A Peek Inside the Musical Box: Genesis

Genesis gave us brilliant mellotron; they also squired us through a fantasy land of thought-provoking lyrics accompanied by layers of beautiful musical landscapes. There was heartfelt12-string, and nursery rhyme chimes; strange, haunted vocals with NASA precision drum work and cinematic keyboards. Ladies and gentleman, please welcome Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, Steven Hackett, and Tony Banks, aka Genesis.

Where do I begin with these guys? I could rant for weeks, but the bottom line is that there was, but never will be again, a band as unique as Genesis. I was a late-bloomer with them. I picked up "Genesis Live" in 1973, having never heard of them before. Why I hadn't was unusual, for I experimented like a madman with albums. Still, the situation remained; I had not heard of Genesis. Again, I bought this one for the cover. Peter Gabriel in mask and costume with the blue-curtained backdrop and seated band members was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I was immediately blown away, and fell in love with "The Musical Box". It didn't stop there. I moved forward, buying Genesis album after album. Anything I could find by them, I bought. Not once was I ever disappointed.

The versatility within the band was amazing. Keyboardist Tony Banks also played guitar onstage. Peter Gabriel had a generous amount of costumes and masks. Steve Hackett made use of "tap picking", a technique that many believed to be adopted by Eddie Van Halen years later. The songs were not songs, but fables; fairy tales, legends, predictions of the future, and whimsies that ranged from the apocalypse to a storytelling lawnmower. The Genesis infrastructure was so intricate that each member contributed a mathematical precision to their performance. Nothing was left to waste. Steve and Mike's unique 12-stringing harmonies, Phil's tonal paintings and the lyrical keyboard work from Tony provided the ultimate canvas. This allowed for each song to become a complete story. Introducing these stories was Peter Gabriel, our master of ceremonies. Among his many guises he was The Moonlit Knight, the Old Man, the Bubble Creature, The Flower, The Fox, and the Bat-Winged figure that in some shows, literally hovered above the stage on invisible wires.

My pride was seriously wounded when I picked up "Nursery Cryme", "Foxtrot", and "Trespass" for two bucks each as cut-outs. Though I couldn't whine about the price, the fact that Genesis was in the cut-out section was nothing but pure insult. They were a band whose honor should be defended at any price. Though I'm not sure, I think these 3 LP's had opening covers as imports, whereas the U.S. releases were just single covers.

Genesis' live performances seemed to be as good as the LP's. Their onstage act was as equally stunning. Genesis took us through a storyland where scenes and acts were prompted by some of the finest musicians ever to grace a stage. And the songs were incredible! One of my favorites is "White Mountain". After I picked up "Selling England by the Pound", my favorite Genesis tune was "Firth of Fifth". Tony Banks was one of the most intriguing keyboard players I'd ever heard. His Mellotron intro on the Arthur C. Clarke inspired "Watcher of the Skies" was, and still is amazing.

Now, Peter Gabriel. Peter was quite the stage performer. His caterwauling vocal ranges that changed from a stuttering and cracked "talk-singing", to a high-pitched whine were the most interesting stage voices I'd ever heard. Complimented by his wild and bizarre masks and costumes--all of them scary-including the daisy, he was a very animated performer. Phil Collins whom I always felt was a precision-hitter much like Carl Palmer, was a great drummer and second front-man. I'm talking about the Gabriel Genesis, and not the latter 70's re-grouping (though I liked them too). Mike Rutherford was an interesting player in this band. I loved the way he switched from bass, to bass pedal, to 12-string without missing a beat. Even in the 80's when he formed the short-lived MIke and the Mechanics, their style was interesting. It was apparent that so much was learned from being a member of Genesis.

I learned too. I learned how to play "The Musical Box" on guitar, and it opened up new worlds of experimentation for me. I then tried to learn another of my absolute favorites "Get 'em Out by Friday", but was only able to figure out a few parts. Just like its namesake in the bible, Genesis was a beginning, and for me, they will remain that way forever.