Genesis (band): Difference between revisions

Genesis (band) (view source)

Revision as of 21:24, October 3, 2021

9,910 bytes added , 2 years ago

no edit summary

VisualWikitext

Johnrdorazio

Bureaucrats, Interface administrators, Administrators

2,354

edits

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 With between 100 million and 150 million albums sold worldwide, Genesis are one of the world's [[wikipedia:List of best-selling music artists|best-selling music artists]]. Their [[wikipedia:Genesis discography|discography]] includes 15 studio and six live albums. They have won numerous [[wikipedia:List of awards and nominations received by Genesis|awards]] (including a [[wikipedia:Grammy Award|Grammy Award]] for [[wikipedia:Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video|Best Concept Music Video]] with "[[wikipedia:Land of Confusion|Land of Confusion]]") and have inspired a number of [[wikipedia:tribute band|tribute band]]s recreating Genesis shows from various stages of the band's career. In 2010, Genesis were inducted into the [[wikipedia:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]].
+== Biblical references ==
+=== Name of the band ===
+The names of the band "Genesis" is a reference to the biblical book of Genesis, which gives an account of Creation.
+=== From Genesis to Revelation ===
+'''''From Genesis to Revelation''''' is the debut studio album by English rock band [[wikipedia:Genesis (band)|Genesis]], released on 7 March 1969 on [[wikipedia:Decca Records|Decca Records]]. The album originated from a collection of demos recorded in 1967 while the members of Genesis were pupils of [[wikipedia:Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]] in Godalming, Surrey. It caught the attention of [[wikipedia:Jonathan King|Jonathan King]] who named the group, organised deals with his publishing company and Decca, and studio time at Regent Sound Studios to record a series of singles and a full album. A string section arranged and conducted by [[wikipedia:Arthur Greenslade|Arthur Greenslade]] was added later on some songs. By the time Genesis had finished recording, [[wikipedia:John Silver (musician)|John Silver]] had replaced original drummer [[wikipedia:Chris Stewart (author)|Chris Stewart]].
+The name of the album is a reference to the first and last books of the Bible.
+==== Track listing ====
+All songs written by [[Tony Banks (musician)|Tony Banks]], [[Peter Gabriel]], [[Anthony Phillips]], and [[Mike Rutherford]].<ref name=1969LP/>
+{{Track listing
+| headline        = Side one
+| title1          = Where the Sour Turns to Sweet
+| length1         = 3:14
+| title2          = In the Beginning
+| length2         = 3:42
+| title3          = Fireside Song
+| length3         = 4:16
+| title4          = The Serpent
+| length4         = 4:36
+| title5          = Am I Very Wrong?
+| length5         = 3:28
+| title6          = In the Wilderness
+| length6         = 3:21
+}}
+{{Track listing
+| headline        = Side two
+| title7          = The Conqueror
+| length7         = 3:44
+| title8          = In Hiding
+| length8         = 2:56
+| title9          = One Day
+| length9         = 3:16
+| title10          = Window
+| length10         = 3:53
+| title11          = In Limbo
+| length11         = 3:06
+| title12          = [[wikipedia:The Silent Sun|Silent Sun]]
+| length12         = 2:08
+| title13          = A Place to Call My Own
+| length13         = 1:57
+}}
+Track 2 "In the beginning" is a reference to the first words of the [[wikipedia:Book of Genesis|Book of Genesis]].
+Track 4 "The Serpent" is a reference to the devil's appearance to Eve in the garden of Eden under the form of a serpent, to lure her into tasting of the forbidden fruit in defiance to God's instructions.
+=== Supper's Ready ===
+A recorded version appeared on their 1972 album ''[[wikipedia:Foxtrot (album)|Foxtrot]]'', and the band performed the song regularly on stage for several years following this. Live versions appear on the albums ''[[wikipedia:Genesis Live 1973–2007#Live at the Rainbow (CD/DVD)|Live at the Rainbow]]'' recorded in 1973, ''[[wikipedia:Seconds Out|Seconds Out]]'' recorded in 1977, the compilation ''[[wikipedia:Genesis Archive 1967–75|Genesis Archive 1967–75]]'', and the box set ''[[wikipedia:Genesis Live 1973–2007|Genesis Live 1973–2007]]''. A reworked version also appears on [[wikipedia:Steve Hackett|Steve Hackett]]'s 2012 album ''[[wikipedia:Genesis Revisited II|Genesis Revisited II]]'' and its accompanying live albums ''Genesis Revisited: Live at Hammersmith'' and ''Genesis Revisited: Live at Royal Albert Hall''.
+In an interview, [[wikipedia:Peter Gabriel|Peter Gabriel]] summed up "Supper's Ready" as "a personal journey which ends up walking through scenes from [[wikipedia:Book of Revelation|Revelation]] in the Bible... I'll leave it at that".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thatericalper.com/2013/12/22/peter-gabriels-isolated-vocal-from-genesis-suppers-ready/ |title=Peter Gabriel's Isolated Vocal from Genesis' "Supper's Ready" |last=Alper |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Alper |date=December 22, 2013 |website=That Eric Alper |access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/the-100-best-classic-progressive-rock-songs-part-5-20-1-2495396221.html?rebelltpage=2 |title=The 100 Best Classic Progressive Rock Songs: Part 5, 20-1 |last=Murphy |first=Sean |date=March 31, 2017 |website=[[wikipedia:PopMatters|PopMatters]] |access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref> He was also quoted in the book ''I Know What I Like'' by [[wikipedia:Armando Gallo|Armando Gallo]] as saying that the song was influenced by an experience his wife had of sleeping in a purple room, and the nightmares it gave her.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AVQbF9lTBwgC&pg=PA290 |title=The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition |date=2007 |publisher=Canongate Books |isbn=9781847676436 |page=290}}</ref><ref>Peter Gabriel in radio interview on the programme "Rockline", 92.3FM KROCK, NYC, 16 June 1986.</ref> [[wikipedia:AllMusic|AllMusic]] has described the song as the band's "undisputed masterpiece".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/song/suppers-ready-mt0006960684 |title= Song Review by François Couture |publisher=AllMusic |first=Francois |last=Couture |access-date=23 January 2016}}</ref>
+==== Sections ====
+===== I: "Lover's Leap" (0:00 – 3:47) =====
+This section features a gentle [[wikipedia:arpeggio|arpeggiated]] [[wikipedia:guitar|guitar]] backing (with Hackett, Banks and Rutherford all playing [[wikipedia:12-string guitars|12-string guitars]]), soft electric piano ([[wikipedia:Hohner|Hohner]] [[wikipedia:pianet|pianet]]), [[wikipedia:bass pedals|bass pedals]], [[wikipedia:cello|cello]] and [[wikipedia:flute|flute]], and a section with folky three part vocal harmonies sung by Gabriel and Collins (which omit the third note of the chord). The only percussion used and played by Collins is triangle, cymbals, and bells.
+Lyrically it tells of a man returning home after a long time to be greeted by his lover, and mentions [[wikipedia:supernatural|supernatural]] imagery ("six saintly shrouded men"), which Gabriel claims relate to a genuine spiritual experience which occurred with himself, his wife Jill and producer [[wikipedia:John Anthony (record producer)|John Anthony]]. According to Gabriel, during a late-night conversation, his wife began speaking with a completely different voice. Gabriel held up a makeshift [[wikipedia:cross|cross]] out of a candlestick and another household item, and Jill reacted violently; (in [[wikipedia:Armando Gallo|Armando Gallo]]'s book, ''I Know What I Like'', Gabriel mentions that his wife had reacted badly to sleeping in a room with purple walls, purple being 'very high in the colour spectrum'). Jill was eventually calmed down and taken to bed, but neither Peter nor John Anthony slept that night. On another occasion, also late at night, Gabriel looked out of the window of his wife's parents' house to see what he perceived to be an entirely different lawn, across which seven shrouded men were walking.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_o8BDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|title=Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion|last=Bowman|first=Durrell|date=2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781442252004|page=29}}</ref> Gabriel recounted that these experiences led him to contemplate notions of good, evil, and the supernatural, and eventually inspired the lyrics to "Supper's Ready".
+===== II: "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man" (3:48 – 5:43) =====
+Banks composed the chord progression whilst still at University. When performing the song live, Gabriel would don a "[[wikipedia:crown of thorns|crown of thorns]]" headpiece at this point. The piece segues into the next with a "Lover's Leap" reprise.
+The programme describes this section as follows: "The lovers come across a town dominated by two characters; one a benevolent farmer and the other the head of a highly disciplined scientific religion. The latter likes to be known as 'The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man' and claims to contain a secret new ingredient capable of fighting fire. This is a falsehood, an untruth, a whopper, and a taradiddle, or to put it in clearer terms; a lie."
+===== III: "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men" (5:44 – 9:42) =====
+This section is much more dynamic than the previous two, with lively drumming from Collins, an elegiac electric guitar solo played by Hackett, and a lot of interplay between Hackett's guitar and Banks’ organ (including a section with fast organ and guitar arpeggios, Hackett employing the "[[wikipedia:tapping|tapping]]" style of playing). The lyrics refer to a battle of some sort, presumably involving [[wikipedia:Akhenaten|Ikhnaton]].
+The programme spells "Itsacon" as "Its-a-con". It describes this section as follows: "Who the lovers see clad in greys and purples, awaiting to be summoned out of the ground. At the G.E.S.M's command, they put forth from the bowels of the earth, to attack all those without an up-to-date 'Eternal Life Licence', which were obtainable at the head office of the G.E.S.M.'s religion."
+===== IV: "How Dare I Be So Beautiful?" (9:43 – 11:04) =====
+This is a slow and gentle section, the only instrumentation being treated acoustic [[wikipedia:piano|piano]] chords, each chord being faded-in on the recording, thus losing the piano's characteristic attack and sounding more like an organ (it was done on Hammond organ live). The title is a catchphrase used by the band's early music-business contact, [[wikipedia:Jonathan King|Jonathan King]]. The lyrics deal with the aftermath of the preceding battle, and referring to the Greek myth of [[wikipedia:Narcissus (mythology)|Narcissus]], who turned into a flower.
+The programme describes this section as follows: "In which our intrepid heroes investigate the aftermath of the battle and discover a solitary figure, obsessed by his own image. They witness an unusual transmutation, and are pulled into their own reflections in the water."