1. Genesis formed in 1967 in Go… Read Full Bio ↴There are three bands named Genesis.
1. Genesis formed in 1967 in Godalming, Surrey (United Kingdom) and was one of the most popular progressive rock bands in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. During the 1970s, Peter Gabriel was the lead singer until his departure, when drummer Phil Collins stepped up to the mic and replaced him.
Starting as an amalgam of two bands formed by schoolboys attending Charterhouse School in Godalming, England, the original lineup consisted of Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Chris Stewart, though Stewart was soon replaced as drummer by John Silver and then John Mayhew. By the end of 1970, Phillips and Mayhew had left the band, with Collins joining as drummer, and by early 1971, guitarist Steve Hackett had filled the gap left by Phillips. The lineup of Gabriel, Banks, Hackett, Rutherford, and Collins remained in place until Gabriel's departure in 1975.
During the period of 1970-1975, the band produced some of the most widely-acclaimed albums of the progressive rock era, including "Nursery Cryme", "Foxtrot" (featuring the side-long epic "Supper's Ready") and the seminal album "Selling England by the Pound", which generated Genesis' first foray into the charts with "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". This lineup culminated with the band's magnum opus "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" in 1974. Following the tour promoting the album, frontman Peter Gabriel left the group in mid 1975.
Genesis decided to continue on as a four-piece, producing two albums, "A Trick of the Tail" and "Wind & Wuthering", which found the band proving to themselves and to the world that they could move on after Gabriel's departure. Collins stepped up to fill the role of lead vocalist after countless auditions for a new singer proved fruitless by the completion of recording for "A Trick of the Tail". Hackett quietly departed after the "Wind & Wuthering" tour in 1977, feeling that his creative input for the band was being repressed.
In 1978, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford contributed music to a British movie called "The Shout" based on a short story by Robert Graves, directed by Jerzy Skomilowski and produced by Jeremy Thomas. (More credits and info here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078259/combined)
Genesis then became a trio which began to move away from the dying embers of progressive rock. They established themselves as a more commercially-friendly outfit with the release of their 1978 album "...And Then There Were Three...", finding their first US hit with the single "Follow You Follow Me".
Banks, Rutherford, and Collins became more adept at writing radio-friendly songs in the 1980s. This reached a peak with the release of 1986's "Invisible Touch", in which more than half of the album's eight songs made it to the singles chart, including the title track, "Land of Confusion" and "In Too Deep". All three band members produced solo albums during Genesis' downtime in the 80s and 90s - most notably Collins' increasingly successful solo work, and Rutherford's sideline group "Mike and the Mechanics" which found moderate success - with evolving styles reflected both when going solo and when recording together as Genesis.
Collins left the group in 1996, and was replaced vocally by Ray Wilson, the former lead singer of Scottish band "Stiltskin". Israeli born drummer Nir Zidkyahu and "Spock's Beard" drummer Nick D'Virgilio stepped in to fill the drumming role. Their 1997 album "Calling All Stations" was unable to find worldwide success, and despite scoring a minor U.K. hit with "Congo", the group slowly faded out of public consciousness. In 1998, after the "Calling All Stations" tour (the US leg of which was cut short due to poor album sales), Wilson was released from the band, and Zidkyahu and D'Virgilio, having never been "official" band members, went their separate ways. The band, now down to only Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, took a break from performing and recording.
In 1999 Banks, Rutherford, Collins, Gabriel, and Hackett collaborated to re-record "The Carpet Crawlers" for greatest hits compilation "Turn It on Again: The Hits".
During the latter part of 2005, rumors spread that the band would reform again in its most famous five-man configuration. Genesis management stated that there were no current plans at that time, and that nothing would change in the following twelve months. Phil Collins then said in a radio interview in April 2006 that the classic Genesis line-up was considering a new live-staging of "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", but it was not to be. On 7th November 2006, Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford announced they would be doing a twenty-date tour of Europe in the summer of 2007, with a North American tour to follow.
A Live DVD of the final European concert in Rome, where the band performed free for 500,000 fans, was released May 26th 2008: "When In Rome - Live 2007".
In April of 2011, Phil Collins, after completing a reunion tour with Genesis, said in a newspaper interview that he has no plans to tour or make another album, effectively retiring after over 40 years in the music business.
Official website: www.genesis-music.com
2. In 1967-8, there was an American band that was also named Genesis. It was a psychedelic rock group based in Los Angeles which released one album In the Beginning in 1968. The name conflict was known to the record label of UK Genesis, which is why their debut album From Genesis to Revelation coyly omitted the band's name except in the album title. While both bands suffered poor sales for their debuts, the US band broke up in late 1968 not long after one of their members was drafted into the army. This more or less ended any significant confusion except in situations like Last.fm or lazy Googling.
3. A Colombian group called GĆ©nesis also exists. If you are scrobbling songs by that group and have ended up on this page, please fix your tags to GĆ©nesis with the first "e" accented.
Ripples
Genesis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some are wise and some otherwise
They got pretty blue eyes
For an hour a man may change
For an hour her face looks strange
Looks strange, looks strange
Marching to the promised land
Pulls you down on your knees
While you're down a pool appears
The face in the water looks up
And she shakes her head as if to say
That it's the last time you'll look like today
Sail away, away
Ripples never come back
Gone to the other side
Sail away, sail away
The face that launched a thousand ships
Is sinking fast, that happens you know
The water gets below
Seems not very long ago
Lovelier she was than any that I know
Angels never know it's time
To close the book and gracefully decline
The song has found a tale
My, what a jealous pool she is
The face in the water looks up
She shakes her head as if to say
That the blue girls have all gone away
Sail away, away
Ripples never come back
They've gone to the other side
Look into the pool
Ripples never come back
Dive to the bottom and go to the top
To see where they have gone
Oh, they've gone to the other side
The lyrics of "Ripples" by Genesis are mysterious and open to interpretation. The song seems to be about change and the fleeting nature of time. The first verse suggests that people change and that appearances can be deceiving. The second verse describes a journey to a promised land where the water brings profound changes. The water is like a mirror, reflecting the self. The third verse speaks of a beautiful woman who is now sinking fast, perhaps representing the slow decay of beauty and youth. The angels in the last verse seem aware of the inevitability of death, but the pool is jealous of the blue girls who have been lost. The lyrics suggest that we are all heading toward the same fate, but that change is necessary and that we should make every moment count.
Line by Line Meaning
Blue girls come in every size
Women come in all shapes and sizes
Some are wise and some otherwise
Some women are smart and some are not
They got pretty blue eyes
Some women have beautiful blue eyes
For an hour a man may change
People can change temporarily
For an hour her face looks strange
A person's appearance can look unfamiliar for a short time
Looks strange, looks strange
Appearance can be deceiving
Marching to the promised land
People seeking their aspirations
Where the honey flows and takes you by the hand
A place of abundance and joy
Pulls you down on your knees
Overwhelming happiness
While you're down a pool appears
A chance to reflect on yourself
The face in the water looks up
Your reflection stares back at you
And she shakes her head as if to say
Your reflection disapproves of you
That it's the last time you'll look like today
You will never look the same way again
Sail away, away
Leave your problems behind
Ripples never come back
You cannot undo your actions
Gone to the other side
Moved on to something else
The face that launched a thousand ships
An extremely beautiful woman
Is sinking fast, that happens you know
Beauty fades with time
The water gets below
The end is near
Seems not very long ago
It feels like it was just yesterday
Lovelier she was than any that I know
She was the most beautiful woman ever
Angels never know it's time
People never know when it's time to go
To close the book and gracefully decline
To accept the end of one's life
The song has found a tale
A story has been told through music
My, what a jealous pool she is
The reflection is filled with envy
The blue girls have all gone away
The women have moved on
Look into the pool
Take a moment to reflect
Dive to the bottom and go to the top
Take a deep dive into yourself to find the truth
To see where they have gone
To find out where they have ended up
Oh, they've gone to the other side
They have moved on to something else
Lyrics Ā© BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Anthony George Banks, Mike Rutherford
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Sellbow
My Dad, who recently passed- used to listen to this song on his 1970s era stereo all the time. He loved prog rock. I grew up listening to a lot of YES and Genesis. RIP Dad, you earned it
@pixieheart9303
Your dad shared some of the best music ever with you. My condolences for your loss. š¹
@PAOLOCARACANTAUTORE
My Brother too
@ericlarrivee9373
I was 6 when my brother and sister where amazed by it.
@davidschoug3354
A must song for my celebration of life, I told my boys, also Pink Floyd, Time, Classics
@daveeddy2402
In 1978 a HS girlfriend introduced me to this.
It completely changed my direction in music tastes.
I'm sorry for your loss.
We lost our grandfather in December of 79. .
Listen to it and remember the good times. š„°
@guillermoelizondo2450
No matter how you call it. Heads or tails. Genesis will be one of the best bands for generations to come. It will be very difficult to duplicate or imitate what this band did. They were simply an owesome band. A very unique and original band. Masterpieces over masterpieces, you name it.
@toddruthig4048
NEVER
@pamelamee3623
never again we will have a band like Genesis loved yes too x
@johnmichael7983
The interlude is genius. How they move in and out of tempos is genius.
The song taken in its entirety is a masterpiece.