www.genesismuseum.com
Lindisfarne Tour 1972
Foxtrot Tour 1972-1973
GENESIS I've a feeling that when the rock analysts ofthe next decade go circumspectly about their business, they will find greatdifficulty in omitting Genesis from their chronicles. For in the past two years the band have slowlyand meticulously carved out their own little musical niche and have grownslowly towards the apothesis with which their efforts must surely be rewarded. To say that Genesis are a unique rock band ofmulticoloured textures really only touches the surface of what they areabout, for at its best a Genesis gig is like watching a pantomime againstthe background of an orchestra. The organic development of the band can be tracedthrough their albums - "Trespass", which first made the public sit up andtake note a couple of years ago, then "Nursery Cryme" which consolidatedtheir position, and now a sensational new album "Foxtrot".
And so finally Genesis have come of age and joinedthe top ranks of Britain's rock bands. In the past it was always a littlerisky to bestow them with superlatives but in recent months they have madesome sensational inroads on the music scene. Critics have been comparing some of the fineraspects of their music with bands of the calibre of Yes and ELP, and thenew album justifies all the accolades. Peter Gabriel's stage act has been describedas more fearsome than Alice Cooper, more delightfully camp than David Bowie,but once again it is a natural rather than a contrived grace of movementthan personifies the characters about which he sings, and captures thehearts of audiences. And so, to a dispassionate observer, Genesisarrived at the Reading Jazz & Blues Festival this summer as brightyoung hopefuls, and played midway through the Friday evening session.
No punches or garish expletives to win over the crowd- it was just the same Genesis, with guitarists Steve Hackett and MikeRutherford sitting sedately towards the side of the stage as though waitingfor, the conductor's cue in. Tony Banks created waves of sound from mellotronand organ, that night, Phil Collins, the artful dodger, showed why he commandsso much respect from fellow, musicians, and the rest was left to the strikingfigure of Peter Gabriel, his head partly shaven, his eyes made up, hisface painted.
Out came the Genesis songbook- "The Knife","Twilight Alehouse", "Return of The Giant Hogweed" . . . and no wonderthe crowds went mad. No band could have followed them on this showingand the crowd knew it - but already Genesis have moved into new territory-with the kind of enquiring minds that conjure up great music.