I was wondering if maybe people wouldn’t want me to post this, but I figure this is the world we live in and these are the memes we’re given.
I was wondering if maybe people wouldn’t want me to post this, but I figure this is the world we live in and these are the memes we’re given.
People like to split Genesis into Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins eras, but the truth is that Genesis should be split into Steve Hackett vs Tony Banks. Hackett’s departure from Genesis was the final nail in the Genesis prog-coffin and it’s when the band started shifting from prog to pop.
The composition shift becomes obvious when you compare The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering with albums like …And Then There Were Three, ABACAB and Duke. The former group, consisting of a “Gabriel” album + the first two “Collins” albums, sound very similar; enough so that I’ve seen people mistakenly associate Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering with Gabriel despite being voiced by Phil Collins. This is because Hackett’s guitar was still present and Gabriel, planning for the possibility of his departure, had been singing with Collins backing him, so the vocal shift wasn’t as obvious.
Meanwhile, the latter group (…and Then There Were Three, ABACAB and Duke) came after Hackett’s departure and are much more synth driven. Furthermore, they begin to shift to a more pop-driven sound as Tony Banks’ synths take over and no longer need to share the soundstage with Hackett’s guitar.
As such, the Gabriel-Collins debate is misframed and should instead be Hackett-Banks.
That said, I thoroughly enjoy most of Genesis’ releases, even including Invisible Touch and We Can’t Dance (though I’ve never tried to listen to From Genesis to Revelation or Calling All Stations). Treat Hackett and Banks’ albums like separate bands that just coincidentally happen to share the same name and band members, and you’ll enjoy them way more.
Patrick Bateman, is that you?
You may possibly have taken my joke slightly too seriously.
Not really, Genesis was one of my favorite bands growing up, and they still have some of my favorite albums. I knew it was just a meme, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to share my opinion on the Gabriel vs Collins debate lol
As a fellow prog enjoyer, you’re all good and I appreciate you sharing your own insight on the Genesis eras.
Patrick Bateman energy.
Just saw an interview with Peter Gabriel where he said people come up to him almost daily and tell him how they much they loved Trick of the Tail. He just had this defeated look on his face when he said he had to keep telling them that was Phil and not him.
However, you may be overestimating the impact of Hackett’s departure on their shift to pop. Genesis the band was deeply in debt by that point and they really had to make the shift to more accessible pop in order to become profitable. Additionally, this was a time when all of the prog rockers (except Robert Fripp) were selling out: Asia (supergroup formed from Yes, King Crimson and ELP), ELP themselves (with their hilariously awful Love Beach album) and later Yes with 90125.
Many years ago, I had the pleasure of being at a table at a con next to the late Richard Hatch. The con was pretty disappointing in terms of turn-out, so I kept him cracking up all day.
When people came up to his table and go, “you’re uh… uh…” I would lean over to them and say quietly something like, “don’t call him Dirk Benedict. He hates that.” or “You know! Faceman from The A-Team!”
Thanks for bringing up a fun memory.
I ain’t reading all of that but here’s an upvote