All 180 Genesis Songs, Ranked Worst to Greatest

Rock bands are fragile ecosystems, depending on timing and concord and dumb luck. And for Genesis, a lot of their evolution sprung from a single bout of indecision, with Phil Collins inadvertently selecting one prog-rock band over one other.

“A good friend of mine used to play in a band with [Yes singer] Jon Anderson, and I heard that they had been on the lookout for a drummer as a result of Invoice Bruford was going again to Leeds College,” Collins instructed documentarian John Edgington in 2014. “And I really met Jon backstage on the Marquee [Club], and he gave me his quantity and mentioned, ‘Name me about an audition.’ And for some purpose, I by no means did as a result of I figured, with low shallowness possibly, [that I wouldn’t] get it. … I did not name; Invoice got here again, and the remainder is historical past.”

With out that hesitation, report consumers might have by no means glimpsed Collins’ sweaty mug on the duvet of No Jacket Required. The world is an odd place.

Numerous extra apparent profession strikes formed the Genesis arc: authentic guitarist Anthony Phillips bowing out in 1970 resulting from stage fright; Collins and Steve Hackett becoming a member of to kind the basic quintet; Peter Gabriel, who felt “a part of the equipment,” leaving the lineup in 1975; Collins, who’d lengthy been balancing the band with a high-profile solo profession, tapping out himself in 1996. And all these selections formed Genesis’ sound in a technique or one other. Most prog bands confronted the proposition of “adapt or die” within the ’80s, however none of them navigated that change higher than Genesis.

For some followers, they’re going to all the time be the long-haired dudes with mellotrons and fox costumes taking part in 20-minute epics; for others, the group would possibly as properly not exist till “Invisible Contact.” Rating their songs is past troublesome for that purpose alone: how one can pit, say, the New Wave punch of Abacab towards the prog-folk heat of Trespass?

Some disclaimers are wanted: This record contains solely formally launched studio album tracks, singles and B-sides. Which means we prevented reside cuts (irrespective of how fascinating), together with compilation demos and rarities that solely exist in bootleg kind. (So, no “Picture Blown Out,” “Pacidy,” “Going Out to Get You,” or “Let Us Now Make Love.”) And for the sake of ease, two completely different tune pairs have been mixed into one.

With the superb print out of the way in which, let’s dive in: From “Mama” to “No Son of Mine,” from “Firth of Fifth” to “Eleventh Earl of Mar,” this is our rating of each Genesis tune.

180. “Me and Virgil”
From: 3×3 EP (1982)

If “Genesis making an attempt a roots-rock tune” appears like a catastrophe, you share the opinion of Genesis themselves. The monitor, which first appeared on the 1982 3×3 EP, vaguely chronicles a rustic boy’s try to look after his single mom — however nothing in regards to the end result, from Tony Banks’ clunky chord adjustments to Phil Collins’ hay-chewing vocal supply, feels the slightest bit pure. (“Pa, you broke her coronary heart!” is perhaps the least convincing refrain of their catalog.) Genesis briefly tried to erase the tune from historical past, leaving it off their 2000 field set Archive 2. Even the toughest of die-hards would wrestle to argue the logic.

179. “That is Me”
From: B-side of “The Silent Solar” single (1968)

“From Genesis to Revelation B-side” should not instill a lot confidence. The naive “That is Me” appears like a demo from some hippie youngsters after studying their first 4 chords. Gross.

178. “Papa He Stated”
From: B-side of “Congo” single (1997)

“Calling All Stations B-side” should not instill a lot confidence. The bluesy keyboard lick is nothing to sneeze at, however Christ does this one spin its wheels.

177. “Run Out of Time”
From: B-side of “Not About Us” single (1998)

A … synth-saxophone? One more plodding drum sample? Goodness gracious. Essentially the most fascinating factor about this Stations reject is how a lot Ray Wilson’s overwhelming rasp conjures Peter Gabriel circa 2002.

176. “In Limbo”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

This dopey symph-pop tune squanders its modest promise by a sequence of perplexing selections: layering in distracting brass, pushing your complete rhythm part into the correct speaker and, for some weird purpose, letting individuals not named Gabriel sing backup.

175. “Not About Us”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

“It is not about hate / It is not about ache”: It is also not about melody. Or dynamics. Or lyrics. Or any substantive musical thought.

174. “If That’s What You Want”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

“Maintain on My Coronary heart” minus the center.

173. “A Winter’s Story”
From: “A Winter’s Story” Single (1968)

“Can you discover me, deep inside you?” Gabriel sings, fairly creepily, over blown-out organ and barely audible drums. “Let me contact you, let me maintain you.” Oof.

172. “A Place to Name My Personal”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

The singing is uncharacteristically sloppy, even for child Gabriel, on this brass-and-string-smothered ballad.

171. “Fireplace Tune”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

Banks’ minor-key piano intro previews the progginess of Trespass. However from there, it is hilariously hokey, from the monophonic string half to the half-awake unison backing vocals.

170. “The place the Bitter Turns to Candy”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

… means, means, means too candy.

169. “One Eyed Hound”
From: B-side of “A Winter’s Story” single (1969)

Goofy psych-era manufacturing, sub-four-track constancy, Gabriel’s bleating-goat lead, awkwardly timid backing vocals. The impact is like second-hand cringe, the musical equal of flipping by a stranger’s middle-school yearbook.

168. “Since I Misplaced You”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

Good intentions do not all the time lead to good songs. Proof: this tedious adult-contemporary ballad. Collins wrote the tune for his good friend Eric Clapton, whose four-year-old son tragically died in March 1991 after falling from the window of a 53rd-story house. (Clapton channeled his grief into a way more memorable tune, “Tears in Heaven.”)

167. “Shipwrecked”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

The engine is Mike Rutherford‘s guitar, which leans into the period’s post-grunge/alt-rock panorama with out embarrassing itself. But it surely’s all downhill from there, surrounding that riff with pillowy synths and a flat-lining vocal melody.

166. “Calling All Stations”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

Wilson has known as this his favourite Stations tune — a puzzling alternative, even on a venture with so few apparent highlights. Banks’ minor-key synths open the album with an air of art-rock thriller, however the top-line melody begins fizzling after the primary notice.

165. “In Hiding”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

Presumably essentially the most boring Genesis tune, waltzing from one forgettable melody to a different.

164. “Phret”
From: B-side of “Shipwrecked” single (1997)

In one other timeline (particularly, the ’70s), this Stations leftover might have bloomed right into a legit prog epic. As an alternative, the manufacturing stifles all the pieces: “Phret” appears like a misplaced theme to a mid-’90s fantasy PC recreation, using dinky keyboard tones and skinny percussion.

163. “Match of the Day”
From: Spot the Pigeon EP (1977)

“It was additionally not our best hour trying again at it now,” Collins wrote in a 2006 message board submit, reflecting on this soccer-themed dud. “I wrote the embarrassing lyrics and the monitor featured an try to deliver among the hipper grooves of the day into Genesis, with very suspect outcomes.” The band leans into the hamminess, however achieves no ethical victories on the sector: “There’s just a few issues earlier than we go / That I believe you must know,” Collins sings over vibrant synth tones. “Obstruction, physique checking, heavy tackles.”

162. “Hearts on Fireplace”
From: B-side of “Jesus He Is aware of Me” single (1992)

Collins pilots the band by a spunky pseudo-reggae groove, however the entire thing feels watered-down, like Genesis masking a rejected Police tune.

161. “Alien Afternoon”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

It is a story of two songs, neither of that are very fascinating. The primary is “Genesis gone white-guy reggae,” however with out the swagger of comparable stretches in “Me and Sarah Jane” or “Jesus He Is aware of Me.” Within the second, Banks’ large synth pads embody the UFO touchdown from the title — however in contrast to “Watcher of the Skies,” it makes the idea of alien visitation really feel humdrum.

160. “Banjo Man”
From: B-side of “Congo” single (1997)

“I imply, that was a load of shit, to be trustworthy with you,” Wilson as soon as mentioned of this Stations leftover, which is carried (or maybe killed) by Rutherford’s twangy guitar tone. It is not gonna prime anybody’s Genesis record, however “Banjo Man” is not a complete catastrophe: The bridge, with Banks’ darkish synth pads, suggests the seed of a spark.

159. “Manner of the World”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

There are simply too many ballads and mid-tempo soft-rockers on We Can’t Dance — an unlucky byproduct of the CD period, when 72 minutes wasn’t a noteworthy size. “Manner of the World” rivals “Since I Misplaced You” for the album’s most skippable tune, presenting one other DOA protest lyric (“That is the way it’s meant to be,” Collins sings. “There’s proper, and there is unsuitable.” Insightful!) and a mechanical important groove that feels prefer it was spit out by a pc. At the very least it is superficially fairly.

158. “Window”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

Visions of “Visions of Angels.”

157. “Small Discuss”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

“I didn’t actually like what I did with this, to be trustworthy,” Wilson instructed Genesis Information of this generically bluesy rocker, “but it surely was the most effective I might give you.” They need to have put that on the Stations promo sticker.

156. “One Day”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

The saccharine teenage love lyrics tilt towards the nauseating: “Birds of the sky, might I borrow your wings?” Gabriel sings. “Very quickly I will ask my like to journey with me to the world exterior.” However Banks’ thundering refrain keys flirt with Trespass majesty.

155. “Unsure Climate”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

Wilson’s vocal soars to Gabriel-like heights on this workmanlike ballad. There isn’t a lot meat on the bone, however the steak sizzles superb sufficient.

154. “The Silent Solar”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

Hoping to pique the curiosity of their first producer Jonathan King, Gabriel and Banks whipped collectively this generic baroque-pop ballad, a flop of a single which Banks later described in Chapter & Verse as “a pastiche of a Bee Gees tune.” For no matter purpose, lots of people appear to love “The Silent Solar,” together with Noel Gallagher: “Sincere to God, in case you’re listening, Peter Gabriel, the regulation is gonna must get entangled,” he instructed BBC Radio in 2016, “as a result of I’m gonna rob that endlessly till I can’t make music anymore.”

153. “One Man’s Idiot”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

Extra honky synth traces, extra Titanic-sized tom-tom fills. Grasp round till the ultimate two minutes, when the drums catch hearth in double-time.

152. “There Should Be Some Different Manner”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

The primary half sags with — what else? — a monotonous melody and association. However Banks rescues the piece within the instrumental bridge, beginning across the four-minute mark, with an eruption of an early ’80s synthesizer.

151. “I’d Somewhat Be You”
From: B-side of “Throwing It All Away” single (1987)

Collins brings a splash of Motown soul to his breezy, plastic-y pop tune. By Genesis requirements, it is a throwaway, and the stiff manufacturing knocks it down a peg or 5. However Collins’ melismatic charms (examine these pre-chorus “oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh”s) give it a means longer shelf life than it deserves.

150. “Who Dunnit?”
From: Abacab (1981)

Extensively — but unfairly — thought-about the nadir of the Genesis catalog, this New Wave trifle, like “Pigeons” earlier than it, drills a easy premise deep into the bottom. Prog purists unanimously groaned upon listening to Collins’ repetitive vocal hook (“Was it you, or was it me? Or was it she or he? / Was it A, or was it B? Or was it X or Z?”) and Banks’ flatulent Prophet IV tones, however the band relished the chance to thumb their noses. They performed up the absurdity onstage, as documented on the Three Sides Reside video live performance, with Rutherford taking part in drums and Collins decked out in goggles. “It was essentially the most horrible sound … that we actually favored,” Collins mentioned within the Abacab reissue interview.

149. “By no means a Time”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

Collins, bless him, cannot resist a velvety soft-rock hook. Rutherford, bless him, cannot resist a palm-muted guitar riff — a signature that progressively grew to become a crutch within the years following “Comply with You Comply with Me.” Banks, bless him, cannot resist the temptation of fancying up the chords. “By no means a Time” is all empty energy, but it surely goes down clean.

148. “Ravine”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Hackett chops a tremolo-style rhythm, and Banks works the highest vary of his synth — a satisfying palette-cleanser in context, particularly given how verbose Gabriel will be. However interludes aren’t meant to face on their very own: Has anybody ever thrown The Lamb on their turntable and moved the needle towards “Ravine”?

147. “Within the Rapids”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

One other atmospheric Lamb linking monitor, this time with Gabriel shoehorning in some story. Consumed as the primary half of the album’s finale, the piece contrasts artfully with the surging “It.” By itself, it is an afterthought.

146. “Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

One more instrumental Lamb bridge, with Banks and Hackett creating chrome-plated magic by way of mellotron and quantity pedal swells.

145. “7/8”
From: B-side of “Shipwrecked” single (1997)

Do not let the time signature idiot you: Banks’ restrained synths and piano by no means go full-prog. You may inform they could not fairly work out the place to take this wispy instrumental, which belongs within the intro credit of a ’90s courtroom drama or police procedural.

144. “Pigeons”
From: Spot the Pigeon EP (1977)

This light-weight music corridor ditty, one other broadly hated Spot the Pigeon tune, is kind of good in its personal intentionally irritating means — pairing Banks’ stressed keyboard adjustments with Hackett’s lone, clanging, banjo-like chord, which runs all through the entire piece. “The factor about ‘Pigeons’ was that it was attainable for the band to play a complete notice for a complete factor: ding-ding-ding-ding,” Hackett instructed followers at a 2009 occasion. “And that was unvarying while the keyboard modified and [Banks] tried to do as many alternative chords as attainable. It was clearly a send-up, and it was attempting to sound like an English musical performer known as George Formby.”

143. “Signal Your Life Away”
From: B-side to “Not About Us” single (1997)

“How did this not make the album?” is without doubt one of the nice music-fan cliches, however … significantly: How did this not make the album? The verses on “Signal Your Life Away” are a spotlight of your complete Stations venture, with Wilson’s expressive verse melody lifted by Rutherford’s stabbing guitar. (The refrain leaves much less of an impression.)

142. “Inform Me Why”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

The nice: Rutherford’s Beatles-y 12-string jangle, the heart-racing refrain ramp-up, the furor with which Collins belts “in my eeeeeeyes!” The unhealthy: the well-intentioned however hopelessly generic protest lyric, which appears to survey each world downside with zero specifics (“Individuals sleeping within the streets / No roof above, no meals to eat / Inform me why”).

141. “Within the Starting”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

We’re nonetheless within the psychedelic period: Try the crunchy phaser wrapped across the refrain guitars. It is a manufacturing vibrant spot on one in all Revelation‘s most forceful tunes.

140. “Am I Very Mistaken?”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

A few of the lyrics scream “artsy teenager” (Apparently the “happiness machine” is “attempting exhausting” to sing Gabriel’s tune, no matter meaning), and the janky combine locations a lot of the monitor within the left speaker. However the basis is sound: Hear carefully and you will hear a touch of “Twilight Alehouse,” the band’s future epic-prog B-side, in Gabriel’s ascending verse melody.

139. “Within the Wilderness”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

The lifeless lyrics (“Music, all I hear is music / Assured to please”) and placid however flaccid strings maintain this fashion out of the Prime 100. However there are glimpses of harmonic brilliance right here, significantly Banks’ melancholy piano chords.

138. “Like It or Not”
From: Abacab (1981)

This delicate, lovelorn waltz might match comfortably on an early Collins solo LP, but it surely was written solely by Rutherford. (Individuals appear to overlook what number of Genesis ballads Rutherford wrote.) Fittingly, his taking part in dominates the monitor — significantly the verses, lifted by guitar arpeggios and a high-octave bass melody. However the momentum slows to a crawl on a considerably sluggish refrain.

137. “In Too Deep”
From: Invisible Contact (1986)

Your complete ’80s trio co-wrote “In Too Deep,” but it surely’s one of many solely Genesis songs to evoke Collins in full-blown solo balladeer mode, with Banks and Rutherford coming throughout like backing band to their ubiquitous star. And with an equally dinky drum machine and acoustic guitar, it is also one in all their solely hits to stay endlessly time-capsuled.

136. “Snowbound”
From: ...And Then There Had been Three… (1978)

Ah, that outdated chestnut: personifying a snowman! Rutherford’s grossly well mannered lyrics (“They are saying a snow 12 months’s a great 12 months / Stuffed with the love of all who lie so deep”) soften quicker than Frosty within the Sahara. Too unhealthy, too, as a result of the tune’s pleasingly wintry association deserved higher.

135. “Please Don’t Ask”
From: Duke (1980)

Collins’ first divorce shook free his voice as a songwriter, leading to a torrent of music that fueled his debut solo LP, Face Worth. It additionally birthed this shockingly on-the-nose piano ballad, on which Collins clings to a household life slipping by his fingers. “Oh, however I miss my boy“ hits additional exhausting, even when the tune feels pedestrian in comparison with the remainder of Duke.

134. “Open Door”
From: B-side of “Duchess” single (1980)

Collins might have by no means sung extra sweetly, extra innocently, than on this dewy-eyed story of light romance. Sadly, the association feels each acquainted and undercooked, recalling Duke‘s “Heathaze” with out the emotional vary.

133. “Submarine”
From: B-side of “Man on the Nook” single (1982)

This textured instrumental started life as one-fourth of an old school prog epic — a set that may have additionally included Abacab‘s “Dodo/Lurker” and naggingly catchy B-side “Naminanu.” Nevertheless, of their quest for a clear artistic break, Genesis chopped the piece into sections, sustaining “Submarine” as a slice of slow-drifting drama. It feels considerably aimless with out the connective tissue — a post-script to nothing. However Banks’ swelling synths tease the glory that might have been, taking part in out like a misplaced linking monitor from The Lamb.

132. “Unlawful Alien”
From: Genesis (1983)

At floor degree, it is all smiles: a bouncy fortress of synth leads and a Collins refrain extra sugary than a Fruit Roll-Up. However “Unlawful Alien” is an uncomfortable pay attention, dealing with delicate material (the plight of Mexican immigrants coming into America) with a light-weight contact that comes off as tone-deaf. (Collins’ accent and the cringe-worthy video do not assist.) “It’s meant to be sympathetic towards unlawful aliens,” Banks defined to Kerrang in 1984. “It isn’t about any explicit race, although in America you hear in regards to the Mexicans coming throughout the border on the TV information on a regular basis.” Regardless of the nice intentions — and expertly crafted hooks — the execution is jarring.

131. “The Mild Dies Down on Broadway”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Gabriel famously dealt with all of the lyrics for The Lamb, the band’s bold and complicated idea LP. However with the clock ticking towards their deadline, Banks and Rutherford stepped in to complete off this inoffensive however unessential tune, which reprises each “The Lamb” and “The Lamia.”

130. “Aisle of A lot”
From: Promoting England By the Pound (1973)

At 54 minutes, Promoting England is already fairly lengthy — which makes this climactic filler monitor, that includes a short reprise of “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight,” much more head-scratching. “Aisle of A lot” does provide the LP a full-circle/bookends really feel, however that is about it.

129. “Many Too Many”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

The verses simply craaaaaawl on this heartsick love tune, which options Banks’ ultimate mellotron efficiency on a Genesis tune. The temper perks up throughout the refrain, although Banks needed to persuade Collins it wasn’t embarrassing to vulnerably sing the phrase “mama.” (What irony.)

128. “Say It’s Alright Joe”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

The uncommon Genesis tune extra intriguing on a lyrical than musical degree, “Say It is Alright Joe” tells the unhappy story of an alcoholic drowning his sorrows at a bar. “I would like one other drink,” Collins sings over a woozy electrical piano, “to blow on the glass so I do know I am alive.”

127. “Taking It All Too Exhausting”
From: Genesis (1983)

Are the guitars synths? The synths guitars? Each sound is a bit too shiny and robotic on “Taking It All Too Exhausting.” However there are indicators of humanity, notably Banks’ fiery refrain hook and Banks’ minor-to-major chord adjustments.

126. “Something Now”
From: B-side of “Not About Us” single (1998)

Calling All Stations is spotty on hooks and chops, however “Something Now” has a good quantity of each: Rutherford lays down some echoing riffs and funky fretless bass, and Banks varies his setup with a extra naturalistic electrical piano sound. Nonetheless, Banks has insisted they “could not get Ray to sing it proper.” To every his personal.

125. “Your Personal Particular Manner”
From: Wind & Wuthering (1977)

“Candy Genesis” is not prime Genesis, as evidenced by Rutherford’s heart-on-sleeve Wind ballad. As just about all the time, the environment is divine: It is a privilege to pirouette by the waltzing strums and spectral synth. (Bonus level to the refrain part by which romantic pleas tumble out of Collins’ mouth in triplets.) However the aroma of cheese is hard to snuff.

124. “Seven Stones”
From: Nursery Cryme (1971)

“’Seven Stones’ was very a lot Tony’s tune,” Rutherford wrote in his 2014 memoir, The Dwelling Years. “It was a terrific instance of what I’ve come to name Tony’s cabaret chords: his large, schmaltzy music-hall chords which Phil and I struggled with however he liked.” An correct, if unfairly dismissive, view of this borderline-ballad, a come-down of kinds after the full-throttle “Return of the Large Hogweed.”

123. “Maintain on My Coronary heart”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991) 

A superb instance of Banks reshaping a monitor by chords alone, including harmonic intrigue to a romantic ballad that may have in any other case felt one-note.

122. “The Conquerer”
From: From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

Former Oasis co-leader Noel Gallagher’s drummer, Chris Sharrock, turned him on to this early deep reduce whereas chatting about obscure psychedelia. “‘What? Who’s not ripped that off earlier than? That is a shame,'” Gallagher instructed BBC Radio 6, recalling his response. “There’s a minimum of, I’d say, six nice songs on that first Genesis report, which I hadn’t even heard of.” He is being a bit beneficiant: Nothing on Revelation is a revelation. However the tune’s dated ’60s-psych taste works in its favor, with Gabriel unfolding storybook lyrics (“He climbs contained in the trying glass“) over a reverb-bathed piano lick.

121. “The Ready Room”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Rock followers who hate Collins the Pop Star is perhaps shocked to find out about his love for “The Ready Room,” an improvised and infrequently dissonant jam buried on The Lamb‘s third aspect. “The spotlight of that album to me is ‘The Ready Room,'” Collins mentioned in Genesis: Chapter and Verse. “I bear in mind after we first performed the tune, it was pissing with rain exterior. We had been doing this fundamental unhealthy to good soundscaping as Tony began to play some chords the solar got here out. There was a rainbow and the rain stopped. It sounds very cosmic, but it surely did really occur.”

120. “Alone Tonight”
From: Duke (1980)

Like its album mate “Man of Our Instances,” “Alone Tonight” is enamored with its hugeness: The refrain payoff is immeasurable, giving an equal highlight to pleading vocal harmonies, Rutherford’s cavernous strums, Banks’ fizzy synths and Collins’ cascading tom fills. The quieter verses twiddle their thumbs a bit, however the choruses would really feel much less satisfying with out that dynamic shift.

119. “Ballad of Massive”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

A Western story of a hard-living, ill-fated cowboy named Massive Jim Cooley who takes on a wager to drive some cattle over a plain. It does not go properly — for him or, to an extent, us. The lyrics are, certainly, as terrible as one would possibly count on, from throwaway traces (“a rancher whose identify I overlook,” “he bought mad!“) to dense phrases shoehorned into small areas (“Massive and his males had been jumped by an all-star Indian tribe!”) However in case you’re in a position to block out the story, you are left with some riveting prog twists: This monitor shifts gears roughly 900 instances.

118. “Something She Does”
From: Invisible Contact (1986)

There are eight songs on the blockbuster Invisible Contact, and 5 had been hit singles: the title monitor, “In Too Deep,” “Land of Confusion,” “Throwing It All Away” and “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight.” In case you cross off the two fan-favorite semi-prog items, instrumental “The Brazilian” and multi-part “Domino,” that leaves one black sheep: the catchy however not that catchy “Something She Does.” Collins sings a daydream a few pin-up mannequin — uncommon material for a band that usually sidesteps outright lust. (And no, we’re not counting the stage silliness in “I Cannot Dance” the place Collins, um, adjusts himself to the road “checking all the pieces is in place.”)

117. “The Lamia”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Some sequences of Lamb wither out of context. Take “The Lamia,” a keep-the-engine-running monitor that smothers Banks’ tranquil synth melodies with means too many lyrics. At this level within the story, our protagonist Rael (and, properly, all of us) are misplaced inside Gabriel’s nightmarish labyrinth, when instantly we encounter “three vermilion snakes of feminine face.” The imagery is price savoring, but it surely’s additionally a bit claustrophobic. (Most ridiculous line: “It’s the scent of garlic that lingers on my chocolate fingers.”)

116. “It’s Gonna Get Higher”
From: Genesis (1983) 

Genesis weren’t a lot for sampling, however Banks consulted an unlikely supply — the opening cello from an Aram Khachaturian ballet suite — for the warbled intro of this light synth ballad. That clever vibe by no means diminishes, regardless of the awkwardness of listening to Collins half-croon, “Arms within the air, do not care.”

115. “One other Document”
From: Abacab (1981)

Not often is a tune so propelled by the drums — on this case, a speaker-blasting groove constructed on a triplet kick-tom sample. “One other Document” tends to be underrated — not as catchy as “Abacab” or “Man on the Nook,” not as proggy as “Dodo/Lurker” or “Me and Sarah Jane.” However there are fascinating particulars — the harmonica synth patch, the low unison refrain vocals — at each flip.

114. “Congo”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

(Sung to the tune of “A flower?” from “Supper’s Prepared”): “A refrain?” Most of Calling All Stations — even the memorable bits — are gentle on vocal melody. However the album’s lead single proves this black sheep lineup had actual potential, with Wilson sculpting a gruff hook over the band’s darkly chiseled AOR. Bonus factors for the climactic synth solo.

113. “After the Ordeal”
From: Promoting England By the Pound (1973) 

In Chapter & Verse, Banks described this studious, Hackett-led instrumental as his least favourite Genesis tune, calling it a “weak second, pseudo-classical with none actual spirit.” Actually, it solely survived onto Promoting England following a stalemate with Gabriel over the ultimate monitor record: “Peter and I each wished ‘After the Ordeal’ off. However Peter additionally wished to lose the second half of ‘The Cinema Present,’ and I mentioned, ‘You may’t put that off; it is nice.’ So we compromised by leaving all of it on which meant that the album ran to about [28] minutes a aspect, which was a lot too lengthy and the technical restrictions of vinyl meant it sounded a little bit weak as compared.” Banks is a being a bit harsh: “Ordeal” is just a weak hyperlink as a result of England is loaded with classics. And Hackett’s climactic laser-beam electrical leads justify the tune’s too-slow construct.

112. “Extra Idiot Me”
From: Promoting England By the Pound (1973)

“God, I had fully forgotten about ‘Extra Idiot Me,'” Collins instructed Prog in 2016. “I believe I wrote among the lyric, but it surely was largely a Mike tune.” It is simple to know why it slipped his thoughts: In some ways, this sleepy acoustic ballad is a lesser sequel to Nursery Cryme‘s “For Absent Mates” — a nice little respite from the prog onslaught. (For an actual thoughts blow, A/B Collins’ rough-around-the-edges vocal with one of many belty segments from Duke: It is insane how a lot he grew as a vocalist in only a handful of years.)

111. “Harold the Barrel”
From: Nursery Cryme (1971)

The subject material — a person considering suicide — is an odd match for this jaunty tune, which options charmingly uncooked unison vocals from Gabriel (the first songwriter) and newcomer Collins.

110. “Broadway Melody of 1974”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Gabriel barks out acid-trip pictures (“cheerleader waves her cyanide wand”) and jumbled popular culture references because the band hammers out a metallic groove centered on one chord. It is the definition of a linking monitor, however there are numerous arresting sounds, significantly as Hackett’s misty, climactic arpeggios usher us into the womb of “Cuckoo Cocoon.”

109. “The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

It is like a delightfully deranged stroll by the bowels of hell, with visitor tinkerer Brian Eno plastering results throughout Gabriel’s disembodied voice. It is an ideal pattern of the album’s edgier sound — Collins’ toms have by no means sounded so monumental. If solely “Grand Parade” had been fleshed out previous a measly 2:46: It is a snack that ought to have been a meal.

108. “Right here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Regardless of its mouthful title, it is simple to miss “Supernatural Anaesthetist”: It runs beneath two minutes, and it is buried on The Lamb‘s troublesome third aspect. But it surely’s one of many venture’s most up spots, floating on the wings of Hackett’s fanciful guitar solo.

107. “Vancouver”
From: B-side of “Many Too Many” single (1978)

With these chiming guitars and stacked vocal harmonies, it is so clearly 1978 earlier than you even hear a full verse. The title and heartbroken lyrics (shades of the Beatles’ “She’s Leaving House”) really feel like a direct nod to Collins’ real-life relationship turmoil: Round this time, the drummer’s then-wife moved to Vancouver with their kids, and Collins adopted behind, just for the marriage to collapse.

106. “Dwelling Eternally”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

Genesis are by no means greatest in inspirational mode, however “Dwelling Eternally” is tacky in a means that lightly strums the heartstrings. Plus, across the three-minute mark, they launch into a good instrumental jam, with Banks’ ethereal synths gliding over a one-chord Rutherford vamp.

105. “Using the Scree”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Prog followers on the 2021-22 reunion reveals had been possible psyched to listen to a triumphant synth snippet from “Using the Scree,” bundled with “In That Quiet Earth” throughout the “Cinema Present” medley. The remainder of the tune is more strange and fewer stadium-friendly — a barrage of warped funk that includes a few of Collins’ most chaotic drumming.

104. “Scenes From a Evening’s Dream”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

Like a few different Genesis cuts from the late ’70s, this frisky little prog-pop tune is just too cute for its personal good — on this case, with Collins’ lyrics impressed by Winsor McCay’s early 1900s cartoon-strip character Little Nemo. It is a enjoyable romp nonetheless, but it surely’s exhausting to not roll your eyes when Collins belts, “Helped younger Washington within the backyard, reduce the cherry tree down.”

103. “Afterglow”
From: Wind & Wuthering (1977)

Excluding their well-known reside drum duets, “Afterglow” is the third most-played Genesis tune — a gradual, starry-eyed serenade that is by no means sounded lower than regal lighting up a stadium (even when the core melody does strongly resemble “Have Your self a Merry Little Christmas”). Collins carries the piece on his again, projecting every notice with alternating tenderness and pressure, even layering his harmonies into cloudy chords. By itself, the monitor is a bit slight musically. However that simplicity feels earned on Wind & Wuthering — the melodic payoff after the jazz-fusion fireworks of “… In That Quiet Earth.”

102. “I Can’t Dance”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

It is attainable to put in writing stone-faced, twist-and-turn prog masterpieces and concise, cheeky pop tunes. Genesis mastered that artwork throughout the Collins period. However some followers can be happier had “I Cannot Dance” remained an unheard studio jam, not an enormous single recognized for Rutherford’s detuned guitar crunch, Banks’ dopey keyboard results and Collins’ self-referential one-liners. “I bear in mind Roger Waters saying that you simply’d by no means get Bob Dylan or John Lennon writing a tune like ‘I Cannot Dance,'” Collins mentioned in Chapter & Verse, referencing a 1992 interview with Musician. “He didn’t see the humor in it. I believe Roger generally fails to see the humor in numerous issues.”

101. “Time Desk”
From: Foxtrot (1972)

Simply the worst tune on Foxtrot, largely as a result of the verse piano chords simply sort of lumber alongside with none actual drive. However “Time Desk” is not a wash, nonetheless showcasing Rutherford’s Paul McCartney-like ability with independently melodic bass traces.

100. “The Dividing Line”
From: Calling All Stations (1997)

“My time with Genesis was a bittersweet expertise, though numerous enjoyable,” Stations co-drummer Nir Zidkyahu instructed Chapter & Verse. “And I’m happy with my performances on tracks like ‘The Dividing Line.'” (Banks agreed on the drum entrance, telling Innerviews the tune has a “nice rhythm monitor,” although criticizing the lyrics and melody.) The rhythm is all that issues anyway: Zidkyahu’s drums pack a Collins-like punch, his exactly tuned toms springing off Banks’ synths.

99. “Harlequin”
From: Nursery Cryme (1971)

Within the Nursery Cryme reissue interviews, Rutherford known as this 12-string ballad “fairly dodgy” and “not [his] best second lyrically.” (Pattern snippet: “Got here the evening a mist dissolved the bushes / And within the damaged gentle colours fly, fading by.”) Even when feels a bit slight in comparison with “The Musical Field,” Mike’s being too exhausting on himself. There’s loads to savor between Hackett’s shadowy leads and the squeaky harmonies of Gabriel and Collins.

98. “Hairless Coronary heart”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

In some ways, this two-minute instrumental capabilities as a bridge between the aggressive stomp of “Again in N.Y.C.” and the sex-centric singalong “Counting Out Time.” However “Hairless Coronary heart” is a heavenly environment unto itself, pairing Hackett’s nylon-string swirl and weeping quantity pedal traces with Banks’ large keyboard chords. It is “a type of lyrical moments from Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which had a really sort of experimental, abrasive factor,” Hackett mirrored in a video breakdown.

97. “Preserve It Darkish”
From: Abacab (1981)

Our protagonist will get kidnapped by aliens, sees a “world full of individuals, their hearts filled with pleasure” and, assuming he’ll be shunned from society, explains his disappearance with a made-up story about a skirmish with thieves. It is a quirky premise befitting a unusual association, constructed on an un-fancy drum loop and a shifty guitar riff that appears to repeatedly circle the downbeat.

96. “Naminanu”
From: B-side of “Preserve It Darkish” single (1981)

Such enjoyable gibberish! The instrumental “Naminanu” can be extra fondly remembered (or remembered in any respect) had it not been reduce from the “Dodo/Lurker” suite. Like many Genesis B-sides, it was handled unjustly. “There’s a second in ‘Naminanu’ when it takes off and goes into double-time on the finish,” Banks instructed Innerviews, observing the tune’s arc. “The entire thing’s constructing to that. The monitor can possibly be a bit irritating and repetitive, however I discovered it fairly thrilling.”

95. “On the Shoreline”
From: B-side of “I Cannot Dance” single (1991)

It opens with the identical barfing-elephant guitar pattern that drives “No Son of Mine” — a becoming hyperlink since they share numerous musical DNA. Possibly that familiarity sealed its destiny, however “On the Shoreline” ought to have made the album, knocking off one of many average-at-best ballads. Collins’ vocal rivals something from that period when it comes to ardour.

94. “A Trick of the Tail”
From: A Trick of the Tail (1976)

“It was one thing I might written a few years earlier than,” Banks instructed Prog in 2019, “however with Peter’s departure, I favored the concept of slipping in one thing lighter and extra quirky.” Whereas “A Trick” does assist stability out its namesake album, providing a jovial piano hook among the many folky strumming the fusion-y instrumentals, it is the closest factor to ho-hum on yet one more near-masterpiece.

93. “The Chamber of 32 Doorways”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

“It is a very unusual monitor,” Hackett appropriately famous in a video breakdown. “It is as in case you’ve bought these classical influences and rock – after which it will get right into a refrain that sounds nearly like, properly, befitting the lyric, nation music.” Regardless of the chances towards them, the items nearly match collectively.

92. “Do the Neurotic”
From: B-side of “In Too Deep” single (1986)

It is loopy how a lot sequencing and late-stage pruning can form the ultimate really feel of an album — change out the snoozy “In Too Deep” for its B-side, this jolting instrumental, and Invisible Contact instantly feels a lot proggier and extra muso-friendly. “I believe ‘Do the Neurotic’ is the wildest factor we ever did,” Banks instructed Innerviews. “Provided that we had been solely a three-piece, it’s a really thrilling piece of music. Wanting again at it, I might have most popular it to have been on the album.”

91. “Wot Gorilla?”
From: Wind & Wuthering (1977)

Genesis adopted one in all their softest tunes with a splash into fusion. Percussion devices rattle and Banks’ synths squiggle out a triumphant prime line. For a three-minute instrumental with out a lot in the way in which of chords, it is thrilling stuff — a sonic hyperlink with Collins’ side-band Model X.

90. “Lilywhite Lilith”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Developed from the largely instrumental 1971 tune “The Mild,” “Lilywhite Lilith” is a welcome stretch of accessibility on The Lamb — a lifeboat amid the violent waves. (Collins’ catchy, wordless backing vocals on the refrain might have been piped in from Duke!) But it surely’s additionally, conversely, hits exhausting: Rutherford’s bass stings like a uninteresting razor blade to the cheek.

89. “Ripples”
From: A Trick of the Tail (1976)

Rutherford’s titular picture nods to getting older and loss, however the association brims with the innocence of youth — even the youth of Genesis. These rippling 12-strings might have been tracked throughout Trespass or Nursery Cryme.

88. “All in a Mouse’s Evening”
From: Wind & Wuthering (1977)

“I don’t really feel it’s my most profitable monitor,” Banks instructed Prog in 2017, pointing to the “humorous” but “self-conscious” cat-and-mouse lyric. The monitor, as Rutherford defined to Melody Maker in 1976, started life as an “concerned epic,” however Genesis modified course: “We thought, ‘Fuck this, and went fully the opposite means.” They need to have listened to their authentic hunch: “Mouse’s Evening” feels too hammy to take a seat alongside “One for the Vine” or “Eleventh Earl of Mar.” But it surely’s nonetheless a monster instrumentally, filled with barking bass traces and slithering-snake guitars.

87. “Anyway”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

One of the crucial overtly classical Genesis items (properly, for a minimum of a part of its run time), “Anyway” originated from a shelved, but surprisingly cohesive, tune known as “Frustration,” recorded for a deliberate BBC documentary on painter Mick Jackson. (These recordings, broadly circulated by way of bootleg, had been launched on the bonus disc of the 2008 field set Genesis 1970-1975.) Trying to find music to flesh out the double-LP Lamb, they revived the vocal melody and stylish piano motifs, swapped out its horrible lyrics and added a brand new part highlighted by a harmonized Hackett guitar solo. They cram numerous concepts into three minutes, however “Anyway” by no means appears like TMI.

86. “Silver Rainbow”
From: Genesis (1983)

Initially titled “Adam Ant” after its comically up-front digital drum sound, “Silver Rainbow” is an oft-forgotten stunner buried on Aspect 2 of Genesis. It is a distinctive meld of outdated and new, of artwork and pop, weaving a strong Collins vocal by a maze of tense chord adjustments and vaguely funky rhythms. Provided that experimentation, it is no shock Banks loves the tune: “I’ve numerous affection for ‘Silver Rainbow,'” he famous in Chapter & Verse.

85. “Only a Job to Do”
From: Genesis (1983)

They by no means bought James Brown funky, however Genesis are underrated within the groove division. A great instance is “Only a Job to Do,” which piles synth-horns and palm-muted guitars right into a caffeinated surge.

84. “House By the Sea”
From: Genesis (1983)

Impressed by Collins’ title phrase (which emerged from early gibberish singing) and a few spooky keyboard sounds, Banks formed this spiky synth-rocker right into a haunted home story a few would-be robber. (Kudos to Banks for maintaining the vibe all through, including a dissonant chord as we enter the second verse.) With its up-front vocal and apparent visible potential, it is clear why “House By the Sea” grew to become a stage favourite.

83. “Second House By the Sea”
From: Genesis (1983)

It is tempting to not half the “Seas,” but it surely feels needed: If not for the reprise on the finish of “Second House,” they’d have little to do with one another. The largely instrumental Half 2 maintains focus with shocking aggression: Collins kilos out a bare-bones drum groove on an electrical equipment, and Rutherford’s elastic guitars stretch like taffy, peaking with an arpeggiated powerhouse riff about midway by.

82. “The Girl Lies”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

Collins’ everyman appeal is crucial on this synth-led fantasy prog beast, serving to promote lyrics a few man rescuing a maiden from a monster — solely to find she’s a demon. His drumming can be subsequent degree right here: Verify his rapid-fire experience cymbal on the refrain.

81. “Undertow”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

The lyrics are laughably cloying: “Laughter and music and fragrance linger right here / And there, and there / Wine flows from flask to glass and mouth / Because it soothes, complicated our doubts.” Eek. However “Undertow” can be among the many band’s most romantic preparations, layering Banks’ keyboards right into a monstrous sound worthy of all of the world’s dry ice.

80. “It’s Your self”
From: B-side of “Your Personal Particular Manner” single (1977)

Tragically reduce from A Trick of the Tail, “It is Your self” capabilities like a misplaced half one to the instrumental nearer “Los Endos,” even teasing that tune’s opening guitar melody. But it surely’s an actual piece of labor by itself, stacking bass pedals and tambourine and Japanese-tinged guitars right into a sonic skyscraper.

79. “The Carpet Crawlers 1999”
From: “The Carpet Crawlers 1999” single (1999)

It’s a disgrace the Gabriel lineup by no means reunited to carry out The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, as they tentatively mentioned within the mid-’00s. However a minimum of we bought this one-off studio revamp, recorded in 1995 for his or her Flip It On Once more compilation. Followers have voiced some logical complaints about this modernized combine, together with an general lack of Hackett. But it surely’s spine-tingling to listen to Gabriel and Collins as middle-aged males in tag-team mode, buying and selling off traces and harmonizing with richer, extra managed voices. “Peter’s thought was to make use of [producer] Trevor Horn since he was impartial territory: None of us had ever labored with him,” Banks instructed UCR in 2018. “The vocal, the way in which it switches between Peter’s voice to Phil’s voice, is absolutely sturdy on that. The association I am not 100% loopy about — the little, skippy drums by it — and the chords are a bit unsubtle, but it surely wasn’t unhealthy in any respect.”

78. “Feeding the Fireplace”
From: B-side of “Land of Confusion” single (1986)

Similar to “Do the Neurotic,” this sturdy belter might have modified the general character of Invisible Contact, providing extra chew and natural really feel than it at the moment has. Collins assaults that refrain.

77. “Nightfall”
From: Trespass (1970)

The delicately droning “Nightfall” suffers resulting from sequencing, sandwiched between their two most beloved pre-Collins songs, “Stagnation” and “The Knife.” However this one’s in the identical enviornment of high quality: The tangled 12-strings of Rutherford and Anthony Phillips by no means sounded extra in sync, expertly complemented by Gabriel’s pastoral flute.

76. “Cuckoo Cocoon”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Hackett says he wrote most of this dreamy little tune — one which’s too lengthy to be an interlude however too brief and uneven to rank among the many elite. Gabriel’s flute and Banks’ liquid piano chords create the identical out-of-body sensation because the lyrics (“Do not inform me that is dying, ‘trigger I ain’t modified that a lot”).

75. “The Battle of Epping Forest”
From: Promoting England By the Pound (1973)

Higher recognized round some stereos as “The One The place Gabriel Does All of the Wacky Voices,” “Epping Forest” would possibly take a look at your tolerance for pretend accents and mile-long lyric sheets. Impressed by a information story Gabriel examine rival gangs duking it out in London’s East Finish, the 12-minute monitor is finally exhausting, spilling out battle scenes and character names seemingly ripped from cartoons: Mick the Prick (“recent out the nick“), Harold Demure and Liquid Len, amongst others. It in all probability would have labored higher as an instrumental, letting Banks’ Hammond and Rutherford’s beastly bass do the speaking. Nonetheless, it slays.

74. “White Mountain”
From: Trespass (1970)

When Gabriel left in 1974, no fan in all probability anticipated Genesis to revive something from Trespass onstage. However the Collins-fronted crew dug out “White Mountain” (a tune that neither he nor Hackett helped report) 61 instances in 1976 — rearranging the 12-string tune with mellotron and synths. (Fortunately, in addition they dropped the awkward drum monitor that drags down the album model.) Like most early Genesis songs, this may have blossomed additional within the Hackett/Collins period. But it nonetheless highlights the band’s rising creativeness — like on the 4:00 mark, the place we dissolve into half-time and Gabriel’s voice is swaddled in fuzz.

73. “Twilight Alehouse”
From: B-side of “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” single (1974)

Few Genesis songs have a weirder historical past than “Twilight Alehouse,” a darkish proto-prog piece they reportedly debuted throughout one in all their first gigs in 1969. They performed the tune sporadically over the following few years (together with a memorable reside take for Belgian TV), lastly recording it throughout the 1972 Foxtrot classes. However they shelved the monitor till the next 12 months, issuing it because the B-side to Promoting England single “I Know What I Like.” Good on them to keep it up: Whereas the B part’s guitar riff is uncharacteristically bluesy, the tune’s dramatic shifts and forlorn imagery solidify its standing as a semi-lost basic.

72. “Cul-de-sac”
From: Duke (1980)

“There was one monitor on Duke known as ‘Cul-de-sac’ by Tony, and Tony’s a really white author,” Collins later instructed a fan journal. “As quickly as I’ve hassle taking part in one thing, he is aware of he should not have performed it and he ought to have saved it.” Nonetheless, Collins’ dismissive angle does not survive into the ultimate combine, by no means distracting from the winding piano adjustments and resounding refrain: “You thought you’d rule the world endlessly / Lengthy reside the king, and do not spare the loser”.

71. “Completely satisfied the Man”
From: “Completely satisfied the Man” single (1972)

Genesis joined Van der Graaf Generator and Lindisfarne, two different Charisma label bands, in 1971 on the now-infamous “Six Bob” package deal tour. None of these teams sound a lot alike, but it surely’s enjoyable to ponder the cross-pollination that may’ve occurred within the backs of vans. Maybe “Completely satisfied the Man” is Genesis’ nod to Lindisfarne: a heartily strummed folk-rock sing-along that ought to have been successful as a substitute of obscurity.

70. “The Day the Mild Went Out”
From: B-side of “Many Too Many” single (1978)

“Synthetic gentle might hardly penetrate the gloom,” Collins sings — an apt description of this bleak B-side. Inside, a city is stricken by some unseen “parasite” that rids them of the solar, resulting in a scene of “looting, pillage, homicide [and] rape.” Yikes! That idea is the stuff of a terrific brief story, they usually practically write one right here — word-wise, it is a mouthful, going neck and neck in that division with “The Battle of Epping Forest.” However musically “The Day” wastes not a second, transferring briskly from creepy Hammond to fidgety synth hooks.

69. “Counting Out Time”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

“Counting Out Time” continues the lineage of “Harold the Barrel,” “Completely satisfied the Man” and “I Know What I Like” — all comparatively easy tunes with Gabriel out entrance. It is a fleeting second of levity within the Lamb story, with Rael dreaming about his first sexual expertise (and the experience on erogenous zones acquired in an educational e book). Not precisely the apparent makings of a basic pop tune, but it surely would possibly as properly be “She Loves You” amid the album’s surrealism. Everybody shines at numerous factors, from Collins’ wordless backing vocals to Hackett’s wonky synth-guitar solo.

68. “Man of Our Instances”
From: Duke (1980)

Duke is essentially the most live-sounding Genesis album, capturing the band at their pinnacle of muscle. “Man of Our Instances” has the readability of a studio efficiency however the depth of a stadium present, wrapping your ears round every tom-tom thump and china cymbal decay. There is not a lot occurring right here: a handful of obscure lyrics (“There’s one other day performed, and there is one other passed by”), a see-sawing guitar/synth riff, a threadbare melody and hundreds of drums. But it surely wants nothing extra.

67. “The Knife”
From: Trespass (1970)

Genesis pivoted away from prog-folk towards prog-rock with “The Knife,” a Hammond-fueled showstopper that previewed the wildness of “The Musical Field.” If solely they’d recorded it for Nursery Cryme, following their main improve in approach. Fortunately we have now the superior stage model from the 1973 Reside LP. (Enjoyable reality: The tune was initially titled “The Good” as a reference to that proto-prog band, a vital early affect throughout the Trespass period.)

66. “Horizons”
From: Foxtrot (1972)

“Horizons” is a deep breath earlier than the mania of “Supper’s Prepared,” a superbly positioned acoustic guitar interlude that feels extra substantial than that description. Hackett performed the piece throughout rehearsal and, nonetheless a bit sheepish at this early stage, anticipated it to go ignored. However after being championed by Collins, his classical staple grew to become a vital level on Foxtrot — it is exhausting to think about the grand finale with out it.

65. “For Absent Mates”
From: Nursery Cryme (1971)

Hackett was additionally apparently unconfident when presenting this concept to Gabriel — that’ll occur in a bunch of stiff-lipped as Genesis. However “For Absent Mates” was an excellent first showcase for the guitarist’s softer aspect — and for Collins as a lead singer, as he coos over Hackett’s genteel 12-string. Wanting again, although, Rutherford would have been superb canning the newbies’ breakthrough: “’Absent Mates’ was Phil and Steve’s tune,” he wrote in The Dwelling Years. “I might have performed with out it on the report however as a result of it was one thing that the pair of them — the brand new recruits — had written collectively, it appeared proper to have it there.”

64. “Fly on a Windshield”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

There’s a lot darkish ambiance on The Lamb: Take “Fly on a Windshield,” which opens with staggering strumming and a gothic mellotron choir that appears like a harbinger of pure evil. Then comes the second — the purpose at 1:17 the place the calm turns into the storm, Gabriel’s reverbed voice spilling into crunching drums and sweeping guitar contrails. Truthfully, the remainder of the tune needn’t exist.

63. “The Colony of Slippermen”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Dissonant synths and guitars scurry round like bugs — an intro all however disconnected from the prog-funk grooves that anchor the tune thereafter. Gabriel crams in numerous characters and imagery (look no additional than “Slubberdegullions on squeaky ft”), however the principle refrain melody balances out the phrase rely. Plus, the band veers off into all kinds of magical concepts, peaking in pleasure across the 4:50 mark with Banks’ squawking synth solo.

62. “Jesus He Is aware of Me”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991) 

Genesis not often trafficked in snark, however this satirical single suggests they need to’ve performed extra of it. Each right here and within the tune’s hilarious video, Collins takes on the position of a Christian televangelist (“Do you consider in God? / ‘Trigger that’s what I’m promoting”) — exploring the intersection of greed and blind religion. It is amongst their most hot-blooded later-day preparations, using some darkish keyboard riffs and a quick reggae breakdown.

61. “Heathaze”
From: Duke (1980)

It takes one minute and 43 seconds to succeed in the primary refrain, as Banks leads the band by slippery piano adjustments and Collins croons placid imagery (“sleepy calm,” “light breeze,” “rustling leaves”). However the payoff is immense: Because the synths woosh upward, Collins triples his depth, hammering dwelling one in all Duke‘s most transferring choruses: “The bushes and I are shaken by / the identical wind, however whereas / The bushes will lose their withered leaves / I simply cannot appear to allow them to free.”

60. “Information Vocal”
From: Duke (1980)

It is tempting to ignore this keyboard-and-vocals passage, which runs a scant 1:16, as a coda for “Duchess” — a ribbon tied across the first part of the deserted Duke suite. (At one level, that multi-track piece would have additionally included “Behind the Strains,” “Duchess,” “Flip It on Once more,” “Duke’s Travels” and “Duke’s Finish.”) Because it stands, “Information Vocal” is one in all Banks’ important melodies, delivered by Collins with a Shakespearean degree of drama.

59. “You May Recall”
From: 3×3 EP (1982)

Solely diehards would possibly recall the 3×3 EP, dwelling of this lost-love groover. However — and inform us in case you’ve heard this one earlier than — it is legal that Genesis left it off Abacab. Collins not often sang with extra gusto.

58. “Paperlate”
From: 3×3 EP (1982)

Genesis booted this absurdly hooky single, which attracts equally from the Beatles and Motown, off Abacab and onto the afterthought 3×3 EP. Maybe two songs with the Earth, Wind & Fireplace brass part was one too many? (Congratulations, “No Reply At All.”) What a mistake! “Paperlate” nonetheless discovered a modest viewers, hitting No. 32 on the Billboard Scorching 100.

57. “It”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

So underrated as a result of solely the hardcore followers listened deep into Aspect 4. Right here, Hackett, the album’s unsung hero, contributes one in all his best themes – a lead line that sprints joyously towards the end line, all whereas Gabriel’s story crescendos into both cosmic gibberish or the which means of life: “Any rock will be made to roll / In case you’ve sufficient of it to pay the toll / It has no dwelling in phrases or aim / Not even in your favourite gap.”

56. “Visions of Angels”
From: Trespass (1970)

Now disinterested in attempting to attain Bee Gees knockoff hits, Genesis had been free to indulge within the folk-prog that emerged on Trespass. “Visions of Angels” might be the album’s quintessential tune stylistically, with acoustic devices and reverb-kissed backing vocals forming, properly, a “rippling stream that smiles after which goes by.” Regardless of just a few rhythmic glitches, even briefly tenured drummer John Mayhew shines throughout the rousing climax.

55. “The Brazilian”
From: Invisible Contact (1986)

Genesis picked “The Brazilian” over their different instrumental contender, “Do the Neurotic,” and followers have been arguing for years over which is healthier. “The Brazilian” will get the sting, partly due to how deeply odd it’s: the mechanical, clanging percussion; Collins’ hilariously digital tom prospers; Banks’ tense synth bends. However the payoff of these refrain keyboards is immense — a lot that it is popped up in quite a few movie and TV initiatives over the many years, together with a montage sequence from the 2020 Hulu comedy Palm Springs.

54. “Deep within the Motherlode”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

David Hentschel’s manufacturing was by no means more practical, amplifying the drama in each bass pedal hit and synthesizer notice. And in contrast to a few of Three‘s different story songs, “Deep within the Motherlode” additionally works as a standalone lyric, documenting a person’s travels west “whereas there’s gold within the air.” (Nonetheless, might have performed with out “Your mom’s milk nonetheless moist in your face.”)

53. “Misunderstanding”
From: Duke (1980)

It is loopy to suppose Genesis solely reached the Scorching 100 a handful of instances by 1980, however “Misunderstanding” marked a transparent line within the sand. Carrying on the momentum of “Comply with You Comply with Me,” this single hit No. 14 on the power of a swaying, sunshine groove (impressed by Toto‘s “Maintain the Line” and the Seaside Boys‘ “Sail on Sailor”) and a relatable story of communication breakdown. It is a little one-note, however man is that notice good.

52. “No Son of Mine”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

The entire mystique is true there in a single sound: a bluesy Rutherford guitar bend processed and sampled by Banks’ keys, winding up nearer to (sure) a vomiting elephant than a typical riff. And that stress bleeds into the lyric, which Collins developed from his placeholder gibberish into the tearful story of a younger man escaping an abusive dwelling life.

51. “Blood on the Rooftops”
From: Wind & Wuthering (1977)

Everybody in Genesis rightly charges “Blood on the Rooftops” as amongst Hackett’s best works, a stirring piece that strikes backwards and forwards between classical guitar selecting and full-band, mid-tempo balladry. It is also a standout Genesis lyric from that period, a subtly cynical have a look at TV information protection of world occasions.

50. “Dreaming Whereas You Sleep”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

Collins delivers a film-worthy hit-and-run narrative by which the sufferer winds up in a coma and the driving force is haunted “till the day [they] die.” It is set to an equally gripping association constructed on a marimba-like keyboard sound, bluesy guitar wails and drums that, like a lot of Collins’ post-’80s work, punch like a prizefighter.

49. “Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers …” / “… In That Quiet Earth”
From: Wind & Wuthering (1977)

It is not honest to separate these two, which kind a one sweeping instrumental — a little bit of flash earlier than the scaled-back sweetness of “Afterglow.” Half 1 is merely an ambient interlude, introducing the fusion-y, Hackett-dominated splendor of “Earth.” The top part, filled with distorted riffs and flailing synth solos, might be the heaviest second within the Genesis canon.

48. “Land of Confusion”
From: Invisible Contact (1986)

Rutherford’s try at protest lyrics are generic sufficient to suit any world turmoil (“There’s too many males, too many individuals / Making too many issues / And there is not a lot like to go round”) — a great tool however not precisely a riveting message. Nonetheless, who cares when the hooks are this sticky?

47. “Fading Lights”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

The most important setlist shock from Genesis’ 2021 reunion was “Fading Lights,” the climactic epic from We Cannot Dance. Constructing from a twinkly keys-and-drum-machine ballad right into a proggy synth solo, it appears like a becoming survey of the total Genesis catalog — and a cathartic near the Collins period. “I had thought that We Cannot Dance would possibly properly be the final album we did with Phil, so once I wrote the lyric to ‘Fading Lights,’ one other of my terminal songs, I had the concept of ending the tune with the phrase ‘bear in mind,'” Banks mentioned in Chapter & Verse. “And it is rather poignant in that context as a result of it marked the tip of a giant a part of our profession.”

46. “Down and Out”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

“When Chester Thompson came visiting to start out rehearsing for the American tour, he simply couldn’t get [‘Down and Out’] proper at first,” Rutherford instructed Sounds in 1978. “After we wrote it, Tony Banks and I considered the riff differently to Phil Collins – and Phil couldn’t clarify the riff to Chester, which added to the confusion. It’s humorous as a result of when you get used to an odd time signature it sounds very pure and also you overlook that different individuals will take time to get used to it.” The fantastic thing about “Down and Out” is how its manic drums and glowing synths sound so pure with Collins singing his lungs out over prime. May some other singer make 10/8 catchy?

45. “Proof of Autumn”
From: B-side to “Misunderstanding” single (1980)

Given Collins’ distaste for “Cul-de-sac,” it is no shock Genesis booted “Proof of Autumn” from the Duke classes. In any case, it is one other lush, keyboard-dominated piece. Even Banks had a transparent favourite of the pair, which had been written on the similar time: “It was a alternative of which one went on the album,” he instructed the Ready Room, “and I believe we went with the correct one actually.” The true answer would have been chopping “Please Do not Ask,” but it surely’s simple to know the sequencing — by the early ’80s, Genesis had been beginning to transfer away from lavish preparations and chord sequences. Nonetheless, none of that nitpicking presents any justice to “Autumn,” a Banks mini-epic that, in his basic type, balances catchiness and complexity.

44. “The Return of the Large Hogweed”
From: Nursery Cryme (1971)

Gabriel spews venom like a steel singer on this early epic, a demented story a few poisonous, vengeful plant. Banks drives the piece together with his unconventional chord adjustments, transferring across the keyboard in surprising methods — a glimpse of prog to come back. The top part has a classical aptitude, his piano flowing like water and Hackett attacking his guitar in an nearly pizzicato type.

43. “Man on the Nook”
From: Abacab (1981)

Some Genesis songs should be overstuffed: How fascinating would a stripped-down “Firth of Fifth” be? Others, like “Man on the Nook,” had been destined to be minimal: Collins belts easy snapshots of a “lonely man,” backed by the plush tick-tock of a drum machine and a handful of fundamental synth chords. When the reside rhythm part lastly kicks in at 2:17, it raises the hair in your neck.

42. “Mad Man Moon”
From: A Trick of the Tail (1976) 

“Some songs are particularly demanding,” Collins mentioned of his unplanned promotion to frontman within the 2016 memoir Not Lifeless But. “‘Mad Man Moon’ is one in all Tony’s, and his melodies are out of my regular consolation zone, particularly if it’s a must to be taught them on the fly within the studio.” It is honest to say “Moon” was exterior everybody’s consolation zone: It is one of the crucial whirlwind Genesis songs, barreling by adjustments in time signature and tempo — from a fragile piano ballad to dense synth terrain to a livid prog-pomp motion in 7/8.

41. “Can-Utility and the Coastliners”
From: Foxtrot (1972)

In its infancy, this light-to-dark piece was named each “Rock My Child” and “Bye Bye Johnny” onstage — fortunately they settled on a much less generic title for the ultimate studio model, which stays overshadowed on Foxtrot by “Supper’s Prepared” and “Watcher of the Skies.” It is a type of tracks the place you may hear the hand-stitching, however the person segments are spellbinding: Hackett’s quantity pedal work, Collins’ crashing drum fills, Banks’ mighty mellotron. “Those that love our majesty / present themselves!” Gabriel sings. (Insert raised hand right here.)

40. “Inside and Out”
From: Spot the Pigeon EP (1977)

It’s basically two songs, each musically and thematically: The opening “Inside,” lazily floating alongside by dream-sequence arpeggios, follows a personality falsely accused of against the law and sentenced to jail; the busy again half, with Banks and Hackett going nuts as soloists, explores the celebration of his exit. “I believe it was one of many stronger tracks that didn’t make it onto [Wind & Wuthering],” Hackett appropriately instructed Classic Rock in 2017. It is sufficient to make a guitarist really feel unwelcome…

39. “Comply with You Comply with Me”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

In The Dwelling Years, Rutherford described Three as “a humorous album” that was “saved” by this chiming, quietly grooving love tune — a surprisingly easy single that helped the band break out of their pre-conceived prog field, touchdown at No. 23 on the Scorching 100. “It is an up, glad tune that makes you smile with out being candy,” Rutherford added, precisely. “Not a simple factor to attain.”

38. “Theft, Assault and Battery”
From: A Trick of the Tail (1976) 

In case you’ve by no means seen the video for “Theft, Assault and Battery,” please pause now and take a gander. Collins, using his childhood performing expertise, hams it up as a robber who cracks a secure and shoots its proprietor (Rutherford), whereas the band’s shiest members, Banks and Hackett, seem on the sidelines as law enforcement officials. The tune is sort of as playful, persevering with the lineage of “Harold the Barrel” and “Willow Farm,” with Collins adopting accents and banging out a disco-like backbeat. However the band’s major-key stomp is politely interrupted at 2:35, pivoting right into a wildly advanced synth solo.

37. “Invisible Contact”
From: Invisible Contact (1986)

“That is somebody harmful and destabilizing,” Collins wrote in Not Lifeless But, detailing the magnetic romantic pressure inside this chart-topping single. “Somebody who will are available in and fuck up your life, man, which is the road I’ll find yourself singing onstage, a lot to the viewers’s normal whooped appreciation and my children’ embarrassment.” The tune, like the remainder of Invisible Contact, originated from jams on the band’s Farm studio — on this case, guided by Rutherford’s echoing guitar riff and Banks’ effervescent synth. Impressed by Sheila E.‘s 1984 hit “The Glamorous Life,” Collins crafted an immediately hummable top-line hook — the sort one would possibly’ve heard whereas looking for clearance turtlenecks at their native Sears. Genesis had been now well past “crossover” and firmly cemented within the mainstream, even when their quirkier deep cuts argued in any other case. However that comes with the territory of writing good synth-pop.

36. “Throwing It All Away”
From: Invisible Contact (1986)

It is the opposite aspect of the soft-rock coin from “In Too Deep,” proving Genesis might sort out heartsick balladry with out getting cornball about it. Plus, musically there’s sufficient approach to fulfill art-rock followers keen to search for it: Rutherford’s bluesy guitar lick nimbly struts across the monitor, and the Romantic refrain chordal raise is basic Banks.

35. “Los Endos”
From: A Trick of the Tail (1976) 

Collins goes full Model X on this fusion instrumental, a whiplash shift after the Beatles-y bounce in “A Trick of the Tail.” The opening piece continues the environment of B-side “It is Your self,” progressively cresting right into a percussive frenzy with Hackett and Banks wailing over prime. There is a bookends high quality right here, reprising melodies from each “Dance on a Volcano” and “Squonk” — however Collins additionally slips in a refined wink to Foxtrot‘s “Supper’s Prepared” throughout the fade-out, singing a tweaked lyric (“There’s an angel standing within the solar / Free to get again dwelling”) as a tribute to the lately exited Gabriel.

34. “Duke’s Travels” / “Duke’s Finish”
From: Duke (1980)

Is it honest to isolate “Information Vocal” however not break aside this suite-sealing two-parter? Properly, yeah: “Information Vocal” has its unbiased construction, however “Duke’s Travels” and “Duke’s Finish” are joined on the hip. Who strikes straight into one with out the opposite? Insanity. Nevertheless you slice it, the Duke LP closes with 11 dazzling, largely instrumental minutes, tying the entire venture along with reprises of “Information Vocal” and “Behind the Strains.”

33. “That’s All”
From: Genesis (1983)

Banks as soon as in contrast it to the Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon” — a slight stretch. However there’s some Fab 4 within the strutting piano riff of “That is All.” (With a messier association, it might have made sense someplace on the White Album.) It is all right down to the keys and vocals, from Collins’ rasp on “‘stead of taking one chew” to Banks’ stormy electrical piano melody on the bridge.

32. “Squonk”
From: A Trick of the Tail (1976) 

Collins channels his internal John Bonham by way of “Kashmir,” bashing his equipment with a restrained however just-ready-to-boil-over pressure. However nobody would mistake “Squonk” for Led Zeppelin. For all its booming tom fills and gargantuan bass pedal pulses, it is nonetheless anchored in prog due to these decorative organ melodies and lyrics impressed by a legendary beast. What a pivotal turning level for Genesis: After Gabriel’s departure, they auditioned a handful of vocalists however could not discover a good match; a motivated Collins stepped up the mic to hammer out this reduce, and the remainder was historical past. (Consider the implications! Possibly “Within the Air Tonight” would not exist had “Squonk” been written in a great key for an auditioning Mick Strickland.)

31. “The Fountain of Salmacis”
From: Nursery Cryme (1971)

Son of gods, what a gap! Banks’ mysterious mellotron, crescendo-ing into full-band fanfare, is definitive early prog. As a person second, it does not get higher. The remainder of the piece, drawing from Greek mythology and Jethro Tull-like jazziness, practically matches it. (Strap on these headphones and pay attention carefully to the vocal association, filled with doubling and whispers and octaves and counterpoint.)

30. “Burning Rope”
From: … And Then There Had been Three … (1978)

Within the late ’70s and early ’80s, Genesis typically scaled again songs and discarded ultra-prog strikes (see: the Duke/Abacab suites). One other instance is “Burning Rope,” which Banks’ determined to cut down, fearing comparisons to Wind & Wuthering‘s “One for the Vine.” (Even with that discount, it is nonetheless the lengthiest tune on Three by one minute.) The trio would additionally ultimately sidestep this type of overt Romanticism, however “Burning Rope” is Banks at his Banksiest, hopping from lyrical melody to lyrical melody. Rutherford, right here within the unenviable position of changing Hackett as lead guitarist, additionally deserves a shoutout for his climactic solo — a tense, dissonant theme that earns this piece its chef’s kiss.

29. “One for the Vine”
From: Wind & Wuthering (1977)

“To me, it’s the most effective factor I’ve written. Definitely, instrumentally, it’s essentially the most adventurous factor I’ve performed,” Banks instructed NME of this 10-minute epic, which seamlessly connects a sequence of one-shot instrumental themes, climaxing in a “triumphant sort of march.” You won’t discover, given how tastefully Collins sings them, however these lyrics are additionally amongst the band’s most bold, following a personality who rebels towards a would-be prophet, slips right into a “wilderness of ice” and right into a land of “easy” folks who take him for a messiah. In different phrases: a “man who’s been tricked by destiny into being the god he didn’t consider within the first half the tune.” The ensuing monitor grew to become a feather in Banks’ cap, a part of the rationale he calls Wind & Wuthering one in all his two favourite Genesis LPs, together with Duke. However everybody within the band contributes one thing particular to those blink-and-they’re-gone melodies and riffs, together with the explosion at 4:39 that ushers in a disco-like groove.

28. “Stagnation”
From: Trespass (1970)

Genesis started life as two songwriting partnerships: the extra soul- and classical-leaning Gabriel/Banks and a pair of 12-string nuts, Phillips/Rutherford. The very best of the band’s early work, like “Stagnation,” smooshes all that clay into one sculpture — even when the surgical edits listed here are a tad distracting. We open in classic acoustic concord, solely to quadruple the power with Banks’ Hammond and Gabriel’s raspy yelps. (Has anybody ever sounded cooler repeatedly singing the phrase “I”?)

27. “Entangled”
From: A Trick of the Tail (1976) 

Hackett and Banks all the time made for an odd pair: They had been simply the band’s most prog-minded members, pushing among the most bold concepts, however they hardly collaborated exterior of a full-band setting. One notable exception is “Entangled,” a darkish lullaby centerpiece from A Trick of the Tail. Hackett entered that album together with his thought cabinet cleaned out, having lately stepped apart to report his debut solo LP, Voyage of the Acolyte. (Notably, each Collins and Rutherford — however not Banks — performed on that report.) However he did contribute this waltzing 12-string sample, sparking Banks’ refrain and synth solo. The duo feels completely in sync right here, intertwining their acoustics and choral mellotron right into a brooding climax.

26. “Get ‘Em Out By Friday”
From: Foxtrot (1972) 

Genesis had 5 sturdy characters within the early ’70s and solely so many songs to share — because of this, they typically wound up with densely stuffed tracks like “Get ‘Em Out By Friday,” the place Gabriel’s lyrics wiggle round for room inside the band’s shifting prog landscapes. However that chaos appears like communion: Adopting quite a lot of character voices, Gabriel spits out a genius politically tinged sci-fi satire by which authorities overlords shrink residents to save lots of assets. Behind him, the band ventures from pin-drop quiet soundscapes to jazz-rock grooves — a formidable vary.

25. “Abacab”
From: Abacab (1981)

Now leaning into an edgier, extra modern New Wave type, Genesis hunkered down on the Farm, strung collectively some up-tempo riffs and wound up with a bit that, early on, spelled out “ABACAB” in its musical sequence (with “A” which means “A bit” and so forth). And that placeholder title stayed put, even after they rearranged the tune to make the acronym unpronounceable. Humorous sufficient, the phrase “Abacab” feels fully according to its mother or father album: much less flowery, extra fashionable, and angular, just like the summary shapes that grace the paintings. (Certainly, the phrases on this throbbing single tackle no matter which means you need: “There is a crack within the mirror / Someplace there is a gap in a windowpane,” Collins growls. “Now do you suppose I am in charge?”) That ’80s Genesis sound is totally shaped right here, with engineer Hugh Padgham including widescreen oomph to the drums and synths.

24. “Driving the Final Spike”
From: We Cannot Dance (1991)

The final Genesis prog basic, spotlighting Collins in blatant story mode, the 10-minute “Driving the Final Spike” mines an unlikely supply: the tragedy and triumph of Nineteenth-century British railway staff. Collins dominates the entire monitor, bashing the bejesus out of his equipment and delivering each phrase with god-tier drama. (“I will all the time keep in mind that evening / As they waved goodbye to their fathers,” he sings, stretching out the final syllable for optimum affect.)

23. “Searching for Somebody”
From: Trespass (1970)

A right away revelation, roughly one second into Trespass: how a lot Gabriel’s vocals had matured since Revelation. His voice, now wrapped in that signature rasp, yelps out of the audio system like an outdated soul singer’s — no extra compelled psychedelic child speak right here. “Searching for Somebody” is a startling assertion of intent, packaging the entire band’s early strengths (Banks’ finesse on organ and piano, a large quiet-loud vary) into seven minutes. With that voice upfront, it was solely a matter of time.

22. “Watcher of the Skies”
From: Foxtrot (1972)

As Hackett enthused in a video breakdown, “Watcher of the Skies” commences with “one of many nice mellotron moments” ever — a mysterious, dissonant chord sequence that manifests the lyric’s UFO touchdown. The following climb is equally cinematic, because the band’s jittery, staccato 6/4 groove regularly throws you off your axis. Even after the melody lastly kicks in on the 2:18 mark, Gabriel singing about an astral observer beholding a “planet unknown” (twist: it is an alien stumbling upon a ravaged Earth), they by no means let off the gasoline pedal.

21. “Dodo/Lurker”
From: Abacab (1981) 

Banks’ synth and Rutherford’s guitar reduce like buzz saws on Abacab‘s proggiest monitor, a delightfully frenzied two-parter that strikes from haunted-house rock to dirty funk to arena-sized New Wave, linked by a few of Banks’ most head-scratching lyrics. “Lurker” famously includes a riddle: “Garments of brass and hair of brown / Seldom have to breathe / Don’t want no wings to fly / Ooh, and a coronary heart of stone / And a worry of fireplace and water / Who am I?” Some followers speculate the reply is “submarine” — which might make sense, on condition that Genesis gave that title to a B-side as soon as a part of the forgotten suite. However Banks maintains it was all a “joke,” telling Document Collector in 1997, “I am afraid to say actually that there is no such thing as a actual answer. … If you’ll find out what the reply is, maybe you may inform me!”

20. “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”
From: Invisible Contact (1986) 

Within the outdated days, one Genesis tune may need 5 streams of concepts, every musician maneuvering to work in his greatest bit. (This course of produced loads of gold, but it surely additionally wasn’t sustainable.) Within the latter days, a core thought is perhaps skeletal — one member pushing some buttons on a drum machine, one other mumbling some melodies, the opposite including some fundamental chords. And that sort of in-the-room writing fostered tracks like “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight,” which breathes for each second of its 9 eerie minutes. Each alternative they make — Collins’ Roto-tom-style prospers, Rutherford’s tremolo bar accents — has a noticeable affect, all whereas leaving house for a gritty vocal that might promote the vibe all by itself.

19. “Eleventh Earl of Mar”
From: Wind & Wuthering (1977)

Impressed by an precise failed Scottish rebellion from the early 1700s, Rutherford crafted the lyrics for Wind & Wuthering‘s temperamental opener. However for all its pictures of ornately dressed bishops and gold-covered floor, one line stands out like a sore thumb: Collins channeling his internal spoiled baby to cry, “Daddy, you promised!” That humorous blemish apart, “Eleventh Earl of Mar” presents quartet-era Genesis at their most majestic: Banks’ studious Hammond, Rutherford’s galloping bass, Hackett’s dreamlike kalimba and nylon-string guitar within the center part. It “had an incredible power,” Rutherford instructed Prog in 2017. Give your self extra credit score, man!

18. “Me and Sarah Jane”
From: Abacab (1981)

It is one in all their richest songs, however nearly nobody — even amongst Genesis followers — talks a lot about “Me and Sarah Jane,” a black sheep on the band’s final black sheep album. In some methods, it exemplifies the trio’s shift into brighter New Wave sounds, incorporating drum machines and a twitchy, vaguely reggae groove. However structurally it is basic prog, by no means staying in a single harmonic house for too lengthy. In some ways, it marked the tip of an period for Banks: “I had one little second on Abacab the place I might afford to revert to my outdated methods,” he mentioned in Chapter & Verse. “On ‘Me and Sarah Jane’ I poured all my flowery, stunning stuff into one tune, and for the remainder of the album saved pondering, ‘Actually maintain it easy.'”

17. “Domino”
From: Invisible Contact (1986) 

Ah, the notorious “sheets of double glazing” — a line Collins hated a lot, he even vented about it throughout rehearsals for the 2007 reunion tour. “It was wonderful how troublesome it was nonetheless to sing of these obscure Genesis lyrics,” he mentioned within the When in Rome DVD documentary. “I have been a sort of direct emotional writer-singer — I say ‘I really like you’ and ‘I miss you,’ no matter it’s. Now I’ve bought to sing ‘sheets of double-glazing’ and ‘nylon sheets and blankets.’ I do not understand how to do this! I by no means did understand how to do this, and I notice that I used to be a caricature.” True, these traces do not precisely roll off the tongue — however neither did “O Lamia, your flesh that is still I’ll take as my meals.” Anyway, even when Collins could not wrap his mind round this Banks-led story tune, tackling the domino impact because it pertains to world affairs, it is nonetheless the centerpiece of Invisible Contact — an 11-minute, late-era prog masterpiece that, satirically, options among the drummer’s most expressive singing. (He put each ounce of emotion into “we prayed it could final endlessly.”)

16. “Within the Cage”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

You may take the title actually, following Rael as he tries to flee a cage inside a cave. You could possibly additionally deal with it metaphorically, specializing in the band’s journey — bouncing like a pinball from heartbeat-quiet pulses to suspenseful hard-prog ensemble taking part in. Gabriel manages to twist his phrases, pretzel-style, into colourful melodies, with Eno’s results (formally credited as “Enossification”) including simply the correct amount of grotesque texture.

15. “Again in N.Y.C.”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

The Lamb — and, actually, Genesis — at their most primal, even when it is in 7/8 and structured round an arpeggiated synthesizer. Gabriel’s vocal is deliciously nasty, a becoming supply for Rael’s proto-punk one-liners like, “So that you suppose I am a troublesome child? / Is that what you heard? / Yeah, properly I wish to see some motion / And it will get into my blood!” Collins’ drumming, in the meantime, is an absolute grasp class: at instances flailing round on the toms with triplet fills, elsewhere creating stress by stripping all the pieces again to a experience cymbal and kick. You may get misplaced in these particulars, or you may let the story take the wheel. “Again in N.Y.C.” works on each degree.

14. “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

And so we meet Rael Imperial Aerosol Child, who emerges from a Manhattan subway together with his “spray gun hid” and witnesses the titular animal makes his transfer — a weird however profound gesture that inadvertently launches our avant-garde Pilgrim’s Progress. Gabriel by no means wrote extra vivid Genesis lyrics, accentuated with a shocking inner-city edge — and the band’s groove, led by Rutherford’s distorted bass riff, matches the photographs blow by blow.

13. “Dance on a Volcano”
From: A Trick of the Tail (1976)

Genesis might have withered beneath the stress after Gabriel’s departure. As an alternative, they rallied with renewed function: Even earlier than the return of Hackett, who was ending his first solo LP, the trio lineup reconvened and shortly knocked out the turbulent “Dance on a Volcano.” The sleekly harmonized important melody in 7/8, the fusion-y cymbals and tom-tom triplets, the mammoth bass pedals, the depth of Collins’ lead vocal — Genesis had been going to outlive this main loss, they usually did not even must tread water.

12. “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)”
From: Promoting England By the Pound (1973)

Arguably the primary nice Genesis pop tune, “I Know What I Like” developed from a repetitive, psychedelic guitar sample Hackett performed throughout live performance sound checks. “It was such a great riff,” Banks gushed in Chapter & Verse, describing how they intentionally saved the construction easy — in apparent distinction with Promoting England‘s prolonged prog cuts like “The Battle of Epping Forest.” “We did not over-develop the tune,” he continued. “I assumed that might have been fairly a giant hit, however the lyric was a little bit unusual.” Whereas Gabriel’s musings on a fortunately underachieving lawnmower may need saved the charts at arm’s size, the Beatles-y jangle made it a future live performance staple — a uncommon singalong from their early days.

11. “Flip It on Once more”
From: Duke (1980)

Genesis did not have large plans for “Flip It on Once more” — in truth, they initially envisioned it as a linking monitor for the misplaced Duke suite. However as they jammed two separate riffs — one left off Rutherford’s debut solo LP, Smallcreep’s Day; one supposed for Banks’ A Curious Feeling — the concept expanded, with Collins suggesting they ramp up the tempo and power. His regular drums elevated the entire tune, from the principle 13/8 assault to the transient part the place Banks’ synth line in some way calls to thoughts an Egyptian goddess rising from her tomb. “It’s bought a great drum half that makes it sound easy, quite than making it sound as sophisticated as it’s,” Collins recalled on the reissued DVD. “That’s one of many causes it might be a single — in case you instructed the report firm it was in 13/8 …”

10. “No Reply At All”
From: Abacab (1981)

Collins’ soul prowess shines on “No Reply At All,” the band’s peak of funkiness. Having already nabbed Earth, Wind & Fireplace’s Phoenix Horns on his debut solo LP, Face Worth, Collins pushed Genesis to take that plunge on Abacab, recruiting brassy visitor spots for each “No Reply At All” and 3×3‘s “Paperlate.” They wished to develop musically, to take dangers — and people staccato blasts cemented simply how far they’d advanced for the reason that days of Rael. However in case you probe deeper, “No Reply” cleverly blends the outdated and new: Rutherford had definitely by no means performed his bass with such gleeful melodic heat, however Banks’ busy Prophet-5 sample makes use of the identical cross-handed keyboard approach used throughout the intro of “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.”

9. “The Cinema Present”
From: Promoting England By the Pound (1973) 

When your lyrics mingle Greek mythology with T.S. Eliot and Shakespeare, your music ought to in all probability match that attain. Verify! The 11-minute “Cinema Present” opens in a peaceable acoustic reverie, Gabriel and Collins harmonizing a few attainable sexual encounter between Romeo and Juliet. It then, let’s consider, crosses between the poles, constructing to a surprising climax in 7/8 dominated by Banks’ ARP Professional Soloist synthesizer. The chirpy melody that seems round 7:01 is a definitive prog second, for Genesis or anybody else. Wait, what is going on on with Romeo? Ah, who cares?

8. “The Carpet Crawlers”
From: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

It feels acceptable that Genesis closed their reside profession with “The Carpet Crawlers,” the encore-ender from their 2021-22 run. It might be the band’s prettiest tune, definitely amongst their most weak — the right alternative for a tearful viewers singalong. (The one disgrace is that Gabriel, who was within the viewers for his or her ultimate gig, did not hop onstage.) The 1999 single is healthier on a technical degree, providing a extra exact vocal from each singers. However the Lamb model remains to be the important take, coloured by Hackett’s volume-pedal guitars and Collins’ quietly rising hi-hat groove. It is becoming that on an album full of loopy phrases, Gabriel’s easiest lyric has outlasted all of them: “We have to get in to get out.”

7. “Behind the Strains”
From: Duke (1980)

At one level, Duke‘s soulful opener would have additionally launched the prolonged — and later aborted — suite. Nevertheless, fearing comparisons to their very own “Supper’s Prepared,” Genesis broke the songs aside, each structurally and inside the monitor itemizing. (They did, nonetheless, play the suite onstage, with Collins considerably jokingly explaining the story involving a tragic character named Albert, “one in all life’s failures.”) None of that impacts the standard of “Behind the Strains,” which explodes with a longing that borders between romantic and disturbing. “I held the e book so tightly in my fingers,” Collins croons. “I noticed your image, heard you name my identify.”

6. “The Musical Field”
From: Nursery Cryme (1971)

The band’s first no-doubt-about-it masterpiece, “The Musical Field” has a zig-zagging origin story: It developed from an preliminary guitar sequence by Rutherford and Phillips (the latter of whom give up earlier than the recording of Nursery Cryme and went uncredited on the sleeve); the piece grew additional onstage, with non permanent member Mick Barnard even influencing among the guitar traces. Once they lastly hit the studio, now with Hackett becoming a member of new recruit Collins, they’d workshopped the monitor a good quantity — and the eye to element reveals. The rookies helped elevate “The Musical Field” to basic standing, from Hackett’s harmonized guitars to Collins’ jazzy drumming and vocal call-and-response with Gabriel (“play me my tune” into “right here it comes once more”). Gabriel’s demented Victorian fairy story is the glue holding all of it collectively.

5. “Duchess”
From: Duke (1980)

The drum machine ultimately grew to become essential to Genesis, coloring lots of their most well-known songs. However its first look was extra refined, with Collins’ Roland CR-78 plopping softly within the intro of this Duke shout-along. “Duchess” is famously one in all Banks’ favourite Genesis songs, and with good purpose: It marks the exact candy spot between their prog and pop sides, a platform for Collins to roar mightily over a dramatic chord development.

4. “Mama”
From: Genesis (1983)

It is each bit the equal of “Within the Air Tonight,” a kind of sibling tune with a equally chilling vibe, however “Mama” does not fairly earn her due respect. A travesty! Like many tracks of its period, it started from a drum machine, with Rutherford banging out a loud loop on his Linn; Banks added some synth chords, and Collins molded gibberish right into a soulfully belted story a few younger man’s fixation on a prostitute. (The singer’s well-known refrain giggle, accentuated with a less-famous growl, was impressed by Grandmaster Flash’s 1982 monitor “The Message.”) Like “Within the Air Tonight,” it is all about stress and launch: When these gated toms lastly kick in on the 3:30 mark, the impact is jaw-dropping.

3. “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight”
From: Promoting England By the Pound (1973) 

Hackett described this Frankenstein-ed prog epic as “Genesis at its greatest” in his 2020 memoir, A Genesis in My Mattress — and who might argue? Because the guitarist notes, the piece is collage-like in its journey by time, evolving from Gabriel’s mournful Scottish melody into classical piano motifs, jazz-rock heroics, and loads of good ol’ usual mellotron. It is prog perfection, plain and easy. “I do not suppose that some other band has written something fairly prefer it,” Hackett added. “It was a quantum leap ahead for us.” And for rock, interval.

2. “Firth of Fifth”
From: Promoting England By the Pound (1973) 

“Firth of Fifth” opens with one in all prog’s most beloved keyboard compositions — a classical exercise so daunting that Banks fully stopped taking part in it reside after some time, his RMI electrical piano missing the required contact sensitivity and bodily vary. (Hear, in case you dare, to a uncommon reside model with the intro in place. As an alternative of capturing the album model’s dashing grandeur, it sounds just like the bumbling theme to a Sega Genesis recreation.) From there, it is a tumble of gorgeous melodic themes, none extra well-known than a minor-key Banks line performed by Gabriel’s flute after which Hackett’s electrical guitar. The latter ranks among the many most evocative solos within the rock pantheon, wringing out each emotional nuance by the usage of vibrato, quantity pedal, gradual string bends and a seemingly infinite maintain. “I had the picture in thoughts of a hen flying excessive above a relaxed sea,” Hackett wrote in A Genesis in My Mattress. Temper achieved.

1. “Supper’s Prepared”
From: Foxtrot (1972)

A Gabriel-described “dream journey,” “Supper’s Prepared” must be essentially the most divisive Genesis tune: It is 23-minutes lengthy, filled with virtuoso touches and illusory Christian imagery, assembled from seven largely unrelated sections — unashamedly prog in each sense of the phrase. However each band member appears to like it, even those that’ve soured on musical indulgence over time. Why precisely? All the person items would work if expanded into separate songs, however stacking them on prime of one another was a little bit of sonic sorcery — the totality winds up higher than the sum of the elements. “Supper’s Prepared” was a real full-band effort: Banks composed particular person sections, together with the “New Jerusalem” finale of “As Positive As Eggs Is Eggs,” whereas a college scholar; he and Rutherford devised the menacing “Apocalypse in 9/8”; and Gabriel added his surreal pseudo-singalong “Willow Farm.” The magic, maybe inevitably, was the results of blind luck: They didn’t understand how these contrasts would sound collectively, having recorded the segments individually. The result’s a filmic collage that appears to comprise the universe. “It’s numerous contrasts,” Banks instructed NME in 1977. “It’s the loud towards the smooth and the very romantic towards the extremely silly. And by doing that, you make the romantic extra romantic and the silly extra silly.” One other means of placing it: You make the gorgeous really feel playful and the dumb really feel profound.

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