Genesis - Sum of the Parts

Genesis - Sum of the Parts ~ I have always been a solo Peter Gabriel fan (probably because of the Kate Bush connection), and while I was aware of his bizarre progressive art rock past with Genesis, I didn't get into them until after they had become purposefully more commercial, sometime around Duke I would suppose.

This documentary, done almost the opposite of the Eagles doc I reviewed some time ago, has interviews with the band together and separately. It's intriguing that while there was conflict within the band, much like the Eagles, no one really hates each other here. Phil Collins, frequently rumored to be difficult in all areas of his life, appears to be the odd man out though, acting the cantankerous old man, while other members seem to still have a passion for the music.

The interviews, together and separately, with Gabriel, Collins, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, and others, paint quite a vivid history of the band, from its early days to the art rock days of costumes and props to the pop music video days, and beyond. This fascinating and revealing documentary is well worth watching.

Lost Hits of the New Wave #36

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid

The original "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was written by Bob Geldolf of the Boomtown Rats and the criminally underacknowledged Midge Ure of Ultravox in 1984 to bring awareness to the famine in Ethiopia. Later overshadowed by that summer's American "We Are the World," I still think the original is the better song, and with the better stars.

Geldolf brought together a supergroup he called Band Aid to sing the song, which included Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, The Boomtown Rats, Sting, U2, Bananarama, Kool and the Gang (a seeming oddity, there only because they shared a record label with the Rats), Ultravox, Status

Quo, Marilyn, Heaven 17, Paul Young, George Michael, Paul Weller, Jody Watley, and Phil Collins. Artists who could not be a part of the recording like Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson, Big Country, and David Bowie were included giving holiday messages on the B-side of the single, called "Feed the World," a cool groove all by itself.

I worked in a record store at the time of the release, and its re-release in 1985 and remember the flurry to get a copy. This was huge. I also remember the crowds at the mall's Heroes World that Christmas, because they had a poster of Band Aid out front with a number chart to show who was who - and everyone wanted to know who was who.



The song was re-recorded in 1989, 2004, and this year as well. Here's the new version for 2014 by Band Aid 30:

Lost Hits of the New Wave #15

"Mama" by Genesis

Much like attempts we have talked about before where traditional rock acts tried to ape the new wave sound for their own purposes (like Alice Cooper and Cheap Trick), we have Genesis with "Mama."

The song, released in the summer of 1983, and later followed by the self-titled Genesis album (also known as the 'shapes' album) represented a change in the band's sound, and a lean toward more progressive, mainstream, and yes, some might say new wave music. Most notable is the use of synthesizer, reverb and lead vocalist Phil Collins' voice as a percussive sound itself.



Genesis was an art rock band that had been around forever, and had never been radio friendly, at least not outside of old school FM radio and college music heads. Former lead singer Peter Gabriel as a solo act had been making in-roads with the new wave crowds, so perhaps this spurred the rest of the band to give it a shot.

Genesis quickly became pop music as the decade wore on, Collins becoming bigger as a solo star himself.