Namesakes #18: Genesis

Last week's Namesakes was a battle for the ages between two shoals of Piranhas. (The third didn't get a look in.) The 60s surfer dudes took an early lead, looking like they were going to chew the fins off all other contenders... until the 80s Ska-via-South Africa Piranhas fought an amazing comeback. It ended up as a drawer. In other circumstances, I might cast the deciding vote... but I'd prefer to keep all my toes.

This week looks equally likely to set the cat among the pigeons as we journey back to the dawn of time...

GENESIS #1

In the beginning it was 1967. And in the late summer of that year on the West Coast of the USA, former Sons of Adam guitarist Jac Ttanna met singer Sue Richmond, and together they formed the basis of a band called Genesis. One album of psychedelic rock was released in early 1968 before the band parted ways. That album contains a track called "Ten Second Song", which was 3 minutes long, while side two luxuriated in a 16 minute opus called World Without You. Here's a link to the whole album because individual tracks are causing people problems...

GENESIS #2

Our second Genesis also came together in 1967, with the original line up of Tony Banks, Mike "The Mechanic" Rutherford, Peter Gabriel, Chris Stewart and Anthony Phillips. They met at a posh public school in Surrey, and were given the name Genesis by their manager... one Jonathan King. When their record label discovered there was already a US band with the name Genesis, King refused to change their name, reaching a compromise that their debut album wouldn't feature the band's name on the cover. When the album flopped (many record shops filed it in the Religious Music section), the band split with King, going on to enjoy far more success in later years as one of the key originators of Prog Rock. 

I almost considered breaking this Genesis into two separate entries, since the Gabriel-fronted band is so different from the later, poppier, stadium giants fronted by Sir Phil of Collins. But that would open a whole kettle of fish that might distract the cat from the pigeons. So here's two songs from Genesis #2... one featuring Pete, one featuring Phil.

GENESIS #3

Welcome to Montevideo, Uruguay, in the year of 1969 and more psychedelic rock from an entirely different Genesis.

GENESIS #4

Barcelona... it was the first time that we met... our fourth Genesis, a duo consisting of José Luis Gausachs and Manuel López. This was their only single, before they changed their name to the less memorable "Caoba" (which translates as Mahogany).

Génesis #5

The acute accent makes all the difference. It's 1972, the year I was born. Deep in the heart of a hippy commune next to a monastery of Benedictine Monks in Usme, Colombia, this lot (also called Gene-Sis, Genesis or Genesis of Colombia) began a 20 year career...

They definitely win the prize for the best video.

GENESIS #6

Hard to put a date on this one, but it's roots reggae from Jamaica on the Sonny Fudie label...

I'm going to stop there, even though Discogs lists over 50 different acts that have used the name Genesis at one point or another. But which Genesis makes you proclaim: "Let there be light!"? And which one would you prefer to leave in the darkness?

Your votes really make a difference...