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.