Written by Thomas Schrage

Genesis‘ first album was not called Trespass but From Genesis To Revelation. Many fans tend to count it as their zeroeth album. It shows no or at best only the most minuscule traces of the style that would make them well-known later, and therefore frequently meets with a refusal and lack of affection. Justly so?

The band did not have the line-up they got known with yet. One could say they did not even exist. They came together to record demo-tapes in the first place. All of them knew each other from Charterhouse public school. The songwriter team Rutherford and Anthony Phillips asked Tony Banks to play the piano for them; Banks only agreed if he could bring his songwriting partner Peter Gabriel to record a song. Soon they were convinced that Gabriel’s voice sounded better than Phillips’ so he ended up singing on all the songs.

When he did not sing, Phillips played the guitar, a position he would retain up to Trespass. Initially, the drums were played by one Chris Stewart, though the drumming on the album would be done by John Silver. The drummer’s stool would not be filled permanently until Phil Collins joined Genesis. Only with him did the band find someone who was accepted as a full member and could incorporate himself.

These boys (most of them were around 17 at the time) managed to land a record contract with Jonjo Music in August 1967. That only meant that a single would be released. King was an alumnus of Charterhouse and had had quite a successful hit with Everyone’s Gone To The Moon. A shallow pop song though that may have been, he nevertheless seemed to be a person of success and influence, and they found it very promising that they could have him produce them.

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The year was 1969. Among the many discoveries made that year was something called "the import record" - albums from England that were either different from those released here, or just plain never released in Athens.

I remember pulling together a stack of domestic promotional albums and heading to a downtown rendezvous, near Acropolis to a place called Plaka, where in a small records shop they were traded for a decidedly smaller stack of imports. One of them was a little item that had a black cover with gold lettering proclaiming FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION. It was the first effort of a British group that couldn't decide on their name, although the music was much more decisive - I immediately vowed to become a fan once they figured out what to call themselves....

Genesis Group Members
Peter Brian Gabriel Gemesis 1970 - 1975

Peter Brian Gabriel

BORN: February 13, 1950, London, England
As the leader of Genesis in the early '70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. In his solo career, Gabriel was no less ambitious, but he was more subtle in his methods.
Anthony George Banks Gemesis 1970 - 1975

Anthony George Banks

BORN: March 27th, 1950, East Sussex, England
Tony Banks started his career with Genesis in 1967 as the pianist/keyboardist, after the emergence of the Charterhouse School Bands The Garden Wall, which Tony was a member,..
Michael John Rutherford Gemesis 1970 - 1975

Michael John Rutherford

BORN: October 2nd, 1950, Guildford, Surrey, England
A founding member of the long-running art-rock band Genesis, Mike Rutherford also made the occasional excursion into solo projects, most notably the pop combo Mike + the Mechanics.
Phillip David Charles Collins Gemesis 1970 - 1975

Phillip David Charles Collins

BORN: January 31, 1951, Chiswick, London, England
Phil Collins' ascent to the status of one of the most successful pop and adult-contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond was probably as much of a surprise to him as it was to many others.
Steven Richard Hackett Gemesis 1970 - 1975

Steven Richard Hackett

BORN: February 12th, 1951, England
Formerly a member of various minor bands, including Canterbury Glass, Heel Pier, Sarabande and Quiet World, the latter releasing a solitary album on Dawn Records in 1970, Hackett joined Genesis as guitarist in early 1971.

March 16th, 2015 By Jim Laugelli

I could have very easily chosen a number of other Genesis albums but I decided on this one simply because it features what is perhaps the most significant song in all of progressive rock: “Supper’s Ready.” My introduction to Genesis occurred 41 years ago and had one of the most profound impacts on my personal musical journey. On that night, in May of 1974, a friend asked if I wanted to see a concert. He had a few extra tickets for a Genesis show and no one to join him. I never heard of the band and for some reason thought they were probably some sort of acoustic act. As far as I recall, my friend knew little about the band as well. I believe someone just gave him the tickets. With nothing better to do I decided to check it out. When we arrived at the venue and had taken our seats I remember my curiosity ratcheting up when the pre-concert music over the P.A. was Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. This signaled to me that I was probably going to hear something unexpected. Sure enough, when the lights went down and the crowd quieted, the opening chords to “Watcher Of The Skies” begins. I immediately leaned forward in my seat totally consumed by the sound of the mellotron.

As that instrument eases, the staccato rhythm of the bass begins and in the darkness a pair eyes appear, they seem to be searching, radiating, only to reveal a figure in a cape with bat wings wrapped around his head. The vocals then begin and until the end of the show I remain completely and utterly captivated. My mind was officially blown. It was a revelation. I left that show a changed person. This was music that went beyond my imagination. It was presented like theater, it told stories. In fact, before many songs, Gabriel told surreal little tales as a way of introducing the tunes. The next day I bought Foxtrot, and then Selling England By The Pound, Nursery Cryme and Trespass all in short order. I immersed myself in their music.

Foxtrot begins the band’s high point of three consecutive outstanding albums. It was released in 1972, a banner year for progressive rock that also saw the release of Close To The Edge by Yes, Thick As A Brick from Jethro Tull, Trilogy by ELP, Three Friends from Gentle Giant and a slew of other incredible records. For Genesis, Foxtrot saw them tackle ideas they started with their two previous releases, Trespass and Nursery Cryme. The level of complexity in song structure, the emphasis on theatricality and drama, storytelling and extended song form all reached a new level of sophistication on Foxtrot.

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1967 - 1975
Discography Comments Compiled by Ikon Designing

Discography Comments

Aside from a portion of the box set, this is the only commercially available live document of vintage Gabriel-era Genesis.
Official Album Releases Compiled by Ikon Designing

Official Album Releases

That's it. Genesis' most ambitious work to date that ultimately led to the shock departure of their much loved singer Peter Gabriel.
Genesis Album Artwork Compiled by Ikon Designing

Genesis Album Artwork

The painterly texture of the album art is a very nuanced addition to the artwork., but with a plain light yellow-tan border, the artwork itself can feel a bit drab.
Jonathan King and the Name Compiled by Ikon Designing

Jonathan King and the Name

In 1963 Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks met at Charterhouse, a boarding-school, that layed in the English county Surrey in the middle 1960s.
Before Phil Compiled by Ikon Designing

Before Phil

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away. . . England, I think it was called. . . There lived four young men. . Their names were Ant Phillips, Michael Rutherford, Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel.
The Glory Years Compiled by Ikon Designing

The Glory Years

While recovering from this, he began writing Genesis' most ambitious project to date, "Supper's Ready," a 23-minute masterpiece
Touch of the Jaggers Compiled by Ikon Designing

Touch of the Jaggers

On every level the band transcend any kind of expected performance standard. Musically they are so proficient they make that part of the job look like a secondary exercise.
Man behind the Mask Compiled by Ikon Designing

Man behind the Mask

Genesis obviously differ from the dressed-up 12-bar that most bands unravel. And because of these very differences, the band have been slated over over their motives.
Hall of Mutant King Compiled by Ikon Designing

Hall of Mutant King

Lifeless was the performance of leader Peter Gabriel; the protagonist's name is Rael so it's surely no accident that Gabriel is a Roger Daltry sound alike.

How Sony joined forces with Done & Dusted and Peter Gabriel to record the artist’s latest Back to Front: So LIVE tour in 4K

Sony broke new ground when it helped Peter Gabriel create a 4K recording of his Back to Front: So LIVE tour at the O₂ in London last autumn.
The aim of Gabriel’s concert tour was to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of his landmark So album, so it was important that the Back to Front: So LIVE recording was captured in the best quality to preserve it for future generations.
Mike Large, COO at Peter Gabriel’s music company Real World, reveals that Gabriel was determined to make a recording which would be innovative and which would stand the test of time.
“Peter has always looked for the best technology to immerse his audience in the show and the music, and 4K is the next step on that journey.” says Large.
One of the biggest live multi-camera 4K recordings to date, the concert was shot on Sony PMW-F55 cameras by production company Done & Dusted and ERP Productions supported by outside broadcast company CTV.

Benefits of 4K RAW

CTV international business director Bill Morris confirms that Peter Gabriel specifically wanted the concert to be captured uncompressed in 4K RAW quality to give the best possible end result.
“We have worked with Done & Dusted and Peter Gabriel on many concerts and have found that Peter has always wanted to push the envelope,” says Morris, who adds that Sony’s technical expertise and knowledge was a key factor in making the shoot a success.
“Sony advised us on the best way to use the F55s on live camera rigs and on designing a 4K workflow to get the 4K RAW files into post.”
“We couldn’t have done it without Sony’s support,” adds Morris. “Not only did Sony provide a huge amount of pre-production support, but the company also provided us with specialist knowhow which we wouldn’t have been able to source anywhere else during that time,” he reveals.
In terms of workflow the F55 cameras were used in combination with Sony AXS-R5 recorders with the highest quality RAW footage recorded onto high capacity ASXM cards while SxS memory cards were used to record HD proxies, with hire company On Sight providing DIT services.
The cameras were linked in HD back to the truck via Fibre with that footage used for the live cut big screen version broadcast at the O₂. It also acted as the guide cut for the 4K version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6h0Vi5ELdI

Maximising ROI

Sony's head of business development for 4K Mark Grinyer recalls that by shooting 4K on the F55 Done & Dusted was able to produce multiple versions of the concert.
“For the producers, shooting 4K means the maximum return on investment,” explains Grinyer. “Done & Dusted was able to make three versions of the show; a live HD version for the big screens at the venue which was also used as a guide cut for the edit, a 4K master for cinemas and archive, and a down converted HD version of the 4K master for Blu-ray.”
CTV’s Morris adds that the other big advantage of 4K RAW capture was that the editors had the best possible picture quality for post production, which meant that much more could be done with the images.
“In the edit, the RAW footage gives you a huge amount of creative control to manipulate and adjust the images and grade – which is the best way to produce a master which will stand up to scrutiny for the next 25 years,” says Morris.

   

 

Challenging lighting

On Back to Front, the F55 was a particularly useful camera because it has a sensor with very wide dynamic range, explains Morris.
“This meant it could cope with a wide range of lighting conditions presented by the concert’s three main sets.”
“The F55 was able to cope with all of these different conditions, which was essential as there were no gaps in the concert for set changes that could be used to tweak the camera set up.”
A great camera for low light, the F55 also enables productions to capture a single sensor film style look in a live production environment.
Other benefits are that the camera is comparatively light and has a small form factor. Plus it can easily be configured with a recorder or camera adapter back end, and its cost falls well within the budget range of high-end live event production.

Says Morris: “I think that the F55 is closing the gap between traditional film and OB acquisition. It will definitely be the tool of choice for 4K music and entertainment acquisition going forward, an area where we are getting a lot of enquiries with producers more and more interested in 4K.”

With a theatrical and a Blu-ray version of the O₂ recording expected soon, it won't be long before Peter Gabriel fans will be able to see the benefits of 4K recording for themselves.

Peter Gabriel - So Anniversary Tour - Live from London

Back to Front was a two-year concert tour by Peter Gabriel, a retrospective performance based on every song from his 1986 multi-platinum album So played in sequence.The backing band included musicians that Gabriel toured with in 1986–1987 in support of the album's initial release.

Each night of the tour was recorded and released both separately and as part of a box set entitled Back to Front: Encore Series. The releases were limited editions and available exclusively from Gabriel's official website.

On 23 June 2014, Real World Records and Eagle Rock Entertainment released the live album and film Back to Front: Live in London, recorded at the O2 concerts.

Peter Gabriel: Vocals, Keyboards
Tony Levin: Bass
David Rhodes: Guitars
David Sancious: Keyboards
Manu Katché: Drums
Jennie Abrahamson: Vocals / Background Vocals
Linnea Olsson: Background Vocals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN4jA_GpYWw

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