The Genesis poll

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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
Πάτσος

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