Review Summary: A daring step into the progressive world.
Following the release of their largely unimpressive and overproduced debut, Genesis broke free from the restrictions of their original producer, taking creative matters into their own hands and moving beyond their initial pop songs rather quickly.
Trespass is a crucial transitional album, taking a daring step into progressive territory; a step that would prove too large for guitarist Anthony Philips, who developed stage fright and had to quit the band. Despite this, his fondness of the acoustic remained an influence on their later compositions.
In line with genre tradition,
Trespass features a smaller amount of longer-running tracks, indeed showing a lot of ambition for a young band that just released a record of three-minute pop songs. Genesis obviously meant business, but were still looking for the right manner of execution. There’s multiple song sections, tempo shifts and instrumental knowhow, here based more around folk melodies than symphonic elements.
Gabriel’s a cappella opening to
Looking for Someone succeeds at introducing the band’s uniqueness straight off, his characteristic voice not yet at full confidence but already in place. Philips whips up some dominating electric leads during the opener, something that’s actually uncommon for this era of Genesis. Though his playing is not quite as defined as it is on later albums, Banks’ organ is never far off, already assuring its position as primary instrument. This is especially true for
Visions of Angels, which perhaps comes closest to classic Genesis as far as the keyboards are concerned.
It’s a major leap from where they started out, but the album can feel barren at some points. Some sections don’t seem entirely fleshed out, and the music seems to become one-sided. Right up until the final track that is, because
The Knife is something else, coming unexpectedly after the calm
Dusk. A darker, angrier piece with a soaring organ, distorted guitars and frantic drums, it is an ideal closer that surpasses everything before it. Overall,
Trespass may not be up to par with what the classic line-up created, but remains enjoyable in its own right.
Genesis Mark II:
Peter Gabriel – Vocals, Flute
Anthony Philips – Guitar, Vocals
Tony Banks – Organ, Piano, Vocals
Mike Rutherford – Bass, Guitar, Vocals
John Mayhew – Drums, Vocals
Highlights:
Looking for Someone
Visions of Angels
The Knife
