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Genesis est un groupe de rock britannique de
style progressif, qui a connu un succès important durant les années 1970,
1980 et 1990 avec successivement à la place de chanteur Peter Gabriel, Phil
Collins puis Ray Wilson. Les deux premiers jouissent également d'un grand
succès grâce à leurs carrières solo.
Avec environ 150 millions d'albums vendus de par le monde, Genesis se classe
dans le top 30 des artistes ayant vendus le plus d'albums de tous les temps.
Le groupe est formé en 1967 par de jeunes étudiants du collège Charterhouse
(situé au sud-ouest de Londres) issus de deux jeunes groupes distincts,
Peter Gabriel et Tony Banks, originaires de Garden Wall. Ils sont rapidement
rejoints par Michael Rutherford, de Anon et Anthony Phillips.
Genesis enregistre son premier album en 1969, From Genesis to Revelation,
suite à un accord conclu avec Jonathan King, compositeur et producteur, lui
aussi ancien élève de Charterhouse et qui jouit à cette époque du succès de
son 45 tours, Everyone's Gone to the Moon. King trouve le nom du groupe et
leur fait enregistrer une série de chansons reflétant le style pop des Bee
Gees notamment, qu'il King affectionne particulièrement ; Gabriel et Banks
sont pour leur part plutôt influencés par les Beatles. King rassemble le
tout sur une sorte de concept album, ajoutant des arrangements de violons de
son cru. Ce fut un échec commercial complet. Le disque fut même classé par
méconnaissance en musique religieuse chez certains disquaires. Le groupe, se
sentant manipulé par King, choisit de rompre son contrat. Par la suite, King
tentera de profiter au mieux de ses droits sur ces seuls titres de Genesis à
travers de multiples rééditions.
Libérés de cet engagement, les membres de Genesis jouent la musique qu'ils
veulent et signent avec le nouveau label Charisma Records. Anthony Phillips
quitte toutefois le groupe en 1970 après la sortie de Trespass, en raison de
désaccords sur la direction musicale du groupe, de problèmes de santé et
d'accès de trac sur scène. Le départ de ce membre fondateur est un
traumatisme pour Banks et Rutherford. Le groupe s'interroge un temps sur son
avenir sans lui. Finalement, chacun renouvelle son engagement, mais le
batteur John Mayhew fait les frais de cette reprise en main et, jugé
techniquement trop faible pour les ambitions musicales du groupe, disparaît
de la formation.
1971-1972 Recrutement de Phil Collins et Steve Hackett
Phil Collins répond bientôt à une annonce passée par Genesis dans le journal
Melody Maker : le groupe est à la recherche d'un batteur « sensible à la
guitare 12 cordes ». Il se voit convié à passer une audition dans la maison
de Gabriel. Selon certains documentaires traitant de cette audition, Collins
est choisi car contrairement aux autres prétendants, il n'essaie pas
d'impressionner les membres du groupe par sa technique mais arrive en leur
racontant simplement une blague. Pour sa part, il avouera en entretien qu'il
a juste eu à se relaxer dans la piscine en écoutant les autres, retenant
ainsi les morceaux à jouer. Volontiers boute-entrain, Collins fait de plus
preuve d'une tranquille assurance à la batterie qu'il pratique depuis l'âge
de cinq ans Peter Gabriel appelle ensuite Steve Hackett, à la lecture de
l'annonce que ce dernier a posté dans le Melody : il recherche des «
musiciens décidés à s'émanciper des formes musicales en place ». Il est
enthousiasmé par un concert du groupe auquel il est invité, et impressionne
par son sérieux et sa technique lors de son audition. Il est donc retenu.
Genesis sort l'album Nursery Cryme en 1971, contenant notamment The Musical
Box et The Fountain of Salmacis.
En 1972, l'album Foxtrot, dans lequel on trouve le morceau de vingt-trois
minutes intitulé Supper's Ready ainsi que le titre Watcher of the Skies
inspiré par Arthur C. Clarke, assoit la réputation de Genesis en tant
qu'auteurs-compositeurs et interprètes. La présence théâtrale et exubérante
de Peter Gabriel sur scène, qui change de nombreuses fois de costume et
raconte des histoires surréalistes en introduction à chaque chanson, fait
rapidement du groupe l'un des plus populaires de la scène britannique des
années 1970.
1973 marque la parution d'un album désormais classique de Genesis: Selling
England by the Pound. Très abouti, avec le premier single à succès I Know
What I Like (in your wardrobe), 17e dans les charts britanniques en 1974,
l'abum est quant à lui 3e ; il perce aux États-Unis pour la première fois
(70e). Il contient en outre Firth of Fith, chanson dans laquelle on retrouve
un célèbre solo de guitare de Hackett sur une mélodie de Tony Banks.
1975, Départ de Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel quitte le groupe en 1975, après la tournée et le lancement du
concept-album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway paru en 1974. Il se sent de
plus en plus rejeté par le groupe et son mariage ainsi que la naissance de
son premier enfant n'ont fait qu'ajouter à son inconfort personnel. Les
autres membres écrivent pratiquement toutes les musiques de ce double album
sans la participation de Gabriel, Hackett se sent par ailleurs à l'étroit et
sort son premier album solo en 1975. Peter Gabriel écrit seul, de son côté,
l'histoire tenant lieu de fil conducteur et les paroles. Le premier album
solo éponyme de Gabriel (Peter Gabriel), sort en 1977, et inclut le titre
Solsbury Hill, une allégorie de son départ du groupe et de la période sombre
qui l'a précédé.
Après avoir auditionné plusieurs remplaçants du chanteur principal. « Nous
avons eu énormément d'excentriques, à cause de Peter et de ses accoutrements
» déclarera Rutherford à ce sujet lors d'un entretien. Genesis se tourne
finalement sur Phil Collins, qui officiait déjà au chant sur les chœurs et
en seconde voix, et passe ainsi de quintet à quatuor. Bill Bruford intègre
le groupe lors de la tournée de 1976 en tant que batteur, rejoint plus tard
par Chester Thompson, un ancien de la jazz fusion ayant joué avec Weather
Report et Frank Zappa. Thompson prend en charge les percussions, laissant
ainsi Collins sous les projecteurs.
1977, Départ de Hackett
Lorsque Steve Hackett quitte le groupe en 1977, Mike Rutherford se concentre
sur les guitares et le groupe devient alors un trio (Collins, Banks,
Rutherford), un fait reflété par le titre de leur album … And Then There
Were Three sorti en 1978. Cet album marque une nouvelle orientation
musicale, avec des morceaux courts, bien éloignés de leur épopée progressive
avec des morceaux de dix minutes et plus. C'est à ce moment-là
qu'apparaissent leurs premiers succès sur les radios américaines, avec
Follow You Follow Me. L'album Duke leur fournit ensuite deux gros tubes avec
Turn It On Again et Misunderstanding, devenus disques de platine et la
réussite commerciale du groupe se confirme ainsi d'album en album tout au
long des années 1980, alimentée par le propre succès de Collins en tant
qu'artiste solo jusqu'à son départ du groupe en 1996.
1996, sortie de l'album Calling All Stations
Rutherford et Banks choisissent de continuer l'aventure et remplacent
Collins par Ray Wilson, l'ex-chanteur du groupe Stiltskin. L'album Calling
All Stations se vend bien en Europe, mais ne trouve pas son public aux
États-Unis, où le hip-hop, le rock alternatif et la pop pour adolescents («
teen pop ») ont supplanté le rock classique dans les ventes.
Genesis se sépare après cet album, mais les différents membres (incluant
Phillips et Hackett, mais sans Gabriel) se retrouvent de temps en temps.
Tony Banks dit que Genesis se « repose » et Collins exprime l'espoir que les
membres du groupe originel, incluant Peter Gabriel, jouent de nouveau
ensemble.
Avenir du groupe de nos jours
Au cours de l'automne 2005, Steve Hackett, Peter Gabriel et Phil Collins
indiquent tour à tour à la presse qu'une réunion est envisagée. Selon eux,
la question d'une réunion formelle des cinq membres de la formation «
classique » de Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Steve
Hackett et Mike Rutherford, est sérieusement envisagée et que seules des
objections liées aux engagements de chacun pourraient y faire obstacle.
En octobre 2006, Tony Banks, Phil Collins et Mike Rutherford réservent des
studios pour une jam session. Phil Collins annonce qu'il s'agit de « voir ce
que cela donne », mais que si ces répétitions devaient déboucher sur un
album, il n'y aurait pas de grosse tournée mais quelques dates choisies.
En novembre 2006, Phil Collins confirme finalement la reformation de Genesis
avec Tony Banks et Michael Rutherford avec pour objectif une tournée
européenne dans le courant de 2007.
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Genesis are a Grammy Award-winning English
progressive rock band who formed in 1967.
With approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, Genesis are one of the
top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time. The group's members
have included Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, both of whom achieved success
as solo artists and in other music ventures.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Genesis evolved from a 60's pop band, with
moody, simple guitar-driven melodies, to a progressive art rock band, with
complex song structures, elaborate instrumentation, and theatrical concerts
(with 23 minute songs such as "Supper's Ready" and the 1974 concept album
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway), to a more pop oriented sound. Genesis's
change of musical direction to accessible music with melodic hooks gave them
their first #1 album in the United Kingdom, Duke, and their only #1 single
in the United States, "Invisible Touch".
Initially fronted by Peter Gabriel, Genesis have changed personnel several
times over their history. Collins took over from Gabriel after the latter's
departure from the group in 1975. After over two decades of being the band's
frontman, Collins left the group in 1996 and was replaced by former
Stiltskin singer Ray Wilson for the 1997 album Calling All Stations. Due to
the commercial failure of the album, and after three decades of activity,
the band announced that they were on an indefinite hiatus.
On 18 October 2006, the BBC announced that members of Genesis, including
Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, had agreed to reunite for a
world tour and were exploring the possibility of recording new material.
The beginning: 1967–1969
The band's origin lies in the late 1960s, when founding members Peter
Gabriel and Tony Banks were students at Charterhouse School. The original
line-up consisted of Gabriel (vocals), Anthony Phillips (guitar), Banks
(keyboards), Mike Rutherford (bass & guitar), and Chris Stewart (drums).
Genesis recorded their first album, 1969's From Genesis to Revelation, after
being spotted and named by Jonathan King, an alumnus of their school and a
songwriter and record producer who had a hit single at the time called
"Everyone's Gone to the Moon". King supposedly named the band Genesis
because they were the first serious band he had worked with, or the genesis
of his career. As he recalled later — "I named them Genesis because I
thought it was a good name...it suggested the beginning of a new sound and a
new feeling".
The album was released by Decca Records. During the sessions, drummer
Stewart left the band and was replaced by John Silver. The band recorded a
series of songs reflecting the light pop style of the Bee Gees, of whom King
was very fond, and King assembled these tracks into a concept album,
layering on string arrangements into the music during production. The band's
first single, "The Silent Sun" (sample (help·info)), was released in
February 1968. The album sold poorly, and the band, taking advice from King,
decided to try to make a proper career out of it. To this day, King asserts
his responsibility for the band's subsequent success. It was he who
introduced them to eventual label boss Tony Stratton Smith. King still holds
the rights to the songs on the From Genesis to Revelation album and has
re-released the album many times, under a variety of names including In The
Beginning, Where the Sour Turns To Sweet, Rock Roots: Genesis, ...And The
Word Was, and most recently The Genesis of Genesis, in addition to the
original title.
Genesis recruited a new drummer, John Mayhew, playing occasional gigs until
landing a new deal with Charisma Records founder Tony Stratton-Smith.
Through live performances the band became known for hypnotic melodies that
were often dark and haunting. Phillips left the band in 1970 after the
release of Trespass because of ill health and stage fright. The departure of
Phillips traumatised both Banks and Rutherford, as Phillips had been a
founding member and a primary force behind the band turning professional.
There was also doubt over whether Genesis could go on without him.
Eventually, the remaining members renewed their commitment to Genesis, also
deciding to fire drummer John Mayhew in the bargain. Trespass set the format
for Genesis albums throughout the '70s. The album consisted of lengthy,
sometimes operatic pieces and occasional very short, humorous numbers that
typified the style of progressive rock of King Crimson, Yes, and Gentle
Giant. Trespass included elaborate arrangements and time signature changes —
key elements that continued to be featured in Genesis's subsequent albums.
Another key factor in their songwriting was that they did not write
pentatonically, as most bands of their time did. This was a conscious
decision by the band for the years to come. Trespass featured the
nine-minute "The Knife" which Gabriel, a believer in nonviolence after
having been influenced by a book on Mahatma Gandhi, wrote showing "how all
violent revolutions inevitably end up with a dictator in power".
Phil Collins joined Genesis on 4 August 1970 after successfully impressing
the other band members with his drumming skills during an audition at
Gabriel's parents' house. The band continued as a four-piece before playing
a few shows with guitarist Mick Barnard. As the band felt that Barnard was
not up to their caliber of musicianship, they sought a proper replacement
for Phillips. Late in 1970, Steve Hackett, who performed in the band Quiet
World, placed an advertisement for a band in Melody Maker. Hackett went to
see Genesis in concert and enjoyed the type of music they were playing. The
band liked the tone of the advertisement, and after a meeting at his
parents' apartment, hired Hackett immediately.
Peter Gabriel-led era: 1970–1975
Collins and Hackett made their studio debut on the album Nursery Cryme
(originally released November 1971), which featured the epic "The Musical
Box" and Collins's first lead vocal performance on "For Absent
Friends". Foxtrot, released in October 1972, contained what many consider to
be one of the group's most accomplished works — the 23-minute "Supper's
Ready" and the Arthur C. Clarke-inspired "Watcher of the Skies", that
solidified their reputation as songwriters and performers. Gabriel's
flamboyant and theatrical stage presence, which involved numerous costume
changes and surreal introductions to each song, made the band one of the
most talked-about live acts in the early '70s UK rock scene.
Selling England by the Pound followed in November 1973 and was well received
by critics and fans. According to one biographical account, Gabriel was very
conscious of lyrics and references that might suggest a slant towards
American audiences. He was keen to avoid this and insisted that the album
carry the title Selling England by the Pound, also the title of the Labour
Party manifesto at the time. The album contained "Firth of Fifth" and
"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)", songs that remained part of
Genesis's repertoire in future live performances. During this period,
guitarist Hackett became one of the first to use the "tapping" technique
(first used in the guitar solo of "The Musical Box"), normally credited to
Eddie Van Halen, and "sweep-picking", popularized in the '80s by Yngwie
Malmsteen. These techniques were used in the song "Dancing with the Moonlit
Knight".
Genesis ventured into a more ambitious project with the double disc concept
album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974). The album was released
November 18, 1974. The story features the spiritual journey of protagonist
Rael, a Puerto Rican youth in New York City, and his journey through a
parallel reality. During his adventure, Rael encounters several bizarre
characters such as The Lamia, borrowed from Greek mythology, and the
Slippermen during some satirically twisted circumstances. Interpretation of
the Lamb remains a matter of speculation as there is no official explanation
of its meaning. All accounts of this album's recording say it was rushed,
and that Gabriel did not have time to completely finish his lyrics. There is
no known interview in which Gabriel expounds on the obscure story. The
entire work was performed live on the tour after it was recorded. At one
point, Gabriel appeared across the stage from a mannequin double, apparently
illustrating the split personality concept. With Gabriel's immediate
departure from the band after that tour, only a few songs from that album
were played afterwards. Rather than the lengthy tracks featured on prior
albums, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway collected many shorter tracks
connected by a variety of segues. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway strained
relations between members of the group, particularly Banks and Gabriel. The
other members of Genesis essentially wrote the music to The Lamb Lies Down
on Broadway without Gabriel's participation (with the exception of "Counting
Out Time" and "The Carpet Crawlers"). Gabriel focused on the story and its
lyrics separately from his band mates (with the exception of the song "The
Light Dies Down on Broadway", written by Banks & Rutherford). Genesis
embarked on a world tour promoting The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and, since
this was a concept album, performed it in its entirety.
Gabriel announced his departure from Genesis in August 1975, following the
tour for The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. He felt estranged from the band,
and his marriage and birth of his first child added to his personal strain.
Gabriel explained his departure in a letter to fans entitled Out, Angels
Out:
“ The vehicle we had built as a co-op to serve our songwriting became our
master and had cooped us up inside the success we had wanted. It affected
the attitudes and the spirit of the whole band. The music had not dried up
and I still respect the other musicians, but our roles had set in hard. ”
Gabriel's first solo album (Peter Gabriel, 1977) featured the hit single "Solsbury
Hill", an allegory about his departure from Genesis.
During their live performances Genesis pioneered the use of lasers and other
light effects; most of these were custom built by a Dutchman named Theo
Botschuijver. A special handhold unit channeled laser light and allowed
Gabriel to sweep the audience with various light effects.
Phil Collins era: 1976–1996
The group began auditioning lead singers without a clear idea about the kind
of singer they were looking for, although they knew that they did not want a
voice too dissimilar from Gabriel's. Phil Collins, whose backing vocals had
featured previously in the Genesis sound of the Gabriel era, was given the
job of coaching prospective replacements. In a later interview, Collins
stated, "I really wanted to have a crack at it...but I wasn't about to ask.
I wanted someone to ask me". Eventually, Genesis settled with Collins as
their new lead singer, and began recording their first post-Gabriel album.
Genesis's first post-Gabriel album, A Trick of the Tail (1976), was well
received, outselling all previous Genesis albums. The album featured a
markedly clearer production than previous albums, which came courtesy of new
producer David Hentschel, who had previously served as engineer on Nursery
Cryme. Another influential factor was that Collins, in the opinion of some,
sounded "more like Gabriel than Gabriel did". The album featured "Ripples",
"Dance on a Volcano" and "Entangled". Despite the success of Trick of
the Tail, the group remained concerned with their live shows considering
Gabriel's elaborate performances. Collins felt confident that he could
handle live vocal duties, but definitely needed another drummer while he
sang. The job was offered to Queen's Roger Taylor, who turned it down. Bill
Bruford, drummer for Yes and King Crimson, offered to drum while Collins
attended to vocal duties — a suggestion that was palatable to the band.
Bruford joined as a session musician on tour in 1976. For their tours
starting in 1977, the jazz fusion-trained Chester Thompson, a veteran of
Weather Report and Frank Zappa, took over live drumming duties to allow
Collins to concentrate on vocals. Collins' approach to live Genesis shows
differed from the more theatrical performances of Gabriel, and his
interpretations of prior songs were lighter and subtler. Years later,
Gabriel told Collins at the 1982 Milton Keynes reunion show that Collins
sang the songs better than Peter, but never quite like him. Also in 1976,
Genesis recorded Wind & Wuthering, released in December 1976; this was the
first of two Genesis albums to be recorded at the Relight Studios in
Hilvarenbeek, the Netherlands. The album got its name from Emily Brontë's
novel Wuthering Heights, whose last lines — "how anyone could ever imagine
unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth" also inspired the
names of the seventh and eighth tracks of the album. The album featured
"Blood on the Rooftops" and "Afterglow" , as well as the complex multi-part
suite "One for the Vine". The animated film B.C. Rock featured bits of
"Afterglow". The band signed with a new manager Tony Smith, and all their
songs were thereafter published through his company, Hit & Run Music
Publishing.
Hackett's departure
Guitarist Steve Hackett had become increasingly disenchanted with the band
by the time Wind & Wuthering was released. He became the first band member
to record a solo album. The freedom he experienced during the making of
Voyage of the Acolyte (1975) led him to feel constricted at what he regarded
as the confines of Genesis. Hackett wanted a quarter of the Wind & Wuthering
album to be given over to his own material, which, according to Collins, was
"a dumb way to work in a band context". The rest of the band tried to
placate him by giving extra songwriting credits on the two instrumental
tracks "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers..."/"...In That Quiet Earth"
(originally intended to be a single track, composition credit to all four
band members), but the Hackett-composed "Blood on the Rooftops" was never
performed live by the band and his composition "Please Don't Touch" was
rejected for inclusion on the LP, to be replaced by the three-minute
instrumental "Wot Gorilla?". Following the release of the Spot the Pigeon
E.P. (1977), consisting of extra tracks from the Wind & Wuthering sessions,
Hackett left the band.
The Seconds Out live album of the 1977 tour became Hackett's final release
with Genesis. Rutherford took over his guitar duties in the studio and would
alternate guitar and bass duties with session musician Daryl Stuermer for
live performances. The group continued as a trio, a fact reflected in the
title of their 1978 album ...And Then There Were Three.... This album began
another change away from 10-minute-plus progressive epics and towards
shorter, more radio-friendly tracks. It yielded their first American radio
hit, "Follow You, Follow Me" . The song's popularity caused ...And Then
There Were Three... to be the band's first U.S. Gold selling album.
A change in musical direction
In 1979, Genesis almost lost Collins as he moved to Vancouver, Canada in an
attempt to save his first marriage. However, two months and a divorce later,
Collins returned to the UK and immersed himself in Duke (1980). He later
claimed that his marriage breakup accelerated his growth as a songwriter,
and Duke became the first Genesis album with which he pulled equal
songwriting weight with Banks and Rutherford. While the previous album And
Then There Were Three was the initial effort by the band to write shorter
and concise songs, Duke started the real transition from the sounds and
concepts that identified Genesis in the 1970s towards their 1980s mega-hit
pop leanings.
The use of the drum machine was a consistent element in forthcoming Genesis
albums as well as in Collins' solo albums. (The first album on which he used
a drum machine was the 1979 Brand X album Product, on the song "Wal to Wal".
The first Genesis song to feature a drum machine was the Duke track
"Duchess".) The more commercial Duke was well received by the mainstream
media and was Genesis's first UK number one album, and the tracks
"Misunderstanding" and "Turn It On Again" became two of the band's
stand-bys.
Genesis followed Duke with 1981's minimalist Abacab, which featured horn and
wind instruments and a collaboration with Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) on the
track "No Reply at All" . Much of the rehearsing for Abacab was done in the
newly-built Genesis studio — The Farm, in Surrey, England, where all four of
Genesis's subsequent albums were recorded.
Abacab also featured a more forceful live drum sound from Collins, including
the use of gated reverb where the live (or artificially reverberated) sound
is relayed through a noise gate set to rapidly cut off the sound when it
reaches a particular threshold volume. This results in a powerful "live"
sounding yet very controlled drum sound. This distinctive sound was
originally developed by Peter Gabriel, Collins and co-producer/engineer Hugh
Padgham when Collins was recording the backing track for "Intruder", the
first song on Gabriel's 1980 solo album. This, as well as Padgham's
production, had been apparent on Face Value (1981), Collins' debut solo
album. The "gated" drum sound would become an audio trademark of future
Genesis and Collins albums.
"Invisible Touch" and "The Way We Walk" tour
In 1982, the band released the double live album Three Sides Live. The U.S.
version of this album had three sides of live material (hence the album's
title) plus one side of studio tracks. The studio side included the song "Paperlate"
, again featuring the EWF horn section. In the UK, the three songs on the "Paperlate"
side of the album had previously been released on the EP 3 X 3. This enabled
the UK version of Three Sides Live to also contain further live material,
albeit from earlier tours. The year was capped with Genesis performing in
the company of Gabriel and Hackett under the name "Six of the best" for a
one-off concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl . The concert was hastily put
together to help raise money for Gabriel's WOMAD project, which was
suffering from considerable financial hardship.
The eponymous Genesis (1983) album (sometimes referred to as "Shapes" for
the geometric shapes on its cover) was their third consecutive number 1
album in the UK. The album featured radio friendly pieces such as "Mama"
and "That's All". Genesis also re-introduced the band's flair for lengthy
pieces in "Home by the Sea", which did particularly well in Asia for its use
of the pentatonic scale. The album track "Just a Job to Do" became the theme
song of the 1985 ABC detective drama The Insiders.
Genesis released their highest-selling album, Invisible Touch (1986), at the
height of Collins' popularity as a solo artist. The album yielded five U.S.
Top 5 singles, "Throwing it All Away", "In Too Deep", "Tonight, Tonight,
Tonight", "Land of Confusion" and "Invisible Touch" . The title track
went to #1 in the United States, the only Genesis song to do so (despite
only climbing to #15 in the UK). In 1987, Genesis became the first band to
sell out four consecutive nights at Wembley Stadium. Genesis were the first
band to use Vari*Lite technology, and the Prism sound system, all of which
are now standard features of arena rock concerts.
Earlier that year, Collins saw a spoof of himself on Spitting Image, a
satirical British television show that featured politicians and celebrities
in puppet form. Impressed with the representation, Collins and Genesis
commissioned the show's creators, Peter Fluck and Roger Law, to work on the
video for "Land of Confusion". The video was a sarcastic commentary on the
Cold War, played to the perception of each coalition's leaders as being
"trigger happy" with the nuclear "button". As well as puppet versions of
Banks, Collins and Rutherford, the video also showed Ronald Reagan dressed
as Superman. It was nominated for the MTV "Video of the Year", losing to
Gabriel's "Sledgehammer".
"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was used in a Michelob commercial (as was
Collins' "In the Air Tonight"), while "In Too Deep" was featured in the film
Mona Lisa. The instrumental "The Brazilian" was used in the animated movie
When the Wind Blows (whose score was written by Roger Waters).
In 1988, at the Princes Trust concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Phil Collins
and Peter Gabriel played live together for the first time since 1982.
Collins was the drummer for the house band and Gabriel performed
"Sledgehammer" that night. It is the last time the two Genesis frontmen have
publicly played together live.
After a hiatus of five years, Genesis reconvened to release We Can't Dance
in 1991 — Collins' last studio album with the group. The album featured the
successful singles "Jesus He Knows Me", "I Can't Dance", "No Son of Mine" ,
"Hold on My Heart", "Tell Me Why" and "Never a Time" (U.S. release only) as
well as lengthy pieces such as "Driving the Last Spike" and "Fading Lights".
The album also included "Since I Lost You", which Collins wrote in memorial
of the death of Eric Clapton's son, Conor.
After serving Genesis for over 25 years, Collins left the band in March
1996, stating:
“ Having been in Genesis for 25 years, I felt it time to change direction in
my musical life. For me now, it will be music for movies, some jazz
projects, and of course my solo career. I wish the guys in Genesis all the
very best in their future. We remain the best of friends.
Ray Wilson Era: 1997–1998
Rutherford and Banks elected to go on, but this required more than one new
member. Indeed, Genesis not only lost Phil Collins at this time, but also
live musicians Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson. The band approached
Stuermer, who was touring with Collins. Thompson inquired regarding the
vacant drum stool, but upon demanding full-band membership, ended his
19-year association with the band. Eventually, drumming duties were shared
by Nir Zidkyahu, an Israeli session drummer who had played with Hidden
Persuaders, and Nick D'Virgilio from the progressive rock band Spock's
Beard. The difference in the two play styles was noticeable, as D'Virgilio
played softer, subtle rhythms in comparison to Zidkyahu's more bombastic
playing. Anthony Drennan, who had played with Paul Brady and The Corrs, was
recruited as a session guitarist. The new lead singer of Genesis would be
ex-Stiltskin singer Ray Wilson. Other considered performers included Paul
Carrack from Rutherford's Mike and the Mechanics to ex-Marillion vocalist
(and two-time Banks collaborator) Fish to Gabriel. Kevin Gilbert was offered
an audition just before he died tragically. According to producer Nick
Davis, the only other serious candidate was David Langdon, who had never
sung with a band before; hence, Wilson got the job.
The album Calling All Stations (1997) sold well in Europe, with the track
"Congo" peaking at UK# 29. However, the album failed in America
without reaching the Billboard Top 50. Genesis canceled a planned American
tour due to the album's commercial failure.
Genesis disbanded, at least temporarily, but many of the members remained in
regular contact. The 1971–75 lineup of Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett and
Rutherford recorded a new version of "The Carpet Crawlers" , done over many
separate sessions, for Turn It on Again: The Hits. Collins, Banks and
Rutherford performed an acoustic rendition of "I Can't Dance" at the Music
Managers Forum in honor of their manager Tony Smith in 2000. Most of the
original members were involved in the two Archive boxed-set compilations.
"Turn It On Again": 2006
After much speculation regarding a reunion, Tony Banks, Phil Collins and
Mike Rutherford announced the "Turn It On Again" reunion tour on 7 November
2006, nearly 40 years after the band were first formed. Members of the band
confirmed that they would embark on the first leg of the tour in Europe. The
Genesis Turn It On Again Tour takes in 12 countries starting in Helsinki,
Finland in June 2007 and ending in Rome, Italy in July. The tour would then
follow that up with a 20-date American tour. In a statement released to the
press, the band stated that songs dating back to 1973 would be on the tour
setlist (though it is worth noting that songs older than that had been
played on the band's last few tours, at least in part). The setlist would
include some longer instrumental passages and well-known pop hits (the band
also stated the setlist would not include any songs from Calling All
Stations).
Originally, Collins, Banks and Rutherford wanted to reunite as a five-some
with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett and play The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
live. Peter Gabriel had reportedly agreed in principle to perform, but could
not commit to a date. "Peter is a little over-cautious about going back to
something which fundamentally is fun", Collins said. Hackett also declined
participation but still maintains good relations with the rest of the band.
A short note expressing his good wishes for the reunion tour currently
appears on his Web site.
The band held a press conference in New York on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 at
noon EST to announce the details of the US leg of the Turn it On Again
reunion tour which will begin in September and run thorugh into October.
The band and long-time producer, Nick Davis, are re-releasing their back
catalogue in three batches throughout 2007. The batches consist of each
album (from Trespass to Calling All Stations) in a boxset-style release.
Each album will be a double-disc set containing a multi-channel hybrid Super
Audio CD and a DVD-Video with DTS 96/24 and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. The
DVD will have extras including promo videos and new interviews talking about
the period of each album release. The Hybrid SACDs will be standard CDs for
the US and Canada and will be issued as box sets starting with Genesis :
1976-1981 on April 24.
Inspiration and influences
A wide range of music ranging from classical music to mainstream rock
and jazz influenced Genesis. Banks drew his influences from Alan Price of
The Animals, who, according to Banks, was "the first person who made me
aware of the organ in a rock context". Other organists included Procol
Harum's Matthew Fisher and Keith Emerson of The Nice (and later Emerson,
Lake and Palmer, although by that time not an influence). Classical
influences include Rachmaninov, Ravel, Mahler and Shostakovich.
Many of their contemporaries and immediate predecessors — The Beatles, The
Rolling Stones, Simon and Garfunkel — affected the band's music. Collins has
cited Buddy Rich and the jazz outfit The Mahavishnu Orchestra, while
Gabriel's early career with Genesis was influenced by the music of Nina
Simone and King Crimson. Musical arrangements on the band's first album From
Genesis to Revelation were influenced by the works of The Moody Blues,
Family, and the Bee Gees as Jonathan King was a self-professed admirer of
their music. Though similar to the extent that both Gabriel and David Bowie
relied on on-stage theatrical performances, neither claimed the other to be
an influence.
As a group that influenced the growth of the progressive rock genre, Genesis
have been cited as an influence for many progressive rock groups such as
Dream Theater, Camel and Kansas. Several Genesis tribute bands such as
Re-Genesis, The Musical Box and In The Cage routinely perform Genesis's
older material from the Peter Gabriel era. Incidentally, Collins became the
first artist to cover a Genesis song — "Behind The Lines", which he included
as the third track of Face Value.
Past members of Genesis have also covered Genesis material live on solo
shows — Gabriel played "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" and "Back in NYC"
while Hackett has performed "In That Quiet Earth", "Los Endos", "Horizons"
and "Blood On The Rooftops". Hackett has also performed "I Know What I Like
(In Your Wardrobe)" on solo tours and on tour with his short lived
supergroup GTR in 1986. Ray Wilson covered the greatest amount of Genesis
songs during his solo concerts. On his two solo live albums Live and Life
and Acoustic one can find the Genesis songs "Carpet Crawlers", "Follow You
Follow me", "I Can't Dance", "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "No Son of
Mine", "Shipwrecked" and "Mama". Surprisingly he also interpreted two solo
career songs of his two predecessors in Genesis as he sang "In the Air
Tonight" (Collins) and "Biko" (Gabriel). Jeff Buckley reworked "Back in NYC"
on the posthumously released 1998 Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. The
Swedish death metal band In Flames covered "Land of Confusion" on Trigger
(EP), as did Disturbed on their 2005 album Ten Thousand Fists. Disco-pop
band Alcazar, also from Sweden, have covered parts of "Land of Confusion in
their song "This is the world we live in".
Album cover art
Genesis's album covers incorporated complex and intricate art to reflect
the themes presented in their albums. Their first album, From Genesis to
Revelation was a plain black album cover with Genesis written in a green
gothic typeface on the top left of the cover. The album covers of this album
have changed with its numerous re-releases. Genesis's three subsequent album
covers were developed by popular Charisma Records graphic artist Paul
Whitehead, who also developed the Charisma "Mad Hatter" logo. The Foxtrot
album cover is popular among Genesis fans; the front cover depicts a
feminine figure in a red dress with the head of a fox. Whitehead stated in
an interview that Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" was an inspiration for the
character he created. After Whitehead moved to Los Angeles, Genesis signed
with the reputed Hipgnosis, whose artists had created high profile album
covers for Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zeppelin's Houses of
the Holy. Hipgnosis's first Genesis album cover was for The Lamb, which for
the first time in Genesis's history featured a male model. The model,
credited simply as "Omar" on the album sleeve, portrayed the The Lamb
protagonist "Rael".
Through the rest of the 1970s, various Hipgnosis artists, of whom Colin
Elgie contributed heavily, designed all Genesis studio albums. The Trick of
the Tail album cover was representative of many of the characters in the
album — the robber from "Robbery, Assault and Battery", the beast from the
title track and a metaphoric image of old age reminiscing about youth from
the song "Ripples". Beginning with Duke, Genesis albums featured caricatures
designed by Bill Smith Studios. Genesis's highest-selling album Invisible
Touch featured the artwork of Assorted Images which had previously designed
album covers for Duran Duran and Culture Club. The We Can't Dance cover
features the work of Felicity Bowers — the cover is reminiscent of Wind &
Wuthering, and is presented in hazy watercolour. The Calling All Stations
and the compilation Turn it on Again: The Hits covers were designed by
Wherefore Art?.
Criticism
Genesis's progressive rock roots made them unlike many of their rock
contemporaries such as Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. Indeed, one article in
Q Magazine speaks of a 1977 Ray Lowry cartoon that depicted an arena of
"either asleep, moribund, or comatose" fans watching Genesis perform live,
with the band's name emblazoned on a banner above the stage reading "GENESNOOZE".
Much of the criticism surrounding the band in the 1970s was centered around
progressive rock in general, which many dismissed as "intellectual" or
"pretentious". Gabriel's theatrics appeared unpalatable to mainstream rock
fans as well as many Genesis fans. This was exemplified during live
performances of Gabriel's last Genesis album, The Lamb, during which he
appeared on stage as various characters in his storyline such as the
Slipperman. The storyline for The Lamb, which was independently developed by
Gabriel, proved hard to understand and accept and caused friction within the
band. Collins recalled later, "He'd be in a Slipperman costume trying to get
a mike anywhere near his throat, and be out of breath - all twisted up.
Towards the end I felt the singing wasn't really being heard; the songs
weren't really being heard".
Genesis's transition from playing lengthy complex material to more compact,
radio friendly material was not well received by many critics; one
particular review of ...And Then There Were Three... read, "in short, this
contemptible opus is but the palest shadow of the group's earlier
accomplishments. Not only is the damage irreversible, it's been widely
endorsed: ...And Then There Were Three... is Genesis's first U.S. gold
record". Collins himself has often been criticized for Genesis's
transformation from a progressive rock outfit to a mainstream rock / pop
band, playing much the same type of music that Collins did as a solo artist.
"I don't feel we've bastardised the way we were", Collins said in an
interview with Music Express. "On a generous day I'll blame me for the
change, but I just think it is us growing up, listening to different
things". |
