The best musical moment Peter Gabriel had with Genesis
Peter Gabriel was never meant to be in Genesis for the rest of his life.
He certainly had the power to be an all-star frontman no matter what band he fronted, but by the time that he parted ways with the group, it was clear that they had done what they could possibly accomplish together. It was time for a change, but even he had to admit when the band had completely knocked it out of the park on one of their records.
If anyone wants to have the debate about whether the Gabriel or Phil Collins era of the band was better or worse, it’s fair to say that they were able to take a few more chances with Gabriel. Nothing that they did was meant to cater to the mainstream, and while they did have the occasional moment when they started making some tunes that might even get played on the radio, there was no way that any label was going to be looking at them asking for a more time-sensitive version of ‘Supper’s Ready’.
It’s not like Gabriel would have acquiesced to such a request, either. He wanted to make songs that sparked people’s imaginations, and that sometimes meant a song carrying on for a bit longer than usual. ‘The Knife’ gave them a firm foundation for that kind of music, but there were also pieces that leaned more towards musical theatre whenever they performed them live, like when Gabriel showed up onstage for the first time wearing a red dress and a fox’s head.
So if their fans were able to get on board with something slightly surreal, then The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was the moment they started throwing everything into the mix. The actual production would ultimately be what destroyed the band, but the idea of a concept album that feels like an Alice in Wonderland-style fairytale taking place in Manhattan is one of the most inspired ideas that the band ever came up with.
And while not every part of the album works as well, Tony Banks remembered Gabriel thinking ‘Fly on the Windshield’ was one of the highlights from his career with the band, saying, “Peter and I… both agreed that the probably the best moment in early Genesis is the moment when it goes loud in ‘Fly On A Windshield.’” But that didn’t come without the band having massive falling-outs when Gabriel had to split time between being in the studio and caring for his infant daughter.
Gabriel even said that the band’s habit of wanting to get everything right was often what caused the most tension between the members, saying, “We were fascist perfectionists at the time, obsessing about every little detail and often not getting it to where we wanted. But those imperfections that irritated you hugely at the time, sometimes they give it a bit of charm.” Any other band would have thought the album sounded pristine, but by the time they started going on the road, the cracks were already forming.
The band were already frustrated seeing Gabriel wear his lavish costumes every single night, but now that they were being pushed into the background to make room for an outfit that Gabriel couldn’t even sing in, it was clear things needed to change. But Gabriel’s decision to leave was one of the few cases when leaving was the best choice for both parties.
It may have hurt knowing that people would never hear a song like ‘Firth of Fifth’ being played the same way ever again, but it was a fair trade knowing what Collins could do behind the scenes. He could still throw together one of the meanest drum grooves anyone had ever heard, but it was much better to live in a world where we could hear everything from ‘Invisible Touch’ to ‘In the Air Tonight’ to ‘In Your Eyes’.
