FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION

I first encountered From Genesis to Revelation about the same time I became a big Genesis fan in the first place, in '78 at the time And Then There Were Three came out. At the time, I was able to get exposure to the whole catalog. Certainly, my least favorite from the discography so far, back then. Still, I've always regarded as part of the family. It really shows the promise and potential that Gabriel, Banks, Rutherford, and Phillips had for the future as musicians. Also , quite a good effort in it it's own right, considering the age of thes guys. Maybe as time has gone by and a lot more music has entered my life, this material has been diminished a bit, but too much. I won't speak too much about the music. Because there are so many reviews that already go into detail.

The current CD version in my collection was sort of fast one by Decca released in 1987 to capitalize on the fame of the band at the time. They titled it And The Word Was.. Some bonus tracks were provided, but they sandwiched the main album between them, which I consider wrong, but I was glad to get it just to complete my old Genesis collection (I think I bought it early '90's). It starts out with a mono version of Silent Sun, which I wouldn't really rate a "bonus". That's Me follows, which was the B side of the single, no orchestrations on that one, I really like it.

They did leave LP's tracks in proper order. The music is a nice combination of mellow and harder tracks. It has a lot of progressive elements to it and yet still has one foot stuck in some of the '60's sound. The last two tracks on the CD are from their second single demonstrate this in particular. But I think songs on the album really are musically half way to Trespass.

The album certainly is an essential for any big Genesis fan and an excellent addition for those of the '70's era band. It's not a masterpiece of progressive as much as a historical artifact, that may or may not be of interest to the average prog fan. If you're in the latter category be sure to try it before you buy it. I give it the benefit of the round up.

Footnote: There's a really good version of In the Beginning on a tribute album called The Fox Lies Down performed by Mother Gong. Yes, that Gong.