Genesis – From Genesis To Revelation

Now here’s a trip down memory lane! From Genesis to Revelation is the very first album ever recorded by Genesis, way back in 1968.

At the time, the band consisted of Peter Gabriel on lead vocals and flute, Mike Rutherford on bass and guitar, Tony Banks on keyboards, Anthony Phillips on guitars and John Silver (already the band’s second drummer and another would come aboard before Phil Collins. Drummers were always a problem with Genesis…)

In 1968, the band had recorded two singles and B-sides to little success. Two years later, as they finished high school (the guys are 18 on this recording) it was time for an album. It’s important to note that the band had decided to go after a producer rather than a label. Jonathan King was the man and they wrote and performed these songs to impress him, not to impress themselves. So this album is quite different from what the band was to give us in subsequent years.

But not that far off…

One instantly recognizes the immense compositional talent of Tony Banks. And it should have been clear to anyone from this recording that Peter Gabriel would become one of the greatest vocalists of all time.

In case you’re wondering, yes, there are jewels on this album. In the Wilderness, The Conqueror, In Hiding and The Silent Sun are magnificent songs in their own right. Although the production is quite different from what was to come, it doesn’t take a genius to recognize that this would lead to Trespass and later on, with Steve Hackett and Phil Collins aboard, to Nursery Crime, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. It’s interesting to note the quick evolution in the band’s work.

Demon also included a bonus second CD with the two previously mentioned singles and B-sides, as well as some rough mixes and demos; a nice addition.

How did the album do its first time around? Jonathan King put it out on a bible-black sleeve with gold lettering announcing From Genesis to Revelation and nothing else. Most record stores put it into their “religious” bin. And they had zero promotion. 650 copies sold.

Nevertheless, it was good enough for Charisma to give them a good record deal afterward (without Jonathan King).