From Genesis to Revelation [Import]

Genesis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 26, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Edsel Records UK
• ASIN: B0007SMD3W
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,853 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Where the Sour Turns to Sweet

2. In the Beginning

3. Fireside Song

4. The Serpent

5. Am I Very Wrong?

6. In the Wilderness

7. The Conqueror

8. In Hiding

9. One Day

10. Window

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. A Place to Call My Own

2. A Winter's Tale

3. One Eyed Hound

4. That's Me

5. The Silent Sun [Single Version]

6. Image Blown Out

7. She Is Beautiful

8. Try a Little Sadness [Demo Version]

9. Patricia [Demo Version of "In Hiding"]

10. Interview

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

For the first time ever, Genesis' first album issued on CD in an accurate facsimile of its original cover, and with a bonus disc, at mid-price. The deluxe slipcased package will also feature, for the first time since the original 1969 vinyl release, Peter Gabriel's sleevenote and all the lyrics and drawings from the insert. The booklet will also feature photos and ephemera from the group's early days, as well as a new sleevenote from an acknowledged Genesis authority. Disc 1 will contain the original 13 song album in its entirety, whilst disc 2 will contain the four non-album single sides, along with a further nine tracks of demos and rough mixes from 1967 and 1968, all arranged chronologically. Copies of the original black and gold sleeve vinyl issue of this album with insert change hands for huge amounts of money at last there will be a CD edition that includes all the elements of that release, as well as a bonus disc! Edsel. 2005

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very pleasant little concept album, August 25, 2005

By 

Heracleum (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Genesis to Revelation (Audio CD)

Ah, their first. It has been re-released many times with different songs, but it is important to know that the original album contained only the following songs:

Where The Sour Turns to Sweet
In The Beginning
Fireside Song
The Serpent
Am I Very Wrong?
In the Wilderness
The Conqueror
In Hiding
One Day
Window
In Limbo
Silent Sun
A Place to Call My Own

This concept album is the band's interpretation of the book of Genesis. Yes, the bible book. It was actually written by Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Anthony Phillips, and Mike Rutherford when they were still in highschool. Many were developed from earlier songs and rewritten to fit the bible theme. It's clear that they were influenced by The Moody Blues concept album "Days of Future Past", as the sound is often very similar. There is also quite a bit of BeeGees influence heard on this album, as evidenced by the their first single in 1968, The Silent Sun.

Perhaps if this album came out a few years earlier, it would have been a smash hit. As it stands, it does sound a bit dated, and probably sounded so even then. By 1969, this sort of brit pop was going out of style. Even so, there are some very original things on this album. First and foremost is the primary use of the piano and the acoustic guitar over electric instruments. It is heavily reliant on chord structures rather than riffs, as Genesis music tends to be from their first album to their last. Gabriel's voice is also very distinctive, although he sings much more softly and more reserved on this album than we're used to hearing. But it's clear, even at this early point, that there is something very special to that voice of his.

Don't expect something like Selling England by the Pound when you hear this album. What you have here is a very young band with very little experience but a lot of good ideas that don't quite come out as well as they could have. Nevertheless, the brilliance is there, the band just isn't experienced enough to pull it off as professionally as they would later be able to.

It's still a very pleasant album, and with this edition you get more songs from their early recording days from 1967-1969.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the beginning, there was a terrific band, March 10, 2007

By 

David A. Bede (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Genesis to Revelation (Audio CD)

It's hard to believe this is the same band that later became the very epitome of synth-laden '80s arena rock. But then, in a way, it's not the same band.

Long before Phil Collins took the wheel, a bit before he'd even come on board for that matter, several years before the myriad side-long song suites and ambitious concept albums, there were five friends from prep school who made pretty and very British songs together. Their big break came when then-pop star Jonathan King heard a demo tape and was impressed with Peter Gabriel's vocals. They still sound great. So does the mostly mellow music backing him up, even if the band themselves thought it was a bit too mellow at the time. Their youth at the time does show through in some of the lyrics, which have all the usual prog-rock markings of royalty and chess and love and isolation and concern with the meaning of it all. But for the most part, the songs work well not inspite of the fact that they were obviously written by well-read teenagers, but because of it. It's the sort of youthful pretention and ambition that can't be faked, and it sounds entirely real as a result.

And just what do those songs sound like? They remind me of very early Pink Floyd with a bit more real world sensibility, or the early Bee Gees without the pervasive mopiness. The musical style is a bit more folk-ish than most other prog-rock (much more so than later Genesis), with acoustic guitar and piano riffs figuring prominently in most of the songs. The same is true to a lesser extent of the extra tracks that did not appear on the original album, but they do sound even further removed from the later Genesis sound. The two single B-sides, "One Eyed Hound" and "That's Me," are perhaps the one and only indication that these guys grew up listening to The Beatles and the like. While they have the same art-rock styling heard on the album tracks, they also have a touch of the poppiness that defined early British rock.

Fans of their later work might not like what they hear here, and those who loved to hate Genesis in the '80s might find they love it. It's worth a listen for anyone who likes folk-rock and early prog-rock, in any case.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Turns To Sour, March 20, 2006

By 

kwd "silent soldier" (Ontario,Canada) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: From Genesis to Revelation (Audio CD)

Lovely to hear a first rate re-master of a classic disc! "from genesis to revelation" is a must have for all true Genesis fans. The songs are soothing,gentle, inquisitive, challenging, provocative, moving. Very melodic with a fine mix of arrangement from sparse instrumentation to lush string accompaniment. Gabriels' voice is amazing at this young age. Searching, sensitive, bold! The first disc is true to the original album along with the art design. As a rule I am generally averse to much of the bonus material offered on re-masters. Thankfully all the bonus stuff is on the 2nd ,separate disc. I'll confess I only played it once, but my overall impression was that it detracted rather than attracted. Rough sketches that ultimately interfere with your appreciation of the finished masterpiece. That said I still implore the serious fan to get this important piece of rock history.