TRESPASS

The first "true" Genesis album (their actual debut having been disowned by the band, and having an entirely different style) shows that, even before the arrival of Steve Hackett and Phil Collins, the band managed to not only progressive pioneers but masters of establishing their own distinctive atmosphere. (It's this latter knack that I think the better neo-prog Genesis imitators succeed at.) Much of the album has the much-vaunted "pastoral" atmosphere associated with the band in heavier doses than on any subsequent album - perhaps due to the presence of Anthony Phillips on guitar, who tends to have a somewhat gentler touch than Steve Hackett. The exception is the closer, The Knife, which sounds less like a pastoral idyll and more like a dystopian riot (which is exactly the atmosphere it intends to present).

The album is unfortunately afflicted with somewhat murky production qualities in many issues, which for some time meant that it ranked quite low in my personal estimation. It's grown on me over the years, and the most recent remasters really do a great job of teasing out its finer qualities; moreover, I think the slightly naive production quality in some respects adds to its charm, and it's certainly one that rewards repeated listens. Emerging from the murk, if you show patience, come five tracks in a primordial pastoral style that Genesis would never wholeheartedly return to - a gentler, quieter, and more subtle vision of the band - and The Knife itself, which paved the way for future Genesis bombast. I certainly don't think any Genesis collection should be without it.