The Final Frontier

After studying music in Liverpool for almost 16 years I have found the whole experience enlightening, disheartening, exhilarating, humorous, hard going and altogether a great experience. On completion of my Degree in popular music I have submitted a small number of assignments from the early days at College to my final year at University and I wanted to share a glimpse of it all with rest of the world. So here for posterity I am laying down what is my last essay of my Degree in popular music, which is all about a big love of my life, the early days of the band Genesis.

Over the Garden Wall

The Flower from Suppers Ready

The period of music from 1968 to 1978 saw the emergence of a new type of rock music named Progressive rock or simply prog. One influential band of this period who could been seen as influencing a great many others was the band King Crimson with their med evil imagery in the likes of the album In The Court of the Crimson King. One band that was influenced by Crimson a great deal was the Progressive rock band Genesis, who formed at the public school Charter House in England in the late 1960’s. Crimsons Court album was an album cover which Genesis pinned to their dorm room door at school as a thing to aspire to. Genesis started out as two separate bands, (Anon and Garden Wall), at school that came together and released their first album From Genesis to Revelation with the help of Charter House Old Boy Jonathan King, who gave them their unusual name. The first album was not much of a hit and was usually placed in the religious section of most record shops because of the bands and album names.

Genesis’s later albums would place them firmly as one of the pioneers of the prog rock genre, a genre which sprang from the Psychedelic and Folk movements of the late 1960’s. With influences like Crimson and the Beatles Sgt Peppers album, listening to Genesis’s later albums such as Trespass became a staple for some rockers and classical fans, indeed their music has been described as symphonic and likened to that of art or classical music, with long complicated passages of Hammond organ, eccentric electric guitar, folky acoustic guitar, Peter Gabriel’s flute playing, driving bass lines and complex drum patterns and fills. As Genesis progressed in the making of music the bands ideas began taking on a concept identity with some tracks being based on mythology such as The Fountain of Salmacis which came from the Greek tale of Hermaphrodite and tracks like the epic 20 minute piece Suppers Ready from the Foxtrot album.

Suppers ready takes the listener on a journey with a couple of lovers who enter a world of mysticism and surrealness and eventually return to the real world in time for the biblical apocalypse. Suppers ready is a great example of Genesis reaching their pinnacle in song writing and was a brief glimpse into what the Peter Gabriel line up would eventually reach by the time of their final album before Gabriel’s departure.

Middle Earth

A lot of Genesis early performances were in student halls and at venues that were aptly titled after the works of J.R.R Tolkien such as Middle Earth and Gandalf’s Garden. A majority of the early audiences were either students or psychedelic regulars, which could be seen as the standard audience for a lot of progressive rock acts such as Genesis and the likes of early Pink Floyd. Although with the departure of Gabriel and Collins taking over as front man, Genesis’s audience may have changed a lot by the time of the album Invisible Touch, either that or the same audience changed their listening habits to keep in with the band.

The Story Teller

Rael from The Lamb, and The Slipper-man

Genesis lengthy tracks and storytelling put them firmly in the genre with the likes of Jethro Tull and their epic tracks such as Thick as a Brick, the bands Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Van Der Graf generator and the Canadian power trio Rush with their progressive pieces such as Natural Science and Tom Sawyer were other bands placed firmly in the genre. For the Genesis live audience what made them stand out was Gabriel’s antics on stage as he began wearing outlandish costumes and masks and make up to portray the characters in the story’s the band had set to verse. Gabriel’s mobility on stage as a non-large instrument player meant he could move around the stage, as in one instance dressed in an old man’s mask as he plays the character from the track the Musical Box. These performances by Gabriel heightened the audience’s reception of the music and gave them some idea of what the lyrics held and the meaning to the story’s being played out for them at the performances. Some of the first instances of this were a shock to the other band members as it was something Gabriel had not informed them he was planning when he appeared on stage wearing a red dress and a foxes head.

Another aspect of the live performance was the time it took the band members to tune their various instruments. Gabriel would take this opportunity to tell short stories he had written which served to introduce the following track. One story that introduced Suppers Ready is about a man who would travel daily to the park and proceed to remove his clothes and rub his flesh into the ground, an act which got the worms very excited and told the local bird populace that supper was ready. This story involved a whistling rendition of Jerusalem from Gabriel accompanied by Phil Collins on the drums. Gabriel even goes into character voices in some tracks such as Get em’ Out by Friday from Foxtrot and The Battle of Epping Forest from Selling England by the Pound.

For the listener and live audience itself, the Genesis concepts would grow more elaborate with each album right up to the final Gabriel album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The Lamb is a concept story which was written in story form in the gate fold of the album and then rewritten in lyrical form and put to music. It is one long double album story about a New York gang member named Rael, who is sucked into a surreal underground world where he is put through a number of tests and comes out the other side redeeming himself and losing his violent selfish ways. The concerts were performed in New York and Gabriel acted out the lead character role throughout the whole performance in costume. The initial turnout was poor but the band began to gain more fans in the US and eventually the concerts began to sell out. One of the most elaborate of Gabriel’s costumes in the show had to be the Slipper-man. A grotesque creature of lumps, stumpy arms and lips that slide across his chin.

Much Like Bach and Mozart

These concept albums by Genesis and other bands works, such as Jethro Tulls Thick as a Brick and the Yes album Close to the Edge are thought of highly by prog fans and academics alike as being more than just long songs, but in fact are; as has been said close to art music. No doubt the members of Genesis would have been exposed to a lot of classical music at their private school Charter House as much as they were exposed to classical writing such as Greek Mythology, which is where the band may have taken a lot of influence for their music. Covach states in his publication Progressive Rock, “Close to the Edge,” and the Boundaries of Style, that progressive rock is very similar to art music in that the artists were trying to produce something different, although this had been done before with Herman’s Hermits fusing rock with classical music with the track Lady Godiva and the Beatles orchestration on the track Eleanor Rigby and the Harpsichord used on the Rolling Stones track Lady Jane. Covach states that prog artists tried to add a level of seriousness to rock and that some saw this as pretentious. He goes on to say that these artists were trying to create something that would not disappear off the charts in a matter of weeks and would eventually be studied by academics, much like Bach or Mozart is studied.

Virtuosity is a big thing in prog music and is something that will attract the listener to the music, such as Rush being referred to as the “musicians musician.” Moore in his publication Rock: The Primary Text, Developing a Musicology of Rock, emphasises the links between prog rock and art music when referring to the likes of Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick and the Genesis album Trespass, in particular the track the Knife as having rhythmic similarities to art music and the track being a paradigm for later progressive music. He continues with similarities in fantasy writing such as Tolkien’s works and the Genesis track Suppers Ready, Led Zeppelins the Battle of Evermore and Syd Barrett and Pink Floyds album, A Piper at the Gates of Dawn with the tracks Bike, The Scarecrow and Astronomy Domine. These fantastical ideas by Genesis again relate to the bands education in classical writing and also through Gabriel’s costumes and antics on stage.

The Symphony

The bands label Charisma who played more of a patron role with Genesis and also Jethro Tull on Crysalis, gave the band a lot of freedom when it came to writing, which enabled them to pursue their own ideas when it came to rock music and this may have helped to grow a particular audience. The music of Genesis as has been mentioned was very complex and likened to that of the symphony. The audience of Genesis’s music may have differed to that of the regular rock audience, in that it may have taken a certain kind of listening to sit through an epic 20 minute piece of music. Also performing these progressive pieces may have been a big accomplishment for the band members whose virtuosity and music could be compared to that of orchestra members performing a classical piece. The likes of Suppers Ready, is a 20 minute piece of a very complex nature and one wonders at how the band members remember such a long progressive form without sheet music.

Listen Closely

Other progressive bands have been critiqued on their likeness to high art music and some bands have even been known to perform classical and baroque pieces. Macan in his publication Rocking the Classics, English progressive Rock and the Counter Culture, States “ Yes opened their concerts with an excerpt from Stravinsky's Firebird; the first incarnation of King Crimson performed Holst's "Mars" (from The Planets) live, while the Electric Light Orchestra arranged Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (from Peer Gynt). Jethro Tull's "Bouree" was based on a piece by J. S. Bach, as was Egg's "Fugue in D minor" (drawn from the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ) and the main melodic idea of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale." Many progressive rock bands clearly saw themselves in the role of bringing high culture to the masses, and approached this task with an almost missionary zeal. Thus Carl Palmer of ELP remarked to an indignant Lester Bangs that "we hope if anything we're encouraging the kids to listen to music that has more quality." The liner notes of Gentle Giant's acquiring the Taste LP informs the listener that "it is our goal to expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of being very unpopular.... From the outset we have abandoned all preconceived thoughts on blatant commercialism. Instead we hope to give you something far more substantial and fulfilling." Likewise, Jethro Tull's self-written "review" of their album Thick as a Brick comments that "taken on the whole however this is a fine disc and a good example of the current pop scene attempting to break out of its vulgarisms and sometimes downright obscene derivative hogwash." (Macan , 1997, p168.)

Some as is said, see this merging of rock with high art music as pretentious and that rock music should not take its self to seriously, especially the critics of the time, but Macan feels that this hybrid music gave the kids of the time something more to aspire to musically. “To many rock critics, especially those associated with Rolling Stone and Creem, progressive rock's aesthetic stance was anathema, nothing short of heresy. First of all, the critics resented the insinuation that progressive rock's appropriation of the classical tradition somehow "expanded the frontiers of popular music," enabled the pop scene to "break out of its vulgarism," or "encouraged kids to listen to music that has more quality." They found this viewpoint elitist and a betrayal of rock's populist origins. I would not necessarily defend the viewpoint expressed by Palmer, Gentle Giant, or Jethro Tull, insomuch as I do not believe that drawing "classical" influences into pop music will necessarily make for music that "has more quality." However, I also believe that such references to high culture will not necessarily lead to pop music that is more "inauthentic" or "sterile," either. Furthermore, far too much emphasis has been put on remarks such as these in past assessments of progressive rock. As we have already seen, progressive rock musicians drew on symphonic music and the Anglican/Catholic choral tradition because it was part of their cultural heritage as middle-class Europeans, and it made perfect sense for them to do so. (Macan , 1997. p 169)

Taking all this into account, it is easy to see why the likes of Genesis and other progressive bands have been likened to art music and the audience and listener may resemble a classical audience in many respects even to the point of sitting and carefully listening as opposed to standing and even dancing. Genesis bassist Mike Rutherford is quoted as saying that “Genesis preferred their audience to sit down and listen to the music”, which supports what has already been suggested about how the listener receives the band’s music. Although Genesis came to embody the ideas of theatre rock with the stage antics of Gabriel, this was not the case when they first started out, with albums like From Genesis to Revelation and Trespass. Although the aspects of prog rock are still there with the song writing and stories, some of which have been said to be hard going to listen to and this again requires one to listen closely.

Quinticencialy English

From their roots at Charter House school the band continued to mature and develop musically drawing heavily from classic poetry and novels which made them a very quinticencial English band. Genesis came from a privileged background growing up, insulated from the real world and in Charter House circles the band members may have been considered rebellious. At the time of their first album release and the single The Silent Sun the band had hardly gigged and the music was a far cry from the music early Genesis would later become to be known by. Despite this privileged background the band still had to work their way up playing pubs and clubs and student halls. The first guitarist Anthony Phillips left Genesis after the album Trespass due to stage fright and his frustration with not being able to produce live on stage what he could produce in the studio and he was eventually replaced by guitarist Steve Hackett, whose guitar style was much more aggressive than Phillips.

Trespass

The album Trespass is considered a Genesis classic and was to pave the way for the conceptual themes and stories with tracks like The Knife and White Mountain. The Knife is a great example of what defines the Genesis sound as was apparently something else to watch performed live. Another track from the Trespass album was Stagnation, which was lyrically a story about nuclear war and again was a track that needed to be listened to closely to truly appreciate. This track optimises what prog rock was all about.

Nursery Cryme

The next Genesis album was entitled Nursery Cryme and was a big jump dynamically for the band. Steve Hackett’s aggressive guitar style was firmly planted in the band’s sound by this point and the album is considered one of their best by some fans. Again we find that the musical form is very symphonic and that Genesis where considered by some the classical music of their time and more so with this album. One major track that was mentioned earlier is The Greek mythology track the Fountain of Salmacis. Again the inspiration for this track came from the band member’s academic background. The track has been described by the band members as more of an Odyssey rather than a song and the track would vary from performance to performance. The track was a big hint as to what the band would later produce on successive albums. Another track from the same album that again was quinticentialy English is The Return of the Giant Hogweed, which was based on the true events of an indestructible weed which had taken over the south coast of England. The track had a very comical feel both lyrically and musically.The melodies and form to the tracks on Nursery Cryme again are very symphonic. It was at this point to the wonder of the other band members that Peter Gabriel began wearing makeup and masks and elaborate costumes on stage. These theatrics did in fact build the bands audience but would cause a clash later with the other band members. Also on this album we come across the musically and lyrically dark Musical Box track.

This track was a fusion of different styles musically and was a viechle for Gabriel’s theatrics and storytelling as the track tells the tale of a boy and girl playing croquet. The girl in the story goes on to decapitate the boy with her croquet mallet. She then heads to the play room of the house and opens the boy’s musical box which plays Old King Cole. Once the box is opened the boys ghost appears to the girl and begins to age rapidly and turns into an old man. In the live production, Gabriel describes the theme of the track to the audience before the song begins. The music of the track ebbs and flows and dips and dives between long keyboard and guitar solos and is an epic piece of progressive rock. The track is thought of as a classic Genesis piece and was a staple of their live performance for some time. This dynamic piece of art rock is an intensely complex performance and must have taken a lot of effort to perform. Gabriel’s performance as the old man with his mask is a wonder to watch.

Foxtrot

The album Foxtrot followed Nursery Cryme and to some the two albums are linked and as mentioned before even share a link in the album artwork which was painted by Richard Whitehead, who also painted some album covers for the prog band Yes. One track from the album is Watcher of the Skies which the band began to use as an introduction to their live performances. The track was written by Banks and Rutherford and was inspired by the view from their hotel balcony. The track is very powerful and draws in the listener or live audience. The track much like the Musical Box became a live mainstay again with Gabriel presenting the track in a costume of bat wings on the sides of his head and donning a cape.

It was around this time that Gabriel first began wearing the foxes head and red dress on stage. Gabriel took the idea of the fox head from the cover of Foxtrot which shows a figure in a red dress and with a foxes head. Also shown on the back of the cover are the six saintly shrouded figures from the lyrics to the epic 20 minute track Suppers Ready.

Suppers Ready was a collection of 7 tracks with the same story running through them. As mentioned earlier, it is the story of the lovers going on a mystical journey only to return in time for the apocalypse. Gabriel got the idea for the track when he was with his wife in a room at his parent’s house when, as Gabriel has been quoted, he saw his wife’s face change into someone else’s and he thought she was possessed by a spirit. Suppers ready is considered one of the first great prog classics and is a favourite of many fans. The 20 minute track again was an amazing feat to perform live without sheet music. It was around the time of this album that it is thought the band members were becoming more aware of each other’s playing styles, which allowed them to predict each other and write such an epic piece of work as Suppers Ready. The parts in the track seem to be magically linked together and quite seamless. There are not many bands that would attempt such a lengthy piece or would consider it to be popular, but some prog fans believe that if it’s long then it must be good. A lot of fans have tried to describe the theme to the track, yet Gabriel has been quoted as saying, “do not try to read too much into it, it is after all just fantasy”.

Selling England

The follow up album to Foxtrot is Selling England by the Pound and the title track was about the privatisation of England. This album had more contribution from guitarist Steve Hackett, who not being a Charter House old boy felt a bit outside of the band at first. Hackett felt that this album was a good showcase of the band member’s individual talents. He preferred his own playing on this album compared to contributions to the previous albums. One track from the album, I Know What I Like was the band’s first attempt at a chart single and the track got into the top 20 in Britain. The track is very similar to something produced by the likes of Jethro Tull and has very popular traits musically for its time. It is believed that the band members felt popular music was a bit below them. The live rendition of the track Dancing with the Moonlit Night begins with Gabriel on stage dressed as Britannia as he proclaims “I am the voice of Britain.” Here we have one of Hackett’s biggest contributions with the opening guitar riff. The album however is believed by some fans not to be as much a classic as Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot.

The Lamb

By 1974 Gabriel had decided to leave Genesis but before his departure the band had one more album to come. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is the pinnacle of early Genesis and is the ultimate concept album. As mentioned earlier the whole album is one long story about a New York gang member who is taken on a mystical subterranean journey. This concept moves away from the bands quintessential English themes. Gabriel took control for much of the Lamb as he wrote the story entirely on his own. Like Suppers Ready the Lamb is an epic classic, however it is thought by some that the lyrical concept is hard to grasp and this may be the reason the live concerts initially had a poor turnout. The lamb is lyrically and musically quite incredible with such moving tracks as The Carpet Crawlers and the continuing themes from The Lamb Lies Down and the Lamia to the Light Dies Down on Broadway. The keyboard solos near to the end of the album are spectacular. Some fans and even band members believe that compared to their other albums the musical content in the Lamb is a bit empty. Some of Gabriel’s antics and costumes for this performance became a bit too much for the rest of the band. Tony Banks is quoted as saying that the costumes began to come before the music and Phil Collins felt that the costume of the Slipper-man was the last straw for himself and the rest of the band. It is believed by fans and academics alike that the Lamb stretched the band to breaking point and eventually Gabriel and Genesis went their separate ways.

Gabriel’s departure from Genesis is described in his track Solsbury Hill from his first solo album. Seeing how big other prog bands were becoming Gabriel is quoted as not wanting to turn into a stadium band like bands such as Jethro Tull or Emerson Lake and Palmer and this made it easier for him to leave. Macan states about stadium rock, “[…] the fact that the critics consistently refused to acknowledge any meaningful role that progressive rock may have played in the lives of its audience does not mean they were totally incorrect in their assessment of the style's more negative qualities,[….] the relationship of the major progressive rock bands with their fans (and, for that matter, the demographics of the progressive rock taste public) underwent a profound shift during the early 1970s, as the major bands made the move from clubs and smaller venues to stadiums and arenas (not to mention from Britain to the United States). There is no doubt that as these bands lost the opportunity to enjoy a symbiotic relationship with a distinct regional subculture, they increasingly called upon virtuosity, visual spectacle, and a certain sense of imperial remoteness to cement (and then hold) their large American fan base. To the degree that this is true, one could say progressive rock's love of spectacle was self-indulgent, its fondness for virtuosity and technical pyrotechnics exhibitionistic, and its penchant for fantasy a form of self-absorption. But were these qualities not a hallmark of the 1970s as a whole? This period was not, after all, labelled the "Me Generation" for nothing. One can see the same tendencies in such diverse seventies styles as heavy metal, glam-rock (here I would lump a whole spectrum of acts from David Bowie to Alice Cooper to Queen and Elton John), [….] ( Macan, 1997. p 176 - 177.)

The late 1970's-1980's

The late 1970’s saw the emergence of Punk and the DIY idea of music production. This moved music away from the virtuosic prog musician to the simpler idea of learning a few chords and writing a song. Around this time a lot of Punk Rockers had a distain for the Hippy movement and especially for the Prog scene which a lot of punks viewed as pretentious and boring. This view is comically referenced in the 1980’s English TV comedy series The Young Ones were the character Rick proclaims, “God I’m so bored I may as well be listening to Genesis”. By the 1980’s progressive rock had more or less died out and Gabriel and Collins and other Genesis band members went on to have successful solo careers. One band however that kept the progressive scene going was the 1980’s prog band Marillion who, keeping in with the ideas of mythology named themselves after the book The Silmarillion by J.R.R.Tolkien. Marillion were heavily influenced by Genesis, especially the front man Fish who would wear makeup on stage like Gabriel. Marillion are even referred to by some as "Poor Man's Genesis." They were aptly classified neo prog and although not as successful as the current mainstream artists they did have one hit with the track Kaylie from the album Misplaced Childhood. Marillion offered a good release for the diehard prog rocker and opened up the genre to a new generation of audience.

Conclusion

It is clear that not only rock music but high art or classical music had a lot of influence on Genesis and their contemporary’s and the reception of listening between the artists and the fans alike has art music and the classics to thank. Also the fans have the prog bands to thank for introducing them to ideas beyond the simplicity of blues based rock and the classical writing of the likes of Greek mythology and epic poetry had a big part to play in the music of Genesis. It is not surprising that Genesis and progressive rock was seen as the classical music of its time and it will always have a place in the canon of rock history as a genre that broke away from the mould and influenced a lot of musicians and fans alike to strive for more than what the mainstream has to offer.

Genesis-

Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford,

Peter Gabriel,

Discography and Further Listening

The Beatles, 1966, Sgt Peppers Lonley Hearts Club Band, London, EMI.

King Crimson, 1969, In the Court of the Crimson King, London, Island Records.

Yes, 1972, Close to the Edge, Atlantic.

Genesis, 1973, Selling England by the Pound, London, Charisma.

Genesis, 1972, Foxtrot, London, Charisma,

Genesis, 1974, the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Wales, Charisma.

Genesis, 1971, Nursery Cryme, London, Charisma.

Genesis, 1969, From Genesis to Revelation, London, Decca.

Genesis, 1970, Trespass, London, Charisma.

Genesis, 1986, Invisible Touch, Surrey, Charisma/Virgin.

Johnathan King, 1965, Everyone’s Gone to the Moon, Decca.

Peter Gabriel, 1986, So, Bath, Charisma.

Peter Gabriel 1, 1977, London, Charisma.

The Who, 1979, Quadrophinia, Polydor.

Jethro Tull, 1972, Thick as a Brick, London, Chrysalis.

Jethro Tull, 1969, Stand Up, Island.

Mike Oldfield,1973, Tubular Bells, Oxfordshire, Virgin.

Frank Zappa, 1981, Tinsel Town Rebellion, Barking Pumkin.

Led Zeppelin, 1971, Led Zeppelin 4, Atlantic.

Rush, 1980, Permanent Waves, Anthem, Atlantic, Sony, Mercury.

Rush, 1981, Moving Pictures, Anthem, Atlantic, Sony, Mercury.

Cream, 1967, Disraeli Gears, New York, Reaction.

Pink Floyd, 1967, A Piper at the Gates of Dawn, London, EMI Columbia.

Hawkwind, 1972, Doremi Faso Latido, United Artists.

Peter and Gordon, 1966, Lady Godiva, Columbia.

Procol Harum,1967, Procol Harum, Regal Zonophone.

Gentle Giants, 1971, Acquiring the Taste, Vertigo.

Hermans Hermits, 1965, Hermans Hermits, MGM.

The Beatles,1966, Revolver, London, Parlophone.

The Rolling Stones, 1966, Aftermath, Decca.

Marillion, 1985, Misplaced Childhood, Berlin, EMI.

Bibliography

Chapter 1- Covach, J., 1997. Progressive Rock, “Close to the Edge,” And the Boundaries of Style. J Covach, G.M. Boone, eds. Understanding Rock, Essays in Musical Analysis. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 3 - 31.

Genesis the Gabriel Era (1996) Documentary, Directed by Mike Kaufman [DVD] VH1 Music First

Macan, E., 1997. Rocking the Classics, English Progressive Rock and the Counter Culture. New York: Oxford University Press

Martin, B., 1998. Listening to the Future, The Time of Progressive Rock. Illinois: Carus Publishing Company.

Moore, A.F., 2001. Rock: The Primary Text, Developing a Musicology of Rock. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing LTD.

Stump, P., 1997. The Music’s All That Matters, A History of Progressive Rock. London: Quartet Books LTD.