Genesis

Wind and Wuthering

Stevie's Swan Song - some History

Review Score:

(8/10)
So why DID Steve Hackett leave Genesis? Because they didn't give him enough input in the songwriting, and he wanted the band to move more into the progressive direction, while the rest of the band wanted to become more accessible. Listen to "Voyage of the Acolyte" (Hackett's first and most progressive solo effort) and listen to his tunes on W&W and you'll hear his influence clearly. They are very different from the rest of the tunes, which are very much Tony/Phil/Mike. To understand, it must be noted that almost all Genesis music was written by Tony, Phil and Mike in jam sessions. They would take these ideas and arrange them into songs. Steve Hackett would then add his parts. Last, the entire completed music would be left for Gabriel to write his words and melodies to. Banks said that he got chills when in the studio he heard Gabriel singing the "666" part on Supper's Ready for the first time. The reason Gabriel left is because he was asked to, the rest of Genesis feeling that they were not getting enough credit for the music. The Lamb shows this in the Gabriel-penned tune Counting out Time, arguably the most catchy and commercially viable Gabriel/Genesis tune, and very reminiscent of what would appear in Gabriel's first solo album. Up to this point, writing credits on their albums always said "All tunes by all", or "Written by Genesis". Gabriel was given credit for this tune on the album, also Brian Eno (!) makes an appearance on the Gabriel-Eno collaboration "Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging". Anyhow, after PG left, Phil reluctantly took over the vocals (he sang lead on Nursery Chrymes' "For Absent Friends" and Selling England "More Fool Me", and you can REALLY hear him on their 70's concert album "Genesis Live") and everyone was floored by the similarity to Gabriel, which meant they could continue to tour (the only drummer good enough to replace Collins while he sang was Bill Bruford - no slight to Chester Thomson) and also their audience wouldn't abandon them. Apparently the person most surprised at Collin's singing ability was Collins himself - no one can deny he became one of the greatest and most popular singers ever. It's known that much of the trademark edge on his voice showed up after his nasty divorce, during the "I Don't Care Anymore" phase. Genesis continued to make two great albums, Trick of the Tail and W&W, and for the first time we get individual writing credits. But the progressive sound was a little mellower, which suited Collins still-softer style. TofthT had some seriously mellow tunes, along with the incredible tour de force "Dance On A Volcano" and the underture "Los Endos". W&W was similar but the difference between this material and the first post-Hackett album Then There Were Three is obvious. On TTW3 you hear the core trio of Phil Tony and Mike. Hackett's influence and sound is gone, so TTW3 is mostly very mellow, nicely produced and thick with keyboards and 12-string guitars and Phil's so soft voice. But it did yield their first smash hit, Follow You Follow Me. If you liked Hackett's influence, then listen to his first 3 solos, Voyage of the Acolyte, Please Don't Touch, and Spectral Mornings, all excellent and very progressive records, especially Acolyte (features members of Genesis). W&W is a little uneven due to the tension between Hackett and the rest, and therefore is not their best but has some of their best post-Gabriel moments. By the way, Phil Collins is one of the best drummers in the world, and if you want to know why, listen to an album by Brand X, called "Unorthodox Behaviour", from 1975. The facts herein are drawn from interviews compiled in a book that was published around the time of Then There Were Three. There was a picture showing Collins, Rutherford and Banks walking together on the street deep in animated conversation, with Hackett skulking along about 20 feet behind with his wife. The caption, written by Banks, was "A picture says a thousand words". Finally, not much is said about the appearance of Hackett on Genesis "Match of The Day", a 3-song EP by post-Gabriel Genesis with Hackett credited on one song. The EP is pretty good, mellow again, but with some very catchy melodies. To complete your collection of "progressive rock" version of Genesis, get Wind and Wuthering.

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