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SILENT SUN
From Genesis To Revelation, 1969
The first single for the Jonathan Kingproduced youngsters was written by Gabriel and Banks, striving to emulate the Bee Gees, whose plaintive ballads of the time they knew King liked. Midway between pastiche and homage, its naïve folk pop charm was then drenched in Arthur Greenslade orchestral strings by their now-discredited school alumnus, who suggested their band name. It got bad reviews and flopped, but sits serenely on the underrated (not least by its makers) debut album.
CR
THE KNIFE
Trespass, 1970
Their live show finale in the early years, The Knife is more aggressive and muscular than most Genesis of the time, that punchy, dare we stay stabbing organ riff inspired in part by The Nice (indeed, its working title was ‘Nice’). In the context of the gentle Trespass, it’s practically metal. Peter Gabriel, whose flute solo gives a quiet respite from the jabs and hooks, was swotting up on Gandhi and wrote lyrics about the inevitability of violence leading to dictatorships. As the last song played at 1982’s Six Of The Best reunion concert, it remains the final piece played by that permutation of personnel.
CR
THE MUSICAL BOX
Nursery Cryme, 1971
This charmingly macabre song tells the unhappy tale of young Henry who, in a scene straight out of Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies, is decapitated by his friend Cynthia while playing croquet. When Cynthia later opens Henry’s music box, he reappears as a libidinous old man. Nursery Cryme, the album on which the song first appeared, was a keystone moment for Genesis. Anthony Phillips and John Mayhew were gone from the line-up, replaced by Steve Hackett and Phil Collins, and while The Musical Box still had plenty of their formative folk sound, Genesis’ music was growing in ambition and complexity. From the opening passages led by 12-string guitar and flute, the song features Hackett’s rousing electric guitar work and a spirited organ solo from Tony Banks in the galloping mid-section. The old man mask that Gabriel wore onstage only added to the track’s madcap drama when Genesis played it live.
DW
THE RETURN OF THE GIANT HOGWEED
Nursery Cryme, 1971
The Return Of The Giant Hogweed is just another eight-minute song about heracleum mantegazzianum, the toxic plant brought to England from Russia by a Victorian explorer. So how does it manage to distinguish itself from all the other songs on this subject? Firstly, Peter Gabriel, with a relish for dark comedy, exaggerates its dangers out of all proportion, suggesting it might take over the Earth like something from The Day Of The Triffids. Musically, the track’s noteworthy for then-new member Hackett’s first foray (along with The Musical Box) into “tapping”, the guitar technique deploying the plucking finger directly on the fretboard (and later appropriated by Eddie Van Halen). He and Banks play harmonised triplets – not something 1971 was hearing much of from Mungo Jerry. Both Hackett and Collins were bedding in well on this album, if tentatively compared to later works. Keith Emerson called it “incredible” in an interview with Melody Maker, and Geddy Lee cited it as one of his favourites as recently as 2012 in The Quietus. “Playful, compelling,” he said. “I was totally entranced”.
CR
THE FOUNTAIN OF SALMACIS
Nursery Cryme, 1971
Here the band dug deep into Greek mythology to tell the tale of the nymph Salmacis and her attempted rape of Hermaphroditus, the son of Aphrodite and Hermes. When Salmacis called for her to be united forever with her love, a god answered her call by uniting the and , footage actually exists of the band performing this song on a 1972 Belgian TV show, while its inclusion on the extra live side of the UK version of (a 1978 recording) helped bring further due acclaim. remains one of the finest of the band’s early, story-led epics.
