TODAY'S ALBUM: No.7 (1st November 2011)

'Si On Avait Besoin D'une Cinquieme Saison' 

by Harmonium
(1975)

Hailing from Quebec, Harmonium started life as classically-influenced folk quartet led by the talented multi-instrumentalist Serge Fiore, releasing an acclaimed self-titled debut in 1973. However, it would be on this 1975 release, roughly translated as 'If We Needed A Fifth Season', that the group would boldly enter the prog-rock sphere, in the process becoming one of the most revered musical institutions to emerge from French-speaking Canada. 
If the modern history of rock and pop music has taught us anything, it is that the majority of groups develop along a path, usually growing from humble and simplistic origins into something much more special. Yet the transformation of Harmonium from simplistic folkies to full-blown symphonic prog-rock pioneers must go down as one of the most astonishing transformations so far. This album, along with the group's third and final release, 1976's 'L'heptade', are some of the most beautiful and evocative expressions the genre has ever produced, defying the fact that they are sung in French and appealing to progressive rock fans across the globe. The fact that Harmonium have produced just four full-length albums during their tragically-truncated career(three studio, one live) also shows just what a powerful effect they have had on those who have heard their albums, and the group harbour legendary status throughout Quebec and the rest of Canada. For many, however, Harmonium have been retrospectively discovered, which may well explain why they are now considered one of the seminal groups of the genre when, in their own time, they were generally ignored outside of their home nation. Whatever the reasons, they have since been identified as one of the key groups outside of the classic British set of Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson and Yes and despite the lack of recent activity their stock continues to rise year-on-year as more prog fans discover their wonderfully original take on the progressive rock genre.
'Si On Avait Besoin D'une Cinquieme Saison' was recorded in Montreal during the latter half of'74 and throughout the early part of '75 before being released by the Canadian arm of Polygram several months later. The album is a complex concept piece featuring a song for each season and a fifth song for what the band described as the 'new' season. The style's on offer run the gamut from folk-inspired medleys, zydeco-inflected jaunt-pop and powerful symphonic rock, with the band's original acoustic sound emboldened by the addition of keyboards, flutes and the occasional electric guitar. There is, however, precious little percussion and absolutely no drums are evident whatsoever, giving the music a soft, organic flow that accentuated Fiori's graceful vocals. The fact that they are sung in French only seems to add to the whole mystery of the album, though, somehow, it doesn't detract from the overall meaning of the music, such is the clarity of the instrumentation on offer. 
The line-up for 'Si On Avait Besoin D'une Cinquieme Saison' would see Fiori(vocals, guitar) augmented by Michel Normandeay(vocals, guitar), Louis Valois(bass), Pierre Daigneault(flute, clarinet) and Serge Locat(keyboards) whilst singer Judi Richards would also appear on the album's longest track, the epic, eighteen-minute long 'Histoires Sans Parole'. 
The album's lyrics, which were written mainly by Fiori with assistance from Normandeau, hinted at a Canadian separatist ideology, whilst also embracing elements of fairy-tales and the fantastical. This is summed up by the artwork featured on the album sleeve, which at first glance seems to show a multi-coloured countryside scene populated by flower-decked humanoids. However, glance a little closer and the flowers surrounding them take on a more sinister turn, with strange, twisted faces, locked somewhere between smiling and grimacing, staring back with ominous glee. Much like the music, there is a undercurrent of both darkness and sadness here, a hidden factor which lends this ethereal and emotionally-charged album genuine pathos. Simply put, Harmonium's second album is amongst the most beautiful - and diverse - on offer throughout the entire progressive rock spectrum. Like all good examples of the genre it hovers around the defining lines that delineate each style, borrowing fragments of each to create a remarkable whole, remaining resolutely mysterious into the bargain and taking the listener through the full range of emotions, from upbeat melodies to darkly-wrought instrumental passages. 
Utterly original and completely compelling, 'Si On Avait Besoin D'une Cinquieme Saison' is the sound of a truly unique group creating truly unique music during a truly unique period in the history of popular music, and those who enjoy the folksier side of prog are advised to seek out this group with haste.


Key songs: Dixie, Depuis L'Automne, Histories San Paroles

TODAY'S ALBUM: No.6 (31st October 2011)

'Tales Of Mystery & Imagination' 

by The Alan Parsons Project
(1976)

There aren't many musicians who claim Edgar Allan Poe as their major musical influence but then again there aren't many rock groups like this uniquely-structured 'collective'.
The creation of engineer-turned-producer Alan Parsons and song-writer, musician and manager Eric Woolfson, The Alan Parsons project would enjoy a prolific eleven-year existence during the 1970's and 1980's that cleverly straddled the seemingly-gaping void between progressive rock and mainstream pop. In the process, they would produce music that was both challenging and commercially successful, with the group's core of Parsons and Woolfson, two highly-creative figures with differing backgrounds, at the heart of everything produced under the Alan Parsons Project banner. 
The story would begin with the two meeting sometime during the early-seventies at the famed Abbey Road studios in London, with Parsons, who had forged a career as top-notch tape operator before adding his expert technicians touch to the seminal Pink Floyd album 'The Dark Side Of The Moon', boasting a resume that also included working with The Beatles as an assistant technician on their 'Let It Be' and 'Abbey Road' albums. It would be for his work on 'Dark Side Of The Moon', however, that Parsons received his first engineer's credit, having worked closely with the group during recording and even helping shape the overall sound of some of the individual tracks(Indeed it was Parsons who hired Clare Torry, whose vocals so beautifully adorn 'The Great Gig In The Sky'). After the enormous worldwide success of the album Parsons moved up to the rank of  in-house producer at Abbey Road, producing series of albums for groups such as the Scottish pop-group Pilot, American semi-progressive outfit Ambrosia and Steve Harley's pub-rock leaning Cockney Rebels, groups that would all play a big part in shaping the sound of many Alan Parsons Projects albums over the years. Woolfson, meanwhile, was a songwriter signed to Rolling Stones producer-and-manager Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate stable(also home to rock groups such as Humble Pie and Small Faces) and was also a successful manager himself. Artists such as Marianne Faithful and Carl Douglas were Woolfson discoveries for the 20th Century Fox label, and the latter's smash hit single 'Kung Fu Fighting' proved  one of the biggest-selling singles in the history of pop music, shifting an incredible eleven million copies since it's 1974 release. 
After their initial meeting Woolfson agreed to become Parsons manager, and in 1975 and the two quickly set about crafting an idea Woolfson has been working on for some time, a West end musical based on the writings of noted horror author Edgar Allan Poe. At some point, however, the idea of a  musical was scrapped and the duo began adapting Woolfson's idea into a progressive-style concept album, the idea being that Woolfson would write the bulk of the material, including much of the lyrical content, whilst Parsons would oversee the project in his customary producer's guise. Musicians were drawn from the Parsons-produced groups Pilot and Ambrosia, whilst English stage-and-screen actor Leonard Whiting(Romeo in Franco Zefferelli's 1968 film adaptation of 'Romeo & Juliet') and American film legend Orson Welles were brought in to add their distinctive vocal tones to proceedings. The real departure, however, was the addition of a full-scale orchestra for the album's epic closing suite 'The Fall Of The House Of Usher',  a five-part composition conducted by noted composer Andrew Powell. 
'Tales Of Mystery & Imagination' was eventually released in 1976 on Tony Stratton-Smith's fledgling Charisma label in the UK and on 20th Century Fox throughout the rest of the world. Despite Welles booming narrative being omitted from the final cut(it would return in it's full glory on the Parsons-engineered 1987 reissue) the album proved a modest scult success, particularly in the USA. Notably, 'Tales Of Mystery & Imagination' featured an unconventional make-up for a mainstream rock album of the time, with side one featuring a guitar-and-keyboard-heavy, American-style pop-tinged progressive rock sound and side two dominated by Powell's powerful orchestrations. Parsons would make a rare vocal appearance on the album's opening track 'The Raven', singing through a vocoder, whilst other vocalists such as Crazy World front-man Arthur Brown, solo artist John Miles and The Hollies Terry Sylvester also appeared. The album's classically-conceived coup-de-grace, however, would prove to be an entirely instrumental affair awash with atmospheric sound effects, proving to be the album's most indelible - and progressively minded - piece. Indeed, 'The Fall Of The House Of Usher' would count as one of the outfit's most ambitious works of their decade-long career.
Despite not garnering the massive commercial success hoped for, 'Tales Of Mystery & Imagination' would provide a platform for great success for Parsons and Woolfson later on down the line. 1977's Isaac Asimov-inspired follow-up 'I Robot' would soften the harsh orchestral edges in favour of a warmer, lighter style, though one that would again borrow heavily from the two musical worlds of prog and pop. However, despite the lasting success of later albums, the inspired combination of disparate elements on offer here - literary horror themes, powerful classical ingredients, prog-rock influences, pop melodies - demonstrated a remarkable conceptual vision and a truly original take on the traditional rock group set-up that is a perfect example of just what a wonderful and varied genre progressive rock can be. 
Those who find King Crimson too arty, Yes to symphonic or Genesis far too in-accessible should definitely lend an ear to this impressive debut.


Key songs: The Raven, (The System Of) Dr Tarr & Professor Fether

TODAY'S ALBUM: No.5 (30th October 2011)

'Per Un Amico' 

by PFM
(1972)

Standing for Premiata Forneria Marconi(translation: Award-Winning Marconi Bakery) PFM were one of the leading lights of the incredibly fertile Italian progressive rock scene that developed during the early part of the 1970's. After Great Britain it was Italy that housed the next largest prog scene of the era thanks in no small part to the impact made by British outfit Van Der Graaf Generator and their extraordinarily-successful 1971 album 'Pawn Hearts', an album which spent 12 weeks at the pinnacle of the Italian pop charts and subsequently influenced a generation of budding young Italian groups who were uninterested in pursuing a standard 'pop' career. 
The PFM story would start in the late-sixties and in particular with the Italian pop outfit I Quelli, a group formed by various session and back-up musicians who had tired of playing the simplistic material of Italian pop stars such as Fabrizio De Andre and Adriano Celentano. I Quelli officially began in 1968, featuring Franco Mussida(guitar, vocals), Flavio Premoli(keyboards, vocals), Giorgio Piazza(bass) and Franz Di Cioccio(drums). By 1970 however the Italian musical landscape, much like the one in Great Britain and the USA, was shifting rapidly and after just one rather lightweight self-titled pop-psych flavoured album and a minor single I Quelli joined forces with Mauro Pagani(flute, vocals, violin) a multi-instrumentalist who had been with the Italian rock group Dalton. Pagani's influence would see the group expand their sound to include a host of new instruments and within months of his arrival I Quelli had morphed into PFM. The group's early shows under their new name would mix original compositions with cover versions of material by the likes of King Crimson and Jethro Tull, demonstrating the considerable musical talents of each member and the group's willingness to mix differing styles. Their first big success would follow a year later when, alongside fellow Italian prog-rock outfit Osanna, PFM won the semi-prestigious D'Avanguardia e Nuove Tendenze Festival(The Festival Of Classical Music & New Trends) which in turn brought them to the attention of the Italian division of RCA Records. RCA quickly signed the group to their Numero Uno imprint and a synthesizer-led single, 'Impressioni Di Settembre'('Of September') was issued to both critical and commercial acclaim, garnering the young group yet more plaudits. The next logical step for PFM was an album and 1972 saw the release of their debut LP 'Storia Di Un Minuto', which was also released on the Numero Uno label. The first ever Rock album by an Italian group to reach the number one spot on the national album charts, 'Storia Di Un Minuto'('Story Of A Minute') was a breakthrough success and gave PFM  a national profile that would soon stretch across Europe.
Featuring a more sophisticated 16-track production and also released in 1972 'Per Un Amico'('To A Friend') would follow hot-on-the-heels of it's predecessor and once again reach the pinnacle of the Italian charts. The album featured a plethora of different instruments and in particular made use of the emerging Mellotron device which would add a glowing warmth to their complex sound. Tracks such as 'Appena Un Po'('Just A Little'), the speedy and intricate 'Generale!' and the gorgeous title-track would benefit hugely from both the improved production facilities and the addition of violins, various keyboards, flutes and acoustic guitars, expanding the lush PFM sound into almost orchestral territory whilst simulteneously creating their own highly-original and emotive brand of progressive music that was obviously influenced by their musical colleagues in England yet also sounded utterly original. The strong folk and classical influences are also evident throughout 'Per Un Amico', whilst a striking experimental undercurrent would also make itself heard on the album's longest piece 'Geranio'. 
Whilst the progressive rock of England was anchored in the blues, rock and jazz genre's that had proved so popular a decade-or-so earlier, the progressive rock of 1970's Italy was wonderfully different and diverse affair that would easily rival their colleagues across the continent. Even though the lyrics were in Italian the strength of the actual music was so much that PFM would find an audience outside of their homeland anyway, impressing audiences in France, Germany, England and even America. The success of their first three albums would lead to a deal with Manticore Records, a label owned by British group Emerson Lake & Palmer, and the group would enjoy a brief period of success in the United States, staging a series of concerts in both New York and Los Angeles and also touring Britain. Their mid-to-late-seventies English language albums, which were co-written by King Crimson-lyricist Pete Sinfield, would also showcase the trademark PFM soundscapes - lush keyboards, Italian folk touches, intricate instrumentation and glistening harmonies - though by the end of the decade the groups international fortunes had changed along with much of their line-up. However, with 'Per Un Amico' PFM created not only one of the great Italian progressive rock albums, but one of the great Progressive Rock albums of all time. Alive with numerous ideas and brimming with an emotive and instrumental warmth not apparent on the more technologically-assured albums of the English and American set, this is truly beautiful music from seriously talented musicians.


Key songs: Appena Un Po, Generale!, Per Un Amico

TODAY'S ALBUM: No.4 (29th October 2011)

'In The Court Of The Crimson King' 

by King Crimson
(1969)

One of the earliest exponents of the genre - so much so that the term 'progressive rock' had yet to created at the time of this seminal album's 1969 release - King Crimson was the brainchild of guitarist Robert Fripp and lyricist-and-poet Pete Sinfield. Fripp, a seriously intelligent individual who fervently-believed one could only play the guitar properly when sitting down(!), had previously been with the avant-garde pop-psych trio 'Giles, Giles & Fripp', an outfit who had enjoyed little success during the mid-to-late-sixties. Sinfield, meanwhile, who was also an accomplished guitarist, was a friend of multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, a player who was brought into the 'Giles, Giles & Fripp' fold to flesh out the trio's sound towards the end of their brief existence. Impressed by Sinfield's poetic aspirations Fripp decided, upon the demise of 'Giles, Giles & Fripp', to invite Sinfield into his new prospective new project, a project that would also feature McDonald and another of Fripp's former colleagues in the shape of drummer Michael Giles. Augmented by vocalist-and-guitarist Greg Lake(later of prog supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer) King Crimson, the first group of Progressive Rock, was born in 1969. 'In The Court Of The Crimson King' was released later that year and immediately was praised by both critics and fans for it's fresh, dynamic and highly-inventive sound which blended elements of the avant-garde, lush, classically-hued ethereal soundscapes, discordant heavy rock, post-psychedelic experimentation and artful instrumentation tinged with an aggressive edge that is best summed up on the stirring, jagged, proto-metal album-opener '21st Century Schizoid Man', a composition that has since become one of the genre's most exciting and best-known pieces. Other tracks, such as the coolly detached title-track, the heart-wrenchingly beautiful ballad 'I Talk To The Wind' and the ever-so-slightly overlong 'Moonchild' would showcase the group's gentler, less abrasive dimension, with multiple interlinking sections, dreamy mellotron washes, Lake's softly-sung vocals and Fripp's restrained guitar creating a unique album 'experience' that was as far removed from the 'pop' norm as anything yet heard by mainstream audiences. For King Crimson the single was very much a thing of the past. 
'I Talk To The Wind' in particular is an album stand-out,  with Ian McDonald's dreamy, and beautifully-wrought, flute flourishes surging peacefully under Lake's breathy vocal tones in a song that cleverly combines the raw effervescence of late-sixties psych-pop with the playful experimentation that lies at the hub of all good progressive music. 
A powerful performance at the infamous free Hyde Park concert(where they upstaged The Rolling Stones with a blistering version of '21st Century Schizoid Man') coupled with considerable critical kudos placed King Crimson firmly at the front of the new wave of progressively-inclined rock bands and the album proved a surprise commercial success, marking the end of the short-lived psychedelic phase that had gripped the underground clubs of London, Europe and beyond, and thus opening up a new musical chapter that would see groups such as Yes, Genesis and Van Der Graaf Generator emerge as the new lights of British rock. King Crimson, all the while led by the self-styled 'democratic dictator' Fripp, would forge a unique musical vision that would direct the group into producing a series of follow-up albums of similar stylistic virtue that would cement the group as one of the key, if not the key, progressive rock outfits from the genre's exciting golden days. 
Alongside the likes of 'Close To The Edge' by Yes, Genesis' 'Nursery Cryme' and Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side Of The Moon', this visionary release stands at the very peak of the progressive rock genre. Not bad for a debut album.


Key songs: 21st Century Schizoid Man, I Talk To The Wind
  

TODAY'S ALBUM: No.3 (28th October 2011)

'Third' 

by Soft Machine
(1970)

Borne out the Canterbury-based psychedelic pop outfit The Wilde Flowers(which, incidentally, is also where the story of fellow prog-rockers Caravan starts) The Soft Machine, as they were initially known, started out as one of main 'Canterbury Scene' groups(the Canterbury scene being a loose affiliation of psychedelic, jazz and avant-garde-influenced groups whose numbers would also include the likes of Gong, National Health and Egg to name but a few). The first two Soft Machine albums blended many disparate elements, with the overall sound best described as a playful, jazz-tinged psychedelic pop style injected with a hefty dose of surreal humour. 'Volume One'(1968) and the imaginatively-titled follow-up 'Volume Two'(1969) displayed a youthful and highly creative group of players who seemed to suffer from the rare affliction of having slightly too many ideas, something that came across in the groups manic and occasionally Zappa-esque songs. However, neither album hinted at what was to come next. Released in 1970, the epic, jazz-heavy, Miles Davis-esque 'Third' proved to be a bold departure for the group, eschewing the bizarre humour, slight pop-edges and avant garde stylings in favour of a powerful, dense and extremely complex jazz odyssey that would set the tone for the rest Soft Machine's ubiquitous career. Whilst 'Volume Two' had featured a fragmented line-up, with just Robert Wyatt(drums, vocals), Mike Ratledge(flute, Keyboards) and Hugh Hopper(bass, saxophone) remaining from the previous year's debut, 'Third' would see talented saxophonist Elton Dean and flautist Lyn Dobson swelling the ranks, whilst a host of guest and session musicians such as Jimmy Hastings(flute, bass, clarinet), Nick Evans(trombone) and Rab Spall(electric violin) would also add their considerable talents to the mix. 
Despite an ongoing battle-of-personalities within the group which saw Wyatt pitted against Hopper, Ratledge & Dean(Wyatt wanted to maintain a 'pop' dynamic; the rest, all classically-trained multi-instrumentalists, wanted to pursue a jazz-fusion direction) the results of these over-crowded sessions were, simply put, outstanding. Featuring just four tracks, all of which break well over the fifteen-minute mark, 'Third' is very much a progressive jazz milestone and a key 'progressive' album from the genre's early days. Each composition resonates with a thick, late-night, jazz-aesthetic, featuring muscular 'jam' sections, dense psychedelic layers and a thoroughly organic sound that equals the likes of 'Bitches Brew' or Herbie Hancock's 'Crossings' for pure, unadulterated, fusion-intoned 'rock'. The sound achieved on 'Third' is, stylistically speaking, miles apart from the playful psych-pop of the outfit's first two albums, a sure sign that the individual musicians were growing rapidly as both performers and creators. Gone, too, was the wacky, spliffed-up humour that peppered 'Volume One' and 'Volume Two', as well as any sign of vocals(bar some brief la-la-la-ing on 'Moon In June'), replaced by an earnest, super-serous but utterly compelling brand of British jazz-rock that garnered both album and group enough kudos to promote them from underground club headliners to Royal Albert Hall performers. Alongside the likes of Nucleus, The Keith Tippett Group and America's Mahavishnu Orchestra, Soft Machine were taking the jazz genre into the 'progressive' era with serious intent. They would produce a series of excellent albums throughout the seventies, all numbered and following on chronologically from 'Third'('Fourth' followed a year later; 'Fifth', 'Six' and 'Seven' continued the trend) yet despite their genuine excellence none would quite match the extraordinarily high watermark achieved here. Sound-wise, 'Third' couldn't be more different from the symphonic rock of Yes, the quintessentially-English folk-inspired fantasia of early Genesis or King Crimson's avant-garde excursions, yet it remains one of the key albums for both the prog-rock movement and the jazz-fusion genre that was emerging at the end of the 1960s, showcasing a dynamic group performing at their very peak.


Key songs: Slightly All The Time, Out-Bloody-Rageous

TODAY'S ALBUM: No.2 (27th October 2011)

'Close To The Edge' 

by Yes
(1972)

One of the truly great progressive rock albums from the genre's early-seventies golden period, this epic effort would find British outfit Yes firing on all cylinders. Their fifth album, after 'Yes', 'Time & A Word', 'The Yes Album' and 'Fragile', 'Close To The Edge' features just three tracks spread out over 35 minutes of music with the epic title-track spanning a hugely impressive 18 minutes, follow-up 'And You And I' hitting the ten-minute mark and closer 'Siberian Khatru' a couple of minutes shorter. Each track, or 'song-suite', runs through multiple sections, styles and sounds, ranging from celestial pop, hard-edged metallic rock, keyboard-drenched neo-classical themes and bursts of experimental psychedelia, all the while wrapped in the oblique and deliberately mysterious lyrics that have become the group's trademark. 
The line-up for 'Close To The Edge' has long been considered the 'classic' Yes line-up, though, predictably, it wouldn't last. The group featured high-pitched vocalist Jon Anderson, ex-Tomorrow guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist extraordinaire Rick Wakeman(formerly of The Strawbs)co-founding bassist Chris Squire and jazz-loving drummer Bill Bruford. Wakeman had been brought in after the dismissal of original member and organist Tony Kaye, whilst another founding member, Pete Banks, had been unceremoniously dumped in favour of London-born axeman Howe. However, the addition of Wakeman and Howe would prove to be the smart move. The duo would fatten up and thicken out Yes' rich sound, adding layers of keyboards, effects and stinging guitars that would embellish tunes such as'Siberian Khatru' with a populist, classic rock appeal. Indeed, 'Close To The Edge' would prove one of the group's biggest sellers, placing Yes at the forefront of the 1970s rock sphere and winning each individual member various end-of-year magazine polls at a time when various end-of-year magazine polls really meant something. For one member though, the brilliance of 'Close To The Edge' was a marker for change. A witty, acerbic, public school-educated musician, Bill Bruford would shock his fellow Yes mates by quitting the group within weeks of the album's completion. The decision both shocked and confounded fans and critics alike, yet decades down the line Bruford's move can now be seen as a master-stroke. The drummer would subsequently join-up with Robert Fripp's King Crimson in time to drum on their seminal 1974 album 'Red', whilst Yes would run into big trouble with their enormously ambitious double-sided concept album 'Tales Of Topographic Oceans', an album that would sum up the vulgarities of prog and spell the beginning of the end for the genre's popular cycle. Bruford had seen this coming a mile off, and with foresight that would impress the hardest working psychic, jumped ship for the grass on the greener side.
He would leave behind him one of the greatest progressive rock albums of all time, an album that would be often copied but never bettered. The eighteen-minute long title-track is perhaps the peak of both Yes' and the genre's existence, featuring a series of interconnected sections that blend structure-fiddling art rock with psychedelic flourishes, inspired instrumental verve and fantasy trimmings with luxurious abandon. Eddie Offord's crystal clear production lends the project a shiny musical jacket that brings out all the special effects and sound collages with expert glee, wrapping much of the rock-based material in a vibrant experimental glow that would, for many, become the very essence of progressive rock. 
Without a doubt 'Close To The Edge' is one of the top five albums from the era, and all those interested in the genre are advised to start with this glowing gem.


Key songs: Close To The Edge, Siberian Khatru

TODAY'S ALBUM: No.1 (26th October 2011)

'Trespass' 

by Genesis
(1970)

'Trespass' marked the debut of Genesis, the quintessentially-English outfit who had formed at the exclusive Charterhouse boarding school during the late-sixties. Upon the album's release the group featured Peter Gabriel(vocals), Mike Rutherford(bass), Tony Banks(keyboards, piano, organ), Anthony Phillips(guitar) and John Mayhew(drums), a line-up that been limping through the college circuit for the last couple of years without much success. However, 'Trespass' would come about after the group were spotted gigging by enigmatic label boss Tony Stratton-Smith, who, unlike many others, genuinely liked what he saw and immediately handed the group a deal with his Charisma Records imprint, a progressively-minded label that was also home to acts such as Rare Bird and Van Der Graaf Generator. Paired with producer David Hitchcock, Genesis entered Advision studios during the early half of 1970 and exited several months later with this elegant, carefully-crafted and slightly medieval-sounding mixture of classical, folk and rock influences. The album was not a roaring success yet it would lay the foundations for the long and highly-successful career Genesis would enjoy over the next twenty-odd years. Thanks to a punishing live schedule and exposure throughout Europe 'Trespass' would place Genesis as one of the major forebearers of the new progressive rock genre that was emerging in the place of the now defunct psychedelic movement that was so popular during the latter half of the 1960's. In Peter Gabriel, the group had a distinct and charismatic vocal presence who also did his damn best to add an entertaining - and sometimes rather surreal - visual element to the group's live shows, whilst the overall Genesis sound would be directed by the classically-trained pianist Tony Banks whose various keyboards and piano's would replace the lead-guitar as the main instrument, thus giving Genesis their lush, symphonic and oft-copied style. Augmenting Gabriel and Banks were guitarist Anthony Phillips, a quiet, restrained but very talented player who would leave the group within a year of 'Trespass' being released, drummer John Mayhew(who, like Phillips, would leave soon after the completion of the album) and Mike Rutherford, a tall, softly-spoken bass-player who could also double on lead-guitar if need be. It would prove to be an interesting early version of Genesis, and 'Trespass' would prove to be one of the group's quieter and more introspective efforts. Many of the songs focused on mythical or fantastical themes, such as the mysterious 'White Mountain', a song seemingly told from the viewpoint of a wolf named 'Fang'. Other tracks, such as the elegant opener 'Looking For Someone' would showcase Gabriel's grainy vocal style, whilst the beautifully-orchestrated 'Stagnation' would find twittering mellotron and keyboard effects embedded with softly-strung acoustic guitars. The album's stand-out track, however, proves to be the heaviest. An organ-and-guitar dominated rocker featuring yet more blistering organ work from Banks, 'The Knife' would be Genesis' first proper anthem, a powerful, nine-minute opus that showed off a muscular edge perfectly-at-odds with the bulk of the album. Live shows from the period would usually end with an all-out attack of 'The Knife'.
As 'Trespass' was released in 1970 it was therefore one of the earliest versions of what would very soon be popularly referred to as 'progressive' music. The group's use of multiple instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, mellotrons, moogs, keyboards, pianos and various classical instruments such as cello, accordion and flute, would forge a rich sonic tapestry that sounded a million miles away from the basic blues, pop and R'n'B rock 'n' roll that traditionally dominated the airwaves at the time. The album would prove successful in it's own right, as it would allow Genesis to re-group after the loss of two members and concentrate on quickly producing a follow-up which emerged less than a year later in the shape of the superb 'Nursery Cryme'. From then on Genesis would evolve into one of the key progressive rock groups, producing a series of hit albums throughout the decade. 'Trespass' shows a very young group finding their ambitious feet and producing a classically-tinted ode to the fantastical. It wouldn't be their best album or even their most successful, yet it still ranks as one of the finest examples of early-seventies experimentation and has proved a hugely-influential album in it's own right. Those who have yet to explore the Genesis discography are urged to start here, right at the beginning, and enjoy a beautifully-played album that could only have been made in early-seventies England.


Key songs: White Mountain, Stagnation, The Knife

The Prog Rock Blog

Welcome to the PROG ROCK BLOG!

Progressive rock enjoyed it's golden era during the early 1970s when groups such as Yes, Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake & Palmer and King Crimson were at their critical and commercial apex. Albums such as 'Close To The Edge', 'In The Court Of The Crimson King' and 'Tarkus' showcased the wonderful experimental complexities of a music that refused to be chained down by commercial needs, featuring impressive song suites, extended instrumental sections and all manner of fantastical subject matter.

The Prog Rock Blog is both a celebration of this unique music and a portal into the outer reaches of the genre for those wanting to explore the history of progressive rock. Each day a new album will be added to the site to be discussed, reviewed and rated, whilst a comprehensive timeline documenting the various group's histories will also be present.

Whether you're a die-hard prog rock fan or a beginner wanting to fully explore this truly wonderful genre the Prog Rock Blog is your guide into this mysterious and magical musical world....

Enjoy!