Last year at this time, I bemoaned the fact that here in my town of Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has shown a glaring blind spot. While it has given honors to pioneers like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Presley and to pop acts like Billy Joel, The Bee Gees and Madonna, Progressive Rock acts like Rush, Yes, The Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, The Electric Light Orchestra, Genesis, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer have been shunned. Beyond Pink Floyd and The Velvet Underground, the closest the Hall gets to prog is Queen (who flirted with the genre) and Police drummer Stuart Copeland, who played in Curved Air.But this year, the Hall may be finally turning the corner. Here is the list of nominees for 2010 induction:
ABBA
The Chantels
Jimmy Cliff
Genesis
The Hollies
KISS
LL Cool J
Darlene Love
Laura Nyro
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Stooges
Donna Summer
Genesis is a leading band of the Progressive Rock genre. The classic line-up of Peter Gabriel on vocals, Tony Banks on keyboards, Mike Rutherford on bass, Steve Hackett on guitar, and Phil Collins on drums led the way for all the other acts.
The new issue of "Classic Rock Presents PROG" (available at Borders) lists the "Top 50 Prog Albums of All Time." Six of them were by Genesis.
Here's the top 10:
10. Porcupine Tree: In Absentia9. Pink Floyd: The Wall
8. Yes: Relayer
7. Genesis: Foxtrot
6. King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King
5. Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here
4. Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
3. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon
2. Yes: Close to the Edge
1. Genesis: Selling England by the Pound
Ballots will be sent to more than 500 voters, who will select artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 25th Annual Induction Ceremony on March 15, 2010 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.
ABBA? Come on! I thought this was a "Hall of Fame"? Doesn't somebody have to be or have done something "special" to be in any HOF?
ReplyDeleteDonna Summer? Come on! I thought this was the "Rock-n-Roll HOF"?
KISS? Come on! Well...I actually liked KISS....:-)
And they certainly were a unique/controversial band that had a major impact and influence in R-n-Roll.
Let's just hope Genesis makes it. I didn't really care too much for them (especially the Collins led lineup), but they are deserving.
GGM
GGM-
ReplyDeleteGenesis is my all-time favorite band.
I like to think of their career as 5 different ages:
1. Embryonic Stage (1967-70): Their first two albums, before the arrival of Hackett and Collins
2. The Gabriel Years (1971-1975): The music matured dramatically and Peter Gabriel became famous for his theatrical style of singing (dressing up in all sorts of strange costumes). The writing combo of Banks/Rutherford/Gabriel gave us such gems as "The Musical Box" and "Return of the Giant Hogweed" on Nursery Cryme, "Watcher of the Skies" and "Supper's Ready" on Foxtrot, "Firth of Fifth" and "Cinema Show" on Selling England by the Pound, and the 2-disc concept rock opera, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
3. Four-man era (1976-77): Gabriel left for a solo career, but the band with Phil Collins as singer actually created an even more refined progressive rock sound. Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford writes most of the music. My favorite album of all time is "A Trick of the Tail."
4. And Then There Were Three (1978-1980): Hackett leaves the band, and their next two albums represent a transition from pure Prog-Rock band to Pop band. Duke offered some very good prog.
5. The Pop Years (1981-1996): This is the era that most think of when they think "Genesis." At times, it was hard to tell the difference between a Phil Collins solo song and a Genesis song. Collins wrote many annoying pop songs. However, many album tracks that were not radio hits, penned by Rutherford and/or Banks, were still quite good: "Dodo/Lurker" on Abacab, "Home by the Sea" on Genesis, "Land of Confusion" and "Domino" on Invisible Touch, "Fading Lights" on We Can't Dance.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI've actually been trying to "rediscover" early Genesis since I've become a big fan of Marillion who have been influenced by Genesis and whose lead singer since the late '80s (Steve Hogarth) reminds me of Peter Gabriel. Marillion is one of my favorite "prog" bands at the moment.
I have a Hackett DVD (Once Above Time) and enjoy it very much. He's an amazing guitarist and his music is very interesting--and mostly good! :-)
I must confess that I do find myself tapping my toes and humming along to a lot of the Collins/Genesis songs that were so popular in the '80s. As much as I try, I just can't help myself! :-)
(But I can't let Mrs. Moogly find this out or I'll never live it down--she loves Phil Collins!)
Start with Trick of the Tail. It's the best entry into the older Genesis stuff.
ReplyDeleteI always thought that Fish, Hogarth's predecessor, actually tried to sound a lot like Gabriel.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Next should be Rush.
ReplyDelete