From Genesis To Revelation (1969)
1.Where The Sour Turns Sweet
2.In The Beginning
3.Fireside Song
4.The Serpent
5.Am I Very Wrong?
6.In The Wilderness
7.The Conqueror
8.In Hiding
9.One Day
10.Window
11.In Limbo
12.Silent Sun
13.A Place To Call My Own
When you think of Genesis, you probably think of sprawling concept albums, costumed theatrics, or maybe even Phil Collins crooning over synth-heavy ballads. What you don’t think of is this—an awkward, charming little pop record that sounds absolutely nothing like anything else in the Genesis catalog. That’s not a knock, by the way. It’s just the truth. And for a band that would go on to define progressive rock for a generation, this debut is a head-scratcher.
The backstory is nearly as fascinating as the album itself. Five well-to-do English lads from Charterhouse School (Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, and drummer John Silver) managed to catch the attention of former student turned pop producer Jonathan King. King took a liking to their demos and, in true late-sixties fashion, decided they should be the next Bee Gees. So off they went into the studio with almost no live experience and even less idea of what they were doing.
The result? An album that sounds like five polite teenagers making a very sincere attempt at radio-friendly psychedelic pop. At best, it’s charming. At worst, it’s amateurish. But it’s always interesting. There’s no track here longer than five minutes, and the lyrics are packed with wide-eyed innocence, biblical references, and flower-child whimsy. The songs themselves? Actually, not bad—if you can put aside your expectations of what Genesis should sound like. The Silent Sun, Am I Very Wrong?, and Where the Sour Turns to Sweet are all pleasant little tunes that manage to stick with you if given half a chance.
Some post-production string arrangements were added—without the band’s knowledge or consent—and it caused some grumbling at the time. But honestly, they help. The songs needed something to elevate them from demo-quality sparseness, and the strings do just enough heavy lifting to justify their presence. Purists may scoff, but this was never going to be something on the level of, say, Foxtrot.
It’s also worth noting that, despite the band’s later success, this record has been re-released under more names than you can count. In the Beginning, And the Word Was, and a handful of other titles, all with slightly different track lists and artwork. All this because the band left their original label and never looked back. Who can blame them?
No one could have predicted where this band would end up based on this album alone. Heck, at the time, they probably didn’t know either. Drummer John Silver left after it was completed to continue his studies, and the rest seriously considered following suit. But they stayed the course, took a few leaps forward, and in a couple of albums’ time, Genesis would find their identity. This debut may be little more than a curiosity now, but it’s an important one. Every journey has to start somewhere.
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