Genesis (band)

==Musical style==
{{Quote box|style=padding:10px;|quote=For years, we've been telling people that we're primarily songwriters&nbsp;... I see myself primarily as a writer, not a player.| source =—[[Mike Rutherford]]{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=122}}|width=25%|align=right}}
[[File:Mike Rutherford.jpg|thumb|left|Mike Rutherford playing his distinctive [[Multi-neck guitar|double neck guitar]], combining [[Twelve-string guitar|12-string]] and [[bass guitar|bass]].]]
Genesis identify first and foremost as songwriters.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=122}} Though styles changed dramatically over the group's career, they were always built on musical contrasts and the willingness to experiment.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=224}}

Members of the original line-up were exposed to [[Classical music|classical]] and [[church music]] as well as rock artists of the 1960s, particularly [[the Beatles]].{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|pp=6–7,9}} Gabriel's vocal style was influenced by [[Otis Redding]] and other [[Stax Records|Stax]] artists.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=9}} Some of Genesis's music was inspired by [[blues]] according to Hackett, who says that the sonic innovation of the electric guitar in the early 1970s came straight from this.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The classic era of Genesis examined: 1971–1975 |newspaper=Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia |date=6 April 2011 |url=http://www.goldminemag.com/features/the-classic-era-of-genesis-examined-1971-1975 |publisher=Goldmine |access-date=7 August 2018 |archive-date=8 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808011410/http://www.goldminemag.com/features/the-classic-era-of-genesis-examined-1971-1975 |url-status=live }}</ref> In their early years, Genesis' music combined elements of the pop, [[folk music|folk]] and [[psychedelic music|psychedelic]] genres.<ref name=AllMusic>{{cite web|first=Bruce|last=Eder|title=Genesis – Artist Biography|website=AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/genesis-mn0000199995/biography|access-date=2 August 2015|archive-date=10 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810104516/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/genesis-mn0000199995/biography|url-status=live}}</ref> Several songs developed during Phillips' time in the band originated on [[Twelve-string guitar|12-string guitar]]s, often with unconventional tunings. By the 1970s, the group began to include fantasy and surreal elements in their lyrics, such as "The Musical Box".{{sfn|Hegarty|Halliwell|2011|pp=58–61}} ''Nursery Cryme'' marks the first time electric instruments were used more extensively.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=54}} ''A Trick of the Tail'' marked a return to the band's roots with acoustic passages and songs inspired by fantasy.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=120}}

Early lyrics drew from psychedelia, fantasy, [[Myth|mythological figures]] and fairytale themes. Gabriel emerged as one of the band's main lyricists who often incorporated puns and [[double entendre]]s in his lines and track titles and addressed various themes including [[social commentary]].{{sfn|Martin|2002|p=71}} ''Selling England by the Pound'' contains references to English culture of the time including "Aisle of Plenty", where four British supermarket chains are referenced to reflect the album's theme of commercialism. Literary sources are used as inspiration for many Genesis tracks; "[[The Cinema Show]]" is based on [[T. S. Eliot]]'s poem ''[[The Waste Land]]'',{{sfn|Macan|1997|p=70}} and [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s novel ''[[Childhood's End]]'' inspired the lyrics to "[[Watcher of the Skies]]".{{sfn|Hegarty|Halliwell|2011|p=96,126}}

By the time the group had slimmed down to the trio of Banks, Rutherford and Collins, they had decided to change lyrical styles, dealing more with everyday matters which connected with female fans.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=149}} Collins' songs, in particular, were personal in nature.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|pp=161–162}} The group still featured humour in songs such as "Illegal Alien",{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=189}} and dealt with serious themes such as politics on "Land of Confusion"{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=203}} and commercialisation on "I Can't Dance".{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=221}}

Banks said that a common way of developing songs throughout the band's career was for Collins to play the rhythm, Rutherford to set up a groove and riffs and for him to add the harmonies and melodies on top. He cited the "Apocalypse in 9/8" section of "Supper's Ready", "The Cinema Show" and "Domino" as examples of this and says the restrictions it gave him allowed the group to produce straightforward pop songs such as "Invisible Touch" and "Land of Confusion" in later years.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Reed |first=Ryan |title=Genesis' Tony Banks Talks Elusive Solo Success, New Box Set |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/genesis-tony-banks-talks-elusive-solo-success-new-box-set-20150728?page=5 |url-status=dead |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=28 July 2015 |access-date=8 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909144414/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/genesis-tony-banks-talks-elusive-solo-success-new-box-set-20150728?page=5 |archive-date=9 September 2015}}</ref>

Banks has used a number of keyboards during Genesis' career, continually trying out new models, though he has used the piano regularly throughout the group's lifetime. In the 1970s he frequently used the [[Hammond organ]], [[Hohner Pianet]], [[Mellotron]], [[Rocky Mount Instruments|RMI Electronic Piano]] and [[ARP Pro Soloist]].<ref name="regenesis">{{cite web |title=ReGenesis: Early Genesis for the modern keyboardist |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/pm/apr09/articles/regenesiskeys.htm |work=[[Sound on Sound]] |date=April 2009 |access-date=13 December 2012 |archive-date=27 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627170258/http://www.soundonsound.com/pm/apr09/articles/regenesiskeys.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 1980s, he used the [[Sequential Circuits Prophet 5]] and Prophet 10, the [[ARP Quadra]] and various [[Korg]] synthesizers.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Reid |first=Gordon |title=Sequential CircuitsProphet Synthesizers 5 & 10 (Retro) |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar99/articles/retroprophet.htm |magazine=Sound on Sound |date=March 1999 |access-date=9 October 2015 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924130358/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar99/articles/retroprophet.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> For the Turn It On Again tour in 2007, his main keyboard was a [[Korg OASYS]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Korg Oasys: On Tour with Tony Banks and Genesis |url=http://www.dv247.com/news/Korg%20Oasys%20On%20Tour%20with%20Tony%20Banks%20and%20Genesis/131452 |work=Digital Village |access-date=8 October 2015 |archive-date=23 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623165230/http://www.dv247.com/news/Korg%20Oasys%20On%20Tour%20with%20Tony%20Banks%20and%20Genesis/131452 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As both a guitarist and bassist, Rutherford regularly swapped between the two roles and his trademark instrument with Genesis, particularly throughout the 1970s, was a double-neck guitar. In the 1980s and beyond, he favoured the [[Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster|Eric Clapton Stratocaster]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Mike Rutherford on Genesis |url=http://www.guitarplayer.com/artists/1013/mike-rutherford-on-genesis/16864 |magazine=[[Guitar Player]] |date=1 August 2007 |access-date=8 October 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113159/http://www.guitarplayer.com/artists/1013/mike-rutherford-on-genesis/16864 |url-status=live }}</ref>