<p>sychotic <c>hicken
2008-09-06 20:45:27 UTC
Genesis were the band that lived twice. They have two lots of fans and
I would imagine few original fans that started with them in 1966 and
stayed with them until the nineties.
The first Genesis were heavily inspired by weirdo Peter Gabriel and sang
involved songs about strange things that most bands would have shied
away from. They developed a strong following among students and arty
types and the weirdness reached its height in the classic album "The
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway".
Suddenly Gabriel, seemingly on a whim decided to leave the band at the
height of its success. The remaining members were stuck with a very
difficult quandary. The bands muse was gone but they still had a lot of
loyal fans .. how could they salvage their careers.
So was born Genesis Mark II with Phil Collins as the lead singer. The
new bands first venture was a classic that would have kept many of the
old fans happy. "A Trick of the Tail" combined fresh and weird ideas
with greater musical dexterity and fine details. The band looked as
though their careers were safe as the album was a big hit. But
gradually with each successive album the weirdness was toned down as the
band moved into more soft rock and chart hit territory. Soon the band
that would have died if labelled "commercial" was commercial in spades
and a lot of new fans came onboard while a lot of old ones left. And so
it continued for the next 15 years ... aided greatly by Phil Collins
reinventing himself as a popular chart singer in his own right.
Genesis - The Platinum Collection is almost 4 hours of Genesis music on
3 CDs from their 30 year history. Surprisingly there is nothing on it
from the first Genesis album. The emphasis of the album is on the later
poppy incarnation of the band. Two CDs feature Collins singing MOR
songs about love to the delight of simple minded teenagers and
non-discerning adults who probably don't much care what plays on the
radio so long as it takes their minds off their troubles. There is so
much space to be filled on these 2 disks that album tracks from
practically unlistenable albums are included on them. Pointless
warblings on love that never made consideration for the mass marketing
boys.
The good stuff ... the Gabriel songs ... are buried together on CD3.
Clearly the original fans can just toss away the first two CDs in order
to listen to the classic collection of early Genesis on this
afterthought disk. Nobody will be happy with the complete package and
feeling about the band are as polarised as ever they were. I imagine
this newsgroup has two warring factions who don't see eye to eye about
the band. I guess that is what you have to put up with if you reach a
critical peak too soon and then find you have nowhere to go but to
become something you used to shun, or at least ... represent the
opposite of.
Genesis ... two bands .. one greatest hits collection. Thankfully
however I bought mine at a boot fair for a pound so I didn't have to pay
through the nose for all the dreck that is also on it.
Bill Jillians
I would imagine few original fans that started with them in 1966 and
stayed with them until the nineties.
The first Genesis were heavily inspired by weirdo Peter Gabriel and sang
involved songs about strange things that most bands would have shied
away from. They developed a strong following among students and arty
types and the weirdness reached its height in the classic album "The
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway".
Suddenly Gabriel, seemingly on a whim decided to leave the band at the
height of its success. The remaining members were stuck with a very
difficult quandary. The bands muse was gone but they still had a lot of
loyal fans .. how could they salvage their careers.
So was born Genesis Mark II with Phil Collins as the lead singer. The
new bands first venture was a classic that would have kept many of the
old fans happy. "A Trick of the Tail" combined fresh and weird ideas
with greater musical dexterity and fine details. The band looked as
though their careers were safe as the album was a big hit. But
gradually with each successive album the weirdness was toned down as the
band moved into more soft rock and chart hit territory. Soon the band
that would have died if labelled "commercial" was commercial in spades
and a lot of new fans came onboard while a lot of old ones left. And so
it continued for the next 15 years ... aided greatly by Phil Collins
reinventing himself as a popular chart singer in his own right.
Genesis - The Platinum Collection is almost 4 hours of Genesis music on
3 CDs from their 30 year history. Surprisingly there is nothing on it
from the first Genesis album. The emphasis of the album is on the later
poppy incarnation of the band. Two CDs feature Collins singing MOR
songs about love to the delight of simple minded teenagers and
non-discerning adults who probably don't much care what plays on the
radio so long as it takes their minds off their troubles. There is so
much space to be filled on these 2 disks that album tracks from
practically unlistenable albums are included on them. Pointless
warblings on love that never made consideration for the mass marketing
boys.
The good stuff ... the Gabriel songs ... are buried together on CD3.
Clearly the original fans can just toss away the first two CDs in order
to listen to the classic collection of early Genesis on this
afterthought disk. Nobody will be happy with the complete package and
feeling about the band are as polarised as ever they were. I imagine
this newsgroup has two warring factions who don't see eye to eye about
the band. I guess that is what you have to put up with if you reach a
critical peak too soon and then find you have nowhere to go but to
become something you used to shun, or at least ... represent the
opposite of.
Genesis ... two bands .. one greatest hits collection. Thankfully
however I bought mine at a boot fair for a pound so I didn't have to pay
through the nose for all the dreck that is also on it.
Bill Jillians
--
<p>sychotic <c>hicken
http://crass.on.ru/bin/upload/files/mp3/Trashmen-Surfin::Bird.mp3
Friends intervene on Friends.
Something seems to be seriously wrong with my computer. It is working!
<p>sychotic <c>hicken
http://crass.on.ru/bin/upload/files/mp3/Trashmen-Surfin::Bird.mp3
Friends intervene on Friends.
Something seems to be seriously wrong with my computer. It is working!