What are "Progs" or fans of progressive rock? Progressive music is defined as a rock music subgenre that originated in the United Kingdom with further developments in Germany, Italy, and France, throughout the mid-to-late 1960s and 1970s. For some Genesis Fans, their is only one genre of Progressive music and that is the Gabriel years. Many groups defined this era including Genesis. Most groups however faded into obscurity. Genesis however remained relevant much to the disdain of people fond of progressive music. Many loathe the Phil Collins era as being "POP", and refuse to listen to the albums post Gabriel. This in itself is short sighted. They will post forever that Phil killed Genesis and never give the new music a chance. To each it's own when it comes to their choice of music.
The problem with their thinking is that Genesis, while changing always stayed true to their progressive roots through clever incarnations. Sure there were pop songs, however each album consistently stayed true to a progressive format with many of the songs. In a sense, the "POP" music introduced new generations to progressive music. This led to an interest into learning about the Gabriel era. POP kept the Gabriel era from falling in obscurity.
Dukes Suite, Say It's Alright Joe, Squonk, Domino, Mama, Dodo and Home By The Sea, are examples of songs with complexities that brought new audiences to consider the older music. Plus, the live shows were creative and stayed loyal to providing audiences with a concert that introduced them to all eras of Genesis.
Progs will never give Invisible Touch, Misunderstanding, or Illegal Alien a chance. Of course this makes sense. However, they dismiss the other great songs the were the gatekeepers to future generations loving Genesis. It is this generation that embraces the old and new. It is this generation that truly appreciates that Genesis had multiple albums after Pete left the band.
I am living proof that their pop songs got me hooked on to the band. So much so that I retraced their steps all the way back to 1969. I have everything Genesis and love it all. Especially their 1972-1986 stuff!!
ReplyDeleteI never felt that Genesis became a pop band. In the studio they progressed from a prog band to a rock band. As you said there were pop songs, but overall they were a tight rock band. Live they remained true to their prog roots while also embracing more commercial rock. My intro to the band was Abacab and that led me to explore their whole catalog. It was my gateway into prog music.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post BTW.