Tag: John Silver

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Where the Sour Turns to Sweet (1969) – Genesis

In June 1969, Genesis released their third and final single for Decca Records: “Where the Sour Turns to Sweet” backed with “In Hiding.” It was intended to spark interest in their debut LP From Genesis to Revelation, but like its predecessors, it went largely unnoticed.

From Genesis to Revelation

By this point, Genesis had already released two singles on Decca: “The Silent Sun” and “A Winter’s Tale,” both in 1968 and both produced by Jonathan King. King also produced the band’s first full-length album, From Genesis to Revelation. The lineup at the time featured Tony Banks (keyboards), Peter Gabriel (vocals), Anthony Phillips (guitar), Mike Rutherford (guitar/bass), and John Silver (drums).

The album, loosely a concept work about the history of mankind, was still musically rooted in soft pop rather than progressive rock. Much to the band’s dismay, King added string arrangements to many tracks, softening the overall sound and steering it further from the band’s original vision.

Like the singles before it, the album failed to attract significant attention. In an effort to salvage interest, Decca decided to release a third single from the LP: “Where the Sour Turns to Sweet.”

Where the Sour Turns to Sweet

The track had actually been part of Genesis’s live repertoire for a while. Back in 1967, they recorded it, along with three other songs, during a one-hour session at Regent Sound Studios in London (where many rock legends had also worked). Jonathan King brought the young band in to record a demo, which was then sent to Decca. The label was impressed, and the band was signed.

They attempted to re-record “Where the Sour Turns to Sweet” at Advision Studios as their debut single, but the session was a disaster. Inexperience on both the band’s and producer’s parts led to the idea being shelved. Instead, “The Silent Sun” and “A Winter’s Tale” were released the following year, along with the full album in 1969.

Finally, on June 27, 1969, “Where the Sour Turns to Sweet” was released as a single (using the album version) with “In Hiding” as the B-side. It became Genesis’s third and last Decca single. Like the others, it failed to chart. There were even plans to release a remixed version of “In the Beginning” as a fourth single, but they never materialized.

Musical Highlights

“Where the Sour Turns to Sweet” opens with a bluesy piano phrase and finger snaps, giving it a laid-back, jazzy feel. Unfortunately, Arthur Greenslade’s added strings somewhat obscure the song’s raw energy. Peter Gabriel’s voice, even at this early stage, stands ou. His playful delivery and dynamic phrasing give the lyrics character and charm. It’s arguably one of the album’s standout tracks, though the fade-out feels abrupt and slightly uninspired.

Tony Banks and Tony Blackburn

Keyboardist Tony Banks once recalled being sent out to accost BBC DJ Tony Blackburn on the street to persuade him to play the single on his radio show (though Mike Rutherford claims that this was done when “A Winter’s Tale” was released.) “I told him, ‘Well, don’t play the A-side—play the B-side,’” Banks later said, referring to “In Hiding.” The situation was awkward for everyone involved, but the band was desperate enough to take the chance.

The End of the King Era

By the end of 1969, after three underwhelming singles and an album that missed the mark, Genesis was ready to move on. Jonathan King had taken the group as far as he could. The band withdrew to the countryside to reflect and write new music that would take them in a very different, much more adventurous direction.

Still, King left them with one important legacy: the name Genesis.

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Archive I 1967 – 1975 (1998) – Genesis

In June 1998, Genesis released their first of two ‘Archive’ box sets: Archive 1967 – 1975 covers the era with Peter Gabriel as lead vocalist.

The plans to release ‘Archive’ box sets dated back to 1994

After the release of their last studio album Calling All Stations* in 1997, Genesis began putting together unreleased material from their history. The idea dated back to 1994. Originally there were plans to release three box sets. The first would have featured the Gabriel years, the second the period from the mid 1970’s to the early 80’s and the last the period from the mid 80’s to the early 90’s.

But over the years, there were delays and plans were changed. The recordings were released on two box sets, the first one being Archive 1967-75* , released in 1998, the second one being Genesis Archive 2 1976-1992*, released in 2000, which covers the era with Phil Collins on lead vocals. Both sets feature unreleased live performances, studio tracks and demo songs.

A complete live performance of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Archive 1967 – 1975 is a box set that includes four discs. The mixing was done by Genesis producer Nick Davis. The first two discs feature a complete live performance of Genesis’ magnum opus The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway*. When the band toured the concept album in 1974/75, they played the whole double album. After this tour, Peter Gabriel left the band. The live performance in the box set is from The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. Unfortunately, most of Peter Gabriel’s stories about the adventures of Rael between the songs were left out.

Peter Gabriel re-recorded his vocals at Real World Studios in 1995

Also, it is not a completely live recording. Peter Gabriel and former lead guitarist Steve Hackett re-recorded some of their parts in 1995. You can hear the difference in Gabriel’s voice if you compare the studio versions from 1974 to the live version on Archive I. Gabriel recorded his vocals at his Real World Studios. Also, the last song ‘It’, fades out because the tape machine at the Shrine ran out halfway through the song.

The live performance in general sounds more powerful than the studio version and the crowd seems to be enthusiastic. Apart from that, the songs are almost identical to the studio versions. The only exception is ‘The Waiting Room (Evil Jam)’, which was an instrumental with lots of space for improvisation that was therefore played differently every night. Apart from that, especially the title track, ‘Fly On A Windshield’ and ‘Carpet Crawlers’ stand out.

A live performance of ‘Supper’s Ready’ from 1973

Disc 3 includes live performances from the Rainbow Theatre in London, recorded on the Selling England By the Pound* tour in 1973. We finally get to hear songs like ‘Dancing With The Moonlight Knight’ and ‘Supper’s Ready’ live with Peter on vocals on an official release. Here, the stories are included. It also features a 1971 BBC recording of ‘Stagnation’ and b-sides and studio tracks from that era like ‘Twilight Alehouse’ and ‘Happy The Man.’

The last disc is the most interesting one, at least for the fans. It features songs from the band’s earliest period, still with Anthony Phillips on guitar. There are BBC sessions and many demo songs. You can hear the band becoming Genesis on this disc. Some of the tracks are real gems, from the early version of ‘Dusk’ to the appealing ‘Hey!’. There is an atmosphere in these early recordings that went missing after Ant Phillips left the band.

Apart from the four discs, there is a 82-page booklet which contains the band’s history and interviews with band members and associates.

So Archive 1967 – 1975 is a quite interesting box set. We finally get to hear official live versions of Gabriel-era songs sung by him. The only official live release with him had been Live* from 1973, which only covers songs from Trespass*, Nursery Cryme* and Foxtrot*. The inclusion of b-sides and unreleased studio tracks like ‘Twilight Alehouse’ make this box set special. Some would argue that disc 4 is only for the hardcore fans, but it also is the most surprising and most interesting of the four discs. Unfortunately some rare tracks and demos that are known to exist did not make it onto the box set. But all in all, Archive 1967-75 is an extraordinary release. Fans seemed to agree with that: It reached no. 35 in the UK charts in 1998.

The band met at Heathrow Airport to promote the release

To promote the release of Archive I, Genesis members past and present reunited for a photo shoot (and a following dinner) at Heathrow Airport in May 1998. There were Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips, former drummer John Silver, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford. The band’s first drummer Chris Stewart only made it to the dinner. Trespass-era drummer John Mayhew did not attend the event.

Genesis’ next ‘Archive’ release would be in 2000. It would be entitled Archive II 1976 – 1992 and feature the period with Phil Collins as lead vocalist.

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