From Genesis To Revelation - Genesis > Reviews > The Gospel according to Peter Gabriel

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Unmemorable
Value for Money

Advantages:	1960s music at its best
Disadvantages:	Not your typical sounding Genesis music

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When I discovered Genesis in 1990 - I had no idea they were so prolific.
Neither did I know they had been going so long.
Neither did I know Peter Gabriel used to be the singer and Phil Collins wasn't even in the band.

This, I thought, is a band I want to know more about.

So I found their first album made in 1968!

The album is very definitely a 1960s album, and you may have extra tracks depending on which version of the original album you have. It has been re-issued so many times.
I have the original (and a CD remastered version) The reason is because of the title.

"From Genesis to Revelation" sounds like a religious album and that is where the music shops filed it and that is why it sold 4 copies!! (I think it was 4, maybe it was 40 - even so no one bought it - and those that did realised this was not religious music.)

It has been argued though that the fact this non- religious music was put on the religious music shelves - modern religious pop music can be traced to this album.

The album has religious ideas, but only in that one song is called "The Beginning" and another is called "The Conqueror".

The Music

Peter Gabriel's voice has a very spooky and mystical sound to it and this gave rise to the impression that Genesis were not you average white band. The songs are haunting and very sparse in sounds really with only Peter Gabriel's voice carrying through.

Many tunes have great choruses and on a sunny summer Sunday afternoon I find it all too easy to lapse into humming a couple of bars every now and again.

The tunes are typically 2-3 minutes long - typical of 1960s music a couple are only 1 minute "A Place to Call My Own"

I am loathed to include tracks because there are many versions around.

If your album does have these versions find yourself a copy of a black album (remastered in 1995 I think) There is a demo of "Image Blown Out" which is a very surreal song.
"People move about the town upside down
You know why
Look out the pavement's turning to jam."

Go figure

Also the two early single had B-sides of
"One Eyed Hound" (A very shouty song)
"That's Me" (this one has a very dodgy first guitar solo)

In essence this sounds different to every Genesis album since - it could almost be a different band. I cannot include a track listing (but then I wouldn't do it anyway). However if you are a fan of 1960s then you need to listen to this.
If you are not a fan of 1960s music (like me - then I recommend this album only for Genesis fans and people who want a quiet Sunday listening album)

Please read the quick answers below with caution - this album cannot really be compared to their other albums because of who Genesis became.