And the lyrics, my gosh, the lyrics . . . I can guess what "The Paisley Window Pane" is supposed to be about, and a bitter love song like "You Keep Hanging Up On My Mind" could only have been written back when people actually talked about minds. (Or had them, I suppose.) The lyrics today seem almost painfully optimistic, though that probably says more about our times than it does the late 60s. Because you just know a lot of Boomers had words like Wendy and Bonnie's in their journals: "If I could ride the wind/High above the things which trouble me/Far above the human race/Forgetting what's really happening."
The lyrics are shot through with hippy-dippy sentiment, but the music more than compensates. The sisters' harmonies are simply gorgeous. So much so, in fact, that it's difficult to listen to Genesis all the way through--after about seven or eight tracks, it gets a little overwhelming, like trying to eat a giant wedge of blue cheese. It's better appreciated in small doses--in fact, this album would make killer chill-out mix-tape source material.
Oh, and there's one other thing you'll notice upon listening to Genesis: you'll frequently hear a little musical moment or two that will make you think of the Bangles. They were such Wendy and Bonnie fans, they asked Bonnie to join the group. She declined.
Article comments