Genesis (band) - Legacy

Legacy

As a group that influenced the growth of the progressive rock genre, Genesis has been cited by a number of progressive rock groups, including Spock's Beard, Rush, Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Pallas and Dream Theater. Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr's first concert was on the band's Foxtrot tour, which he described as "just the most terrific gig and in a way my life was never quite the same again." They have also been cited as an influence by alternative rock bands Elbow and Coheed and Cambria. Several Genesis tribute bands, including ReGenesis and The Musical Box routinely perform material from the Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins eras.

Collins became the first artist to cover a Genesis song in a studio release, "Behind the Lines"', which he included on Face Value one year after the original's release. Other former members previously and subsequently performed the band's material live during their solo shows—Gabriel played "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" and "Back in NYC", while Hackett has performed "In That Quiet Earth", "Los Endos", "Horizons", "Firth of Fifth" and "Blood on the Rooftops", among others. Hackett has performed "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" on his own solo tours, and on a 1986 tour with his short lived supergroup GTR. Rutherford has performed "I Can't Dance" during his tours with the Mechanics. Collins also later formed The Phil Collins Big Band, which played jazz arrangements of Genesis songs, which were "That's All", "Invisible Touch", "Hold on My Heart" and "Los Endos" (renamed "The Los Endos Suite"), during its 1998 world tour. Ray Wilson has covered the most Genesis songs during his solo concerts. His two solo live albums, Live and Life and Acoustic, feature the Genesis songs "The Carpet Crawlers", "Follow You Follow Me", "I Can't Dance", "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "No Son of Mine", "Shipwrecked", and "Mama". He has interpreted two songs from the solo careers of his two predecessors — "In the Air Tonight" (Collins) and "Biko" (Gabriel).

Jeff Buckley reworked "Back in NYC" for the posthumously released 1998 Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk; And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead also covered "Back in NYC" as a B-side in 2005. The Brazilian power metal band Angra covered "Mama" in 2002. The Swedish death metal band In Flames covered "Land of Confusion" on Trigger, as did Disturbed on their 2005 album Ten Thousand Fists. Disco-pop band Alcazar, also from Sweden, has covered parts of "Land of Confusion" on their song "This is the World We Live in". Dream Theater covered "Turn It on Again" as part of their song "The Big Medley". In 2007, Simon Collins recorded his own version of "Keep It Dark" as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of his father's band.

Inducting the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, Trey Anastasio of Phish acclaimed Genesis as "rebellious, restless and constantly striving for something more … Every musical rule and boundary was questioned and broken … It's impossible to overstate what impact this band and musical philosophy had on me as a young musician. I'm forever in their debt."

Beyond purely musical ventures, the theatrical style of Genesis's 1970s concerts with Gabriel and advanced lighting of their 1980s shows have provided inspiration for Cirque du Soleil's productions: the 2004 anniversary show Midnight Sun and the arena-based touring show Delirium trace their musical and multimedia elements back to these concerts. According to Victor Pilon, co-creator and co-director of both shows, "We're not inventing anything. Genesis did it years ago. We're just using new technology."