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That there is no subject more intriguing than music, DeBasio confirms, wanting to make it abundantly clear. Among all the musical topics that ignite passions, that excite, that spark anger, hatred, love, joy, indifference, today I want to talk about Genesis. It's true that there are no more official albums to review, in fact, there's a massive wealth of duplicates, however, from the wide unofficial discography of Genesis, there's a lot of unreleased material that fans have often had the opportunity to listen to thanks to unauthorized recordings.
There are reportedly about six hundred bootlegs of this band, and many of them contain particularly interesting material. Among these is a triple CD box set, released on the market in 1993, using material derived from the private collection of Philip Cohen, a known collector of musical materials from various authors.
The "From One Fan To Another" box set contains a first volume, definitely the most interesting of the three, featuring material from the very early '70s. It was the first digital medium on which to listen to tracks from the BBC Sessions called "Nightride," dating back to February 22, 1970. These are three tracks composed during the transition period between the retro pop beat of "From Genesis To Revelation" and the symphonic prog of "Trespass." These are very important compositions because, in addition to being unreleased, they are the first without the dark hand of Jonathan King: no mellifluous and unnecessary strings, no embellishments and unwanted frills, no sly and predictable arrangements, but lots of melody and a sharpness of intent that already demonstrates the compositional genius of at least four of the five members. "Shepherd," "Pacidy," and "Let Us Now Make Love," are the titles of the three tracks, all sharing a dreamlike pastoral reality, childlike, saturated with memories, with pleasant and positive nostalgia, and with a rare and perhaps unique spontaneous pathos. The acoustic parts of twelve strings, piano, and flute are rich, and when the electro-acoustic balance is tipped in favor of the intense force of Tony Banks' organ, the transport is total. Nothing is intrusive, and although these are arrangements not meant for a record, from the tracks, the characteristics of what will be the most beautiful musical adventure of English and perhaps world progressive music emerge clearly. The first volume continues with other very interesting tracks, among which I mention "Looking For Someone," taken from the same session of February 22 and with partially different lyrics and music compared to the final version of "Trespass," we also find two spectacular "Stagnation" and "The Musical Box," this longer and with some parts different from the one published on "Nursery Cryme," and two other unreleased live tracks: "Silver Song," a catchy track composed by Anthony Phillips, and "Going Out To Get You," a strangely rocking, energetic, and bluesy track, perhaps composed by Gabriel, which in some early concerts used to be extended to over twenty minutes, here the recording is in the short version at the Piper in Rome in 1974. For complete information, I report that the first volume also features other excellent live tracks taken from the BBC radio session of September 25, 1972: "Twighlight Alehouse," "Watcher Of The Skies," and "Get 'em Out By Friday," more faithful to the published versions.
The second volume opens with one of the best live versions of "Supper's Ready," the one recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on October 20, 1973; from the same concert is "More Fool Me," sung by Collins and one of the most debated Genesis songs of the golden period. The rest of the box set is dedicated to the entire live performance at the Civic Center of Lakeland, Florida, on January 11, 1975, thus featuring the complete representation of the opera "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" and the subsequent encore, "The Musical Box."
The importance of this recording is glaring: "The Lamb ..." is one of the most important works in the history of music, whether one likes it or not, this must be acknowledged and of the 102 complete performances of the 1974 - 1975 tour, there is no official version. Therefore, the complete listening is relegated to bootlegs, this is one of the best original recordings, also because the one made official through the "Genesis Archives" volumes has been heavily tampered with overdubs, changes, and rerecording of many parts, especially vocals. The listening is nevertheless excellent and presents us with a band in great shape with a stellar Phil Collins and a Gabriel who, although caught up in his theatrical obsessions, is perfectly in character. The parts by Banks and Hackett are impeccable, and there is great redemption for Rutherford, making it clear how important he was in the musical economy of the group.
I may have gone on a bit, but, on the other hand, we are talking about a triple CD, rich in material and history ... and what a history!
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