Genesis - From Genesis to Revelation
Decca
Psychedelic Pop/Rock
12 songs (43:25)
Release year: 1969
Genesis
Reviewed by Thomas
Archive review

Progressive rock, such a rich, masterful and adventurous genre but yet somehow, in a lack of a better term, untouched. At least in these modern times with the leaders of tomorrow focusing mainly on hyper-speed, aggression, and being as accessible as possible. Where did the 70’s go? Where did Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd, Focus and Genesis go? Except for the occasional mention in the mainstream media, it is mostly the generation above myself, and the outcasts in society that still remembers and brushes the dust of masterpieces such as Selling England By the Pound, Close to the Edge, Dark Side of the Moon and Hemispheres more often than not. A combination of this fact and my recent major prog rock binge I thought I’d give some of the majors some well-deserved attention on the site. With Rush‘s discography already covered by my partner in crime, Zadok, I thought I’d start in the very beginning with another highly important band, namely, Genesis. Even though this wasn’t even released in the 70’s (1969), and isn’t really to be considered prog rock at all, it marks the start of a major and influential career.

From Genesis to Revelation is a concept album about biblical events in chronological order. This album only sold around 600-700 copies at the time, mostly picked up by Christians who thought it was preaching. This album is mainly psychedelic pop/rock with very little signs of things to come even though moments could be dug out here and there. Despite being influenced by both the Bee Gees and even the occasional Beach Boys-moment, Genesis, despite the personnel being between 16 and 18 years of age, creates some memorable moments with songs like the particularly stand-out, flowery yet neat In the Wilderness. Memorable choruses, and often nicely put string-compositions makes for a pretty memorable tune in a scurry of songs varying widely in quality. Am I Wrong? is also a great example of a track that weaves in melody lines in a great way and can be connected to their later outings. Overall this is not too bad for kids who weren’t yet out of school, and considering there was very little, if any progressive rock in the sixties one can’t really blame them. The guys were ambitious, immature music-wise and probably went a little over their heads with some of the tracks here which producer Jonathan King also contributed strongly to.

On to the bad stuff, ballads or “up-tempo” songs, they’re all pretty poppy, and though some of them come off as pretty good, there is a whole bunch that goes in the annoying column. The strings and orchestral pieces are over-used which does kill some of the songs even though they mean no harm. Out-of-tune piano and a nearly non-existent bass quenches most of the sparks that is generated and even if credit is given where credit is due this is pretty bad, though not as rubbish as most people considers it to be.

I am very torn between whether to score this moderately, or very low. The fanboy in me wants to give it a slightly higher rating than it deserves, but to be perfectly fair it’s a pretty bland album with very little magic. I’m trying my best to not compare this to their later, terrific releases, and while I think I’ve succeeded to an extent, it is really hard not to. The valuable melodies are drenched in immaturity when it comes to both song-writing, and studio-experience. The guys do an okay job on their instruments though it’s all pretty sloppy, but there is a microscopic spark here that were to create a major fire a couple of years later with Trespassing. Other than the insane collectable value this has, it has very little to do with the Genesis we all know and love. Considering the age of the members, their somewhat incompetent producer, and the fact that there are some pretty cool tunes here if you are willing to get over the poppyness, raises it bit above mediocrity. On to Trespass.

Killing Songs :
In the Wilderness
Thomas quoted 65 / 100
Other albums by Genesis that we have reviewed:
Genesis - Trespass reviewed by Thomas and quoted 73 / 100
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound reviewed by Goat and quoted CLASSIC
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