Genesis Archives, Vol. 1: 1967-1975 [Box]

Performer: Genesis
Producer: Alex Reid
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: GENESIS ARCHIVE covers the years 1967 through 1975. DISCS 1 and 2 contain a live rendition of THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY (recorded at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium on April 24, 1974), while DISCS 3 and 4 contain old tracks, demos, B-sides and songs recorded at BBC radio sessions. In addition, a 64-page booklet with photos of all phases of the Gabriel years starting with the band's first recording sessions done for UK producer Jonathan King will be part of this package. Genesis: Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute, percussion); Mike Rutherford (guitar, bass); Steve Hackett, (guitar); Tony Banks (piano, keyboards); Phil Collins, John Silver, John Mayhew (drums). Engineers include: Nick Davis, Geoff Callingham. Includes liner notes by Tony Banks, Jonathan King, Chris Welch, Richard McPhail, Dave Stopps. Personnel: John Silvers, John Silver , John Mayhew (drums). Audio Remixers: Geoff Callingham; Nick Davis. Liner Note Authors: Tony Stratton-Smith; Richard MacPhail; Jerry Gilbert; Chris Welch ; Jonathan King ; Peter Gabriel; Tony Banks. Recording information: The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA (01/24/1975). Photographers: Richard MacPhail; Stephen Lovell-Davis; Barry Wentzell; Mike Rutherford; Tony Banks. This four-disc box will be a revelation to latecomers who believe that Genesis began and ended with Phil Collins. It will be a godsend to those who already know better. GENESIS ARCHIVE contains live cuts, demos and other previously-unreleased material by the band from their creative heyday. With vocalist Peter Gabriel at the helm, the band managed the difficult task of adding both sociopolitical relevance and real rock and roll excitement to '70s progressive rock. On live versions of classic cuts like "I Know What I Like" and "Firth of Fifth," Gabriel and company offer more energy than on the recorded versions without sacrificing any of the band's vaunted instrumental delicacy. The late-'60s demos of such tunes as "In The Wilderness" and "Build Me A Mountain" offer an illuminating glimpse of the group before they began exploiting the more electronic end of music technology. The centerpiece of this set, though, is a full live recording of the band's celebrated conceptual piece "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway," which proved to be the swansong of Gabriel-era (i.e. prime) Genesis.

Entertainment Weekly (6/19/98, p.75) - "...On this four-CD box--a live recording of THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY plus demos, live tracks, and alternate versions--Gabriel's raspy charisma elevates many songs beyond their prog pedantry..." - Rating: B

One of the seminal progressive rock bands, Genesis began in the late-'60s as post-Beatles visionaries with a taste for orchestrated pop melodrama, but quickly mutated into purveyors of ambitious, classical-tinged art rock. After flamboyantly theatrical vocalist Peter Gabriel left (eventually followed by guitarist Steve Hackett), the group gradually turned toward more accessible material under the stewardship of singing drummer Phil Collins. By the '80s, Genesis had become an unstoppable hit-singles machine. Meanwhile, both Gabriel and Collins went on to lucrative solo careers. The band called it a day in 1997, shortly following Collins's departure, but reunited a decade later for a major world tour.

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