A totally different Genesis, great West Coast psych
BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 06/29/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is certain for confusion. Most of you are aware of In the Beginning as one of the million and one reissues of the first Genesis album, From Genesis to Revelation. I'm of course, referring to the British band, who at that time had Peter Gabriel, and Phil Collins was yet to be a member. But there was a late '60s American band calling themselves Genesis, and they too released an album called In the Beginning, on the Mercury label.
This particular disc is indeed the American band, and if you get any other version with a different cover and it features songs like "Where the Sour Turns to Sweet", "The Serpent", "Fireside Song", "In the Wilderness", etc. you got the one from the well-known British band.
This American band is truly a lost gem of West Coast psychedelia. Apparently they're from Los Angeles, but has more in common with the San Francisco sound, and it sounds nothing like the British band. The music is closer to Jefferson Airplane, with male and female vocals, with the usual setup of vocals, guitars, bass, and drums. Songs include "Mary, Mary", a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne", "Ten Second Song" (which is hardly ten seconds long, but around 3 minutes long), and the 16 minute "World Without You" that includes an extended guitar jam, doing what many Bay Area bands, like Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape, and the Grateful Dead, were doing at the same time.
It's funny how I ran across three bands with the name Genesis. The British band, of course. Then there's a band from Uruguay called Genesis (actually Génesis) that made some great hard rock and psych in the early '70s. Then there's this American band. In fact apparently it was this American band that caused legal trouble with the British band, as original copies of the British band's debut simply said "From Genesis to Revelation" with no mention of the band name (but since the American band was quickly forgotten, the British band's second album, Trespass clearly stated "Genesis"). It was also why sales of From Genesis to Revelation was doomed: because record dealers didn't know how to file them and filed them under "Religious". As for the American band, it was an endless source of confusion, especially after 1974 when In the Beginning was used for the reissue of From Genesis to Revelation. Imagine buyers expecting to hear Peter Gabriel and instead getting Jefferson Airplane-like psych!
As mentioned, it's completely different from the well-known Genesis, and for all who enjoy West Coast psychedelia, you really can't go wrong here."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1