Review of the documentary, Genesis: Together and Apart (BBC), Part I.

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v78665528YFza6yzt

As someone who grew up with Genesis in the 1970s and followed the band’s career very carefully until 1986, I found the most recent BBC documentary, Genesis: Together and Apart (2014 or 2015–I’ve seen both dates listed for its copyright), a serious disappointment.

Not that there weren’t some fine moments in the film.  There most certainly were.  Some great conversations?  Yes.  Some great scenes?  Absolutely.

But, overall, watching the documentary made me feel as though I’d entered a de Tocquevillian nightmare.  What is common becomes what is great in this story.  Indeed, the documentary argues that it’s best to take one’s highest art and pander some low form to the masses, mediated by corporate marketers and profit-grubbing labels.

And, please don’t get me wrong.  I’m not such a snob that I don’t enjoy post-Hackett Genesis.  I do.  I still consider ABACAB (1981) a great art-rock album.  For me, there’s not a dud on the album, and it has never grown stale for me.  While I don’t listen to it as much as I do MOVING PICTURES, which also came out that year, I listen to it constantly and have for 35 years.

I don’t have a problem with GENESIS (1983), either.  While there’s a song or two on the album that does nothing for me, I still find “Mama” quite haunting and “Home by the Sea” outstanding.  And, as much as Genesis fans mock “The Silver Rainbow” as sophomoric, I think it’s quite endearing, having captured the mystery (and clumsiness) of a moment of love quite accurately.

Continue reading “Celebrating Mediocrity as Success: Genesis Together and Apart” →