From Genesis to Revelation

Just handed over my most prized vinyl possession, a mint mono copy FGTR , with songsheet !
I know it could have brought a shed load in open auction , but I have the consolation that it
has gone to a most worthy Gabriel fan , the most knowledgeable of all fans I have ever met ,who I'm sure will cherish it even more than me .
How bizarre that I feel so strange .
I have had the LP for well over 40 years and it was interesting to wonder what will happen to it over the next forty or fifty years ...... anyone else feel like that over one of your cherished LPs ?

 

Ashamed to say, I only listened to this album from front to back for the first time about a month ago.
It's much better than I expected after reading about it for many years.
I'm glad you think it's found a good new home. Why did you hand it over?

Love,
Billy

 

My custodianship was over

 

Sometimes it's not just about the money. It's about putting it with the person who wants it more and will cherish it. 40 years is a helluva good run for keeping it safe. The music is readily available. The artifact has new roads to travel.

An excellent album by a band too young to be so good. A pastoral pop masterpiece.

 

It must be one of the most underrated LPs of all time, given the usual bad press ... not a bad track that I can hear. The CD bonus tracks are excellent too, especially Winter's Tale.

 

I love this album as well!
sometimes humble beginnings are the most charming.

 

I love the teenaged Genesis! Best album the Bee Gees never made imo.

 

You are a generous man! Respect.

 

I really like this record. I had it on cassette back in the '80's and just found an excellent original Decca UK copy with lyrics sheet on vinyl for less than $7!

 

I like this record, too. It's so different from what would come only one album later...but still a cool collection of songs. My first exposure to early Genesis. I got a cassette tape called "In the Beginning" and listened to that in high school quite a bit.

 

My love for this album has only grown over the years since I picked it up on a cheap imported cassette called Gigantes del Pop. I was expecting something like Invisible Touch and was needless to say very confused.

It took a while to come around to some of the more callow stuff but apart from "Window" I adore every song on it now. Never owned an original stereo pressing, let alone mono. One day...

I notice something new every time I listen. Some fun easter eggs: That's a snippet of "Twilight Alehouse" in between "Fireside Song" and "The Serpent." And the chorus for "In the Wilderness" is reprised in a minor key at the start of "The Conqueror." Genesis would revisit the technique of incorporating short linking pieces on The Lamb.

 

How strange, my copy - albeit CD - arrived just yesterday.

I'm looking forward to listening to it.

As to passing things on, in truth I nurse a dream that one day I will come across someone to whom I can leave my collection. I'd really hate for it to go to someone who was only counting the dollars and cents. Music isn't an investment for me, and I'm never comfortable talking about it in that way. Sadly, a seemingly large number of people these days seem to put considerations of "investment" first, or among the first in their decision process. Such a shame.

This story though is heartwarming, a perfect antidote to a world where everyone is trying to make a buck of everyone else. Bravo!

 

I've loved this album for about 35 years. I learned the basic melodies on guitar while I was teaching myself to play way back when. Though no huge feat, the songs are extremely basic and relatively simple, but incredibly melodic. The short piano interlude after In The Wilderness is so freaking BEAUTIFUL. Love it.

 

A most worthy Gabriel fan?!? Goddamn, you gave it to the wrong man - the most worthy Gabriel fan is me!

 

Anyone know if the mono is a different mix?

 

It is a very good LP and very reminiscent to me of their Decca Stablemates the Moody Blues ( on the Decca subsidiary Deram )

 

Now remixed as 50 Years Ago:

50 Years Ago by Genesis on Apple Music

 

Whoa, this is weird. Need a closer listen, but some of this sounds like they just cut out one of the channels to effectively mute the orchestral parts. But other tracks sound... well, forgive the tortuous pun, but... revelatory.

 

This is supposedly a mixture of remixes from the masters and previously unheard demos- but as always with Jonathan King and this album, it's hard to find the real truth.

I've not heard it yet but other people reported definitely hearing new things (even some studio chatter!)

It's available on iTunes and Qobuz, too.

 

You can ask him via his own King of Hits messageboard, but I gather these really have been remixed from the masters.

 

what a nice story! i love Genesis so much......these songs and this record have such a charm that i adore. like i know what's coming in the next chapter, and it makes these songs even more intriguing!

you have any pictures of your record before you passed it along?

 

Quite possibly the most underrated album ever in my opinion. Great if you don't know how young they were at the time, incredible if you do.

 

Yes I do but can't upload here
I will pm you

 

Did you buy it in the stores back in the day, in france?

 

50 Years Ago has a few interesting things. No new songs but the new mixes are radical changes. Just at a quick listen this is what I can hear:

1. In Hiding (new mix) - far better stereo mix with no strings - sounds like the Zombies in this form
2. One Day (new mix) - better stereo mix, no strings
3. On the Trail (One Eyed Hound)... (new stereo mix) - not sure if a stereo mix has ever been issued
4. A Place to Call My Own (new mix) - no strings but in mono, maybe just pro-tooled?
5. Silent Sun (new alternate mix) - mono mix, I don't hear much difference
6. Image Blown Out - this is an early demo for the song that eventually was issued (also a demo) on Archive 1. I love this song but I believe this early version has been issued by King before
7. In the Beginning (new mix) - mono mix, does sound different but not necessarily good
8. Fireside Song (new mix) - mono, removes strings. Kind of interesting in that it highlights the great guitar work and again sounds like the Zombies

The other things are vocal only tracks that sound like something you could do at home.

Also has session recordings of A Winter's Tale.

I love this album and never really bothered with the criticism of it. I do see why Genesis fans may not like it but fans of late 60s British pop should love this album. I have "mixed" feelings about the removal of the strings. It sounds empty without them.

As far as the original post goes. I guess I need to confess that I don't getting giving away a "cherished" album. I do get giving away a collectible that perhaps isn't needed.