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Intro: Dimitris Kaltsas
The news of the forthcoming Genesis tour, which was rescheduled for April 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, surprised many of us. The reappearance of Banks, Rutherford and Collins for the first time in 14 years is hardly justified if we ignore financial reasons or the incurable nostalgia of some of the band’s fans. The return of the legendary band to the spotlight was the ideal occasion to do something that we would do anyway at some point.
The band formed at Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey in 1967 by pupils Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford and Anthony Phillips, evolved unpredictably and proved to be the one of the most important groups in the history of rock music. The original singer-songwriter / pop-rock style in the late ’60s was quickly combined with great folk elements and transformed into adventurous compositions which defined the early British progressive rock sound, although Genesis was by no means a typical example of the genre.
The arrival of Steve Hackett and Phil Collins skyrocketed the compositional and technical level of the band. Genesis brought theatricality to rock, invested on narrative instrumental parts, identified with the symphonic element and lyricism in rock sound, put the lyrics in the foreground, satirized substantially and timelessly, made records that today may sound dated, but are unsurpassed artistically. They raised the bar unbelievably high with their artistic achievements in the period 1970-76, and managed to be the only top prog band that never did the same thing twice. For too many differenet reasons, what we hear especially in Trespass (1970), Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972), Selling England by the Pound (1973), The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1975) and A Trick of the Tail (1976) will always stand out.
In retrospect, taking a look back to the glorious period of Genesis, i.e. until their second live album (Seconds Out – 1977), the fact that the band’s classic line-up could not have remained stable for long now seems logical. Can you think of any other band with such important personalities who all embarked on such amazing solo careers later on?
The shift in their sound towards more pop and less adventurous forms from the 80s onwards brought commercial success and co-formed an almost completely twofold discography with 15 studio albums from From Genesis to Revelation (1969) to …Calling All Stations… (1997).
We chose our 5 favorite albums and songs of the band. Summing up the opinions of 22 editors, Selling England by the Pound proved to be our favorite album by far, with Nursery Cryme beating Foxtrot by one point for the second place, followed by The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Trespass and A Trick of the Tail.
So, aggregately, the ranking of Genesis albums based on the preferences of the 22 editors of Progrocks.gr is as follows:
| Album | Score | In top-5 | |
| 1 | Selling England by the Pound | 95 | 22 |
| 2 | Nursery Cryme | 68 | 20 |
| 3 | Foxtrot | 67 | 21 |
| 4 | The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | 34 | 13 |
| 5 | Trespass | 28 | 14 |
| 6 | A Trick of the Tail | 27 | 13 |
| 7 | We Can’t Dance | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | Duke | 3 | 2 |
| 9 | Wind and Wuthering | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | And Then There Were Three | 1 | 1 |
(each one of us ranked his/her five most favorite albums. Scores were obtained by assigning to each list no.1 as 5, no.2 as 4 and so on)
Regarding the songs, the result was just as interesting. 32 different songs were included in our top-5 lists, and The Musical Box is our most favorite, followed by Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, Supper’s Ready, Firth of Fifth and The Cinema Show:
| Song | Score | In top-5 | |
| 1 | The Musical Box | 51 | 14 |
| 2 | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | 46 | 13 |
| 3 | Supper’s Ready | 44 | 12 |
| 4 | Firth of Fifth | 35 | 10 |
| 5 | The Cinema Show | 29 | 10 |
| 6 | In the Cage | 15 | 6 |
| 7 | The Knife | 15 | 5 |
| 8 | The Fountain of Salmacis | 11 | 4 |
| 9 | Watcher of the Skies | 9 | 5 |
| 10 | The Battle of Epping Forest | 7 | 2 |
| Albums | Songs | |
| Dimitris Anastasiadis |
Selling England by the Pound | In the Cage |
| Foxtrot | Ripples | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Firth of Fifth | |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| A Trick of the Tail | Mama | |
| Kostas Barbas |
Selling England by the Pound | Firth of Fifth |
| Foxtrot | The Musical Box | |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Trespass | The Cinema Show | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | In the Cage | |
| Vangelis Christodoulou | Nursery Cryme | The Battle of Epping Forest |
| Selling England by the Pound | The Return of the Giant Hogweed | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Dance on a Volcano | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Carpet Crawlers | |
| Foxtrot | Dodo/Lurker | |
| Ilias Goumagias |
Nursery Cryme | I Can’t Dance |
| Trespass | Firth of Fifth | |
| We Can’t Dance | Los Endos | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Musical Box | |
| Selling England by the Pound | The Knife | |
| Paris Gravouniotis |
Selling England by the Pound | Firth of Fifth |
| Foxtrot | The Musical Box | |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Trespass | The Knife | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Dimitris Kaltsas |
Selling England by the Pound | The Musical Box |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Foxtrot | Firth of Fifth | |
| Trespass | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | The Cinema Show | |
| Spyros Konitopoulos |
Selling England by the Pound | The Musical Box |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Foxtrot | Firth of Fifth | |
| Trespass | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Carpet Crawlers | |
| Alexandros Mantas |
Selling England by the Pound | The Cinema Show |
| Nursery Cryme | The Fountain of Salmacis | |
| A Trick of the Tail | Firth of Fifth | |
| Trespass | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Foxtrot | Robbery, Assault and Battery | |
| Christos Minos |
Selling England by the Pound | Supper’s Ready |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | In the Cage | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Cinema Show | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Fountain of Salmacis | |
| Foxtrot | Los Endos | |
| Eleni Panayiotou |
Selling England by the Pound | Man on the Corner |
| A Trick of the Tail | Firth of Fifth | |
| Foxtrot | Land of Confusion | |
| We Can’t Dance | Entangled | |
| And Then There Were Three | Looking for Someone | |
| Petros Papadogiannis |
Selling England by the Pound | The Musical Box |
| Nursery Cryme | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Foxtrot | Supper’s Ready | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | The Cinema Show | |
| Trespass | The Chamber of 32 Rooms | |
| Panos Papazoglou |
Foxtrot | The Musical Box |
| Selling England by the Pound | Supper’s Ready | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Cinema Show | |
| A Trick of the Tail | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Wind and Wuthering | Watcher of the Skies | |
| Thanos Patsos |
Selling England by the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Nursery Cryme | The Cinema Show | |
| Trespass | The Musical Box | |
| Foxtrot | White Mountain | |
| Duke | Looking for Someone | |
| Goran Petrić |
Selling England by the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Nursery Cryme | The Knife | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Musical Box | |
| Foxtrot | Entangled | |
| Trespass | Watcher of the Skies | |
| Tasos Poimenidis |
Foxtrot | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Selling England by the Pound | Supper’s Ready | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Watcher of the Skies | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Cinema Show | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Musical Box | |
| Kostas Rokas |
Selling England by the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Foxtrot | The Musical Box | |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Trespass | The Battle of Epping Forest | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Return of the Giant Hogweed | |
| Thomas Sarakintsis |
Foxtrot | Supper’s Ready |
| Selling England by the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Fountain of Salmacis | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Looking for Someone | |
| Trespass | In the Cage | |
| Lefteris Statharas |
Nursery Cryme | The Musical Box |
| foxtrot | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Trespass | The Knife | |
| Selling England by the Pound | For Absent Friends | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Firth of Fifth | |
| Panagiotis Stathopoulos |
Selling England by the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Foxtrot | Firth of Fifth | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Watcher of the Skies | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Musical Box | |
| Trespass | In the Cage | |
| Alexandros Topintzis |
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | The Knife |
| Foxtrot | Supper’s Ready | |
| Selling England by the Pound | In the Cage | |
| Trespass | The Cinema Show | |
| Nursery Cryme | Squonk | |
| Giannis Voulgaris |
Selling England by the Pound | The Cinema Show |
| Foxtrot | Dance on a Volcano | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Musical Box | |
| Duke | Home by the Sea | |
| Wind and Wuthering | Watcher of the Skies | |
| Giannis Zavradinos |
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | The Lamia |
| Nursery Cryme | Anyway | |
| Selling England by the Pound | Back in N.Y.C. | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Fountain of Salmacis | |
| Foxtrot | Can-Utility and the Coastliners |
Εισαγωγή: Δημήτρης Καλτσάς
Η είδηση της επερχόμενης περιοδείας των Genesis, που αναβλήθηκε λόγω της πανδημίας του κορονοϊού για τον Απρίλιο του 2021, εξέπληξε πολλούς. Η επανεμφάνιση των Banks, Rutherford, Collins για πρώτη φορά μετά από 14 χρόνια δύσκολα δικαιολογείται αν αγνοήσουμε οικονομικούς λόγους ή την αθεράπευτη νοσταλγία ενός μεγάλου μέρους του κοινού διεθνώς. Η επαναφορά του θρυλικού σχήματος στην επικαιρότητα ήταν η ιδανική αφορμή για να κάνουμε κάτι που θα γινόταν έτσι κι αλλιώς κάποια στιγμή.
Αυτό που ξεκίνησε στο Charterhouse School, στο Godalming του Surrey το 1967 από τους μαθητές Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford και Anthony Phillips εξελίχθηκε απρόβλεπτα και αποδείχθηκε πως ήταν η απαρχή μιας από τις σημαντικότερες μπάντες στην ιστορία της rock μουσικής. Το αρχικό singer-songwriter / εγκεφαλικό pop-rock ύφος γρήγορα συνδυάστηκε με υπέροχα folk στοιχεία και μεταμορφώθηκε σε περιπετειώδεις συνθέσεις που όρισαν τον πρώιμο βρετανικό progressive rock ήχο, αν και οι Genesis δεν ήταν καθόλου τυπικό παράδειγμα του είδους.
Η είσοδος του Steve Hackett και του Phil Collins στο συγκρότημα εκτόξευσε τη συνθετική και εκτελεστική ισχύ του σχήματος. Οι Genesis έφεραν την θεατρικότητα στον rock ήχο, απογείωσαν την αφηγηματικότητα στα ορχηστρικά μέρη, ταυτίστηκαν με το συμφωνικό στοιχείο και την λυρικότητα στον rock ήχο, έθεσαν τους στίχους στο προσκήνιο, προβλημάτισαν και σατίρισαν ουσιωδώς και διαχρονικά, έφτιαξαν δίσκους που ακούγονται ηχητικά ξεπερασμένοι, αλλά καλλιτεχνικά είναι αξεπέραστοι. Κι αυτό, γιατί με τα καλλιτεχνικά επιτεύγματά τους στο διάστημα 1970-76 ανέβασαν τον πήχη δυσθεώρητα ψηλά και το κατάφεραν όντας οι μόνοι εκ των κορυφαίων του prog που δεν έκαναν το ίδιο πράγμα δύο φορές. Για διαφορετικούς και πάρα πολλούς λόγους, αυτά που ακούγονται ειδικά στα Trespass (1970), Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972), Selling England by the Pound (1973), The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1975) και A Trick of the Tail (1976) θα μνημονεύονται εσαεί.
Ρίχνοντας σήμερα μια ματιά πίσω στον χρόνο, στην ένδοξη περίοδο των Genesis μέχρι και το δεύτερο live album τους (Seconds Out – 1977), φαντάζει πλέον λογικό το ότι η σύνθεση με την κλασική πεντάδα δεν ήταν δυνατόν να παραμείνει για πολύ χρόνο σταθερή. Υπάρχει, αλήθεια, άλλη μπάντα που να συγκέντρωσε τόσο σημαντικές προσωπικότητες με τέτοιες εκπληκτικές solo καριέρες στη συνέχεια (από όλα τα μέλη);
Η φυσιολογική στροφή στον ήχο τους προς πιο pop και λιγότερο περιπετειώδεις φόρμες από τα 80s και μετά έφεραν την εμπορική επιτυχία και συνδιαμόρφωσαν μία σχεδόν απόλυτα διττή δισκογραφία που μετρά 15 studio albums από το From Genesis to Revelation (1969) έως το …Calling All Stations… (1997). Από αυτά επιλέξαμε τα 5 αγαπημένα μας albums και κομμάτια. Η άθροιση των απόψεων 22 συντακτών μας ανέδειξε το Selling England by the Pound με διαφορά κορυφαίο, με το Nursery Cryme να ξεπερνά στο νήμα το Foxtrot για τη δεύτερη θέση, ενώ ακολούθησαν τα The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Trespass και A Trick of the Tail.
Συγκεντρωτικά λοιπόν, η κατάταξη των albums των Genesis με βάση τς προτιμήσεις των συντακτών του Progrocks.gr έχει ως εξής:
| Δίσκος | Σκορ | Εντός top-5 | |
| 1 | Selling England by the Pound | 95 | 22 |
| 2 | Nursery Cryme | 68 | 20 |
| 3 | Foxtrot | 67 | 21 |
| 4 | The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | 34 | 13 |
| 5 | Trespass | 28 | 14 |
| 6 | A Trick of the Tail | 27 | 13 |
| 7 | We Can’t Dance | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | Duke | 3 | 2 |
| 9 | Wind and Wuthering | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | And Then There Were Three | 1 | 1 |
(οι βαθμολογίες προέκυψαν αντιστοιχίζοντας σε κάθε λίστα το νο. 1 με 5, το νο. 2 με 4 κ.ο.κ. και αθροίζοντας στο τέλος για κάθε δίσκο)
Στα κομμάτια, το αποτέλεσμα ήταν εξίσου εντυπωσιακό. Στις προτιμήσεις μας περιλαμβάνονται 32 διαφορετικά κομμάτια, με κορυφαίο το The Musical Box, ενώ ακολούθησαν με μικρή διαφορά μεταξύ τους τα Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, Supper’s Ready, Firth of Fifth και The Cinema Show:
| Τραγούδι | Σκορ | Εντός top-5 | |
| 1 | The Musical Box | 51 | 14 |
| 2 | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | 46 | 13 |
| 3 | Supper’s Ready | 44 | 12 |
| 4 | Firth of Fifth | 35 | 10 |
| 5 | The Cinema Show | 29 | 10 |
| 6 | In the Cage | 15 | 6 |
| 7 | The Knife | 15 | 5 |
| 8 | The Fountain of Salmacis | 11 | 4 |
| 9 | Watcher of the Skies | 9 | 5 |
| 10 | The Battle of Epping Forest | 7 | 2 |
| Δίσκοι | Τραγούδια | |
| Δημήτρης Αναστασιάδης | Selling England by the Pound | In the Cage |
| Foxtrot | Ripples | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Firth of Fifth | |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| A Trick of the Tail | Mama | |
| Γιάννης Βούλγαρης | Selling England by the Pound | The Cinema Show |
| Foxtrot | Dance on a Volcano | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Musical Box | |
| Duke | Home by the Sea | |
| Wind and Wuthering | Watcher of the Skies | |
| Ηλίας Γουμάγιας |
Nursery Cryme | I Can’t Dance |
| Trespass | Firth of Fifth | |
| We Can’t Dance | Los Endos | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Musical Box | |
| Selling England by the Pound | The Knife | |
| Πάρης Γραβουνιώτης | Selling England by the Pound | Firth of Fifth |
| Foxtrot | The Musical Box | |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Trespass | The Knife | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Γιάννης Ζαβραδινός | The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | The Lamia |
| Nursery Cryme | Anyway | |
| Selling England by the Pound | Back in N.Y.C. | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Fountain of Salmacis | |
| Foxtrot | Can-Utility and the Coastliners | |
| Δημήτρης Καλτσάς | Selling England by the Pound | The Musical Box |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Foxtrot | Firth of Fifth | |
| Trespass | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | The Cinema Show | |
| Σπύρος Κονιτόπουλος | Selling England by the Pound | The Musical Box |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Foxtrot | Firth of Fifth | |
| Trespass | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Carpet Crawlers | |
| Αλέξανδρος Μαντάς | Selling England by the Pound | The Cinema Show |
| Nursery Cryme | The Fountain of Salmacis | |
| A Trick of the Tail | Firth of Fifth | |
| Trespass | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Foxtrot | Robbery, Assault and Battery | |
| Χρήστος Μήνος |
Selling England by the Pound | Supper’s Ready |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | In the Cage | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Cinema Show | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Fountain of Salmacis | |
| Foxtrot | Los Endos | |
| Κώστας Μπάρμπας | Selling England by the Pound | Firth of Fifth |
| Foxtrot | The Musical Box | |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Trespass | The Cinema Show | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | In the Cage | |
| Ελένη Παναγιώτου | Selling England by the Pound | The Musical Box |
| A Trick of the Tail | Supper’s Ready | |
| Foxtrot | The Cinema Show | |
| We Can’t Dance | In the Cage | |
| And Then There Were Three | Looking for Someone | |
| Πέτρος Παπαδογιάννης | Selling England by the Pound | The Musical Box |
| Nursery Cryme | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Foxtrot | Supper’s Ready | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | The Cinema Show | |
| Trespass | The Chamber of 32 Rooms | |
| Πάνος Παπάζογλου | Foxtrot | The Musical Box |
| Selling England by the Pound | Supper’s Ready | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Cinema Show | |
| A Trick of the Tail | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Wind and Wuthering | Watcher of the Skies | |
|
Θάνος |
Selling England by the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Nursery Cryme | The Cinema Show | |
| Trespass | The Musical Box | |
| Foxtrot | White Mountain | |
| Duke | Looking for Someone | |
| Goran Petrić |
Selling England by the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Nursery Cryme | The Knife | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Musical Box | |
| Foxtrot | Entangled | |
| Trespass | Watcher of the Skies | |
| Τάσος Ποιμενίδης |
Foxtrot | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Selling England by the Pound | Supper’s Ready | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Watcher of the Skies | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Cinema Show | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Musical Box | |
| Κώστας Ρόκας |
Selling England by the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Foxtrot | The Musical Box | |
| Nursery Cryme | Supper’s Ready | |
| Trespass | The Battle of Epping Forest | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Return of the Giant Hogweed | |
| Θωμάς Σαρακίντσης | Foxtrot | Supper’s Ready |
| Selling England by the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Fountain of Salmacis | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Looking for Someone | |
| Trespass | In the Cage | |
| Λευτέρης Σταθάρας | Nursery Cryme | The Musical Box |
| foxtrot | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight | |
| Trespass | The Knife | |
| Selling England by the Pound | For Absent Friends | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Firth of Fifth | |
| Παναγιώτης Σταθόπουλος | Selling England By the Pound | Dancing with the Moonlit Knight |
| Foxtrot | Firth of Fifth | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Watcher of the Skies | |
| Nursery Cryme | The Musical Box | |
| Trespass | In the Cage | |
| Αλέξανδρος Τοπιντζής | The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | The Knife |
| Foxtrot | Supper’s Ready | |
| Selling England by the Pound | In the Cage | |
| Trespass | The Cinema Show | |
| Nursery Cryme | Squonk | |
| Βαγγέλης Χριστοδούλου | Nursery Cryme | The Battle of Epping Forest |
| Selling England by the Pound | The Return of the Giant Hogweed | |
| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | Dance on a Volcano | |
| A Trick of the Tail | The Carpet Crawlers | |
| Foxtrot | Dodo/Lurker |
