THE STORY OF GENESIS

In March 1978, GENESIS released their first album recorded as a trio, titled "...and then there were three...". They also did a very long tour that year that included some dates in Japan, in late November-early December of that year, which in fact were the last dates of that very long tour. I don't know if that was the first time they visited Japan as part of a tour. Anyway, the Nippon Phonogram record label took the opportunity to release this 2-LP set compilation then. I don't know if this album was released before or after those Japanese tour dates, but maybe it was released there before those tour dates, to promote the tour and also to help the band to have more fans of their music there. In fact, the front cover of the album has a photo taken during that tour which also shows tour musicians Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer.

In late 1979, I saw in my city, in a now defunct record shop, several copies of this Japanese compilation, being sold at a very expensive price (being imported from Japan, a not very often thing done in those years, at least in my country). Some of the copies were open, so I remember that I could see the eight page color booklet which was included in the gatefold cover of the album, which also included the lyrics (in the English and Japanese languages), some text in Japanese (maybe about the story of the band), and some photos from the band from the early seventies up to 1978. I never bought it, of course, at that very expensive price.

Anyway, I consider this compilation album from Japan as a very good compilation. It includes songs from every album they released in the Charisma Records label from 1970 to 1978 (from "Trespass" to "...and then there were three..."), in chronological order. And the selection of the songs is very representative of their best music from those years. Their only album which was excluded from this compilation was their first album ("From Genesis to Revelation"), which was released in 1969 by another record label (Decca). But it doesn't matter very much, because that album is different in musical style to the music they were going to record in the future, at least in Progressive Rock music terms. So, if you want to pay for this expensive compilation album (which I think it still can be bought in some record collectors's websites and some collectors's record shops around the world) maybe you could not be disappointed.

Review Nº 260

'The Story Of Genesis' is a special compilation of Genesis. As happen with many releases, this is a Japanese release. It's perfectly usual Japanese record labels release special versions to Japan, to promote bands and albums in their country. If we can get one in our countries, being imported from Japan, we must pay a very expensive price. The gatefold cover of it includes an eight page color booklet with lyrics and photos and the quality of its sound is excellent.

'The Story Of Genesis' covers almost Genesis' career, at time, with the exception of their debut studio album, 'From Genesis To Revelation'. It has one track from 'Trespass', one track from 'Nursery Cryme', two tracks from 'Foxtrot', one track from 'Selling England By The Pound', one track from 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway', three tracks from 'A Trick Of The Tail', two tracks from 'Wind And Wuthering' and two tracks from '...And Then There Were Three...'.

'The Story Of Genesis' has thirteen tracks. The first track 'The Knife' was orinally released on 'Trespass'. This is a track unusually aggressive for Genesis. It's the highlight and the most famous song on that album and it's the heaviest track ever recorded by Genesis too. It quickly became the first classic track of Genesis. The second track 'The Musical Box' was orinally released on 'Nursery Cryme'. It's an epic track, one of the most famous pieces of Genesis which acquired the status of one the band's symbols. The music begins calm, and grows in intensity until reach an explosion of energy, accompanied by excellent lyrics. The third and fourth tracks 'Watcher Of The Skies' and 'Supper's Ready' were orinally released on 'Foxtrot'. 'Watcher Of The Skies' is one of the most popular and beloved songs of Genesis. It's a brilliant track, starting off with simple, yet harmonious keyboards. It kicks with a dramatic mellotron introduction being joined by bass and drums to lead into Gabriel's almost chanted vocals. The fourth track 'Supper's Ready' is probably the most beloved song of Genesis. This is a great track, full of amazing musicianship and lyrics, and is one of the most representatives of the progressive music. It stands as a true testament of how unique and creative Genesis was during the early 70's. The fifth track 'I Know What I Like' was orinally released on 'Selling England By The Pound'. It was the first charting single of Genesis. It's a funny song with some characteristics of a pop song. This gave the band their first taste of singles success, something they were to crave more and more with later albums. The sixth track 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' is the title track of that album. It's the opener to that album and it's also one, if not my favorite track, on that whole entire album. Despite the album be a conceptual album, this track is very much representative of that album as a whole. The seventh, eighth and ninth tracks 'Dance On A Volcano', 'Squonk' and 'Ripples' were orinally released on 'A Trick Of The Tail'. 'Dance On A Volcano' is a very progressive track full of frantic rhythmic variations. It's also a song with a beautiful melody and complex musical changes which correspond to the great expectations around this album. 'Squonk' is a track with a fantastic and memorable opening and it has also a remarkable fantastic drumming work made by Collins. Despite is a simple track it has a great choral work. 'Ripples' is a calm and beautiful track. It has nice guitar and keyboard musical textures. Hackett's guitar work is stunning and the keyboard work of Banks is wonderful. It's the quiet track on that album. The tenth and eleventh tracks 'Eleventh Earl Of Mar' and 'Your Own Special Way' were orinally released on 'Wind And Wuthering'. 'Eleventh Earl Of Mar' is a typical Genesis' open track. It's a fantastic track with music composed in the basic style of Genesis' music. This is a complex track, a kind of a return to their musical past. 'Your Own Special Way' is the weakest track on that album. It's a good ballad with great melody but it sounds too much as pop music, for my taste. Despite it was written by Rutherford, looks more a track composed by Collins. The twelfth and thirteenth tracks 'Burning Rope' and 'Follow You Follow Me' were orinally released on '...And Then There Were Three...'. 'Burning Rope' is a brilliant track that represents one of the highest points on that album. It's the only long epic track on that album and is one of its highlights. This is my favourite track on that album. 'Follow You Follow Me' is a song written for a single. It's a good pop song, but it suited better on a Collins' solo album. This seems to me the track that would make the definitive turning point in Genesis' musical career.

Conclusion: 'The Story Of Genesis' is a compilation well representative of Genesis' career at that time. It has tracks from all their albums that belong to their golden musical era. The only exceptions is 'From Genesis To Revelation' and '...And Then There Were Three...'. Of 'From Genesis To Revelation' there aren't any track, which isn't really a great surprise. In reality, it's very rare to see any track from it on any compilation of Genesis. But, on contrary, on '...And Then There Were Three...' there are two. But, as we know, usually both albums aren't considered belonging to their golden era. So, we are in presence of a good compilation of Genesis. But, despite its good representativeness I can't consider 'The Story Of Genesis' an essential purchase. It can't substitute, by anyway, Genesis' original studio albums.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)