Time to chip in with a few thoughts on FGTR before we move on. I originally bought it the day after seeing them for the first time in '72 and already knew enough about it not to expect it to sound anything like what came after, which I think is the best way to approach it. There are some great melodies, some great ideas and it's pretty remarkable achievement considering at the time they were barely out of school and still more of a songwriting collective than a band. It's always frustrated me that it's very much Jonathan King's vision of how they should sound and if the band had been given more control and been allowed to develop their more adventurous ideas that King vetoed it would have been a much different and much better album. If anything does get done for its 50th anniversary it would be great to have stereo and mono versions from the newly discovered masters (if that's actually possible, it's still not clear what exactly is on these tapes, presumably more than was included on 50 Years Ago), a new mix without the brass and strings and all the outtakes and existing demos finally gathered in one place. Little chance of that though, can't see King or anyone else being interested in producing anything that comprehensive and the band themselves have a pretty woeful record when it comes to archive releases, so maybe just a more complete and more cohesive physical release of 50 Years Ago.
Very familiar! I know it's not my own stack because I don't have Live on CD. But I have In the Beginning, A Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering, And Then There Were Three and Duke all in the same pile ...
Oh that's just a small stack of the next few albums on the docket that were sitting on my dresser. I got a bunch more.
Honestly, I don't have too much of a problem with moving onto Trespass a bit early. As we've proven, this whole era of the band until we get to Collins and Hackett joining sort of blends together with what was written and such.
I gotta admit, these look nice to have on CD, too. Except those cut-off artworks on the early releases - weird decision by Virgin, if you ask me. I should get an 80s release of Duke, as well - the remix is terrible. And it's one of my favorite Genesis albums - but more about that later
Yeah the packaging is about as plain Jane as it gets, but they sound good. Or I should say they're faithful to the sound of the original lps. Some of the old albums were a little muddy, but I mean, that's the sound I'm used to hearing with old Genesis so that's kinda what I want, if that makes sense. Not futzed or tinkered with.
Regarding the cropped artwork, I've printed out copies of the original artwork and put them nicely in the jewel case around the booklet - looks very nice.
It's part of the atmosphere. The mellotron on Foxtrot has its own voice thanks to the muddy way it was recorded, if that makes any sense. Truly otherworldly listen. That was my problem with the Duke remix - it all sounded too shiny for me, a big, bloated, hour long soundtrack for doing coke instead of being the moving, highly emotional tale it's supposed to sound like. Of course, one wishes the early albums were recorded better, but then again it truly belongs to the music. Glad to share this perception with other folks
One Day Starting with slow fade up, the song comes in with acoustic guitar and those strings everyone loves so much. Then it moves into a piano piece just before the vocal. The first thing that strikes me is how sweet Gabriel's vocal is here. Also that this is a love song, and until later in their career that was seldom trodden turf.
Window This starts off in such a manner that one could almost feel it belongs a little later in the catalog, and then just before the vocal we return to the styles that have been present on the album so far. This is another song that could well be tied in with Odessa. I don't here an overall Bee Gees thing going on with these songs, but certainly a couple have some stylistic similarities.
In Limbo This song has a gentle start and then moves into a groovy sixties handclap and groove type thing. It seems somewhat to stand out stylistically from a lot of the songs here, and it makes me wonder if they were trying for it to be a single, or a dance tune or something like that. Pretty decent song here.
Silent Sun "The Silent Sun" (album title "Silent Sun") is the premiere single by English rock band Genesis. It was written by Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel[citation needed] when the band's producer, Jonathan King, first discovered them, before he decided to produce an entire album, a heavy investment. Knowing that King was a fan of the Bee Gees, Banks and Gabriel wrote the song specifically to capture his attention.[1] The song was released as a single on 2 February 1968.[2] They would soon begin work on their debut album, From Genesis to Revelation. "The Silent Sun" is a fusion of folk rock and pop rock. The heavy use of orchestral strings and lightweight romantic lyrics make this song different from the progressive music on Genesis' second album, Trespass. The song, like most of From Genesis to Revelation, has not appeared on any Genesis compilation or live album. It was reissued in very limited quantities in July 2006 on CD-single under the title "The Silent Sun 2006", with "When The Sour Turns To Sweet 2006" as a B-side. The versions on this CD-single are remix/remaster versions, also available on the 2006 re-issue of the band's 1969 debut album. -------------------------------------- Ok, now here we have a definite Bee Gees thing going on. Near the beginning Peter even seems like he is trying to get that unusual Robyn vibrato to happen. This is actually a pretty good choice for a single. Certainly this isn't the Musical Box, but that's a good thing.
A Place To Call My Own. A somewhat somber piano ballad that manages to give Gabriel a chance to hold court. Then we get the strings and horns attempting to pump this up into something else. Upon listening to a lot of these, I get the impression King didn't really have enough musical ideas to do what he was trying to do with the band. Everything he does on this album seems to take away character rather than add it, and in the end there is a bland melange rather than a striking series of songs. The string arrangements and usage seems to subdue rather than bolster or enhance. I don't know if King went on to do much, or if he was a frustrated musician stuck behind a console or what, but although this is a decent debut album, I think King's attempts to enhance this fall flat and actually smother it instead.
For anyone that's interested these are my Genesis discs (not my photo) I enjoy them very much and love the 5.1 mixes. I almost exclusively listen to my albums in 5.1 these days when that is an option. I know that some folks have criticized these sets to some degree, and that criticism may well be justified, I honestly don't know, but I enjoy them. I don't pretend to be an audiophile anymore, being fifty in a week or so and having played music in (what most would consider an old style) hard rock/heavy metal band most of my life, I don't have golden ears anymore and about 7 years ago I got meniere's disease. So with a constant diet of diuretics I am just glad I can still listen to music.
A Winter's Tale This non-album single has been missed I believe and is worth putting in for the record. I find it intriguing that the guys moved completely away from any of these romantic/love song type lyrics after they disappeared to regroup in reaction to the pasting they got for these tunes. It doesn't disappoint me, it's just interesting to me.
I grabbed the collins 2 boxes and waited too long for the Peter set, I tried to order it and it was $500 It’s still on my list to get for a decent price. I think if I remember right the USA did the same with these boxes as they did with the Depeche Mode 5.1 sets, they did dvd audio versions but uk versions were SACDs
Easy reference guide From Genesis To Revelation - Genesis - The Album by Album Thread Liner notes Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 1 When The Sour Turns To Sweet Genesis - The Album by Album Thread without strings Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 2 In The Beginning Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 3 The Fireside Song Genesis - The Album by Album Thread without strings Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 4 The Serpent Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 5 Am I Very Wrong Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 6 In The Wilderness Genesis - The Album by Album Thread rough mix Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 7 The Conqueror Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 8 In Hiding Genesis - The Album by Album Thread without strings Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 9 One Day Genesis - The Album by Album Thread without strings Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 10 The Window Genesis - The Album by Album Thread alternate Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 11 In Limbo Genesis - The Album by Album Thread alternate Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 12 Silent Sun Genesis - The Album by Album Thread without strings Genesis - The Album by Album Thread track 13 A Place to call my own Genesis - The Album by Album Thread new mix Genesis - The Album by Album Thread Other Early Tracks Patricia (In Hiding demo) Genesis - The Album by Album Thread A Winter's Tale (single) Genesis - The Album by Album Thread A Winters Tale (alternate -with studio banter) Genesis - The Album by Album Thread That's Me Genesis - The Album by Album Thread Image Blown Out Genesis - The Album by Album Thread Build Me A Mountain Genesis - The Album by Album Thread On The Trail Of The One Eyed Hound Genesis - The Album by Album Thread Let Us Now Make Love Genesis - The Album by Album Thread Supper's Ready (live) Genesis - The Album by Album Thread Links of interest Tabletop Genesis Genesis - The Movement The Complete Guide To Live Genesis Radio Shows ~A Genesis Discography Tabletop Genesis Thanks for these guys
Don't know if it's been mentioned but an Italian chap covered one of the early songs. Can remember no other details - bad hangover - and at work so precluded from searching the interweb. Oh, and the lovely Nikki knocked me back again.
After the debut When the album was recorded, the band went their separate ways for a year; Gabriel and Phillips stayed at Charterhouse to finish exams, Banks enrolled at Sussex University, and Rutherford studied at Farnborough College of Technology.[23] They regrouped in mid-1969 to discuss their future as their offers in further education would result in the group splitting up. Phillips and Rutherford decided to make music a full-time career as they were starting to write more complex music than their earlier songs with King.[24] After Banks and Gabriel decided to follow suit, the four returned to Regent Sound in August 1969 and recorded four more demos with Silver: "Family" (later known as "Dusk"), "White Mountain", "Going Out to Get You", and "Pacidy". The tape was rejected by each record label that heard it.[25] Silver then left the group to study leisure management in America. His replacement, drummer and carpenter John Mayhew, was found when Mayhew looked for work and left his phone number "with people all over London".[14][26][27] In late 1969, Genesis retreated to a cottage that Macphail's parents owned in Wotton, Surrey to write, rehearse, and develop their stage performance.[28] They adopted a strong working ethic, playing together for as much as eleven hours a day.[29] Their first live gig as Genesis followed in September 1969 at a teenager's birthday.[7][30]It was the start of a series of live shows in small venues across the UK which included a radio performance broadcast on BBC's Night Ride show, on 22 February 1970[31] and a spot at the Atomic Sunrise Festival held at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm a month later.[32] During this time, the band met with various record labels regarding contract offers. Initial discussions with Chris Blackwell of Island and Chris Wright of Chrysalis were unsuccessful. In March 1970, during the band's six-week Tuesday night residency at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho, members of Rare Bird, who Genesis had supported earlier, recommended the band to producer and A&R man John Anthony of Charisma Records.[7] Anthony attended one of their shows and enjoyed them enough to convince his boss, label owner Tony Stratton-Smith, to watch their next appearance.[33] Stratton-Smith recalled, "Their potential was immediately apparent ... the material was good and their performance was good ... It was a long shot, because they needed time to find their strength ... but I was prepared to make that commitment".[7] Stratton-Smith agreed to a record and management deal within two weeks, paying Genesis an initial sum of £10 a week (equivalent to £100 in 2018).[34][35] ------------------------------------------------ So we see some perseverance and commitment to an idea leading to potential, via John Anthony and Tony Stratton-Smith giving the guys a chance. It was a different era in music and bands were often given a few albums to find their sound and style. I often wonder how many of our favourite bands would have never seen the light of day in the modern set up, where if the first couple of singles don't do well, it's all over. Thankfully this opportunity arose and the band stayed together and made many great albums over the coming years.
I'm glad it seems we're coming around to Trespass. I like FGTR well enough but I feel I said my bit in my initial post about it. I've been waiting to sort of jump back in with Trespass. Thanks @mark winstanley for the above post. I'm familiar with their story and I've got a lovely copy of Chapter and Verse on my coffee table, but I love that this thread is following the band's history along with the music. I've always loved that they aren't typical rock stars, but a bunch of fairly straight upper-crusty British lads with good educations. It's part of what makes them unique.
Genesis 1970-1975 Box Set CD DVD 13 Discs Rhino Peter Gabriel Phil Collins | eBay Genesis 1970-1975 Box Set by Genesis Nov 2008, 13 Discs, New CD/DVD | eBay a couple of more affordable ones, but yea these limited releases tend to make everything a little difficult
Mono mix From Genesis to Revelation - MONO Mixes - Entire Album + Extras (First GENESIS LP) Just because.
