GENESIS

''Spot the Pigeon'' is the most famous Genesis EP for a good reason.It contains three ''Wind & Wuthering'' leftovers, which the band made public in May 1977 through this edition, practically seeing back and forth.And that's because the short cuts ''Match of the Day'' and ''Pigeon'' are closer to Pop/Art Rock with commercial leanings, heavy on acoustic guitar and dreamy on keys with some sort of BEATLES-esque atmosphere, while the longer ''Inside and Out'' is more of the lyrical/theatrical Prog Rock of the band, maybe a bit too soft, but with some epic vocal sections, great keyboard work after the middle (Moog synth runs) and a nice acoustic prelude.Later in that same year it was announced that Steve Hackett would no more be a member of the band. 4.0, these are three great pop tunes that in my opinion deserved to be on wind and Wuthering.

This album was originally planned to have a long song cycle on one side and some shorter songs on the other side. The song cycle would be made up of "Behind the lines", "Duchess", "Guide vocal", "Turn it on again", "Duke's travels" and "Duke's end". It wasn't to be, but during the tour that followed the band did play the song cycle as they had originally intended it. It was the absolute highlight of the Duke live shows and the album would have been a lot better had it included the songs this way.

The album opens like the song cycle opens with the excellent "Behind the lines" with its two minute intro leading into the drum machines of the great ballad "Duchess" with its coda "Guide vocal". Then we get three solo compositions with Mike Rutherford's "Man of our times", Phil Collins' "Misunderstanding" (the first song he wrote for Genesis, also the band's first US hit single) and Tony Banks' "Heathaze". Then comes the great "Turn it on again", as far as I know the only single ever with a 13/4 time signature. Then it goes again with "Alone tonight", "Cul de sac" and ". The album ends in a great way again with "Duke's travels" and "Duke's end". Had they left the medley as it originally was (and how it was again on tour), the medley have made it a great Genesis album. But this conversion of pop and prog made some fans lose interest l. This is one of the albums that made die hard Genesis fan to lose interest but I love it. 4.0

Probably the most polarising of the band releases up to that point, the album sees Genesis, now as a trio, trading some of their grandiose, complex ideas for increased pop sensibility. Maybe due to the fact that Collins and co. weren't exactly sure in which direction they want the music to go, ...And Then There Were Three... sits awkwardly in the canyon between progressive rock and pop rock, somehow being neither and both at the same time. While the fusion of the two genres was done better on the next album, Duke, this LP spawns a few very worthwhile tracks (Down and Out, Snowbound, The Lady Lies) in between filler and failed ideas. A classic transition-era album. 4.0 it Is forgotten about sadly.

After Gabriel had left the band, the remaining quartet developed in an incredible way and released two of their best albums. While A Trick of the Tail already was outstanding , Wind and Wuthering turned out to be one of their masterpieces after Peter Gabriel's exodus.

"One for the Vine" and "Blood on the Rooftops" are two epics belonging to the greatest prog songs ever, but all other tracks (maybe with the exception of the fairly nice, but very, very simple "Afterglow") follow quite close behind.

Master guitarist Steve Hackett left the band after this album. With "And Then There Were Three"(1978) Genesis managed to overplay this significant loss pretty sovereign, but thereafter it all started to go downhill in the prog point of view although they became more and more successful commercially.

I'm absolutely sure, that I will love this album as long as I live. Wonderful cover artwork, by the way. 5.0

Genesis' first album after the departure of Peter Gabriel . I actually like the close follow-up, Wind & Wuthering, even better, but I'm happy enough to admit that that's going to be a very personal preference. As with Wuthering, the main factor is the songwriting and melodic sense of Tony Banks, who is the only member of the band who gets writing credit on all eight tracks.

I think Phil Collins' voice does more justice to Banks' melodies than Gabriel's rougher-edged tones would have. My favorite here is 'Mad Man Moon', credited solely to Banks. Collins' vocals are nice to say the least one can also hear Collins' more straightforward, less prog-like, songwriting sense coming through in 'Ripples., which foreshadows the direction Genesis would take in years after. 5.0 My genesis to Genesis.

Having been listening to Genesis for over 50 years I suppose one could legitimately propose that I am a fan. And indeed I am. But not only am I a fan of Genesis, I also quite like many other artistes that have unleashed the results of their talents upon the world. So it is with the benefit of my exposure to many things musical over the past half century (with a bit more than another dozen years added to the half century) that I put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard actually) about Calling All Stations, the final studio album by Genesis.

I acquired the album not long after its release in 1997 and I have to say that the lack of a Gabriel or a Collins on vocals was something of a curiosity (although at that stage I was very well used to the lack of a Gabriel). Ray Wilson, whom I'd never heard of (the name Stiltskin was familiar), was now the Vocalist in Chief in the band. I played the CD many times over the following months and I also saw this incarnation of the band live in March 1998. It certainly wasn't the Genesis that I'd seen and heard in the past but naggingly, some of the same Genesis sound, as well as some of the same Genesis personnel, were actually still to be seen and heard. Imagine that! So, the more I put this album into my CD player, the more I grew to like it. I began to hear little vignettes that I hadn't noticed previously (example - the really exciting sound of the ride cymbal in the latter part of One Man's Fool). So it got to the stage that the more I played Calling All Stations, the more I liked it. Nowadays, in the year 2025, I just have to say that really like this album. I like it a lot. And now that I have it on vinyl, as well as cd, it has opened up even more for me and it seems to be a different kind of a listening experience when I put the record onto my turntable.

However (there's always a "however", isn't there...), I feel that it must be said that the album is just too long as a project. It should have been shorter, in my opinion, by exactly four songs. If Calling All Stations had been more concise, it would have been a massive seller, all across the world. In the USA, I've no doubt that a shorter album would have hit high in the album charts and all the Genesis live shows would have been sold out.

So, in my opinion a problem lies in the fact that the album was produced by the band themselves. There was no input from an experienced, talented producer who could and no doubt would have, reined the band in where necessary and also have pushed them on where necessary. A strong willed independent producer would not have allowed this album, with a new singer, to exceed 45 to 50 minutes.

So what songs should have been culled from the album? Here they are - "Shipwrecked", "Small Talk", "If That's What You Need" and "Not About Us". If these songs had been left off then we'd have had a 48 minute album. That would have been a perfect length at that time in 1997. It would have been a really darkly attractive album which would have had a lot more appeal for a lot more people.

Anyway, I've given the entire album a lot of time over the last 28 years and while I know that not everybody gets it, I like it. I think that its excellent Prog. So for me I'm giving it four stars.

Well its time for me to rate my favorite Genesis album and one of my favorite doubles album of all time along with All things Must Pass - George Harrison.

Given all the obscure literary references of Selling England by the Pound, along with their taste for epic suites such as "Supper's Ready," it was only a matter of time before Genesis attempted a full-fledged concept album, and 1974's The "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" was a massive rock opera: the winding, wielding story of a Puerto Rican hustler name Rael making his way in New York City. Peter Gabriel made some tentative moves toward developing this story into a movie with William Friedkin but it never took off, perhaps it's just as well; even with the lengthy libretto included with the album, the story never makes sense. But just because the story is rather impenetrable doesn't mean that the album is as well, because it is a forceful, imaginative piece of work that showcases the original Genesis lineup at a peak. Even if the story is rather hard to piece together, the album is set up in a remarkable fashion, with the first LP being devoted to pop-oriented rock songs and the second being largely devoted to instrumentals. This means that The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway contains both Genesis' most immediate music to date and its most elliptical. Depending on a listener's taste, they may gravitate toward the first LP with its tight collection of ten rock songs, or the nightmarish landscapes of the second, where Rael descends into darkness and ultimately redemption (or so it would seem), but there's little question that the first album is far more direct than the second and it contains a number of masterpieces, from the opening fanfare of the title song to the surging "In the Cage," from the frightening "Back in NYC" to the soothing conclusion "The Carpet Crawlers." In retrospect, this first LP plays a bit more like the first Gabriel solo album than the final Genesis album, but there's also little question that the band helps form and shape this music (with Brian Eno adding extra coloring on occasion), while Genesis shines as a group shines on the impressionistic second half. In every way, it's a considerable, lasting achievement and it's little wonder that Peter Gabriel had to leave the band after this record: they had gone as far as they could go together, and could never top this extraordinary album. 5.0 Get this album Genesis lovers

I've been reviewing the Genesis discography recently, and in doing so, I think I've finally realized exactly what made them truly stand out from the other 70s progressive rock bands: the unmistakable atmosphere. yes, Peter Gabriel was an incredible force of personality and blurred the line between "madman" and "genius" (and was a good frontman and flutist to boot). Yes, the technical proficiency of the members was off the charts, keeping in line with several other bands of the time. But if you asked me what truly cemented Genesis as one of the greats of the genre, it's the beautiful and often haunting storybook atmosphere that permeates those old records they crafted with Gabriel and Steve Hackett in the ranks. It's no wonder to me that several neo-prog bands basically took inspiration off this sound, as it's a perfect way of expressing more emotive and sentimental vibes while still being rooted to what people love about progressive rock on a base level. And, having said all of that, I don't think any Genesis record embodies the word "atmosphere" quite like Selling England by the Pound.

Looking at the tracklist, you'll notice that the band decided to ditch the format used by Foxtrot - having one epic song dwarf most of the record - in favor of splitting the album up into four mini-epics, with more concise tracks to fill in the gaps. As much as I loved Foxtrot I can't help but admit that this format was the right move for the band. Having short accessible tracks to separate each complex behemoth really contributes to how easily digestible Selling England can be, as it offers a nice breather between each main event. Plus, hey, those short songs are pretty great too! "More Fool Me" is easily one of my favorite ballad from the Peter Gabriel era of Genesis, even though it was actually sung and penned by drummer-turned-singer and future (disputed) "most hated man in pop" Phil Collins. "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" is probably the trippiest song on the album with a strange psychedelic feel, and yet it was also significant for being the band's first real taste of commercial success single-wise. Finally (excluding "Aisle of Plenty," which is just a reprise of the opener), we've got the stunning guitar work Steve Hackett brings on "After the Ordeal." Playing out as sort of an aftermath to "Battle of Epping Forest," it could be seen as the logical conclusion of the promise heard in "Horizons" from the prior album. The classical guitar work has been further, the solemn atmosphere more effective, and this time Tony Banks even joins in with his own piano parts!

But let's be real, the longer tracks are what this album's all about. "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" might be one of the best openers in progressive rock history (and Genesis already has a fair share of those - look at "Musical Box" or "Watcher of the Skies"). Gabriel's voice is crucial here, as he provides much-needed humanity to the majestic and bombastic instrumental bits. It's important to note that the album's overarching theme is the loss of British culture to Americanization, which is delivered very effectively in the opening lines of "...Moonlit Knight":

Of course, it all becomes even more effective once we're treated to a much faster section in the middle with rapid-fire tapping from Hackett. The song in general goes through so many different moods and cycles but somehow never loses compositional or lyrical focus, which is something that becomes apparent with the rest of the longer tracks on the album. With that in mind, "Firth of Fifth" is primarily dominated by two people: Banks and Hackett. The former gets an incredible piano intro with heavy classical leanings and crazy time shifts, and the latter gets one of the most emotional guitar solos in rock history. The solo is also an example to aspiring musicians that virtuosity isn't everything in guitar playing; just ask David Gilmour. It's also worth noting that Mike Rutherford pulls out some nice bass lines here, especially on the soft break in the middle of the song.

Still, nothing can really prepare the listener for the other two epics, which are probably the most complex and long- winded pieces on the entire album. "The Battle of Epping Forest" is an incredibly wacky and whimsical take on? well, gang violence. Turns out that Peter Gabriel heard about some fight between two gangs in the east end of London, but didn't really know any details outside of that. So what did he do? Create his own characters and scenarios to fill in the blanks! And when you read/hear the lyrics, which are practically a novella, it really shows what an imaginative lyricist and storyteller Gabriel was in his Genesis days. It helps, too, that the music is still top notch. It does get incredibly busy and possibly overbearing at times, but the real treat is the band's knack for using their music to aid the visuals Gabriel creates in his lyrics . I also have to mention that this song has my favorite drum performance of all time; it baffles me how Phil Collins can keep such a comfortable and catchy groove out of a 7/4 time signature, as well as how he weaves in and out of the other instruments with such ease. Then there's "The Cinema Show" which is essentially a tale of two songs: one is a beautiful folk-rock ballad, and the other is the highly complex instrumental piece that follows. Think of it as a precursor to the "Home/Second Home by the Sea" suite we got years later on the self titled album, just pulled off with more imagination and finesse. The real thing to listen for on this song is the incredible vocal interplay between Gabriel and Collins; it really doesn't surprise that Collins would eventually be the next vocalist to take center-stage for Genesis.

Pulling the entire experience together is the production work of John Burns, which is a sizeable leap forward from the sound quality found on previous Genesis efforts. There's much more room for the atmosphere to breathe here, and the more rock-oriented moments don't sound as muddy or one-dimensional as before. In the end, I'm still not entirely sure whether I prefer Selling England by the Pound or Foxtrot, as both albums represent the very best that Genesis has to offer. But in saying that, This one is truly top-shelf progressive rock music. i see why this is in PA's top 5 of all time

This album would be largely responsible for Genesis' eventual break-out in the United States, "Foxtrot" is widely considered one of the undeniable classic of Genesis' discography and of the many prog albums issued in the 1970's. The album as a whole would be a breakthrough album and is incredibly more consistent than such earlier efforts like "From Genesis To Revelation". While the album, or many of Genesis' early albums, is not incredibly singles focused it was still a substantial hit in the U.K. Much of this respect is due to the epic 23 minute opus closing track "Supper's Ready".

"Supper's Ready" bounces seamlessly from time signature to time signature without loosing any of its footing. The opening track, and main single, "Watcher Of The Skies" is very reminiscent of what David Bowie was releasing at the time. "Watcher Of The Skies" is theatrically dark with Tony Banks' opening Mellotron chords and Steve Hackett's chugging guitar work. "Foxtrot's" lyrical conceits are also more colorful, creative and thought provoking than previously seen on a Genesis album, "Get Em" Out By Friday" being one of these due to it's lyrics of urban overspill.

"Foxtrot" is a definite must have for any avid Genesis fans or really anyone for that matter. Please buy this album. It's worth it its one of their essential classics in their catalog.

Recorded in 1971 following the second album "Trespass" . this album would not have previous members John Mayhew and Anthony Phillips This album would be fundamental for later albums adding Steve Hackett and Phil Collins onto the roster. 1.Musical Box (10:24) this track would display more of Peter Gabriel's artistic vision and opens the album strongly. 2.For Absent Friends (1:44) the song tells a pleasant story of a elderly couple on a bench and is the first song to have Phil Collins on vocals. 3.Return of the Giant Hogweed (8:10) this song is very heavy and displays the heavier side of Genesis 4.Seven Stones (5:10)Peter Gabriel does great vocals but is an underrated flutist. 5 and 6 are short tunes "Harold the Barrel" and "Harlequin" are pacing for the final track"The Fountain of Salmacis" 7. The Fountain of Salmacis (7:54) is a very epic track and the highlight is Steve Hacketts excellent guitar solo ending the song and ultimately the album.