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Steve Hackett

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12 Dec, 1970

Hackett joins Genesis

Joins Band0 Comments

Steve Hackett Melody Maker adHackett places a classified in Melody Maker seeking work with musicians who were “determined to strive beyond existing stagnant music forms”. Gabriel sees the ad and both he and Banks travel to Churchill Gardens, Pimlico, London, where they audition him. Hackett’s brother John accompanies him on the flute. Hackett joins the band a few weeks later.

I remember [Phil] saying on the very first day that I met him and we were going to be working together he said we’re bound to influence each other. I thought it really hadn’t occurred to me because I’d never worked in a band context before. It was a very different proposition working with a band that is often very competitive with each other. But we managed to cooperate sufficiently to come up with a great bunch of songs between us all… When I first joined the band it was on the premises that if you wrote a guitar part you were already part of the writing team, so I joined as a full writer from the word ‘go’ and I think it was a very healthy way to run a band. You keep everyone happy and everyone is going to end up being on an economic equilibrium. That struck me as a very good way to keep a band together and get the best out of everybody. If you just feel like you’re a hired gun you’re not necessarily going to give the best of yourself.

12 Nov, 1971

Nursery Cryme

Album Release0 Comments

NurseryCryme Genesis Cover 1971The band release their third studio album, Nursery Cryme. The album includes The Musical Box, The Fountain of Salmacis, and Return of The Giant Hogweed. This is the first album with Collins and Hackett. Gabriel sings all songs except For Absent Friends, which is written by Hackett, and sung by Collins. The album is produced by John Anthony and engineered by David Hentschel. The sleeve is designed by Anthony Whitehead, based on the characters in the songs. Banks:

Nursery Cryme was the album that incorporated Phil and Steve into the band, so we became, for that reason, a better playing unit than we’d benn in the past. And we’d also by this time, played quite a liot on stage, so the development from Trespass was quite a big one. And we had the Mellotron was a new instrument, and a certain quality of the early-Genesis sound was started with this album.

Hackett:

I was thrilled with it. The rough edges at that time I refused to hear. I just wanted to bask in the glory. I’d done an album with what was destined to become a great band, and occasionally the sound was wonderful.

Collins:

It was a real great five-piece working uni. We all got together for the meetings for the cover, we were there all the time for the mixing. Pretty much we were all involved in the writing, apart from the lyrics. Certain songs would have pairs going off to write lyrics. I have very fond memories of the period.

Gabriel:

A step into the shade, if you like.  There’s more sunshining in Trespass, more folky feels, and outside stuff. And we’d gone indoors in Nursery Cryme.

Rutherford:

It’s a good example of how we were moving on…I like the cover Quite a strong image of the girl and the croquet lawn., and the head. We were starting to create an atmosphere about the band. Slightly quirky. I felt we were starting to become something that was a little bit unique in the music business.

Mar 1976

Entangled

Single Release0 Comments

Entangled Single Cover imageEntangled is released as a single in France, with Trick of the Tail on the B-side. Hackett:

It was really the psychiatrist couch. Whether you place it in a hospital or somewhere else, it was the idea of drifting in and out of consciousness. I remember when I first had the lyric ready and I showed it to Phil who was going to sing it and he said this has got a Mary Poppins feel to it … Over the Rooftops and Houses. Indeed, the whole world of Disney cartoons and the attendant music was a huge influence on Genesis. Certainly throughout the 70’s, beyond that … possibly less so for them, but then I really shouldn’t comment on what they did post Gabriel and post me…I was thinking on the lines of Crosby, Stills and Nash and I was thinking of Graham Nash’s voice. Funny enough, I’ve run into Graham a few times in recent years and very often in the same place in New York. When I think of harmony I often think of the sound of his very sweet high voice. I think if a band that has three part harmony and can have the sweet voice on the top then the sunshine can really come out of those harmonies. So I was thinking of that … working a song that was less dependent on the lead singer and more on a harmony sound. I often still take that approach myself. Entangled is a song that I’m really proud of.

Ripples music video

Music Video0 Comments

The band release the video for Ripples from Trick of the Tail. Hackett:

We never did actually perform Ripples live whilst I was in the band. Ripples I thought was one of the best tracks on Trick of The Tail. I thought it had something interesting about it. Mainly, for the guitar combinations to be honest. The 12-string work, from Mike (Rutherford) and myself, and the thing that sounds like a backwards guitar solo which was played forwards but was a sign of things to come.