When you think of some of the biggest rock bands in the world, many come to mind - Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles. These revolutionary bands have something in common - they all originated in England. Another one of the biggest bands to come out of England is Genesis. Since its beginnings back in the late 60's, Genesis has brought rock fans a consistant stream of music with an inconsistant line-up. In the band's 30+ year history, eleven band members have played with the group. It all started back in 1967, when members from two seperate bands, The Anon (Rivers Job, Richard MacPhail, Rob Tyrell, Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford) and The Garden Wall (Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Chris Stewart), joined together to make Genesis. The first lineup included Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, and Chris Stewart. They sparked the interests of producer/songwriter Jonathan King, who inspired them to take up the title of Genesis. They went to a local recording studio and recorded a few tracks on local radio. As Jonathan worked on getting them a record deal, they replaced drummer Chris Stewart with John Silver. The band was delighted to hear that Jonathan had secured them a one album record contract with Decca Records. Jonathan inspired them to write a theme album revolving around the Creation, as told in The Bible. "From Genesis To Revelation" (Decca 1969) flopped. Most music stores were confused and put the album in the religious section! But they couldn't be blamed if the album wasn't a huge success. They were a group of inexperienced teenagers encouraged to tackle a huge recording theme project. "The Silent Sun", a single from the album, got some radio play on local stations, but in the end, the album only sold 650 copies and sank into oblivion. Many of the band members began to look for jobs and enroll in classes, but from time to time they would still get together and play, and the music brought them together again to give it another try. In 1970, Genesis found new manager Tony Stratton-Smith and he signed them to his independent Charisma label. They recorded and released "Trespass" (Charisma 1970) late in the year with new drummer John Mayhew. The band started working on a stage act and soon had a small following of fans. They recorded long, extended pieces and had a very unique sound. Soon, Peter Gabriel was known for wearing costumes onstage and their act was making news on the underground music scene in England. Perhaps not seeing much of a future with the band, both Anthony Phillips and John Mayhew quit soon after the recording of "Trespass" (Charisma 1970). Through ads in Melody Maker, new guitarist Steve Hackett and drummer Phil Collins joined the band. This would be called the "classic" lineup for Genesis. In 1971, the band recorded Nursery Cryme (Charisma 1971). It would prove to be a huge step in the right direction. The song "The Musical Box" became one of their most popular songs ever. The enjoyable album stirred up even more fans around England. The stage act was now a giant event and they were filling music halls across Europe. 1972 brought fans "Foxtrot" (Charisma 1972). This album was the one that finally caught the attention of the media, who had been slow in catching on to the Genesis phenomena. "Watcher Of The Skies" and "Supper's Ready", a twenty-two minute masterpiece, were becoming the Genesis trademarks for live shows. The Genesis live show was becoming so huge that Charisma released a collection of fan favorites recorded live at the US King Biscuit Hour Show in Lancester. "Genesis Live" (Charisma 1973) went over well in Europe. It was rare for such a young band to release a live album so early in their careers. But the Genesis show caused much attention, with Peter's costumes becoming more strange and colorful every week. While the live album was having its success, the band was working in the studio with an album called "Selling England By The Pound" (Charisma 1973). It was highly acclaimed and was the first Genesis album in the U.S. "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" was their first hit single. The album reached #3 in the UK and #70 in the United States. Next came the double album "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" (Charisma 1974), an ambitious set of 23 tracks in which Peter tells the story of Rael, a Puerto Rican punk from New York City. The story was confusing and complex, and no real hits came out of it. The live show (which featured the most extreme costumes imaginable) was exciting, but very complex and expensive. It was the first time that the band had toured in America. It was only pulled off very well a few times and never perfectly. Peter, who had created the concept and had done most of the writing, took full responsibility for the failure of the album and soon after the tour was over, he announced, for various reasons, that he was quitting the band. Peter's departure was on headlines of British music magazines everywhere. It seemed that Genesis was no more. Peter, the leader and frontman of the group, was gone, and so, as it appeared, was Genesis. So strange it seemed to music fans across Europe when rumors appeared of a new Genesis album that would be released soon...
