Pink Floyd v Genesis

Sorry guys, I'm gonna have to side with Pink Floyd on this one.

Genesis always had more of a 'contemporary' feel to it... and personally I equate 'contemporary' to 'plasticine'.
Genesis was less daring in its music, and always had the theatrical "everybody's watching us" sound. Some of the segments are pure musical cliches that are laughable. Genesis, in my opinion, is not truly 'prog' for the simple reason that their music was all pre-planned for live performances. There was no room for any jam segments. True, the did act out sequences that were pretty spectacular, but the emotion was all stripped away for the simple reason that it scripted.

Pink Floyd was the black sheep of the psychedelic-rock scene.
When Syd Barrett got the band going, he permanently kicked Floyd off in a direction perpendicular to other famous acts of the time. There was a sort of 'crystalline' and 'empty' sound to the early Pink Floyd works that carried over to their later releases. They weren't wrapped up in socio-political virtues like the other bands were, and they weren't pulled into the 'Flower Power' movement. It was as if they had seen that the psychedelic revolution was going nowhere and the society would realize it had been left in the dark once again.

Nursery Cryme and Meddle came out at the same time; Genesis had already established its progressive foundation by then, but was mostly the same sound as their previous album, Tresspass.
Pink Floyd took a huge risk by putting the 23+ minute track Echoes on the B-side of Meddle. All four members of the group got to write the song; it was really a collaboration to test the water before the band fully submerged itself in the spacey, cold, and often desolate sound of DSoTM. Echoes is still cherished as one of Pink Floyd's finest accomplishments; Genesis's works up until Selling England By the Pound are generally disregarded as 'practice'.

Pink Floyd's lyrics are just a lot more profound too. Pink Floyd didn't play to an audience. They played for the sake of the music itself. Floyd almost has a god-like tone; Gilmour once noted in an interview that the only reason the band was onstage at all was because somebody had to be there to play the music.

Pink Floyd, hands down.

At this point PF but the gap has been closing between them for a long time now and I think it might end in a stalemate.

I take the opposite view to DeepFreeze, and will be just as contentious I suppose - I believe that Floyd are the ones who are not truly prog. After their initial psychedelic phase, I think they turned a lot of very good albums (Dark Side of the Moon being the least noteworthy of them IMO), but they were workmanlike, rather plodding albums, admittedly with quite good lyrics, but in no way comparable to Peter Gabriel and Genesis.

GPFR wrote: DeepPhreeze wrote: Sorry guys, I'm gonna have to side with Pink Floyd on this one.Genesis always had more of a 'contemporary' feel to it... and personally I equate 'contemporary' to 'plasticine'.Genesis was less daring in its music, and always had the theatrical "everybody's watching us" sound. Some of the segments are pure musical cliches that are laughable. Genesis, in my opinion, is not truly 'prog' for the simple reason that their music was all pre-planned for live performances. There was no room for any jam segments. True, the did act out sequences that were pretty spectacular, but the emotion was all stripped away for the simple reason that it scripted.Pink Floyd was the black sheep of the psychedelic-rock scene.When Syd Barrett got the band going, he permanently kicked Floyd off in a direction perpendicular to other famous acts of the time. There was a sort of 'crystalline' and 'empty' sound to the early Pink Floyd works that carried over to their later releases. They weren't wrapped up in socio-political virtues like the other bands were, and they weren't pulled into the 'Flower Power' movement. It was as if they had seen that the psychedelic revolution was going nowhere and the society would realize it had been left in the dark once again.Nursery Cryme and Meddle came out at the same time; Genesis had already established its progressive foundation by then, but was mostly the same sound as their previous album, Tresspass.Pink Floyd took a huge risk by putting the 23+ minute track Echoes on the B-side of Meddle. All four members of the group got to write the song; it was really a collaboration to test the water before the band fully submerged itself in the spacey, cold, and often desolate sound of DSoTM. Echoes is still cherished as one of Pink Floyd's finest accomplishments; Genesis's works up until Selling England By the Pound are generally disregarded as 'practice'.Pink Floyd's lyrics are just a lot more profound too. Pink Floyd didn't play to an audience. They played for the sake of the music itself. Floyd almost has a god-like tone; Gilmour once noted in an interview that the only reason the band was onstage at all was because somebody had to be there to play the music.Pink Floyd, hands down. Excuse me... what?Genesis not prog? I voted for Pink Floyd but... what the crap? I just voted for pink floyd coz they were more my style... but in a term of how progressive are they, Genesis wins in a heart beat. Genesis Contemperary?What genesis are you listening too?

    I wasn't going to make a choice, as I love both bands, until I read some of this.

   Genesis not prog! Genesis is the definition. Look it up in the dictionary. You'll see a picture of Peter Gabriel in full make-up.

    Pink Floyd the black sheep of psychedelia? They were the darlings, and the band that other psychedelic acts wished they could be.

     So, which is the better band? I belive that is the question, not popularity. It is Genesis. Their pieces were a lot more complex, and the lyrics much more thought provoking. That is, they required more thought to understand. I would put them in this category through "Wind and Wuthering." Floyd is incredible, but Genesis is the better band.

PF

DeepPhreeze wrote: Sorry guys, I'm gonna have to side with Pink Floyd on this one. Genesis always had more of a 'contemporary' feel to it... and personally I equate 'contemporary' to 'plasticine'. Genesis was less daring in its music, and always had the theatrical "everybody's watching us" sound. Some of the segments are pure musical cliches that are laughable. Genesis, in my opinion, is not truly 'prog' for the simple reason that their music was all pre-planned for live performances. There was no room for any jam segments. True, the did act out sequences that were pretty spectacular, but the emotion was all stripped away for the simple reason that it scripted. Pink Floyd was the black sheep of the psychedelic-rock scene. When Syd Barrett got the band going, he permanently kicked Floyd off in a direction perpendicular to other famous acts of the time. There was a sort of 'crystalline' and 'empty' sound to the early Pink Floyd works that carried over to their later releases. They weren't wrapped up in socio-political virtues like the other bands were, and they weren't pulled into the 'Flower Power' movement. It was as if they had seen that the psychedelic revolution was going nowhere and the society would realize it had been left in the dark once again. Nursery Cryme and Meddle came out at the same time; Genesis had already established its progressive foundation by then, but was mostly the same sound as their previous album, Tresspass. Pink Floyd took a huge risk by putting the 23+ minute track Echoes on the B-side of Meddle. All four members of the group got to write the song; it was really a collaboration to test the water before the band fully submerged itself in the spacey, cold, and often desolate sound of DSoTM. Echoes is still cherished as one of Pink Floyd's finest accomplishments; Genesis's works up until Selling England By the Pound are generally disregarded as 'practice'. Pink Floyd's lyrics are just a lot more profound too. Pink Floyd didn't play to an audience. They played for the sake of the music itself. Floyd almost has a god-like tone; Gilmour once noted in an interview that the only reason the band was onstage at all was because somebody had to be there to play the music. Pink Floyd, hands down.

That's a tough one, so I did not vote. To me Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here is the best of both, but then again up against Trick of the Tale which to me is the best thing Genesis ever did.

I think Genesis was lyrically more superior than Floyd also Hackett's guitar was more beautiful than Gilmour's, and Banks was just a lot more talented songwriter than Roger Waters, and Banks keyboard's was more distinctive and melodic than Wright's

I voted Genesis based on the sheer depth of material dating all the way through the seventies. Pink Floyd have had some patchy moments.

Genesis, my favourite 70's band.