GENESIS

THE GODS featured an impressive line-up of musicians. First and foremost, there was keyboard wizard Ken Hensley, the powerhouse and driving force behind Uriah Heep. And then there was legendary guitarist Mick Taylor, a member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967-69) and the Rolling Stones (1969-1974). Lee Kerslake played on drums, who later went on to achieve success in Uriah Heep with Ken Hensley. Greg Lake, of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame, was also a member of THE GODS for a brief time. The line-up for this first album "Genesis" consisted of:- John Glascock (bass, vocals); Ken Hensley (keyboards, guitar, percussion, vocals); Joe Konas (guitar, vocals) & Lee Kerslake (drums). THE GODS released a second album in 1970 "To Samuel a Son" before disbanding. As might be expected from a band led by keyboard maestro Ken Hensley, the "Genesis" album is a keyboard driven Heavy Prog album of impressive driving power, very much in the style of early Uriah Heep. If this was a Uriah Heep album, then it would surely rank as one of their finest albums. There were four bonus tracks included in the 1994 CD reissue of the album.

This album ROCKS!! "Genesis" is an album that's meant to be played LOUD and proud, so fasten your seatbelts, lock up your daughters, and prepare to hear some impressive, rip-roaring keyboard histrionics from Mr. Ken Hensley! Music maestro please! The album opens in powerful take-no-prisoners style with "Towards the Skies", with the heavy keyboard sound of Ken Hensley very much at the forefront. The singer has a powerful emotional urgency to his voice and there's some wild guitar riffs thrown in to the mix too, All in all, it's a magnificently powerful album opener which really means business and hits you for six with its raw power, The listener is given a bit of a breather with the slower-paced "Candles Getting Shorter", although the song still maintains the band's heavy rock credentials. Just when you thought it was safe to lie back and relax though, "You're My Life" hits you with its pounding drum rhythm and freaky guitar breaks with the vocalist going hell-for-leather and giving the song everything he's got and more besides, very much in the style of David Byron of Uriah Heep. And if you thought that was good, you ain't heard nothing yet (to paraphrase Mr. Bachman, Mr. Turner & Mr. Overdrive), because along comes "Looking Glass", a real highlight of the album with soaring vocals and the keyboard-heavy sound that Uriah Heep fans have grown to know and love. The impressive singer really reaches those HIGH notes on this song, without the aid of helium, and you really have to hear it to believe it! Next up is "Misleading Colours", a heavy bluesy number of impressive power. Side Two opens with "Radio Show", an all-out rocker to get the feet tapping and set the heart pumping. If you heard this for the first time in the late 1960's, you might even have been inclined to do some head-banging before head-banging had even been invented. "Plastic Horizon" is Song No. 8 which sounds like one of Uriah Heep's slower-paced numbers, although no less impressive, especially for Uriah Heep fans who will surely love it. Next up comes "Farthing Man" a bright and breezy upbeat Pop song, which is undoubtedly the least-heavy song on the album. It's the kind of catchy late 1960's Pop song that might have done well in the charts, had it been released as a single. The penultimate song "I Never Know" is the longest song on the album at over 5 minutes long. It's a moody and atmospheric number where Ken Hensley and guitar player Joe Konas are given the chance to stretch their musical muscles with some truly outstanding keyboard and guitar motifs, not to mention the singer, who always puts all of his emotion into every song on this outstanding album. As might be expected from an album of such impressive majestic power, the closing song of the album "Time and Eternity" is another powerhouse performance from the combined might of four very accomplished musicians at the top of their game.

This impressively powerful and awe-inspiring keyboard-driven album will appeal especially to fans of early Uriah Heep. The "Genesis" album gives a superb foretaste of the powerhouse keyboard-driven sound still to come from Ken Hensley, who would go on to delight fans during his legendary Uriah Heep years. If you're looking for the Best of British late-1960's Proto-Prog, then look no further. "Genesis" is an outstanding album for Heavy Prog fans everywhere!