Could Genesis Reunite?

Being one of the most prominent of the "big four" prog-rock movement of the early to mid 70s (alongside Yes, ELP, and King Crimson), Genesis enjoyed a cult following during the Gabriel era between 1967 and 1975, but their biggest moment came when Phil Collins, drumming since 1971, took center stage as the lead singer.
Genesis onstage performing
Well lo and behold, last week, the three core members: drummer/vocalist Phil Collins, guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, and keyboardist Tony Banks, were spotted at Madison Square Gardens. While Banks and Rutherford were seated together, Collins was seperate.

Now folks, there could have been several reasons for this. Some speculate that they may have been celebrating Collins' birthday, which was last Thursday, or that we could really see a reunion in the works...

They haven't toured since 2007...
Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks and Phil Collins in 2007
Their most recent tour was back in 2007, the Turn it on Again tour. That tour saw them touring all over Europe and North America. The band's Collins-Rutherford-Banks combination was active since late 1977. On tour they were also supplemented by Daryl Steuner on lead guitar, and Chester Thompson on drums. (That's right, Collins also foccused on vocals on stage, but what would play drums during solos or instrumentals).

Reunion or not?
Since 2010, reuniting Genesis has been all the buzz, Steve Hackett, a key member of the 1971-75 pinnacle period, stressed that a reunion with Gabriel seems unlikely. The most obvious of this was in the 2014 documentary Genesis: Together and Apart, showcasing the band's history and solo endeavours. Regarding a reunion, Hackett has remained cynical and stated, and I quote, "Look at the documentary and you'll see the priorities that come across."

Rutherford with Collins
Just last year at Collins' Berlin concert, Rutherford appeared as a special guest where the two of them performed Genesis' 1978 hit Follow You, Follow Me from their 1978 LP ...And Then There Were Three, which started their transition into commercial pop. Their performance makes the first since the 2007 European tour.

Collins had been retired for quite some time, but came out in early 2015, again raising hopes and expectations of a reunion. While Genesis were set to play at Indio's Desert Trip in 2017, Collins opened his 2016 autobiography, Not Dead Yet, by stating that he retired from Genesis back in 2007.

He then goes on to say, and again I quote, “Doing the book Not Dead Yet, I was reminded just what good friends we are. What I will say is that I consider what we had was pretty special.
“That the three of us would come in with nothing – there wasn’t just one or two writers – we’d all three come in with nothing and we’d start playing until something happened. We’d record it and come back to it a few weeks later and from there songs would develop.That is pretty special, to have a relationship with guys that can do that. So I wouldn’t rule it out.”
I personally hope that they reunite because for personal reasons, I was not afforded the chance to see them back in '07, but we shall see...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Legacy of Davorin Popovich and Indexi

Jimmy Stokley and Exile

Bijelo Dugme - Former Yugoslavia's Greatest Rock Band