Genesis the most influential prog band? |
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869 |
Posted: February 23 2009 at 20:37 | ||||
^^^
I find it hard to believe he forgot about TFTO because the day I can get through that album in one session, we can talk about Yes and easy listening! As much of a Genesis fan as I am, I am inclined to agree. In the PA top 100 overrated discussion, I mentioned about how Avant/RIO/Zeuhl has hardly any representation in the top 100. Comparing across sub genres is not advisable, still.... Three Friends has a lower rating than Wind and Wuthering? That's just a bit much. As for Camel, I have never got the deal about this band. I remember a friend telling me he loved it so much he was giving up on metal to listen to stuff like it. When I got to see for myself, I was like, "You gave up on something as kickass as metal for THIS?" I do like me some Mirage but even that one has aged rapidly. Opeth's mentions of Camel in references have given Camel a rare advantage : they get shouts not only from old prog fans but also from Opeth fans who went and checked out Camel.
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Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: April 27 2004 Location: Peru Status: Offline Points: 19535 |
Posted: February 23 2009 at 23:00 | ||||
Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - February 23 2009 at 23:06 |
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869 |
Posted: February 23 2009 at 23:49 | ||||
I was joking about TFTO anyway, it's so hard to listen to it cannot be easy listening, I am with you and Wakeman, three's a crowd! As for how complex it is or not, I would have to listen to it very carefully with a lot of attention to detail to comment...eh, can't be compelled to do that! While I don't say W&W is bad, it has far too much middling material - in the middle, no less - to absolutely rule. While Trick was more accessible, at least it was also more consistent. Other than Eleventh Earl, there's a curious lack of thrust throughout the album, curious because Genesis did not till then, at least imo, lack thrust. Three Friends on the other hand is an excellent album and regardless of opinions, is at least more interesting, few GG albums aren't, I am very surprised it doesn't have a better rating here. I agree that RIO and Zeuhl have a limited following but where it leads us to that accessible, melo-prog albums tend to rule the charts even if they are not necessarily the best - which is what micky said, the Genesis bit was probably more to rile you than anything, I reckon! Even Canterbury is not as well represented among the top 100 as Symphonic, which goes to strengthen this claim. |
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Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: April 27 2004 Location: Peru Status: Offline Points: 19535 |
Posted: February 24 2009 at 12:06 | ||||
You know Rogerthat, I believe Symphonic is on the top of the charts, because Prog reached it's first peak almost exclusively with Symphonic, the 6 big bands are (Not in order ):
1.- King Crimson: Started as Symphonic
2.- Yes: Symphonic
3.- Genesis: Symphonic
4.- Pink Floyd: Space prog with a lot of Symphonic elements during their peak
5.- Jethro Tull: Folk with almost Symphonic albums as Thick as a Brick
6.- ELP: Symphonic
Prog developed supported by Symphonic, so it's logical that this bands are the most popular by far.
Now about W&W, it's not Eleventh Earl of Mar, you are forgeting One for the Vine, Blood in the Rooftops, All in a Mouse Night, Wot Gorilla?, all the songs are good and reminiscent of early Genesis except the horrendous (IMHO) Your Own Special Way.
Iván
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869 |
Posted: February 24 2009 at 19:48 | ||||
But Pink Floyd's first album as also the first Soft Machine were in the psychedelic mode rather than symphonic. Early prog drew most from psychedelic imo, which is why I am always surprised that the Canterbury bands are not as popular as they should be here (though personally I listen more to symph prog). I would put it down to none of the Canterbury bands having any mainstream presence today nor any legacy (like Pink Floyd). I really could not pick one from 70s Symph/Folk/Canterbury/Eclectic to define prog - as different as they are from each other, there is an indescribable common thread running through all, perhaps because many of the bands were British.
As for W&W, I don't like Wot Gorilla. One for the Vine is alright, but Phil doesn't have the requisite presence as vocalist to carry the song - he may be a better singer than Gabriel though, especially in attacking high notes. And I find Banks's interlude rather bland, but maybe it's just me. Afterglow and Your Own Special Way drag it down still further. All In The Mouse's Night and Blood On The Rooftops both hark back to classic Genesis but again Phil doesn't really make it memorable enough for me as far as the vocals go, no reason why he shouldn't because I love his performance on Ripples for instance. If the two-part instrumental hadn't ended up reprising Eleventh Earl, I would have probably ranked it a lot higher. We are then left with Eleventh Earl which works mainly because Phil exudes a lot of energy, both on vocals and drums. So there, some good/decent material that doesn't quite get into the excellent/masterpiece material for me. I think people are a litle lenient to that album being Hackett's last with Genesis.
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micky
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 02 2005 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 46833 |
Posted: February 24 2009 at 19:59 | ||||
oh yeah.... back to real fun...
Ivan.. .got a question for you and want to pick your brains... don't make anything suspicious out of it. This came for discussion in another thread. ELP- classically influenced EVERYONE would agree... but what makes them symphonic IYO. |
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869 |
Posted: February 24 2009 at 20:06 | ||||
Good question, because the first time I heard EL&P and Gentle Giant, they sort of sounded similar to me, of course later on, I found that this was not so. But what exactly makes Genesis, ELP, Yes, Renaissance all bands of the same sub genre is something I would like to know, not that I am contesting it, just that I don't quite understand but accept it as it is generally accepted by the prog crowd. I can hear some resemblances between Yes in their romantic moods and Renaissance (in no small measure due to Jon Anderson ) but that's it.
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Raff
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 29 2005 Location: None Status: Offline Points: 24429 |
Posted: February 24 2009 at 20:14 | ||||
Well, it could even be argued that ELP are amongst the forerunners of Heavy Prog. Something like "The Barbarian" sure sounds heavy as hell, even without guitars, and even the big epics ("Tarkus", "Karn Evil 9") lean towards the heavy side of things.
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Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: April 27 2004 Location: Peru Status: Offline Points: 19535 |
Posted: February 24 2009 at 20:25 | ||||
Honestly I always had my doubts about ELP, but it's so widely accepted that they are the epitome of Symphonic, that nobody would understand if they were moved, that's why we called The Nice together.
We took a risk moving King Crimson, but i believe that if we moved ELP, people would hang us.
It-s like the name Symphonic, if you remember I always believed is a misleading term, but changing it would be worst, because it's so spread.
Iván Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - February 24 2009 at 20:45 |
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Raff
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 29 2005 Location: None Status: Offline Points: 24429 |
Posted: February 24 2009 at 20:31 | ||||
Oh, Ivan, mine was just a fleeting remark, and certainly not a suggestion for moving the band: I am well aware that moving ELP anywhere else would cause an uprising here, and personally I am not sure my teammates would be ready to accept them. |
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Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: April 27 2004 Location: Peru Status: Offline Points: 19535 |
Posted: February 24 2009 at 20:43 | ||||
Don't worry Raff, I had talked with Micky before I replied, I already knew you were not pretending that. .
But honestly, ELP is not the classic Symphonic band, I agree with that, for example GEPR had them catalogued as Classical Prog, whatever that means:
Sadly they didn't explain the differences (One is Rock with Classical influences and the other is rock with Classical format ) and i don't see ELP as accessible.
Iván Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - February 24 2009 at 20:44 |
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Daniel1974nl
Forum Groupie Joined: November 21 2008 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 53 |
Posted: February 25 2009 at 04:26 | ||||
So....we come to the fact now that stating that Genesis is the most influential prog band....needs refinement...in such a way that it did not influence all prog, but only the subgenre it belonged to.....Stated as Symphonic Progressive......but never had anything to do with Classic Prog.....as there is very little on classical influences to be traced in Genesis, other than Hacketts Spanish guitar....while with bands as The Nice and ELP this is a really different thing.
Neither can be agree that Genesis ever really much in relation tp Psychedelic music.....other than The Waiting Room, although I think many would agree its often tend to become rather hazzy here and there....I do not agree with that...Most songs have a really melodic aproach and are not contra rythmic or characterised by long hazzy improvisations like in King Crimson....neither were any of the bands extreme drug users....or atleast I dont get that impression when reading Chapter & Verse.....This resulted in a more serious aproach of music......I think....that was really not like the early stuff of Pink Floyd....not to mention the work of King Crimson...that is lending much more to the jazz side and that is in IMO only claimed by proggers due the use of heavy Mellotron (this possibly is the only thing Genesis really copied from KC).
Can we then compare Genesis with Yes.....I think of all the bands it comes the most close....to it......fairytale lyrics, a serious aproach in music...great craftmanship.....both making extreme compex music and long epics....And again in chapter and verse the admiration for Yes can be read more than once. Although the outcome....what Genesis eventually became to produce is quite different...,and does not look rather complex on the surface.....while with Yes, only one song is enough to realize that.....With Genesis....some things that tend to sound simple....can in real be extremely complex........
So....that brings me down to a conclusion I already made a long time ago....and perhaps also one of the great riddles in Prog history.......and that is 'How it became possible that Genesis produced a sound that was so extremely differennt from others and in fact did something a produce a sound, that in fact was never produced by anyone else before.....and interestingly.....on Trespass, not even by themself....as the difference between FTGTR and Trespass remains amazingly stellar.......And then in relation to that the questions did anyone ever did anything like Genesis.....after them....I can only conclude that no one really did.....with the Possible exception of IQ (especially the early material) .....No band ever made anything like Nursery Crime, Selling or The Lamb.
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Progger
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 26 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1188 |
Posted: February 28 2009 at 09:42 | ||||
Peter Gabriel started as a folk singer [Tresspass] & there are similarities in their voices!
Genesis [along with many other bands] influenced neo prog, that i'll admit but Genesis were not a 'big act' up until the Collins era, so it is unlikely they influenced anyone prior to neo-prog!
I don't hate Genesis but it beats the sh*t out of me that they are rated by so many on this site. They made some nice music but it was simplistic prog, school boy lyrics & average musicianship! That's the reality!
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869 |
Posted: February 28 2009 at 10:35 | ||||
Here we go again!
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The Quiet One
Prog Reviewer Joined: January 16 2008 Location: Argentina Status: Offline Points: 15745 |
Posted: February 28 2009 at 11:00 | ||||
No, that's not the reality my friend. Average musicianship? Pfff, what do you listen dude to compare them as ''average''??!! School boy lyrics? You got to be kidding me, if there's one of the famous Prog band that is praised because of it's excellent lyrics it's Genesis(Gabriel-era), well also Pink Floyd. Simplistic Prog? Again, I ask you, what music do you listen to? All avant-garde? I mean, I do listen to Zappa, and I see there's a notable difference in complexity, but I still can't denie Genesis and a whole bunch of other Prog bands being excellent musicians and composers: Supper's Ready, Cinema Show, The Musical Box, Can-Utility and the Coastliners, Firth of Fifth, Battle of Epping Forest??? |
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Progger
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 26 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1188 |
Posted: February 28 2009 at 12:00 | ||||
Read old reviews from Sounds, NME etc when Genesis were often called 'Yes wannabes' & were also critical of their lyrics. Also, the band themselves they were not great musicians!
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Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: April 27 2004 Location: Peru Status: Offline Points: 19535 |
Posted: February 28 2009 at 12:41 | ||||
I don't know who said Genesis were Yes wannabes, but that person doesn't matter who is is lost in space, there is no connection between Yes and Genesis at any point, two different sounds, styles, conceptions of music, lyrics, everything.
Iván Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - February 28 2009 at 14:56 |
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Progger
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 26 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1188 |
Posted: February 28 2009 at 12:43 | ||||
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Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: April 27 2004 Location: Peru Status: Offline Points: 19535 |
Posted: February 28 2009 at 15:00 | ||||
I'm reading the MNE reviews:
They also say:
I believe there's a difference betweebn Yes wannabes and prog Giants.
Read before you throw incoherences
But anybody who said Genesis was a band of Yes wannabes, is a bloody ignorant who knows nothing of music, becauser a band that has different type of vocals, different range of vocalists, hardly makes solos like Yes and has a different musical view, can't be a Genesis wannabe.
Iván Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - February 28 2009 at 15:10 |
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micky
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 02 2005 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 46833 |
Posted: February 28 2009 at 16:26 | ||||
gotta love Progger....
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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