CATALOG CRAWL: GENESIS, Part 1 (1969-1971)

There is no single pattern of development for a progressive rock band. They all spring up in different ways with different influences and are prone to all manner of different mutations in musical style, image and pop friendliness as their careers develop. The career of Genesis is an illustration of all these concepts in play. They first became known as a gang of pure-blooded prog showmen and eventually developed into an internationally popular arena outfit better known for pop hits rather than progressive epics, even though both ends of their spectrum would remain a part of their concert repertoire.

This installment of Catalog Crawl looks at their first three albums, which cover a rapid pattern of growth and development. They began as an ambitious schoolboy project forced into a conventional framework under the tutelage of one of England's most infamous pop impressarios. The next two albums broke away from those origins, with the band's members mixing a variety of genres - folk, pop, soul, psych, etc. - into their own exploratory approach that became more symphonic and theatrical as it developed. By the final album covered here, they completed their lineup and their development into a style of progressive rock that would sustain them well into the '70s.

Members: Peter Gabriel (lead vocals, flute), Anthony Phillips (guitar - albums 1 and 2), Steve Hackett (guitar - album 3), Tony Banks (keyboards, vocals), Mike Rutherford (bass, guitar, vocals), John Silvers (drums - album 1), John Mayhew (drums - album 2), Phil Collins (drums, vocals - album 3)

FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION (1969): Calling this Genesis' "awkward teenage years" would be accurate because they were high school students when they recorded this over a summer holiday for pop svengali Jonathan King. He wanted to make them a prep school Bee Gees, even adding orchestration to their acoustic-dominated efforts after the fact. The band would subsequently disown this as formative growing pains compromised by King's production but it's actually an effective little mood piece if you appreciate late '60s Bee Gees. The songs are tuneful in a rustic, folk-goes-psych kind of way and, despite the band's objections, King's added orchestrations lend tasteful sonic color. Singles "When The Sour Turns To Sweet" and "The Silent Sun" benefit from Gabriel's rich, wistful vocals and the album tracks are full of modest but memorable highlights like the acoustic rock of "The Conquerer" or the introverted piano pop of "In Hiding." It's forever destined to lurk in the shadow of Genesis' prog achievements but would be hailed as a naive psych-pop gem if it had been made by unknowns.

TRESPASS (1970): the group's final album with Phillips shifts from baroque pop to early, exploratory progressive rock.  "Looking For Someone" and especially "Stagnation" play like a dry run for the art-rock glories of the next several albums, merging a variety of moods via tricky shifts in instrumentation and tempo. However, it's also much more mellow, perhaps in part to the focus on acoustic 12-string guitars and gentler, folk-styled vocal melodies that fit in with the progressive English folk-rock of its era: indeed, cuts like "Visions Of Angels" or "Dusk" could fit in on an early Strawbs album. The seamless orchestration of movements, fantasy/satirical narratives and rock energy that would define the group's best prog work is mostly absent, at least until final cut "The Knife": this ornate yet fiery barnstormer crackles with momentum and passion in a way the preceding cuts do not. The end result offers a strange, elaborately textured world that's fun to get lost in, kind of like the fantasy landscapes you see on prog rock album covers.

NURSERY CRYME (1971): The band's approach to prog crystallizes with the addition of two critical players: Phil Collins' drumming adds drive and complexity at the rhythmic level and Steve Hackett's guitar work encompasses the 12-string tapestries of the previous album while also adding flashy, fiery electric riffing. This enables the band to produce its first prog classics: "The Musical Box" brings orchestral dynamics to its strange tale of manslaughter and love from beyond the grave, "Return Of The Giant Hogweed" brings surprising heft and nimble time changes to its satirical monster movie narrative and "The Fountain Of Salmacis" breathes life into a gender-bending fable with a dense tapestry of classical organ and eerie mellotron.  Gabriel breathes life into each narrative at the microphone, exploring an array of vocal shadings with thespian intensity to realize their characters. The shorter tracks add appealing acoustic pop ("For Absent Friends") as well as darkly whimsical humor ("Harold The Barrel"). It's the band's first truly distinctive statement, playing like a book of short stories informed by a distinct, delicious English eccentricity.