Sic Semper Tyrannis

Wind and Wuthering

I had another band director at the time of my Yes awakening, who introduced me to another of the great “prog-rock” bands—Genesis.

Now, I realize that the name of Genesis brings to mind all sorts of adult contemporary, Phil Collins cheesiness. (Does anybody remember that video for “Land of Confusion” in the mid-eighties that was comprised of all manner of puppets?) I am not about to pontificate on the greatness of their output during the eighties. It doesn’t do anything for me either.

But during my last couple years of high school, my teacher let me borrow a Genesis album called Wind and Wuthering, which introduced me to a different Genesis. The Genesis of the 70’s-when Phil Collins still played the drums and didn’t write overdramatic, lovey-dovey pop for Disney Cartoons. Back in the day, Phil was a more-than-competent drummer, applying all kinds of odd meters and technical stuff. Sometimes he played the drums like another melodic instrument in the band.

This particular album sounded kind of similar to Yes, with the expanded structures and “symphonic-ness” of it all. The harmonies were often unexpected and dark. But the one thing Genesis had over Yes was their cogent lyrics that didn’t require translation by a faerie or an elf. And this album had its share of catchy melodies popping out every now and then as well as a couple songs that segued together.

And so, this was another jumping-off point for me into the pool of prog. It wouldn’t take too much time before I had bought all of the Genesis studio albums, (the first five or six featured Mr. “Your Eyes” and “Sledgehammer,” Peter Gabriel on vocals), up to the point where they became too polished by the antiseptic recording techniques of the eighties.

Again, like Yes, this was a band that inherited some great synthesizer technology and used it to create great textures, building up huge soundscapes supporting Steve Hackett’s melodic guitar playing.

After getting introduced to Genesis, I was a prog-rock appreciator for life.

posted by Mike @ 2:58 PM