The most talented member of Genesis, according to Ian Anderson
The road to prog rock was a complicated one, but the signs were there for people like Ian Anderson to see.
As one of the frontrunners in prog, Anderson was one of the first artists to see the idea for this style of music and run with it. It came in the form of bands that we wouldn’t necessarily call “prog”, but that did help set the foundation upon which the genre would be built. In an exclusive interview with Far Out, Ian Anderson spoke about three albums he believed set the standard for the genre.
“I suppose one of the precursors before it was really being called prog rock,” he said, “Probably at a time when maybe progressive rock had just being maybe mentioned for the first time in the British music press, it would be the band The Nice, which featured Keith Emerson, who went on to be in Emerson, Lake and Palmer, a true prog rock band years later. But yes, I would go with The Nice and their first major album which name escapes me. That was something that got me fired up.”
Anderson also said that The Beatles and Pink Floyd also helped to create the genre, as without some of their more innovative and experimental records, bands who went on to make prog rock might not have been aware that there was a market for it. He highlighted two albums in particular that he felt helped to really push the boundaries of rock into something more experimental.
“I could also include Piper at the Gates of Dawn and The Beatles Sgt Pepper in 1967, released only three months apart from each other,” he said, “Those two were a signpost saying, ‘Progressive rock this way’. They were intriguing because they were a sign of things to come.”
Of course, it wasn’t just Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull who heard these albums and were inspired to make prog rock as a result. There were plenty of innovative bands out there who started making music that blended rock with jazz and other styles from various countries and cultures. It was an exciting time for rock lovers out there, as it felt as though the genre was tapping into something brand new and dragging some instant classics out of the shadows in the process.
Genesis were often compared to Jethro Tull, given the two bands had some similarities and were both considered frontrunners in the world of prog. Anderson admitted that he was a fan of the band and could understand why people compared the two so much.
“I never had the fortune to see Genesis in their early days,” he said, “Because they began more or less around the same time as we did. We all seem to be on tour, I never crossed paths with them (but) we used to hear a lot about them, you know. (Especially) from promoters and sometimes from fans of the group who would appear to be fans of Genesis as well. I think perhaps there were some similarities between the bands in the early days.”
While Anderson appreciated that everyone in the band would have contributed to their success, he was very vocal about the fact that he thought Phil Collins was their most talented member, both as a performer and a songwriter. There may well be some truth to Anderson’s assessment, especially when you consider how successful Collins continued to be throughout his solo career.
“Obviously it’s a band, but you can’t escape the fact that Phil Collins, particularly as a vocalist, is just really terrific,” he said, “He’s great, a very talented singer apart from being a drummer, musician, writer, whatever else he might be. He’s a great singer and it’s great to be a great singer (laughs). So I mean, he’s always got that talent to fall back on even without original material, even without perhaps if Genesis… I’m not saying they are, but they were considered by critics to be no longer the front ranks of creative forwardgoing groups.”
