Genesis

Genesis

• Read the Artist Biography
• See all CDs by this artist

THE BOOK OF GENESIS
Mike Rutherford Weighs In on the Beginning of Genesis, the Release of 'The Hits,' and the Current State of Pop
In the beginning -- or not long after -- there was prog-rock. And the Lord saw that the prog-rock was good and smiled down upon it, saying "Let there be a band to make prog-rock that is all-powerful and synth-pop that is progressive -- a band that will never lie down on Broadway." And by the power of His invisible touch the seas parted, the lightening struck, and our sad, soggy planet beheld Genesis: Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Phil Collins, prophets of pop who would give us decades of classics -- "Land of Confusion," "Carpet Crawlers," "Throwing It All Away," "Misunderstanding," "That's All" -- all of which appear on the new retrospective TURN IT ON AGAIN: THE HITS. Talking with bn.com's Peter Rutter, guitarist Mike Rutherford took time off from his work with Mike + the Mechanics to look back at 30 years of Genesis and the pop landscape his band helped create.

bn.com: Genesis has changed so much over the past three decades -- the band is known as much for its progressive rock albums as its pop hits. What made 1999 the right time to compile a hits package? Did you want to sum things up before Y2K?

Mike Rutherford: The whole project came together rather casually. We never really planned it -- it just sort of fell together. We're busy fellows, so it's hard to find a quiet time. But right now, there's no Genesis album, no Phil Collins album, no Peter Gabriel album, no Mike + the Mechanics album, so it seemed like an appropriate moment.

bn.com: One of the disc's highlights is a recent re-recording of "The Carpet Crawlers," originally recorded in 1974 on THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY, with Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel sharing vocals and Trevor Horn producing. What inspired that collaboration?

MR: We'd originally intended to re-record it for the box set that came out last year, but our plans fell through. Many of the earlier Genesis pieces are so stylized it's hard to imagine redoing them. But "Carpet Crawlers" is a very straightforward song. And I'd wanted to work with Trevor Horn for years. I'd always admired his work in Art of Noise, and I enjoy collaborating with a producer who brings his own ideas to the studio.

bn.com: Do you hear any of Genesis' ideas in the music of today?

MR: I'm not sure that you can trace influences so simply. When we used to be asked what brought us into music, we'd always mention Motown groups like the Supremes and the Temptations. But, of course, you can't hear any obvious Motown influences in our music. You have your influences, but you do your own thing with them. You try to be influenced by the spirit of the music rather than copying the actual songs themselves. Unless, of course, you're Oasis, who really do sound a lot like the Beatles.

bn.com: What about your current influences? Any contemporary artists you listen to?

MR: I think Eagle Eye Cherry has an honest, soulful voice, and he brings several styles together quite successfully. I always like what Sting does, of course. And there are lots of wonderful girl singers around these days -- Natalie Imbruglia's record is quite terrific. Anyone who only knows her single might be surprised at how good the songwriting on the rest of that album is. And there's a British band called Travis that I hope gains more success. They're quite fresh and catchy, and there aren't too many British acts who seem to be getting ahead right now. We tend to hear a lot of American music on the radio over here these days -- Mariah Carey and the Backstreet Boys, that sort of thing. And, really, there's not much going on there.