Genesis overrated?

I'm not sure how to answer this either. I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, but IMO Genesis is one of the greatest bands of all time in both composition and playing, so I have to say no.

I'm courious to know what kind of prog are you into?

sarge wrote: Is there something I'm missing?

I'm guessing so.

You're entitled to your own opinion, but when you gripe about what other people spend their time posting about, you're really not just "expressing your own opinion". It's pretty easy to see that this the one-in-every-forum version of "I hate that people don't talk about what I want to talk about" so you're ragging on a band that you think people talk to much about.

I'm guessing a lot of people don't share the following opinion:

sarge wrote: I think I can safely say that a band that can't keep an 8 minute song interesting should never venture out to the territory of the 20+ minute epic

If it's just your opinion, why couldn't you "safely say it"? As far as I know nobody has threatened to find where you live and take a contract out on you. Also, that sentence is probably true, but  how many people think that applies to Genesis? Regardless of whether or they particularly like SR, that applies to songs like Fountain of Salmacis.

If you don't want to listen to their 8 minutes songs, of course you might not bother listening to their 20-minute songs. But why should they have "never venture[d]" to the delight of many other proggers?

Sure you can anticipate the usual "that's your opinion" posts. A lot of people confuse "opinion" for boorishness.

Genesis is my favorite, it doesn't have to be yours--you don't even have to like them. When I first came to this site, I never thought Genesis was the greatest prog band, just my favorite. I thought King Crimson was, except for repeating their first album with their second, the real deal. I was more impressed with the musical arrangements of Yes more often. I thought there was a real good case for Yes as the best prog band. But reading the stuff on this site, I found a lot of people also put a value on the accessibility of Genesis and mostly un-matched lyrical ability--and the controlled creation of a consistent and audible atmosphere that a focus on manipulating musical theory doesn't necessarily tap into in the same way. So musical technique is one part and tapping into archetypes is another. While Tales of Topographic Oceans impresses me some with ingenuity, it doesn't invoke Giants and Rites or Dawn or any of the other Iconography suggested.

Trespass, Foxtrot and Selling England by the Pound (particularly the latter for me) are 3 of the best prog. rock albums ever composed/released/performed. ... So I've gotta join with about everyone on this one: no, Gabriel-era Genesis is not overrated IMHO, in any way shape or form!

Having grown up with Genesis I remember being as proud as punch when buying my brand new copy of their

I can see where you are coming from Friso; I felt sometimes production wise things were a bit iffy but I can't really complain, the music is the focus. If I could only choose one Genesis album to listen to, "Selling England By The Pound" is without a doubt my top choice.

bottom line...opinion is opinion.....however...fact is fact..fact is the more you post your opinion the more factual becomes your utter patheticness(not a word....case closed

You're saying Supper's Ready  is no biggy. That's like saying Muhamed Ali isn't a legend.  As classic Magazine says, with Supper's Ready Genesis unleashed a genuinely brilliant musical beast whose effects on the prog genre would be felt for decades. Where the Omen meets the hall.  Electrifying guitar coda, jazzy time signatures, beautiful melodies, and classical disipline.  Magic on a disc. Anyway,  The question was. Is Genesis overated? They are 1,000,000% underrated.  And here is why. MAD MAN MOON, CAN UTILITY AND THE COASTLINERS, THE FOUNTAIN OF SALMACIS, MAN OF OUR TIMES, THE MUSICAL BOX, SQUONK, STAGNATION, SUPPER'S READY, DOWN AND OUT,  RIPPLES, SNOWBOUND, FIRTH OF FIFTH, THE KNIFE, THE RETURN OF THE GIANT HOGWEED, VISIONS OF ANGELS, RIDING THE SCREE, DUKE'S TRAVELS/ DUKE'S END, UNDERTOW, LOS ENDOS, THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY, THE CINEMA SHOW, ONE FOR THE VINE, LIKE IT OR NOT, CUL-DE-SAC, THE LADY LIES, DANCE ON A VOLCANO, LOOKING FOR SOMEONE, WATCHER OF THE SKIES, DANCING WITH THE MOONLIT KNIGHT, CASE CLOSEDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I'd say maybe you need to be in the right place at the right time for Genesis.  I worked at a CD store and one day a customer brought in Foxtrot, Selling England, and Lamb, and I bought all three for under ten bucks.  However, I didn't like them until quite a bit later.  Foxtrot was the first one to break through.  And honestly, I'm not wild about 1/3 or so of Selling England and am wild about maybe even less than that of Lamb.  But Foxtrot (and now, Nursery Cryme) excite me to know end.  And honestly, in the case of Foxtrot in particular, drugs helped.  Sorry if that sounds blunt, but being high and hearing that soaring "Yooooooooooooou.... can't you see he's fooled you all?" in "Supper's Ready" was enough to bring me literally to my knees.  I don't have a hard time understanding why a person might not like Genesis, but I don't think you've got any right to dismiss them until you've given them a chance.  Have you listened to "A Trick of the Tail"?  Maybe "Los Endos" will convert you (that's one of my favorites of theirs, along with that album's title track).  The appeal, for me at least, lies in Gabriel's - and, to a big extent, Hackett's - ability to engage the listener emotionally, a trait typically overlooked, actively ignored, or, worse, frowned upon in so much prog music.

I don't really like them either.  I thought it was going to be a situation like Yes was for me.  I'd heard all the poppy Yes and was never a big fan (nor did I think Fragile was all it was cracked up to be), but then I heard Close to the Edge and saw where people were coming from.  (Yes still isn't my favorite, but that is a damn good album certainly).  I'd heard Genesis and not cared about them much and thought that Selling England by the Pound would change my mind.  It really didn't.  I got really bored listening to it and I still don't see the fascination with Genesis.  I don't understand why people blow the musicianship out of the water either, it's good but I feel like it's not crazy in prog standards.  (Musicianship isn't what makes good music I know, but it's so frequently praised for Genesis that I don't get it).  

Edited by himtroy - January 11 2011 at 21:58