When I mentioned the “triumvirate of prog”, I completely forgot about Genesis. In which case, let’s revise that to the Four Pillars Of Prog – King Crimson, ELP, Yes, Genesis. They were another favourite of my proggy university housemates, but I never really took to them. Then again, I think beyond The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, I don’t think I’d heard very much. I like Peter Gabriel’s solo work, I like some of the post-Gabriel Genesis. Combine the two, however, and something puts me off.
I think maybe it’s a mixture of Gabriel’s highly wordy lyrics, and the somewhat dated sound of Tony Banks’ keyboards – that can be an issue with early Seventies work where instruments like the Mellotron are very much of their time, yet have not achieved the timelessness of the Hammond or even some Moog sounds.
As far as prog-rock goes, however, Genesis, at least on this album, use less of the jazz/experimental break downs but instead go in the direction of lengthy songs made up of movements, tempo changes, and dense lyrics. There’s something quite theatrical about it all, and it often reminds me of when you get opera or musical theatre where the music is never allowed to end, and thus what would be in-between talking parts are turned into a kind of singing that really doesn’t go anywhere. They have long instrumental breaks, but not of the kind of extended jam session types – everything feels a bit more tightly controlled, closer to classical composition than jazz experimentation.
That’s not to say it’s bad in any way, but the songs didn’t really stick with me. What is quite nice is the framing device (Banks again mainly, but also probably a combination of Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford on acoustic guitar) of what sounds like a mediaeval madrigal, framing the songs about modern England within a concept of old England.
This is most notable for The Battle Of Epping Forest, a lengthy song cycle about rival criminal gangs gathering in Epping Forest to fight it out over territory. Peter Gabriel gets to play with different voices and accents as he inhabits a range of characters from Liquid Len (“of wine, women, and Wandsworth fame”), Mick the Prick, and Harold Demure. It’s lyrically very dense, akin more to a poem than a song, but kind of echoing a troubadour tradition.
The shorter songs are generally better as they’re less meandering and more self-contained, tracks like I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) and More Fool Me (with Phil Collins on vocals). The other longer tracks- Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, Firth of Forth, and The Cinema Show are okay, but again failed to make much an impression on me.
I’m looking forward to some more of the earlier Genesis because I still want to give them another shot. I don’t know why they don’t land with me.
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