Most people, even Genesis fans, would probably describe the band as “weird”. Just do a quick Google image search and you’ll see photos of Peter Gabriel dressed as a fox and venereal disease – enough ammo to debate without hearing anything.
But even in prog, with its odd meter and unconventional song structure, Genesis has always been quirky. Initially, Gabriel used macabre humor and dense word play (see: “The Battle of Epping Woods”), a rare quality in a genre rarely known for its playfulness.
Even as the band evolved into tighter, more radio-friendly songs, they often made moves that no one expected. Check out “Who Dunnit?”: It’s a spicy new wave pop song built around Phil Collins’ funny yet irritating hook, but in context, after so many years of epic and gorgeous arrangements, it’s probably the weirdest song they’ve ever recorded. The list below, like “dinner is ready”, is spreading in several directions. Some of these tracks are weird on a lyrical level, some on an objective musical level, some because Genesis has never tried anything like it.
Genesis successfully tried himself in classical, hard rock, synth-pop, jazz fusion. But a concert hall? Inspired by the carefree style of British artist George Formby, the band ventured into this divisive Spot the Pigeon track, in which Tony Banks’ keyboards jump over Steve Hackett’s static banjo-like strumming. “The essence of ‘Pigeons’ is that a band can play a whole note for one thing: Tintin Tintin,” Hackett noted in 2009. Not exactly hot stuff!
He is bright but dark, hyperactive and intimidating, grinning darkly – there is only one “Harold Barrel”. If the vocals are removed, it’s some kind of modified pop song, with Banksy’s piano rumble and Mike Rutherford’s slippery bass that prefers an octave higher. But singing changed everything. Gabriel and Collins detailed the tragic story of the titular Harold in a cartoon-like chorus speech: he disappeared, climbed high window sills, and performed a “run-jump” that ended up ignoring him when he collected the family’s request.
The rhythm is crazy, and Collins attacks his drum kit with rare fury – until your ears are in tune, you might mistake those quick snare drums for skipping records. “Down and Out” was an exception on Genesis’ ninth album, the most explicit, old-school avant-garde moment of their trio’s entire era. Known for its attempts to recreate this intricacy on stage, the song was only played 38 times.
Banks told director Joel Eckington in 2014: “After the ‘stagnation’ of different emotions (since ‘Invasion’ in the 1970s) we wanted to do something along those lines, but maybe a little more.” “Music Box” is the band’s first full-fledged avant-garde epic and the first step towards weirdness. The music ranges from children’s 12-string wind chimes to pseudo-classical thunder, quiet and loud dynamics that they will explore more boldly. But Gabriel’s words place him in the wacky category, presenting a convoluted Victorian tale full of rapid aging, croquet violence, and macabre sexual harassment.
It takes a lot of weirdness to get Geddy Lee to raise his eyebrows, but this Melatron epic worked out. In 2009, vocalist and bassist Rush told Guitar World, “Music is not about people going out and doing blues solos.” weird guitar riffs. What fascinates me is how these complex parts support each other – and this song. In the hands of a less picky band, “Sky Watchers” could have been an overdriven disaster – Gabriel It’s a miracle that Earl was able to sing seamlessly into Rutherford’s fussy lead beat, but this sci-fi tale with countless twists and turns somehow bled into earlier Genesis classics .
“Plants and animals, take revenge!” In a plot that sounds like a very bad sci-fi movie, this cunning, heavy-handed figure follows a titular plant (often called Heracleum mantegazzianum) as it attempts to destroy humans. The music is strange too, especially when Gabriel turns his voice into an aggressive growl.
Epping Woods drinking game: Shoot every time Gabriel sings a stupid character name or uses a ridiculous accent. (You’ll get drunk halfway through.) This 12-minute song could easily have been a love-or-hate moment in Selling England by the Pounds, limiting the elite-class section to one of the singer’s most tiresome lyrics. , Vanguard craftsmanship. Gabriel was inspired by news of rival London gangs, and his breathless speeches, including introducing us to the likes of Mick Prick, Harold Demour, and Liquid Len, made Epping Forest seem more like a petrified distortion of epic military history. .
There are a few instrumental references in “Lambs on Broadway”, but “Waiting Room” seems more substantial than the description suggests. Though it consists of an impromptu studio riff that begins in a haze of shimmering guitars and synth effects, the song seems fully embodied in the concept – reflecting the band’s goal – to “pass from darkness to light”. It’s the sound of walking through a legitimate haunted house only to appear in a field of sunflowers. “I just think [Lamb Instruments] shows a side of Genesis that everyone forgets about except the hardcore fans – they forgot or never heard of it,” Collins said on the DVD reissue of the album. “It would be great if people could remember that side. It was the same band… that played “Hold My Heart”. … it’s the same mentality.”
Slipper Man Colony is known for its stage performances and Gabriel will be dressed in a grotesque costume covered in bumps. (“Worst of all was the Man in the Slippers, who came in through that inflatable cock, wore that awful outfit, and sometimes got a little stuck on the way out,” Collins recalled in a DVD review of Lamb.) The song is also a mystery. the strangest moments on the ‘Emperor’ concept album, which goes from vibrancy to jagged, edgy funk beats, screaming synth solos, and a host of other fragmented but exciting ideas. That’s before you even think about the lyrics, it swings through a maze of nightmarish scenes and characters (will love those “slubberdegullions”).
Not all 23 minutes are so weird: “Lover’s Leap”, the song’s opening section, is a dramatic cascade of 12-string arpeggios and soft chants – pretty bland by Genesis standards. But Dinner Is Ready, which Gabriel calls a “dream trip” filled with surreal religious imagery, is undoubtedly our top pick – mainly because of its structure, with seven musical pieces grafted into a gripping puzzle. The second half of “Willow Farm” with live piano and vocals precedes the penultimate “9/8 Apocalypse”, one of the darkest and most poignant moments in Genesis history.
Post time: Aug-19-2022