Progressive era Genesis: What do I want? (1 Viewer)

[John Geelan]

I kind of like CAS. Yes its very mellow Genesis, but it fits a mood once in awhile.
I enjoy the songs Calling All Stations, Congo, Shipwrecked, Not About Us, If Thats What You Need.
In fact Shipwrecked, Not About Us and If Thats What You Need are quite lovely songs.
All in all CAS is not Genesis's finest moment but there are some shiny diamonds in there for me.
JohnG

 

[Jim_C]

Okay, I just spent the day listening to Foxtrot and Selling England by the Pound. Both are really good but my intial impression is that I like Selling a bit better.
I can't really give a fair commentary on either yet. It's going to take at least a dozen listening sessions for either of them to really sink in. However, I'm sure that I'm going to love them even more.
At first I couldn't quite believe that I was listening to Genesis. It sounded like Gabriel on steriods. There wasn't a "Billy, Billy don't ya lose that number" anywhere to be found. Absolutely delightful in that regard. I'm going to try and pick up Lamb tomorrow, they didn't have it at the first place I went to.
Does Gabriel do all of the singing or is Collins singing as well? At some points it sounded like Phil was in there but I couldn't tell.
Man do I love discovering new progressive music. Thanks for all the input guys!

 

[John Geelan]

Jim_C, do you like Transatlantic's new album Bridge Across Forever?

Got turned on to these guys last year and now have all their cds. Great to see prog lives on during these days of boy/girl bands and loud noisy rap metal.

JohnG

 

[Mike Broadman]

Jim, Collins does sing background vocals and I think he may sing lead on a short track on Selling England, but I'm not sure.

Because of this, Collins already knew all the vocal parts when they were auditioning new singers to replace Gabriel. He taught them to all the auditionees. The fact that none of them could equal or surpass Collins' performance of them inspired the other band members to put him out front.

 

[Jim_C]

>>Jim_C, do you like Transatlantic's new album Bridge Across Forever

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Phil sings the lead vocal on "More Fool Me" from Selling England by the Pound, as well as "For Absent Friends" from Nursery Cryme.

I'm glad you're enjoying the albums. My transition from Peter Gabriel into early Genesis was one of the happiest eras of musical discovery in my life. But I've got to tell you, it's going to take you months just to absorb "Supper's Ready."

Next you'll be asking us about Yes, ELP, and Kansas.

NP: Genesis - Archive 1967-75 disc 3 ("Supper's Ready.")

 

[Jim_C]

>>Next you'll be asking us about Yes, ELP, and Kansas

 

[Mike Broadman]

Jim,

Yes: mandatory if you're into prog, and a heavy influence on Spock's Beard and the Flower Kings, and therefore Transtatlantic. The lyrics are generally stupid, but I consider that part of the fun- very hippie fake-Buddhist stuff about nothing.

Tales... is a great album, but many would contest that sentiment, including other Yes fans. It's four 20-minute longs songs, which pissed off a lot of people, including Rick Wakeman (their keyboard player) himself. So, while I love it, I would not recommend starting with it.

Close to the Edge is the way to go- it is the full realisation of Yes at the top of their game. While The Yes Album and Fragile before it are great, everything gels on Edge.

ELP: Definitely not for everyone. Estremely pompous, self-indulgent, and gobs of fun. This group is all about Emerson playing lots of keyboards, and them playing them some more, and then... some more keyboards. The Greg Lake sings a cheesy ballad. Then more keyboards. Then a completely silly drum solo from Palmer where he just hits things a lot and accomplishes nothing. Then more keyboards for an hour and a half. It's so awesome!

Brain Salad Surgery is their last good album, and arguably their best. The 30-minute Karn Evil 9 is everything good and bad about prog: the first half is based on some really wonderful riffs and melodic ideas and some wonderful playing. The end dissolves into a big mess with computer-sounding apocolyptic vocals and noise. It's listening to a train wreck. Highly recomended.

I don't have the DVD-A yet, but it's high on my list. That mess would probably sound awesome in surround.

 

[Jim_C]

>>It's listening to a train wreck. Highly recomended.>I don't have the DVD-A yet, but it's high on my list.

 

[John Geelan]

ELP's Brain Salad Surgery on DVDA is as good as the Queen disc.
Awesome bass on the ELP disc. This disc was the first one to make me believe in the power and promise of DVDA.
Get the DVDA over the cd version. Even on a DVD player using DD 5.1 the sound will blow away the cd version. Having DVDA is just icing on the cake.
JohnG

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Give the Genesis some time to saok in. Then hit Close to the Edge and Fragile by Yes and Brain Salad Surgery by ELP. Then, in my opinion, go for Song for America, Point of Know Return, Masque, and especially 2000's Somewhere to Elsewhere by Kansas.

 

[Bob Turnbull]

I also heartily recommend The Yes Album as it has both "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "Starship Troopers" on it; 2 lengthy classic Yes pieces.
I would also suggest plunging into King Crimson. I never fully understood what the word "angular" meant when describing music until I heard KC. Lark's Tongues In Aspic , Red and Discipline are my absolute faves and pretty good places to start (Discipline is the 80's incarnation of the band and is very different though equally good and progressive in nature). Many would also recommend their first album In The Court Of The Crimson King which is one of the earliest "prog" efforts and just oozing with mellotron.
If you start getting adventurous, let us know...Lots of obscure great stuff out there. Any issues with vocals in non-English? Italy, Germany, Hungary, etc. all had some fabulous groups n the 70's (and recently too).

 

[Mike Broadman]

I would also suggest plunging into King Crimson. I never fully understood what the word "angular" meant when describing music until I heard KC. Lark's Tongues In Aspic , Red and Discipline are my absolute faves and pretty good places to start (Discipline is the 80's incarnation of the band and is very different though equally good and progressive in nature). Many would also recommend their first album In The Court Of The Crimson King which is one of the earliest "prog" efforts and just oozing with mellotron.

Ah, a man after my own heart.

Best... band... ever (as I sit here in my King Crimson T-shirt using a computer with a desktop wallpaper of a Crimson album cover)

 

[Bob Turnbull]

That's cuz they rawk!
Any band that can put together a piece of music like "Starless" must indeed be revered with slavish devotion bordering on obsessive.
To tie it back to the Genesis thread, Bill Bruford has played with both bands (he toured with Genesis around the time of Seconds Out and I think appears on a couple of tracks on that album). He also played for Yes in their prime. The rec.music.progressive newsgroup occasionally plays the 3 degrees of separation game with any prog musician and Bruford (typically with good success).

 

[Mike Broadman]

Bill Bruford is the man. When he joined Crimson, it all changed. That's when Crimson stopped being a good prog band and became something really special. When he left, fans were in a uproar, but Pat Mastellotto is no less talented, just different.
The "classic" lineup of Yes that only played on two albums included Bruford. He also played on UK, which involved a few superstars, toured with Genesis, plays in various side projects, and currently leads a jazz group called Earthworks.
NP: King Crimson, Moles Club, Bath, CD

 

[Vickie_M]

Coming to this thread late...

Bill Bruford has played with both bands (he toured with Genesis around the time of Seconds

Right, he was the drummer for The Trick of the Tail tour.
Bill, I'm glad to see you starting with Foxtrot (the first Genesis album I bought) and Selling England (the first Genesis tour I saw), and I hope you follow through on getting The Lamb. That's my favorite Genesis album (with the previous two right behind) and my favorite concert experience of all time. I agree with the sentiment to let the albums soak in. I've listened to them hundreds, if not thousands of times, and they're all albums that keep getting better and better the more you know them. Even the lyrics that are nonsensical are way fun to mouth along to when you can do it without thinking about what the hell they're supposed to mean.
I've always been bummed that The Lamb wasn't made into a movie. It almost happened once and I think Ken Russell was talked about as a possible director. Since The Lamb is EXTREMELY surreal, it would have taken someone as crazy as Russell to do it justice. Gabriel made a great Rael in concert and would probably have been just as good on screen. Oh well.
The Lamb takes more commitment than any other Genesis album, but getting to know it well is extremely worthwhile. Dare I say that those who don't think it's an absolute masterpiece haven't spent the time and effort needed to understand that fact... . I'd recommend listening to it at least a few times and then read the lyrics. If the CD doesn't have the lyrics, seek them out on a web site. Also important is the STORY, written by Peter Gabriel. It isn't just a rehash of the lyrics. It's an important part of the whole. You can read it here: http://www.genesis-music.com/lamb1.htm (scroll down).
Yes, it's silly and surreal. So what? It's pretty damn brilliant anyway .
Btw, I became a fan in 1973, and stayed with them up until Abacab (which, c'mon, is a damn good pop album). I wouldn't say anything bad about the albums released after that, I just didn't buy them. That was about the time I got heavily into female artists and focused all my effort into finding them.
Oh, and From Genesis To Revelation is wonderful in its own right, but really is NOTHING whatsoever like any other Genesis album. It's pretty pretentious for a bunch of 16 year old kids, but it does show musical and lyrical talent that makes it a must for fans who want to hear where these guys came from.
My favorite songs from Trespass are "White Mountain" and "Visions of Angels."
Vickie
"Music, all I hear is music, guaranted to please" Peter Gabriel
"My ears are lucky to hear these glorious songs" Happy Rhodes
(edited for typos)

 

[John Geelan]

Great synopsis Vickie!
I became a fan in 1976 when Wind & Wuthering was released.
I heard a radio ad for the album and it sounded pretty good so I took a chance on this (at the time) unheard of group.
Well I became an instant fan and that album is still my favorite all these years later.
I immediately began buying their older albums like Genesis:Live, Foxtrot, Nursery Cryme, Trick Of The Tail and Selling England By The Pound. Each one was fantastic!
And then I heard The Lamb, now here is a masterpiece.
Still think The Carpet Crawlers is one of the great lost Rock Singles. It should have been a Radio staple.
Glad to see the boys re-made it on their Greatest Hits collection.
JohnG

 

[Vickie_M]

John: I became a fan in 1976 when Wind & Wuthering was released.

I adore Wind & Wuthering! I consider it their "ethereal" album. The title fits the mood of the album so well. It's the kind of album you listen to in the fall, or listen to at other times of the year to remind you of the fall. It's beautiful.

 

[Jim_C]

Well, I picked up Yes Close to the Edge, ELP Brain Salad Surgery, and Rush Vapor Trails today. I haven't had a chance to listen to them but I'll check back in a day or two to give my thoughts.

BTW, I've been listening to Foxtrot and Selling continuously since I got them. They keep getting better. I'm definitely into both of them but Selling is pulling ahead.

Thanks all!

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Selling England By The Pound is worth the price of admission just for Phil Collins' drum work in "Cinema Show," which is my favorite Genesis studio album. Everyone who hears the name "Phil Collins" and thinks "Sussudio" is really missing out on some of the best drumming in pop music history from these early Genesis albums.

NP: Rent