an in depth analysis of "From Genesis to Revelation.&qu
Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 11:18 pm
Growing up I listened to Rock radio with a bit of trepidation. Many artists made me cringe and turn the radio off, and it wasn't long before I did without it completely and started tuning in to the Rice University radio station ("Treasures of the 60's" was my favorite show, along with some of the punk and experimental stuff they played).
One of the artists I did not like, and still really have no use for, was Phil Collins. I found his music to be garishly sentimental, overproduced, and unimaginatively contemporary. The Genesis songs that I heard on the radio were no exception. I looked at people who suggested Phil Collins could replace John Bonham in a new Led Zeppelin line up (there were rumors of this at the time) as if they were crazy or from Mars.
If there was any artist on the radio I could point to as the antithesis of rock and roll it was Phil Collins. In short, everything I feel about Phil Collins is summed up in the South Park Episode "Timmy 2000."
But people urged me to listen to the early works of Genesis, when Peter Gabriel was the lead singer. I always liked Peter Gabriel and decided to give it a whirl. Still no dice. The music was far better, but made no impression on me.
Then one day I bought the first album "From Genesis to Revelation."
Why, I do not know. I thought I had heard enough to get a good understanding of Genesis. Probably because this seemed, just from the artwork to be a concept album and I have always loved concept albums.
Now at them time I was an avid Bee Gees listener, so my first impression was solidly positive. Peter Gabriel sounded exactly like Robin Gibb! Especially on "the Silent Sun."
There was really too much for me to take in all at once, but I could tell this was an awesome album, and absolutely different from anything I had ever heard from Genesis. It bridged the gap between innocent, sugary sweet British pop and Prog rock wonderfully.
Knowing there was much more to this album than I could comprehend, and after returning to pot and alcohol after ten years of "straitedge" punk sobriety I chose this album to be the accompanying music for my first LSD trip.
This is when the albums grandiose scale and startling originality blew me away. Lyrically, Peter Gabriel had attempted no less than the entire mythic history of the human race, from the amazing celestial birth of man, to a dystopian future when man had achieved, and was tormented by eternal life.
My favorite song right off the bat was "Am I very wrong" whose title alone intrigued me. The arrangement, with lavish use of acoustic guitar and horns was stunning, as were the reverb drenched backing vocals. The concept of the song itself was a microcosm of narrative. In it we see a horrific vision of eternal life from the viewpoint of a lone, bitter person being sung to on his birthday by "the happiness machine."
The refrain builds up at the end into a frenzied coda where Peter Gabriel repeats "they say, never end!" as the backup vocals sing "we hope your life will never end..." Peter sounds more lonely and desperate with each repetition of the final lyric, as it fades away.
Awesome.
Next I loved "the Serpent" with its Delightful guitar riff and otherworldly re-expression of the creation myth, poignantly punctuated by mankind's classic nemesis, the Serpent-- the Bible's first embodiment of Satan, who is the archetype of every fantasy antagonist from Sauron to Lord Foul.
Again Peter Gabriel's passionate voice brims with stark, dramatic emotion as he seductively sings, "Man is wonderful, very wonderful look at him..." and then utters a prophetic spit in the face of damnation: "Beware the future!"
In the glorious instant I could envision every darkness in human mythology. From demons and ghosts, from dystopian science fiction, to Darth Vader, and yes, to Lord Foul.
Temptation, betrayal, and a legacy of suffering were all expressed in a few simple lyrics.
"fireside song" hints of moments of peace and hope that cling to mankind throughout this vast cosmic struggle. It is minimalist and beautiful. In it we hear the spirits of trees and "nature's creatures."
"In the wilderness" becomes more powerful with each listening. It contains lyrics that Peter Gabriel would later revisit in "Games without frontiers." It contains such crystalline imagery as "raindrops falling down on rooftops." The piano riff is an exquisite melody, and the chorus is vibrant and haunting-- "Music! All I hear is music!" and as beautiful as it is this too is offset by one of the tragedies of existence, the futility of an overbearing and alienating work ethic: "as the people run their lives and their lives are run by time."
This is as meaningful and profound as lyrics get. Delightfully melodic and hard to erase from your mind once you've heard them.
Everything about this album is awesome and there is not a single forgettable or superfluous song.
Also, to my own private satisfaction, I read the liner notes and discovered that Phil Collins appeared nowhere on this album!
One of the artists I did not like, and still really have no use for, was Phil Collins. I found his music to be garishly sentimental, overproduced, and unimaginatively contemporary. The Genesis songs that I heard on the radio were no exception. I looked at people who suggested Phil Collins could replace John Bonham in a new Led Zeppelin line up (there were rumors of this at the time) as if they were crazy or from Mars.
If there was any artist on the radio I could point to as the antithesis of rock and roll it was Phil Collins. In short, everything I feel about Phil Collins is summed up in the South Park Episode "Timmy 2000."
But people urged me to listen to the early works of Genesis, when Peter Gabriel was the lead singer. I always liked Peter Gabriel and decided to give it a whirl. Still no dice. The music was far better, but made no impression on me.
Then one day I bought the first album "From Genesis to Revelation."
Why, I do not know. I thought I had heard enough to get a good understanding of Genesis. Probably because this seemed, just from the artwork to be a concept album and I have always loved concept albums.
Now at them time I was an avid Bee Gees listener, so my first impression was solidly positive. Peter Gabriel sounded exactly like Robin Gibb! Especially on "the Silent Sun."
There was really too much for me to take in all at once, but I could tell this was an awesome album, and absolutely different from anything I had ever heard from Genesis. It bridged the gap between innocent, sugary sweet British pop and Prog rock wonderfully.
Knowing there was much more to this album than I could comprehend, and after returning to pot and alcohol after ten years of "straitedge" punk sobriety I chose this album to be the accompanying music for my first LSD trip.
This is when the albums grandiose scale and startling originality blew me away. Lyrically, Peter Gabriel had attempted no less than the entire mythic history of the human race, from the amazing celestial birth of man, to a dystopian future when man had achieved, and was tormented by eternal life.
My favorite song right off the bat was "Am I very wrong" whose title alone intrigued me. The arrangement, with lavish use of acoustic guitar and horns was stunning, as were the reverb drenched backing vocals. The concept of the song itself was a microcosm of narrative. In it we see a horrific vision of eternal life from the viewpoint of a lone, bitter person being sung to on his birthday by "the happiness machine."
The refrain builds up at the end into a frenzied coda where Peter Gabriel repeats "they say, never end!" as the backup vocals sing "we hope your life will never end..." Peter sounds more lonely and desperate with each repetition of the final lyric, as it fades away.
Awesome.
Next I loved "the Serpent" with its Delightful guitar riff and otherworldly re-expression of the creation myth, poignantly punctuated by mankind's classic nemesis, the Serpent-- the Bible's first embodiment of Satan, who is the archetype of every fantasy antagonist from Sauron to Lord Foul.
Again Peter Gabriel's passionate voice brims with stark, dramatic emotion as he seductively sings, "Man is wonderful, very wonderful look at him..." and then utters a prophetic spit in the face of damnation: "Beware the future!"
In the glorious instant I could envision every darkness in human mythology. From demons and ghosts, from dystopian science fiction, to Darth Vader, and yes, to Lord Foul.
Temptation, betrayal, and a legacy of suffering were all expressed in a few simple lyrics.
"fireside song" hints of moments of peace and hope that cling to mankind throughout this vast cosmic struggle. It is minimalist and beautiful. In it we hear the spirits of trees and "nature's creatures."
"In the wilderness" becomes more powerful with each listening. It contains lyrics that Peter Gabriel would later revisit in "Games without frontiers." It contains such crystalline imagery as "raindrops falling down on rooftops." The piano riff is an exquisite melody, and the chorus is vibrant and haunting-- "Music! All I hear is music!" and as beautiful as it is this too is offset by one of the tragedies of existence, the futility of an overbearing and alienating work ethic: "as the people run their lives and their lives are run by time."
This is as meaningful and profound as lyrics get. Delightfully melodic and hard to erase from your mind once you've heard them.
Everything about this album is awesome and there is not a single forgettable or superfluous song.
Also, to my own private satisfaction, I read the liner notes and discovered that Phil Collins appeared nowhere on this album!
