TRESPASS

Although this was the second release from the band, most fans consider it to be their first 'true' album, as their debut was a far more poppy affair, under the guidance of the legendary Johnathan King. Here they returned 'fully formed and ready to influence generations of future budding prog musicians.' Opening track 'Looking For Someone' has all the trademarks of classic Genesis. It starts with the rough vocals of Peter Gabriel, singing over a solitary organ from Tony Banks. Then the band kick in. Anthony Phillips is particularly effective here, his lead guitar subtle and understated, complimenting perfectly the strong melody. The song is quite aggressive for the band at that time. Wonderful stuff. Then comes perhaps my favourite track on the album, the brilliant 'White Mountain' with lovely haunting flute and superb, distant 12 string guitars, almost impersonating mandolins at times. The story, about a wolf on the run from the pack, is well written and shows the direction some of their later lyrics would take. Third song in we have 'Visions Of Angels' probably, if I had to choose, my least favourite on the record, yet still a good song. The chorus has a wonderfully angelic feel to it from the backing vocals, which were doubtless supplied by Tony and Mike. (Remember, these were the days before a certain Mr Collins was to add his distinctive voice to the proceedings!) Side two of the old record started with the next track, 'Stagnation'. This was a stage favourite at the time and began life as a rather longer, sprawling piece, which the band themselves thought was one of their best songs of the time. Plenty of 12 strings here too, with the tempo only speeding up slightly as the climax is approached, with strident vocals. Nice keyboards here too. Already you can see how important and dominant a figure Tony Banks was in the band. 'Dusk', I think, is one of the oldest pieces here. And I have always enjoyed this piece. A rather dark, sombre tune with a gentle, almost eerie chorus, it exemplifies the band's more naive, youthful side in a quiet way. You could almost imagine sitting round a camp fire in the dark of the night singing this. Finally comes the best known track on here, and a stage favourite of the time; 'The Knife'. The most aggressive song here it has more good electric guitar work from Ant, and the classic growling, gruff, almost hoarse vocals of Peter are well to the fore. The ending is a suitable climax to the album, with pulsating bass and keyboards finishing the song off powerfully. One has to remember here, the band members were still only twenty years old when this came out! A tremendous effort for a band so young. This was the start of the phenomenon that was to rule for the next 6 or 7 years. Not quite a masterpiece, but nonetheless pretty essential for those interested in both Genesis and the history of prog music. At the time, there was nothing like this to be heard, although Crimson's 'Court Of The Crimson King' was a big influence on them at the time. But this was a new sound to add to a new genre. Brilliant.