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[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_text module_class=”article-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”||||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#111111″ header_font_size=”68px” custom_margin=”40px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
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From the theatrical prog adventures of their Peter Gabriel-led 70s to the multi-million unit shifting pomp of the Phil Collins era and beyond, MOJO ranks and rates every Genesis studio album.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-main” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Words by Mike Barnes and Mark Blake<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-3136275.jpg” title_text=”Genesis” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”image-gallery-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|300|||||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.2em” custom_margin=”-10px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In the beginning: Genesis (l-r) Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett, 1974.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n From their beginnings when Peter Gabriel met Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford at Charterhouse boarding school, Genesis evolved from lofty-minded eccentrics into one of the most commercially successful rock bands of all time. The tale of how a group of \u201csilver-spooned toffee-nosed buggers\u201d battled music industry indifference, audience bafflement and internal rivalry to become the most cherished of groups of the prog era is told in the latest issue of MOJO Magazine, as the group\u2019s classic lineup of Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett reconvene to reminisce about the lean years, mad costumes and tricky time signatures of a true rock one-off.<\/p>\n When Gabriel left the band following 1974\u2019s sprawling double The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, comparative newbie Collins took over as frontman. But the shift from labyrinthine epics to sleek, radio-ready pop rock was by no means instant as the band\u2019s late \u201970s output found them tentatively recalibrating, balancing the grandiosity of old with a newfound immediacy. By the time of 1980\u2019s Duke, however, Genesis had embraced a more concise approach, one which resonated far beyond the student dorms and sixth form common rooms of the prog faithful.<\/p>\n The following decade saw multi-platinum albums, arena tours, and an MTV-friendly polish that, for some, distanced them from their adventurous past. That they managed to maintain relevance into the \u201990s, even after Collins departed, speaks to their resilience. Yet the final chapter of Genesis – featuring the hard-to-love, Ray Wilson-fronted Calling All Stations – was a muted end to a remarkable run. Despite intermittent reunions, their studio legacy remains defined by that arc: from ornate prog fantasists to pop-rock titans, and back again. Collins\u2019 ongoing health problems and their farewell shows in 2022 would certainly suggest that this particular book is now closed. Here, then, is the story of Genesis told through those albums, ranked from worst to best\u2026<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-21.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n 15. From Genesis To Revelation <\/b>(Decca, 1969)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Originally a teenage songwriting collective without ambitions of becoming a band, Genesis attracted the interest of svengali and producer Jonathan King, signed to Decca \u2013 whose receptionist would phone up announcing them as \u201cThe Janitors\u201d \u2013 and released an album of competent, albeit derivative, post-psychedelic pop, which sold poorly. A rethink was clearly needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-1-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n 14. Calling All Stations <\/b>(Virgin, 1997) [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Ex-Stiltskin frontman Ray Wilson had a big mountain to climb taking over from Phil Collins. But the rebooted Genesis sound \u201cout to sea\u201d, to quote the lyrics to this album\u2019s second single Shipwrecked. Banks and Rutherford later admitted to missing Collins\u2019s \u201csongwriting glue\u201d on what became their studio swansong.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-2-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-2″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n 13. Trespass <\/b>(Charisma, 1970)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Inspired by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Fairport Convention, King Crimson and The Nice \u2013 and according to Banks, needing to do something \u201ca little more sophisticated\u201d \u2013 Genesis spent months writing and rehearsing, and found their true identity by distilling those influences into lengthy melodic songs \u2013 the most successful being \u201970s live favourite, The Knife.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-3-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-3″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n 12. We Can\u2019t Dance <\/b>(Virgin, 1991)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Collins\u2019s final Genesis album mashes together route one pop (No Son Of Mine, I Can\u2019t Dance) with reflective old-school Genesis story songs, such as Driving The Last Spike, about browbeaten 19th-century railway workers. Social commentary even! Better sometimes than its irritating title track suggests.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-4-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 11. Abacab<\/strong> (Charisma, 1981)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Another UK No.1 hit, Abacab broke new musical and technological ground with Collins reprising his Face Value gated drum sound on several songs and adding Earth Wind And Fire\u2019s horn section to No Reply At All. But the likes of Keep It Dark and Dodo sound a bit cold and unloveable this century.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-5-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-5″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 10. Invisible Touch <\/b>(Charisma, 1986)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Genesis reimagined as puppets on the satirical TV show Spitting Image exemplifies their world domination in 1986-\u201987 just as well as this album\u2019s high-tech, button-pushing pop. Though Collins sounds like he\u2019s in dire need of sleep on the hungover epic Tonight, Tonight, Tonight. Fun fact: Mike Rutherford\u2019s Spitting Image puppet was later repurposed by the show as Jesus.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-6-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-6″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 9.<\/b> \u2026And Then There Were Three\u2026 <\/strong>(Charisma, 1978)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n A largely forgotten affair, recorded after Steve Hackett scarpered but before Genesis went Hollywood, it\u2019s quietly charming and melancholy, with the puppyish love songs Many Too Many and the hit Follow You Follow Me nicely offset by the mini concertos Burning Rope and Deep In The Motherlode.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-7-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-7″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 8. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway <\/b>(Charisma, 1974)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Sprawling and a tad overlong, The Lamb\u2026 is still progressive rock\u2019s ultimate double concept album. Genesis are shown at their most musically inventive and Gabriel\u2019s lyrics guide us through Puerto Rican punk Rael\u2019s bizarre Kafka In Wonderland journey through moral dilemmas, strange sex, mythical creatures\u2019 lairs, penis amputation and a meeting with Death himself.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-8-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-8″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 7. Duke <\/b>(Charisma, 1980)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n For grumbling Genesis bores, Duke was the beginning of the end. Wrong! Its artsy pop-rock songs retained the earlier group\u2019s spirit, but took five minutes, rather than 15, to get their point across, while the hits, Turn It On Again and Misunderstanding helped make it Genesis\u2019s first UK No 1.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-9-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-9″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 6. Nursey Cryme <\/b>(Charisma, 1971) [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n With new recruits Hackett and Collins on board, Nursery Cryme is full of interlocking guitar and keyboard lines, delicate 12-string interludes, and powerful full-band surges. Lyrically, their mix of whimsy and the macabre evokes Lewis Carroll, Spike Milligan, Gilbert & Sullivan and Greek mythology. For early Genesis, this is where the story really starts.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-10-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-10″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 5. Genesis <\/b>(Charisma\/Virgin, 1983)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n One absolute stinker (Illegal Alien) aside, The Yellow Album\u2019s nouveau pop songs (That\u2019s All, Home By The Sea) rub along well with its eerie surprise hit Mama, whose walloping drum machine screams \u20181983\u2019 as loudly as Neil Kinnock\u2019s combover or Anne Diamond on Good Morning Britain.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-11-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-11″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 4. Wind And Wuthering <\/b>(Charisma, 1976)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n While punk germinated in unemployment-stricken Britain, Genesis crafted songs about 17th-century Jacobites and the lesser-known works of fantasy author Michael Moorcock. Collins found his voice on this, his second album as lead vocalist, and Eleventh Earl Of Mar and Blood On The Rooftops evoke the wintry sky and barren trees on the LP\u2019s cover.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-12-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-12″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 3. A Trick Of The Tail <\/b>(Charisma, 1975)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Collins\u2019s first album as lead singer works like a charm thanks to his emotional engagement and the subtle majesty of the songs: be it the poppy sing-song title track or the Santana-meets-Weather Report jazz-rock twiddling of Dance On A Volcano.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-13-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-13″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 2.<\/b> Selling England By The Pound<\/strong> (Charisma, 1973)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n This most English of English albums finds Gabriel as Britannia addressing the nation with some clunky puns: \u201cMoonlit Knight\u201d, anyone? On The Cinema Show, boy-meets-girl meets T.S. Eliot, before gearshifting into a dazzling keyboard-led instrumental extravaganza. Banks rates Hackett\u2019s spectacular guitar odyssey on the majestic Firth Of Fifth as one of the group\u2019s \u201cstrongest moments\u201d.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/500×500-000000-80-0-0-14-2.jpg” title_text=”500×500-000000-80-0-0-14″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 1. Foxtrot <\/b>(Charisma, 1972)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Foxtrot producer David Hitchcock recalls band tensions and doubts expressed over their future, but Genesis delivered their early masterpiece, from the Arthur C Clarke-meets-Marvel comics-in-6\/4 drama of Watcher Of The Skies to Supper\u2019s Ready, a side-long epic packed with historical and biblical allusions, and as serious and messianic, or absurd and obtuse, as the listener wants.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/MOJO_377_cover_Genesis.jpg” title_text=”MOJO_377_cover_Genesis” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”image-gallery-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|300|||||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.2em” custom_margin=”-10px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n \u201cPeople often imply that we planned to go more commercial. We didn\u2019t. We just couldn\u2019t write hit singles before\u2026\u201d Get the latest issue of MOJO to read our exclusive Genesis interview with Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett in full.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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