it at all.
Do you remember recording the In Concert show for the BBC at the Paris Studios?
No, I have to say I remember absolutely nothing about it at all!
(laughter). I didn't know we did that one! The only thing that I remember
from that period was the Belgian TV show and that's because I've seen a
video of it recently, where we're playing in front of the white background.
I thought the sound on that was surprisingly good but I don't remember that
In Concert one I'm afraid.
And that's where we leave it for another issue. Our thanks to Tony once
again for taking the time to talk to us.
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
- Posts: 2470
- Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 11:08
- Location: Italy
Vecchi articoli della stampa inglese
by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:13
'Genesis - Sit, Look and Listen.'
by Richard Green from Music Scene.
Note - I think this is from a publication called "MUSIC SCENE" and will date from 1973 sometime between Foxtrot and Selling England By The Pound.
Transcribed by John Leach.
In these days, when so-called weanyboppers are gradually becoming more and more vociferous and bands are striving to create uproar among their audiences, it comes as something of a restful and pleasing change to find that Genesis require, demand even, concentration from the masses.
A mark of the audiences' willingness to conform to the band's wish may be found in the best-selling 'Foxtrot' album which was given a healthy shot in the arm by the recently-completed tour with Lindisfarne and Rab Noakes. Such is Genesis' current popularity that a headlining British tour is being set up for February, by which time it is hoped to have another album ready. That tour will follow visits to America and the Continent and preceed a lengthier U.S. trek, plus concerts in Australia and Japan.
Over a 'lunch' of Newcastle Brown Ale in a Soho pub near the offices of Charisma Records (Genesis' label), drummer/vocalist/percussionist Phil Collins talked to me about the band's workings, attitudes and plans. "We are to an extent a bit stylised, as some of the lyrics are pure fantasy," he admitted. "It didn't start off like that, though. Someone comes in with the idea for a song or an arrangement and we work on it. Tony Banks (organ) is very good on chord changes, Pete Gabriel (lead vocals, flute and front man) is on the melody side, and I'm on the rhythm side.
"I change my music at much as possible on stage apart from the breaks I do to bring everyone in. We're not like Humble Pie who will change if the audience are up and bopping, because our audiences don't get up and bop until we've finished, they come to listen to a particular piece of music."
Pete Gabriel has something of a reputation for his energetic stage act and because he partially shaves his head and wears garish make-up. "Pete's act is outrage," Phil agreed. "The make-up is a development. He's been doing it ever since I've been in the band. It's definitely schizophrenic, he's just the opposite off stage."
Phil, it should be pointed out, joined Genesis something like two-and-a-half years ago from Flaming Youth when the bassist and drummer left. Genesis had originally been formed at Charterhouse by Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Michael Rutherford and Anthony Phillips in 1966.
On the theme of the band's audiences, Phil continued: "We started with audiences of fourteen upwards, now we've got a good college following, but not at universities until recently, which is pretty odd . . . they tend to be very blas.
"On the Charisma tour the advantages outweighed the disadvantages; The advantages were playing to full audiences, and a nice atmosphere among the bands; the disadvantages were going on first with people still coming in, and we demand attention."
To follow 'Foxtrot', Genesis realise they have to do something totally different. "We were hurried on the last one so we want to take as much time as possible with the next," Phil said. "I love playing in front of people on the road, but the band as a whole would prefer to cut down, which is what is happening now."
by Richard Green from Music Scene.
Note - I think this is from a publication called "MUSIC SCENE" and will date from 1973 sometime between Foxtrot and Selling England By The Pound.
Transcribed by John Leach.
In these days, when so-called weanyboppers are gradually becoming more and more vociferous and bands are striving to create uproar among their audiences, it comes as something of a restful and pleasing change to find that Genesis require, demand even, concentration from the masses.
A mark of the audiences' willingness to conform to the band's wish may be found in the best-selling 'Foxtrot' album which was given a healthy shot in the arm by the recently-completed tour with Lindisfarne and Rab Noakes. Such is Genesis' current popularity that a headlining British tour is being set up for February, by which time it is hoped to have another album ready. That tour will follow visits to America and the Continent and preceed a lengthier U.S. trek, plus concerts in Australia and Japan.
Over a 'lunch' of Newcastle Brown Ale in a Soho pub near the offices of Charisma Records (Genesis' label), drummer/vocalist/percussionist Phil Collins talked to me about the band's workings, attitudes and plans. "We are to an extent a bit stylised, as some of the lyrics are pure fantasy," he admitted. "It didn't start off like that, though. Someone comes in with the idea for a song or an arrangement and we work on it. Tony Banks (organ) is very good on chord changes, Pete Gabriel (lead vocals, flute and front man) is on the melody side, and I'm on the rhythm side.
"I change my music at much as possible on stage apart from the breaks I do to bring everyone in. We're not like Humble Pie who will change if the audience are up and bopping, because our audiences don't get up and bop until we've finished, they come to listen to a particular piece of music."
Pete Gabriel has something of a reputation for his energetic stage act and because he partially shaves his head and wears garish make-up. "Pete's act is outrage," Phil agreed. "The make-up is a development. He's been doing it ever since I've been in the band. It's definitely schizophrenic, he's just the opposite off stage."
Phil, it should be pointed out, joined Genesis something like two-and-a-half years ago from Flaming Youth when the bassist and drummer left. Genesis had originally been formed at Charterhouse by Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Michael Rutherford and Anthony Phillips in 1966.
On the theme of the band's audiences, Phil continued: "We started with audiences of fourteen upwards, now we've got a good college following, but not at universities until recently, which is pretty odd . . . they tend to be very blas.
"On the Charisma tour the advantages outweighed the disadvantages; The advantages were playing to full audiences, and a nice atmosphere among the bands; the disadvantages were going on first with people still coming in, and we demand attention."
To follow 'Foxtrot', Genesis realise they have to do something totally different. "We were hurried on the last one so we want to take as much time as possible with the next," Phil said. "I love playing in front of people on the road, but the band as a whole would prefer to cut down, which is what is happening now."
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
- Posts: 2470
- Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 11:08
- Location: Italy
Vecchi articoli della stampa inglese
by theknife » 16 Jun 2009, 05:14
From Melody Maker, March 3 1973 - pp. 28-29
Words by Chris Welch
Pictures by Barrie Wentzell
Genesis are in that exciting time when life seems rosy and prospects are good. After many years of toil, uncertainty and blind faith, their ambitions are being realised and their talent recognised.
America beckons, the next album will probably be a smash, and concerts are a sell-out, wherever Peter Gabriel unfurls his wings.
Genesis have always been determined to play their own music without compromise, right from the days when they played to five people in the room upstairs and Ronnie Scott's Club. And they will concede no compromises now they have joined their brother groups amidst the hullabaloo of acclaim and exposure.
In many ways Genesis are of the old fashioned breed of group, who originally laid the foundations of the whole modern group structure. Most of them went to school together. Few have played with any other band. When they started out they were rough and unready and held quaint ideas about writing and playing that no one would touch.
While other groups went to fame and fortune they teetered on the verge of breaking up, quarrelled, but slogged on and won an essential grass-roots following.
The music the band feature has been compared to Yes, and other bands that specialise in arrangements. In fact one of their earliest influences was the Nice. {ED - Keith Emerson's first primary band.}
Genesis do not however place much emphasis on solo work or extended improvisation, and the use of Mellotron and Steve Hackett's "non-guitar" guitar sounds don't lead to any direct comparison with anything else that is happening.
Genesis are eccentric and very English, and blues hardly enters their work, even the term "rock" is irrelevant most of the time.
Nevertheless it is gripping often startling, with a thorough understanding of the use of dynamics, light and shade.
It is a textural montage, in which classical music, jazz and rock can all be seen to have had an effect.
Mike Rutherford Box (pic)
A Charterhouse school veteran, bass guitarist Mike Rutherford treats a mean pair of Mr. Bassman pedals, which supplies the mysterious bass pulse, when he is strumming at an acoustic guitar with Steve. He also plays regular bass guitar, and two 12-string guitars, all of which help in the vital shading and pastel tones the band employ. He tends to ramble in a pleasantly coherent fashion, often a trait among public school chaps, and blithely admits if it wasn't for this rock and roll business, he would probably have gone into the Foreign Office.
"We seem to be on the up at the moment," he observed lightly. "We do feel there is a frightful lack of new material. We write so slowly..." Mike shook his head in sorrow. He laughed and explained that "to me at any rate" had been his favourite expression ever since he heard Peter Sellers use it as Nancy Lisbon interviewing Twit Conway on "Songs For Swinging Sellers." A man who could conceivably have devoted himself to hunting tigers in India, explained how he became a vital force in Genesis. "I started off writing with Anthony Phillips, our old guitarist. Just songs y'know. I've always had a thing about songs.
"When we left school Peter was getting a band together and I joined on bass and rhythm guitar. I love strumming. Never really wanted to be a dynamic lead guitarist. We used to write pop songs, and I thought they were rather nice.
"The first thing we wrote as a band was a 45 minute piece that we didn't record, but we still use bits to this very day. When we started the band we knew nothing about the business or what bands did, which was good, really. We were incredibly green but luckily we didn't sign anything. "We didn't know how to set up the equipment for a gig and we used to travel around with a picnic basket, containing hard-boiled eggs, pots of tea and scones, that we set up in the dressing rooms. The other bands were frankly amazed. But we were very fond of tea.
"We had no conception of what would happen, and I'm really glad we did it. I had led such a soft life up and until then, and being in a group doesn't do you any harm at all. I was studying English and Edinburgh University, but I couldn't go back again." How did mike intend to use his studies at University? "Actually, I wanted to be a pro golfer. I take clubs with me wherever we go. But we're all unfit. I just play when I can."
To what extent had Mike studied musical theory and the art of bass guitar? "I sort of picked it up. I'm starting to learn to read music now. I suppose our present musical form started to develop about three years ago. We used to change much quicker than we do now. But of course there were fewer people coming to see us.
"I wish we could have had Phil then. His arrival gave us an awful lot more confidence. There has always been a lot of friction in the band, but its not too bad really. "When Phil joined and saw us all quarrelling, I think he thought we were splitting up! We argue a lot less now and there is more give and take."
Phil Collins Box (pic)
Phil Collins, the drummer, is one of that breed of drummers with a fine technique who devotes it solely to the band's music.
He rarely if ever solos, but the intelligent and dramatic shading that he employs is exciting in itself.
He has played drums since the age of five, and at one time pursued an acting career which he now prefers not to talk about, but like Steve Marriott, included a stint in Oliver as the Artful Dodger, and a whole string of radio and TV appearances.
"The only band I was in any consequence before Genesis was Flaming Youth," he says.
"I thought they were a good band and were quite influenced by Yes. We would do a 15 minute version of `Norwegian Wood.' We did the album `Ark II', but at all gigs we'd play half our own material and half somebody else's and didn't please anybody.
"My own playing was quite influenced by Bill Bruford and John Bonham. But when I started out I liked Joe Brown and the Bruvyers. I'm not really a jazz freak y'know, although big bands always appealed to me. I liked the way the drummer accented or filled-in. It appealed to me the way you didn't have to play a set rhythm between the accents.
"I used to watch all the big band drummers, and thought Harold Jones with Count Basie was excellent.
"I'd like Genesis to get a bit looser, while keeping the arranged things. When you're playing on tour you begin to want to change things.
"I want to get more into different time signatures. Some of my best playing is on the 9/8 things on `Supper's Ready.' It's interesting to play.
"I was taught by Frank King (the late drum tutor). I realised that if I wanted to be a pro drummer when I was 40, I'd have to learn to read.
"I got my first drums when I was five, and my father used to hide them in the cellar. Later on I sold my train set to buy some drums. When I quit acting my parents were a bit upset, but I'd always seen myself as a drummer.
"I was a drum fan; I liked everyone. Ringo, Keith Moon, there were such a lot of good drummers. Buddy Rich, of course, and guys you don't hear so much about, Ian Wallace and John Halsey with Patto. But I don't like rock drumming as such, I like to tune my drums properly and there should definitely be a musical approach to playing.
"I think my playing has improved a lot, and two recent influences have been Billy Cobham and Bernard Purdie.
"I've done some sessions to get the frustration out of me, and I even did a season at a holiday camp, wearing a bow tie and playing waltzes. That can be fun, too! I'm not playing, I'm listening and learning. All will be revealed on the next LP
. "I think of myself as a drummer rather than Genesis' drummer. I'd like to get back into two bass drums sometimes, I heard a tape recently made when I was 15 and there are some things on there I couldn't do now.
"I think Mike and I work together really well, and with Tony. {ed: How prophetic!!} I think the band will loosen up. We actually had a jam session at the Rainbow rehearsal, and we never normally do that kind of thing. I think some sparks are going to fly!"
Peter Gabriel Box (large pic)
There are many facets to Peter Gabriel's role in Genesis. He is a remarkable singer with a variety of tonal effects at his command from and unexpected soul shriek to clipped, precise phrasing; agonising howls to grotesque rolling accents delivered with theatreical venom.
Sometimes he sounds like Anthony Newley or Ron Moody. He teeters >from angelic pose to supernatural devilry, as he beats time on a solitary bass drum, the remnants of some long forgotten kit. He plays lyrical, in-tune flute, and can also be seen practising the oboe.
On stage, he will remain motionless for minutes on end, or disappear, only to burst forth in some stunning costume, perhaps the famous head of a fox.
But as Peter realises, such tactics can only work when they are unexpected, when they are timed to emphasise or illustrate some twist in the lyrics. There is a great deal of humour in Peter's approach, but there is also a power that cannot be dismissed.
There is an opaqueness to his character. An indefinable mist comes down on certain subjects. He seems open enough in discussion, but more lurks beneath the surface. Asked if he believes in the characters he takes on during a stage performance his simple reply is, "Yes."
Some years ago there was a brief infatuation among groups for magic, by Black Sabbath and others. Graham Bond has frequently talked about the subject.
But in Peter's performance there seems to be more than just an attempt at theatre. The various efforts he makes to take an audience with him seem to have an accumulative effect that works.
The wildness of the audience reaction at the Rainbow for example seems to confirm that, for the music by itself is not conducive to dancing in the aisle, in the manner of a soul or rock band. Gabriel does seem possessed in some way, when he performs, and his shy stutter off stage in no way invalidates this impression.
Our conversation began in fairly normal fashion, but as his piercing eyes and crooked smile, beneath a partially shaven head, bore into them, I felt in some way, I had made contact with the unknown.
"If our present success continues, we'll be in the situation where we can realise most of our ambitions in music and creative presentation. I hope what we do will be completely new. We need two months in one building to write and experiment.
"At the moment we are still in the first stage of audio-visual, in the way that the first stereo engineers experimented with trains passing from one speaker to another.
"After a while people became bored with that, and after the train noises, gained a great understanding of the medium they were using.
"I wouldn't say we have discovered anything yet - we are still talking about it in wishy-washy terms. But after the last couple of years of development, we can now see the possibilities. I hope we can clear ourselves of debt from record royalties, and plough back any profit into realising more expansionist ideas.
"I don't like the word show. It's not sort of Hollywood dancing girls. It's very difficult to put into words the visual concept. It's a visual and musical concept expressed at the same time.
"My things are my own and the more we present ourselves as a co-operative band, the happier I'll be. I don't want to project myself above the band. I just poodle about and put on silly costumes.
"I do have things I'm interested in outside of the band. There is a song writer called Martin Hall and there is a possibility of my doing an LP with him. As it is - the band comes first."
Will success change Genesis?
"Well, it will have to improve on past performance if we are going to keep together. We were losing money fast. We believed in what we were doing and that's all.
"Yes, it does place certain pressures. A trap I hope we won't fall into, is that after an artist has received a certain amount of success, he is given the conviction that even his most insignificant fart is a work of art. Mumble, mumble, second verse follows the first.
"We go on stage and do a bad gig and everybody says its the most brilliant thing they have ever seen in their life. The time comes when you believe they are right. We should be cautious about that.
"We are learning all the time, and on the whole in this business, it is the easiest field in which to be highly successful and mediocre at the same time. One should be constantly maintaining higher aims."
Is there a danger of Genesis being trapped in a formula?
"I'd like to change the act after every gig. One gig should be totally theatrical, and the next one dressed in denim. I would feel happier if you could come to a Genesis gig and not know what you're going to see. But some people have already complained because we dropped the fox's head. I'd like to get a regular change in the music as well. Eh? Oh, I've got the fox's head at the moment. We're thinking of giving it as a prize in the Giant Hogweed Youth Movement competition. I must give a plug to the mask maker - Guy Chapman, who made the pinballs for the Tommy opera. Erica Issitt does the costumes.
"I want to create a fantasy situation. The flower head should be hamming it up. It's consciously supposed to be unreal. I don't specifically want to frighten. Let's say I would prefer to be Fellini. In fact the flower walk was probably more influenced by Shirley Temple, which is better than ripping of Eric Clapton."
Next LP?
"We've got our little bits ready. April we'll start, but in the meantime we're going to America. I'd like a more acoustic feel than we did on 'Foxtrot.' We want to extend the degree of contrast in the music. I want to spend the next 50 years of my life learning."
Tony Banks Box (pic)
Tony Banks is one of the main men when it comes to unravelling who contributes most to the Genesis sound.
His mournful Mellotron cries and sustained chords are vital in maintaining the mood and aura of a performance and by the nature of his instrument he takes the lead in structuring the arrangements.
Ex-Charterhouse and Sussex University, his musical training included nearly ten years classical piano studies. He first played in The Garden Wall, a school group with Peter and Anthony Phillips, original Genesis guitarist.
"My particular role in the band? Well, I'm not an improvisor in a group situation. I can improvise and will play away for hours on my own at the piano. But when I'm restricted to a riff or chord sequence, I find it difficult to improvise. I prefer to work out my playing in advance. And I don't have any desire to improvise as my sole concern is the composition and playing of the arrangement.
"We spend weeks getting a song together. We'd like to speed up the process because you can soon get bored playing the same thing each night. But I've found I'm enjoying playing more than a year ago.
"There are two main ways we get material together. One of us might write a complete offering and the group arranges it. This doesn't often happen! Otherwise we all work together on a ten second idea and then develop it. Each member takes a part in the writing.
"You see we originally got together as writers, and this is the strength of the band. In fact each member writes enough to fill an LP. When I write a lyric, I try to think of Peter, who has to sing them. Peter's own lyrics tend to be more abstract and I tend to have reservations about obscurity. I think he wrote `Supper's Ready' too hurriedly.
"I started playing classical music at school. When I was about 13 I went off classical piano and didn't want to play it anymore. I would pick out Beatles tunes instead. But at 16 it was back to the classics again.
"The first group I ever saw was the Nice, and didn't think anybody played music like that. It was pretty early days for them at the Marquee and it was pretty simple stuff I suppose. But I was quite impressed by the possibilities of a visual act. They were never as good after that first time, and they weren't half the band after the guitarist left. It was all organ and I thought the guitar was essential.
"I like Yes quite a lot and I liked `The Yes Album,' but I wasn't impressed by `Fragile' and I haven't heard `Close To The Edge'. I don't feel influenced by them at all. I suppose when we did 'Nursery Cryme', there was a superficial likeness, but if you listen to the LPs for any length of time, the similarities will disappear. We listen to a lot of music. There is no jazz influence on what I play, but Phil can make it sound like jazz and I like that.
"We've all been evolving since we were at school, and Peter, Mike and myself never played with anybody else. It's quite satisfactory really, because I never played organ before, and learned through Genesis. Mike hadn't played bass before and was a guitarist.
"Everything you do changes you. I enjoy a lot of aspects of being in a group. I don't enjoy traveling. I stayed a year at University and then when Genesis started I took one year's leave of absence to see how it would go. I've never been back."
Tony admits he doesn't always entirely enjoy the visual aspect of Genesis and admits there has been friction between him and Peter Gabriel in the past. "I don't have much to do with the presentation and didn't always like it. But Peter is a natural for that and I'm more happy with it now.
"We've tried never to compromise and we're not going to now. I enjoy taking the music seriously and we want more people to listen to us. I was irritated by the fox's head that Peter used, and didn't think it was justifiable. I always regretted it. But now I'm getting more excited about the visual aspect. And I've known Peter too long to be frightened by him!"
Steve Hackett Box (pic)
Screaming effects and whispering melody lines, unison work with the organ, brass, and gentle acoustic guitar, behind the vocals are all Steve Hackett's forte.
One of the most recent members of the band, which worked as a four piece after their original guitarist left, Steve has a dry humour, and enjoys telling the saga of his running advertisements in the MM's famed Musicians Wanted columns.
Educated at Sloane Grammar school in Kensington, Steve enjoys composers Eric Satie, Albinoni, Searliatti and Bach, as well as King Crimson. He is one of the quietest members of the band and on stage prefers to remain static, rather than attempt uneasy rock style leaping.
"On stage I do tend not to use the guitar as a guitar, but rather as a voice in the oneness of sound. A lot of the time people say: `Where's the guitar? I can't hear it.' It's more of a special effect department."
Does Steve covet the freedom to blow more?
"On the next LP I'd like to use the guitar as a guitar. The music does tend to be over arranged. On gigs ninety per cent of it is arranged. The reason I sit down by the way, is because of the battery of foot pedals and fuzz boxes I use. There are a lot of crescendos and miminuendos, and I have to keep level right with the pedals. But I admit I'm the most non-visual member of the band, and I don't find it easy to be on stage."
Did Steve ever cherish the possibility of becoming a front man?
"Not really. I'm pretty obscure you know. I tried to form a band for two years and had 30 musicians passing through. We played two gigs.
"I used to play harmonica, so it was a kind of John Mayall situation without any gigs. The band had several names as well, like Sarabande and Steel Pier. It was all down to lack of finance.
"I was one of the most regular advertisers in Melody Maker apart >from the A Able Accordionist. The style of the adverts changed as time went on from `Blues guitarist/harmonica player' to `Guitarist writer seeks receptive minds determined to strive beyond existing stagnant musical forms.'
"The last one Genesis answered. It was a bit high-brow, but I still got a lot of nutters replying, obviously completely hopeless. I could never bring myself to tell them. In the end I had to say, I don't htink we can work together. After Peter phoned up, we did two weeks rehearsals and did our fist gig, which was a disaster of course. I forgot everything.
"When I first started to play guitar, my main influences were C, F and G. They were good for the blues. I was a big fan of Jeff Beck and I still am. Eric Clapton of course and Peter Green. Then something happened. I'd go to Eel Pie Island a lot and hear all the blues guitarists. Then suddenly the magic didn't work. I'd come to the end of the blues. As I acquired more technique I could understand more what they were playing, and the more I knew, the less the magic worked.
"When I joined this band, I thought I could improve the guitar department, which was more folky than it is now. I thought the acoustic side lacked drive. Now with the addition of Phil it has got much stronger. I could see what the band were trying to do and where it failed. I thought it could be polished up. And I can't emphasise enough the importance of the addition of the Mellotron. That gave us a whole new spectrum of sounds, and a wider perspective.
"I don't really like playing long solos, and prefer more short statements. You can say much more in two minutes than you can in 20. It's like drumming. A drum solo would be completely out of context in this band.
"I like to think we conjure up mental pictures for people and create moods. When Peter wears a flower on his head or shouts `all change' it could mean nothing. But within the context of the music, it can help get the number across.
"We all relate to fantasy, although I'm a bit more down to earth. `Get 'Em Out By Friday' is more specific statement for me. I like Lennon's lyrics. Simple, but effective. Bare bones and a bit more honesty - that's what I'd like."
Equipment list
Tony Banks:
1 Mark II Mellotron
1 L122 Hammond Organ
1 Hohner Pianet
1 Epiphone 12 String Acoustic Guitar
2 760 Solid State Leslie Cabinets
2 4x12 Hi-watt Cabinets
1 Custom built 50/75 Wallice Amplifier
1 Custom built Stewart Keyboard Mixer
Michael Rutherford:
1 Custom build Zemaitis 12 String Acoustic Guitar
1 Rickenbacker 12 STring Guitar
1 Rickenbacker Bass Guitar
1 Set `Mr Bassman' Bass Pedals
1 100w Hi-watt Stack
1 Acoustic 370 Bass Amplifier
1 Acoustic 201 Cabinet
Steve Hackett:
1 Gibson Les Paul deluxe Guitar
1 Hagstrom 12 String Guitar
1 100w Hi-watt Stack
1 Marshall `Super-Fuzz' Fuzz Box
1 `Duo' Fuzz Box
1 Schaller Volume Pedal
Phil Collins:
3 Gretch Drums: 20"x18" Bass Drum, 16"x16" Floor Tomtom, 13"x9" Little Tomtom
1 14" x 5 1/2" Ludwig Snare Drum
Paiste Cymbals Including 1 20", 2 18", 1 17", 2 16", 1 pair 14" Hi-hats
3 Gongs: 1 20", 1 13", 1 6"
Hayman C Sticks
Assorted bells, finger cymbals and whistles, etc.
Peter Gabriel:
1 Hayman 20" Bass Drum
1 Haines Flute
1 Howarth Oboe
PA (on hire from Sound City Hire Limited)
4 Kelsey Morris Bass Reflex Cabinets
4 Altec Mid-range Horns
4 JBL 070 High-range Treble Radiators
2 700 w Phase-Linear Power Amplifiers
2 100w H/H TPA 100D Monitor Amplifiers
3 Two-way Passive Cross-over Slope Back Monitor Cabinets including Vitavox Horns and Speakers
1 20 channel Kelsey Morris Stereo Mixer
1 Sound City Echo Master Mark II
1 Sony Cassette Player
Sound Technicians:
Tim Stewart (Stage Gear)
Brian Grant (P.A.)
Alan Cranston (Drums and Mikes)
Richard MacPhail (Personal/Tour Manager & Sound Engineer)
Lighting Equipment:
20 2K Thorn 6C24/2B Dimmers
36 Hartman Par 64 Lanterns
32 Pattern 763 Mark II 1K Leeko TH Profile Spots
2 Hersey Towers
4 Hartman Towers
1 Mirror Ball
3 Freeze Lights
8 Ultra-Violet Flourescent Tubes
6 175w Ultra-Violet Radiators
1 Tubular Ripple
2 Custom built Flash Admission Boxes
75' Aluminum Scaffolding
12'x40' gauze (white) curtain
Lighting Technicians:
Adrian Selby (Lighting Designer)
Martin Day and Jeremy Thom (Lime Operators)
Transport:
1 Ford `D' Series 3-ton truck for sound equipment
1 Commer 3-ton truck for lighting equipment
2 Saloon cars for group
Words by Chris Welch
Pictures by Barrie Wentzell
Genesis are in that exciting time when life seems rosy and prospects are good. After many years of toil, uncertainty and blind faith, their ambitions are being realised and their talent recognised.
America beckons, the next album will probably be a smash, and concerts are a sell-out, wherever Peter Gabriel unfurls his wings.
Genesis have always been determined to play their own music without compromise, right from the days when they played to five people in the room upstairs and Ronnie Scott's Club. And they will concede no compromises now they have joined their brother groups amidst the hullabaloo of acclaim and exposure.
In many ways Genesis are of the old fashioned breed of group, who originally laid the foundations of the whole modern group structure. Most of them went to school together. Few have played with any other band. When they started out they were rough and unready and held quaint ideas about writing and playing that no one would touch.
While other groups went to fame and fortune they teetered on the verge of breaking up, quarrelled, but slogged on and won an essential grass-roots following.
The music the band feature has been compared to Yes, and other bands that specialise in arrangements. In fact one of their earliest influences was the Nice. {ED - Keith Emerson's first primary band.}
Genesis do not however place much emphasis on solo work or extended improvisation, and the use of Mellotron and Steve Hackett's "non-guitar" guitar sounds don't lead to any direct comparison with anything else that is happening.
Genesis are eccentric and very English, and blues hardly enters their work, even the term "rock" is irrelevant most of the time.
Nevertheless it is gripping often startling, with a thorough understanding of the use of dynamics, light and shade.
It is a textural montage, in which classical music, jazz and rock can all be seen to have had an effect.
Mike Rutherford Box (pic)
A Charterhouse school veteran, bass guitarist Mike Rutherford treats a mean pair of Mr. Bassman pedals, which supplies the mysterious bass pulse, when he is strumming at an acoustic guitar with Steve. He also plays regular bass guitar, and two 12-string guitars, all of which help in the vital shading and pastel tones the band employ. He tends to ramble in a pleasantly coherent fashion, often a trait among public school chaps, and blithely admits if it wasn't for this rock and roll business, he would probably have gone into the Foreign Office.
"We seem to be on the up at the moment," he observed lightly. "We do feel there is a frightful lack of new material. We write so slowly..." Mike shook his head in sorrow. He laughed and explained that "to me at any rate" had been his favourite expression ever since he heard Peter Sellers use it as Nancy Lisbon interviewing Twit Conway on "Songs For Swinging Sellers." A man who could conceivably have devoted himself to hunting tigers in India, explained how he became a vital force in Genesis. "I started off writing with Anthony Phillips, our old guitarist. Just songs y'know. I've always had a thing about songs.
"When we left school Peter was getting a band together and I joined on bass and rhythm guitar. I love strumming. Never really wanted to be a dynamic lead guitarist. We used to write pop songs, and I thought they were rather nice.
"The first thing we wrote as a band was a 45 minute piece that we didn't record, but we still use bits to this very day. When we started the band we knew nothing about the business or what bands did, which was good, really. We were incredibly green but luckily we didn't sign anything. "We didn't know how to set up the equipment for a gig and we used to travel around with a picnic basket, containing hard-boiled eggs, pots of tea and scones, that we set up in the dressing rooms. The other bands were frankly amazed. But we were very fond of tea.
"We had no conception of what would happen, and I'm really glad we did it. I had led such a soft life up and until then, and being in a group doesn't do you any harm at all. I was studying English and Edinburgh University, but I couldn't go back again." How did mike intend to use his studies at University? "Actually, I wanted to be a pro golfer. I take clubs with me wherever we go. But we're all unfit. I just play when I can."
To what extent had Mike studied musical theory and the art of bass guitar? "I sort of picked it up. I'm starting to learn to read music now. I suppose our present musical form started to develop about three years ago. We used to change much quicker than we do now. But of course there were fewer people coming to see us.
"I wish we could have had Phil then. His arrival gave us an awful lot more confidence. There has always been a lot of friction in the band, but its not too bad really. "When Phil joined and saw us all quarrelling, I think he thought we were splitting up! We argue a lot less now and there is more give and take."
Phil Collins Box (pic)
Phil Collins, the drummer, is one of that breed of drummers with a fine technique who devotes it solely to the band's music.
He rarely if ever solos, but the intelligent and dramatic shading that he employs is exciting in itself.
He has played drums since the age of five, and at one time pursued an acting career which he now prefers not to talk about, but like Steve Marriott, included a stint in Oliver as the Artful Dodger, and a whole string of radio and TV appearances.
"The only band I was in any consequence before Genesis was Flaming Youth," he says.
"I thought they were a good band and were quite influenced by Yes. We would do a 15 minute version of `Norwegian Wood.' We did the album `Ark II', but at all gigs we'd play half our own material and half somebody else's and didn't please anybody.
"My own playing was quite influenced by Bill Bruford and John Bonham. But when I started out I liked Joe Brown and the Bruvyers. I'm not really a jazz freak y'know, although big bands always appealed to me. I liked the way the drummer accented or filled-in. It appealed to me the way you didn't have to play a set rhythm between the accents.
"I used to watch all the big band drummers, and thought Harold Jones with Count Basie was excellent.
"I'd like Genesis to get a bit looser, while keeping the arranged things. When you're playing on tour you begin to want to change things.
"I want to get more into different time signatures. Some of my best playing is on the 9/8 things on `Supper's Ready.' It's interesting to play.
"I was taught by Frank King (the late drum tutor). I realised that if I wanted to be a pro drummer when I was 40, I'd have to learn to read.
"I got my first drums when I was five, and my father used to hide them in the cellar. Later on I sold my train set to buy some drums. When I quit acting my parents were a bit upset, but I'd always seen myself as a drummer.
"I was a drum fan; I liked everyone. Ringo, Keith Moon, there were such a lot of good drummers. Buddy Rich, of course, and guys you don't hear so much about, Ian Wallace and John Halsey with Patto. But I don't like rock drumming as such, I like to tune my drums properly and there should definitely be a musical approach to playing.
"I think my playing has improved a lot, and two recent influences have been Billy Cobham and Bernard Purdie.
"I've done some sessions to get the frustration out of me, and I even did a season at a holiday camp, wearing a bow tie and playing waltzes. That can be fun, too! I'm not playing, I'm listening and learning. All will be revealed on the next LP
. "I think of myself as a drummer rather than Genesis' drummer. I'd like to get back into two bass drums sometimes, I heard a tape recently made when I was 15 and there are some things on there I couldn't do now.
"I think Mike and I work together really well, and with Tony. {ed: How prophetic!!} I think the band will loosen up. We actually had a jam session at the Rainbow rehearsal, and we never normally do that kind of thing. I think some sparks are going to fly!"
Peter Gabriel Box (large pic)
There are many facets to Peter Gabriel's role in Genesis. He is a remarkable singer with a variety of tonal effects at his command from and unexpected soul shriek to clipped, precise phrasing; agonising howls to grotesque rolling accents delivered with theatreical venom.
Sometimes he sounds like Anthony Newley or Ron Moody. He teeters >from angelic pose to supernatural devilry, as he beats time on a solitary bass drum, the remnants of some long forgotten kit. He plays lyrical, in-tune flute, and can also be seen practising the oboe.
On stage, he will remain motionless for minutes on end, or disappear, only to burst forth in some stunning costume, perhaps the famous head of a fox.
But as Peter realises, such tactics can only work when they are unexpected, when they are timed to emphasise or illustrate some twist in the lyrics. There is a great deal of humour in Peter's approach, but there is also a power that cannot be dismissed.
There is an opaqueness to his character. An indefinable mist comes down on certain subjects. He seems open enough in discussion, but more lurks beneath the surface. Asked if he believes in the characters he takes on during a stage performance his simple reply is, "Yes."
Some years ago there was a brief infatuation among groups for magic, by Black Sabbath and others. Graham Bond has frequently talked about the subject.
But in Peter's performance there seems to be more than just an attempt at theatre. The various efforts he makes to take an audience with him seem to have an accumulative effect that works.
The wildness of the audience reaction at the Rainbow for example seems to confirm that, for the music by itself is not conducive to dancing in the aisle, in the manner of a soul or rock band. Gabriel does seem possessed in some way, when he performs, and his shy stutter off stage in no way invalidates this impression.
Our conversation began in fairly normal fashion, but as his piercing eyes and crooked smile, beneath a partially shaven head, bore into them, I felt in some way, I had made contact with the unknown.
"If our present success continues, we'll be in the situation where we can realise most of our ambitions in music and creative presentation. I hope what we do will be completely new. We need two months in one building to write and experiment.
"At the moment we are still in the first stage of audio-visual, in the way that the first stereo engineers experimented with trains passing from one speaker to another.
"After a while people became bored with that, and after the train noises, gained a great understanding of the medium they were using.
"I wouldn't say we have discovered anything yet - we are still talking about it in wishy-washy terms. But after the last couple of years of development, we can now see the possibilities. I hope we can clear ourselves of debt from record royalties, and plough back any profit into realising more expansionist ideas.
"I don't like the word show. It's not sort of Hollywood dancing girls. It's very difficult to put into words the visual concept. It's a visual and musical concept expressed at the same time.
"My things are my own and the more we present ourselves as a co-operative band, the happier I'll be. I don't want to project myself above the band. I just poodle about and put on silly costumes.
"I do have things I'm interested in outside of the band. There is a song writer called Martin Hall and there is a possibility of my doing an LP with him. As it is - the band comes first."
Will success change Genesis?
"Well, it will have to improve on past performance if we are going to keep together. We were losing money fast. We believed in what we were doing and that's all.
"Yes, it does place certain pressures. A trap I hope we won't fall into, is that after an artist has received a certain amount of success, he is given the conviction that even his most insignificant fart is a work of art. Mumble, mumble, second verse follows the first.
"We go on stage and do a bad gig and everybody says its the most brilliant thing they have ever seen in their life. The time comes when you believe they are right. We should be cautious about that.
"We are learning all the time, and on the whole in this business, it is the easiest field in which to be highly successful and mediocre at the same time. One should be constantly maintaining higher aims."
Is there a danger of Genesis being trapped in a formula?
"I'd like to change the act after every gig. One gig should be totally theatrical, and the next one dressed in denim. I would feel happier if you could come to a Genesis gig and not know what you're going to see. But some people have already complained because we dropped the fox's head. I'd like to get a regular change in the music as well. Eh? Oh, I've got the fox's head at the moment. We're thinking of giving it as a prize in the Giant Hogweed Youth Movement competition. I must give a plug to the mask maker - Guy Chapman, who made the pinballs for the Tommy opera. Erica Issitt does the costumes.
"I want to create a fantasy situation. The flower head should be hamming it up. It's consciously supposed to be unreal. I don't specifically want to frighten. Let's say I would prefer to be Fellini. In fact the flower walk was probably more influenced by Shirley Temple, which is better than ripping of Eric Clapton."
Next LP?
"We've got our little bits ready. April we'll start, but in the meantime we're going to America. I'd like a more acoustic feel than we did on 'Foxtrot.' We want to extend the degree of contrast in the music. I want to spend the next 50 years of my life learning."
Tony Banks Box (pic)
Tony Banks is one of the main men when it comes to unravelling who contributes most to the Genesis sound.
His mournful Mellotron cries and sustained chords are vital in maintaining the mood and aura of a performance and by the nature of his instrument he takes the lead in structuring the arrangements.
Ex-Charterhouse and Sussex University, his musical training included nearly ten years classical piano studies. He first played in The Garden Wall, a school group with Peter and Anthony Phillips, original Genesis guitarist.
"My particular role in the band? Well, I'm not an improvisor in a group situation. I can improvise and will play away for hours on my own at the piano. But when I'm restricted to a riff or chord sequence, I find it difficult to improvise. I prefer to work out my playing in advance. And I don't have any desire to improvise as my sole concern is the composition and playing of the arrangement.
"We spend weeks getting a song together. We'd like to speed up the process because you can soon get bored playing the same thing each night. But I've found I'm enjoying playing more than a year ago.
"There are two main ways we get material together. One of us might write a complete offering and the group arranges it. This doesn't often happen! Otherwise we all work together on a ten second idea and then develop it. Each member takes a part in the writing.
"You see we originally got together as writers, and this is the strength of the band. In fact each member writes enough to fill an LP. When I write a lyric, I try to think of Peter, who has to sing them. Peter's own lyrics tend to be more abstract and I tend to have reservations about obscurity. I think he wrote `Supper's Ready' too hurriedly.
"I started playing classical music at school. When I was about 13 I went off classical piano and didn't want to play it anymore. I would pick out Beatles tunes instead. But at 16 it was back to the classics again.
"The first group I ever saw was the Nice, and didn't think anybody played music like that. It was pretty early days for them at the Marquee and it was pretty simple stuff I suppose. But I was quite impressed by the possibilities of a visual act. They were never as good after that first time, and they weren't half the band after the guitarist left. It was all organ and I thought the guitar was essential.
"I like Yes quite a lot and I liked `The Yes Album,' but I wasn't impressed by `Fragile' and I haven't heard `Close To The Edge'. I don't feel influenced by them at all. I suppose when we did 'Nursery Cryme', there was a superficial likeness, but if you listen to the LPs for any length of time, the similarities will disappear. We listen to a lot of music. There is no jazz influence on what I play, but Phil can make it sound like jazz and I like that.
"We've all been evolving since we were at school, and Peter, Mike and myself never played with anybody else. It's quite satisfactory really, because I never played organ before, and learned through Genesis. Mike hadn't played bass before and was a guitarist.
"Everything you do changes you. I enjoy a lot of aspects of being in a group. I don't enjoy traveling. I stayed a year at University and then when Genesis started I took one year's leave of absence to see how it would go. I've never been back."
Tony admits he doesn't always entirely enjoy the visual aspect of Genesis and admits there has been friction between him and Peter Gabriel in the past. "I don't have much to do with the presentation and didn't always like it. But Peter is a natural for that and I'm more happy with it now.
"We've tried never to compromise and we're not going to now. I enjoy taking the music seriously and we want more people to listen to us. I was irritated by the fox's head that Peter used, and didn't think it was justifiable. I always regretted it. But now I'm getting more excited about the visual aspect. And I've known Peter too long to be frightened by him!"
Steve Hackett Box (pic)
Screaming effects and whispering melody lines, unison work with the organ, brass, and gentle acoustic guitar, behind the vocals are all Steve Hackett's forte.
One of the most recent members of the band, which worked as a four piece after their original guitarist left, Steve has a dry humour, and enjoys telling the saga of his running advertisements in the MM's famed Musicians Wanted columns.
Educated at Sloane Grammar school in Kensington, Steve enjoys composers Eric Satie, Albinoni, Searliatti and Bach, as well as King Crimson. He is one of the quietest members of the band and on stage prefers to remain static, rather than attempt uneasy rock style leaping.
"On stage I do tend not to use the guitar as a guitar, but rather as a voice in the oneness of sound. A lot of the time people say: `Where's the guitar? I can't hear it.' It's more of a special effect department."
Does Steve covet the freedom to blow more?
"On the next LP I'd like to use the guitar as a guitar. The music does tend to be over arranged. On gigs ninety per cent of it is arranged. The reason I sit down by the way, is because of the battery of foot pedals and fuzz boxes I use. There are a lot of crescendos and miminuendos, and I have to keep level right with the pedals. But I admit I'm the most non-visual member of the band, and I don't find it easy to be on stage."
Did Steve ever cherish the possibility of becoming a front man?
"Not really. I'm pretty obscure you know. I tried to form a band for two years and had 30 musicians passing through. We played two gigs.
"I used to play harmonica, so it was a kind of John Mayall situation without any gigs. The band had several names as well, like Sarabande and Steel Pier. It was all down to lack of finance.
"I was one of the most regular advertisers in Melody Maker apart >from the A Able Accordionist. The style of the adverts changed as time went on from `Blues guitarist/harmonica player' to `Guitarist writer seeks receptive minds determined to strive beyond existing stagnant musical forms.'
"The last one Genesis answered. It was a bit high-brow, but I still got a lot of nutters replying, obviously completely hopeless. I could never bring myself to tell them. In the end I had to say, I don't htink we can work together. After Peter phoned up, we did two weeks rehearsals and did our fist gig, which was a disaster of course. I forgot everything.
"When I first started to play guitar, my main influences were C, F and G. They were good for the blues. I was a big fan of Jeff Beck and I still am. Eric Clapton of course and Peter Green. Then something happened. I'd go to Eel Pie Island a lot and hear all the blues guitarists. Then suddenly the magic didn't work. I'd come to the end of the blues. As I acquired more technique I could understand more what they were playing, and the more I knew, the less the magic worked.
"When I joined this band, I thought I could improve the guitar department, which was more folky than it is now. I thought the acoustic side lacked drive. Now with the addition of Phil it has got much stronger. I could see what the band were trying to do and where it failed. I thought it could be polished up. And I can't emphasise enough the importance of the addition of the Mellotron. That gave us a whole new spectrum of sounds, and a wider perspective.
"I don't really like playing long solos, and prefer more short statements. You can say much more in two minutes than you can in 20. It's like drumming. A drum solo would be completely out of context in this band.
"I like to think we conjure up mental pictures for people and create moods. When Peter wears a flower on his head or shouts `all change' it could mean nothing. But within the context of the music, it can help get the number across.
"We all relate to fantasy, although I'm a bit more down to earth. `Get 'Em Out By Friday' is more specific statement for me. I like Lennon's lyrics. Simple, but effective. Bare bones and a bit more honesty - that's what I'd like."
Equipment list
Tony Banks:
1 Mark II Mellotron
1 L122 Hammond Organ
1 Hohner Pianet
1 Epiphone 12 String Acoustic Guitar
2 760 Solid State Leslie Cabinets
2 4x12 Hi-watt Cabinets
1 Custom built 50/75 Wallice Amplifier
1 Custom built Stewart Keyboard Mixer
Michael Rutherford:
1 Custom build Zemaitis 12 String Acoustic Guitar
1 Rickenbacker 12 STring Guitar
1 Rickenbacker Bass Guitar
1 Set `Mr Bassman' Bass Pedals
1 100w Hi-watt Stack
1 Acoustic 370 Bass Amplifier
1 Acoustic 201 Cabinet
Steve Hackett:
1 Gibson Les Paul deluxe Guitar
1 Hagstrom 12 String Guitar
1 100w Hi-watt Stack
1 Marshall `Super-Fuzz' Fuzz Box
1 `Duo' Fuzz Box
1 Schaller Volume Pedal
Phil Collins:
3 Gretch Drums: 20"x18" Bass Drum, 16"x16" Floor Tomtom, 13"x9" Little Tomtom
1 14" x 5 1/2" Ludwig Snare Drum
Paiste Cymbals Including 1 20", 2 18", 1 17", 2 16", 1 pair 14" Hi-hats
3 Gongs: 1 20", 1 13", 1 6"
Hayman C Sticks
Assorted bells, finger cymbals and whistles, etc.
Peter Gabriel:
1 Hayman 20" Bass Drum
1 Haines Flute
1 Howarth Oboe
PA (on hire from Sound City Hire Limited)
4 Kelsey Morris Bass Reflex Cabinets
4 Altec Mid-range Horns
4 JBL 070 High-range Treble Radiators
2 700 w Phase-Linear Power Amplifiers
2 100w H/H TPA 100D Monitor Amplifiers
3 Two-way Passive Cross-over Slope Back Monitor Cabinets including Vitavox Horns and Speakers
1 20 channel Kelsey Morris Stereo Mixer
1 Sound City Echo Master Mark II
1 Sony Cassette Player
Sound Technicians:
Tim Stewart (Stage Gear)
Brian Grant (P.A.)
Alan Cranston (Drums and Mikes)
Richard MacPhail (Personal/Tour Manager & Sound Engineer)
Lighting Equipment:
20 2K Thorn 6C24/2B Dimmers
36 Hartman Par 64 Lanterns
32 Pattern 763 Mark II 1K Leeko TH Profile Spots
2 Hersey Towers
4 Hartman Towers
1 Mirror Ball
3 Freeze Lights
8 Ultra-Violet Flourescent Tubes
6 175w Ultra-Violet Radiators
1 Tubular Ripple
2 Custom built Flash Admission Boxes
75' Aluminum Scaffolding
12'x40' gauze (white) curtain
Lighting Technicians:
Adrian Selby (Lighting Designer)
Martin Day and Jeremy Thom (Lime Operators)
Transport:
1 Ford `D' Series 3-ton truck for sound equipment
1 Commer 3-ton truck for lighting equipment
2 Saloon cars for group
Tell me my life is about to begin, tell me that I am a hero, promise me all of your violent dreams light up your body with anger
- theknife
- Lamb
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- Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 11:08
- Location: Italy
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