Genesis - the serpent, 1969

"Imagine if someone wrote that today, how it might be received. This is some serious hippy music"

Genesis - stagnation, 1970

"Stagnation" and "Dusk" showed Phillips and Rutherford's combined twelve-string sound, along with Banks taking leads on piano, organ and Mellotron. The organ lead uses a surreal descending note which Banks produced by turning the organ off and then turning it back on. Rutherford later recalled there were around ten acoustic guitars on part of "Stagnation", but they cancelled each other out in the final mix. Gabriel described the track as a "journey song" with its lack of a more typical verse/chorus structure and the variety of mood changes it presents. Sections were removed or altered, but the introduction remained unchanged. The vocal effect on the section referencing "bitter minnows amongst the weeds and slimy water" was created by having Gabriel sing into a narrow tube with the intent of making it sound like he was underwater."

Genesis - one for the vine, 1976

"Every time I hear one for the vine I still hear my brother singing along sounding so happy and perfectly in tune."

Genesis - in the beginning, 1969

"This debut Genesis album, which has appeared under license to various labels in addition to Decca and London in different configurations, is largely of historical interest. The group was still in its formative stages, the members barely past their 18th birthdays and still working out what they wanted to sound like."

Genesis - in hiding, 1969

"By the end of 1969, after three underwhelming singles and an album that missed the mark, Genesis was ready to move on. Jonathan King had taken the group as far as he could. The band withdrew to the countryside to reflect and write new music that would take them in a very different, much more adventurous direction. Still, King left them with one important legacy: the name Genesis."

Genesis - in the wilderness, 1969

"Songs which were primarily or wholly written by Banks-Gabriel include "The Serpent", "The Conqueror", "In Limbo", and "The Silent Sun", while songs which were primarily or wholly written by Phillips-Rutherford include "In the Wilderness". "Window" is a rare example of significant collaboration between the pairs; the music was composed on the roof of Thomas's house by Phillips and Rutherford, and the lyrics were written by Gabriel."

Genesis - snowbound, 1978

"Typically when we refer to someone as being “snowbound” what we mean is that they’re shut inside their home on account of heavy snows. We conjure up images of warm hearths, hot cocoa, knit sweaters, cozy log cabins. It’s a cause for children to rejoice, as schools are temporarily shut down and they can play to their hearts’ content in the beautiful white canvas of nature."

Genesis - a trick of the tail, 1976

"The lyrics are inspired by the 1955 novel The Inheritors by British author William Golding. Like much of the album A Trick of the Tail, the song's lyrics focus on a specific character: the "Beast" who leaves his own kingdom and enters the world of humans. He is captured and put on display in a freak show after his captors refuse to believe in his kingdom. The Beast laments his decision to leave his home, describing it as a paradise covered in gold. His captors then release him in exchange for leading them to his world. However, just as they see what appears to be a "spire of gold", they find that the Beast has vanished, though they do hear his voice."

Genesis - am i very wrong, 1969

"beneath all of the superficial weaknesses lie two of Genesis’ strengths, in just as full of force now as they would be later – incredible songwriting and incredible vocals from Peter. . . . [A]lmost a dozen of the songs on here (and yes, I’m counting the singles . . . ) are, at least in one aspect in each of them, absolute pop perfection. “Am I Very Wrong?,” for instance, may have a slightly awkward and Disney-sounding chorus, but how about that vocal melody in the verses?!"

Genesis - say it's alright joe, 1978

"Say It's Alright Joe", written by Rutherford and the penultimate track recorded for the album, is a torch song about an alcoholic who goes into a drunken stupor. The guitarist intended the track to be a "piss-take on the Dean Martin 'set 'em up Joe' alcoholic style'", but thought it was not going to work until Banks added his keyboard overdubs and the band started mixing the track, at which point it "came to life"

Genesis - eleventh earl of mar, 1976

"Eleventh Earl of Mar" refers to the historical figure of John Erskine, Earl of Mar, a Scottish Jacobite. Its working title was "Scottish". The first line of the song, "The sun had been up for a couple of hours", is the opening line of the novel The Flight of the Heron by D. K. Broster. Rutherford, who wrote the song's lyrics, got the idea after reading a "history book about a failed Scottish rising ... around 1715". Hackett wrote the music and lyrics to the song's bridge, which was originally a section of a different song."

Genesis - ripples, 1976

"Ripples..." was a combination of a 12-string guitar piece composed by Rutherford and a piano-led middle section written by Banks."

Genesis - the carpet crawlers live, 2009

"On the 1974 studio version, Peter Gabriel sang the introductory verse beginning with "There is lambs' wool under my naked feet...", while from 1976 onwards Phil Collins omitted the introduction, and started the song with "The crawlers cover the floor...".

Genesis - burning rope, 1978

"While Banks was writing "Burning Rope", he decided to shorten the track rather than stretch its arrangements into an extended piece as he wished to avoid repeating himself and drawing comparisons to his ten-minute "One for the Vine" from Wind & Wuthering. It features a lead guitar solo that Rutherford found was a challenge to produce in the wake of Hackett's departure; he was pleased with the final result and called it his best on the album."

Genesis - follow you follow me, 1978

"Like much of the rest of the album, the slower, sentimental "Follow You Follow Me" was a departure from most of their previous work as a progressive rock band, featuring a simple melody, romantic lyrics and a verse-chorus structure. Although previous albums contained love ballads, such as Selling England by the Pound's "More Fool Me" and "Your Own Special Way" from Wind & Wuthering (1976), "Follow You Follow Me" was the first worldwide pop success by the group. The band felt that their music was attracting mainly male audiences, so this song was written specifically to redress the imbalance."

Genesis - blood on the rooftops, 1976

"Blood on the Rooftops" is a song concerning "the tedium and repetitiveness of television news and the overall mocking disgust that must sometimes accompany watching the news happen". The music to its chorus was written by Collins with Hackett writing the music to the verses, the song's lyrics and its classical guitar introduction. According to Hackett, the song was a love song originally. He explained, "When I heard the other lyrics on the album, there was a bit of a romantic tinge anyway, so I decided to go right the other way and make it as cynical as possible." It also addresses some political issues, which Genesis had previously stayed away from. Banks and Rutherford both claimed it was Hackett's best song as a member of the group."

Genesis - silent sun, 1969

"From Genesis to Revelation is the only Genesis album which the band themselves do not own the rights to. Jonathan King retains the rights to the album, which he has reissued multiple times since, including a 1974 release as In the Beginning and a 1987 release as And the Word Was.... A reissue in 2005 included a bonus disc with extra tracks."

Genesis - undertow, 1978

"Undertow in unashamedly romantic for the ageing prog rockers and the whole album it was taken from – And then there were three – was generally more accessible to a mass market, including as it did tracks such as the rather lovely ‘Many too Many’ and ‘Follow You Follow Me’."

Genesis - hairless heart, 1974

"Hairless Heart" originated from a guitar melody from Hackett, for which Banks composed the other parts as a backing. Banks was fond of the piece and was dismayed when it was titled "Hairless Heart" in reference to a lyric from "Back in N.Y.C.", commenting, "shaving hair off the heart, it's a horrible concept!"

Steve Hackett - spectral mornings, 1979

"The album finishes with the title track, which began life as a vocal piece. However, after Hackett played the vocal melody to his band on the guitar, Pete Hicks decided that the track sounded "great as it is", telling Hackett to "keep the piece as an instrumental", leading Hackett to joke later on that Hicks talked himself out of a job on the track. It has become his signature instrumental from his solo career. Many progressive rock guitarists, such as Steve Rothery (from Marillion), consider this track to be an inspiration."