Genesis Primer

It took a serious relationship Peter Gabriel’s self-titled 1-4 series (released between 1977 and 1982, also known as Car, Scratch, Melt and Security) to get me excited to hear early Genesis. I’m not sure why, but it’s probably one of those strange things that happens to children of the ’70s and ’80s when it comes to bands that take on massive reconstitutions and grab our parents’ attention. I began with Abacab, which I think is great, but I’ve learned since then that most of the really out, artistic stuff came before. I believe in starting at the beginning, but in this case I totally messed it up. I rejected ’80s Genesis, loved ’80s Peter Gabriel and his commercial success with more traditional pop songs (and duets with Kate Bush), then as a more seasoned listener discovered the self-titled series and came around to early Genesis. Roundabout, for sure. I wish I’d had this JamsBio primer in my early 20s.

This year, there’s a box set covering the beginnings of Genesis, spanning only the years between 1970 and 1975 – the Peter Gabriel years. These years were highlighted with albums like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and Sellin England by the Pound, help with production from Brian Eno, and early progressive rock in the style of King Crimson and Gentle Giant. Not accidentally, Crimson’s Robert Fripp continued working with Gabriel post-Genesis, doing production and collaborative albums, most notably Exposure. I highly recommend reading “In the Beginning: Genesis 1970-1975 Part One” and Part Two for anyone who is even a little bit interested in early Genesis, Peter Gabriel or the birth of prog rock. Buying the box set is probably the logical next step.