Genesis / Peter Gabriel Fan Looking for Recommendations

Cafe Society
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I’m a big Genesis fan. I seem to be of the rare breed that likes pretty much their entire catalog, but especially their stuff from the Gabriel era through Abacab or so. I’m always on the lookout for new stuff, though, so I’m hoping to get some advice on groups that have the Genesis thing–not necessarily just prog rock. I’m also curious as to whether there are singers out there who sound substantially like Peter Gabriel.

Let me record what I’ve already gone through on this quest–a bunch of the Usual Suspects. Most of my familiarity with the groups on this list comes from one or two albums, so if there’s an album (or even a song) that’s a standout, let me know.

Genesis members’ solo work - I enjoy the work of Messrs. Banks, Collins, Hackett, Rutherford, and of course Gabriel. Did folks like John Mayhew and Ant Phillips release any contenders (other than The Geese and the Ghost)?

ELP - They’re OK, but they are missing something. Yeah, they do long songs and elaborate solos, but something just doesn’t do it for me. Also the lyrics are silly, and not in a “Get 'Em Out by Friday”-silly way.

Yes - I confess, I really don’t like the vocalist. If they’ve had more than one at some point or there are some good instrumental tracks, I’m open to suggestions.

Marillion - This is the closest I’ve found, and sometimes very good, but Fish is distracting to me. I don’t really know how to explain it, except that he sounds like he’s trying too hard.

Folks like Zappa and Pink Floyd are good prog, but don’t really fit this bill.

I’ve heard of Dream Theater and King Crimson but never really listened to them; is there any hope there?

Turning to the Peter Gabriel sound-alikes, the only one I’ve ever heard (other than Fish, see above) didn’t work out well. I stumbled across James Blunt on the radio and thought, “Good Lord, he sometimes sounds like a young Peter Gabriel!” Alas, after listening to his albums, he more often sounds like a young Rod Stewart. That makes me sad.

I know there are some prog experts and old-timey Genesis fans running around this forum; I appreciate any help you can offer. I have iTunes and Amazon gift cards and am not afraid to use them!

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I ran this past my brother, who likes every band you’ve listed and is More Prog Than You (not YOU…you know what I mean ;)) … he suggests that if you like Marillion you might like other Neo-prog from the 80’s. Here’s a list.

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**Kate Bush **would probably interest you. She’s done some work with Peter Gabriel as well.

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You should check out IQ. I’ve been a fan for about 20 years, and they rarely disappoint. Their vocalist, Peter Nichols, doesn’t really sound like Gabriel, though he does have the same type of “gravelly” voice. Be aware, though, that there are a lot of prog fans that have a big chip on their shoulder about originality, and these will dismiss IQ as nothing more than a Genesis wannabe; I disagree with that statement.

Dream Theater is one of my favorite bands, but if you’re looking for Genesis-type stuff they may not be your thing. If you’re into Rush, however, I’d heartily recommend DT. Regarding King Crimson - they’re darker, heavier, and not as melodic as early Genesis. I like 'em, but I wouldn’t compare the two.

One other band you might enjoy is Spock’s Beard. They draw heavily from Genesis, but are a bit quirkier, a la Gentle Giant.

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I wouldn’t say Kate sounds like Peter Gabriel (or anyone else on Earth for that matter), but she and Peter are working in the same genre (and work at the same glacially slow pace), and were two of the first artists to use the Fairlight sampling keyboard.

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If you don’t mind French vocals, delivered by an extremely melodramatic/histrionic singer, I recommend Ange. A version of the band is still around today (though with frontman Christian Decamps the only remnant of the original band), but start with the '70s classics Au-Dela du Delire, Emile Jacotey, or Par les Fils de Mandrin.

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Wonderful, thanks for the recommendations so far. I have a feeling I don’t know as much about Rush as I should. Is there any album that’s a good starting place?

The Kate Bush suggestion is interesting; I know she worked with Peter, and I know Tony Banks liked her stuff, too.

GESancMan: I will probably check out every band you mentioned–thanks much!

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If John Anderson’s voice is a game-breaker for you, then you really aren’t going to like much Yes. There’s only 1.5 Yes albums which don’t include him at all (“Drama”, on which Trevor Horn was the singer, and parts of “Union”, which was a joint album between the Anderson-led fraction of the original Yes, and the Trevor Rabin-led fraction).

You might consider looking at some of the solo work done by some of the band members other than Anderson (guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, and keyboardist Rick Wakeman).

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Something I just thought of, re: IQ. For God’s sake, don’t start with Nomzamo or Are You Sitting Comfortably? Those albums feature a different vocalist, and were recorded when their record label was pushing them in a pop-oriented direction. Thankfully, after this, their previous vocalist rejoined, they ditched their record label and formed their own, and went back to making quality music.

Not that there’s anything terribly wrong with those albums (well, Nomzamo has a few stinkers), they just aren’t good representations of the band’s overall sound.

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The first two artists I thought of were Phil Manzanera and Tony Levin–but I don’t know if they really qualify as having Gabriel-sounding vocals. Still, they’re worth a listen if you’re not familiar with their stuff.

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Anderson sang on all of Union, except the two instrumental tracks, which total about three minutes in length.

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I’m a huge fan of King Crimson. I also realize they’re definitely not for everyone, but it sounds like you might like them. I would certainly suggest starting with their first album, “In the Court of the Crimson King”. (Reserve judgment until you’ve made it through the first three cuts.) If that grabs you, then work through their catalog in chronological order.

Other possibilites:

Strawbs. Another big favorite of mine. Maybe start with their “proggiest” albums, “Hero and Heroine” and “Ghosts”. I also love “Grave New World” and “Bursting at the Seams”, but they’re a bit more on the baroque-folk-pop side.

Van der Graaf Generator. A bit more wierd than Genesis, but interesting. The song “Killer” might be the place to start.

Possibly “Thick as a Brick” by Jethro Tull.

Gentle Giant. I don’t particularly care for them, but there are some points of similarity to Genesis.

And this is a little out of left field, but possibly some of the classic Moody Blues albums.

(I would be interested to hear your reactions to any of these.)

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I think Matt Pond PA’s vocals are very similar to Gabriel’s on occasion. The music is not similar though, and is certainly not prog-rock. (neither, I would argue, is Gabriel’s solo work.)

By the way, although you said you are familiar with band members’ solo work, I’d like to put in a plug for Mike Rutherford’s first solo album, Smallcreep’s Day.

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Two words:

Kate.

Bush.

Go, listen, change. When come back, bring wow.

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[quote=“Sir_John_de_Pebble, post:7, topic:514876”]

Wonderful, thanks for the recommendations so far. I have a feeling I don’t know as much about Rush as I should. Is there any album that’s a good starting place?

[QUOTE]

Rush is at its most progressive on its first three albums. For overall quality I would recommend later albums that are slightly less progressive but still probably fit the category: 1) Moving Pictures, 2) 2112 3) A Farewell to Kings 4) Permanent Waves. I also like Signals a lot but the songs are more standard-length and standard-format.

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From youtube: (intersting: when you search KB on youtube, you get the note “also try peter gabriel”)

Sat in Your Lap
Army Dreamers
The Sensual World
The Dreaming
Waking the Witch
Suspended in Gaffa

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This is a perfect opportunity to tout one of my favorite prog bands that hardy anybody has heard of - Camel. Check out the albums “Mirage”, “Moonmadness”, or “(Music Inspired By) The Snow Goose”.

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They have a pretty extensive range of sound, but not anything I would compare to Peter Gabriel or early Genesis. The first album sounds very much like a Led Zeppelin fanboy production (because it pretty much was) and can be skipped for most non-devotees. For someone who’s curious, I would recommend starting with their most accessible album Moving Pictures, from which you may have heard the hit Tom Sawyer or their anthemic instrumental YYZ. If that piques your interest, I would move on to their previous album Permanent Waves (Spirit of the Radio) and also even earlier, 2112 – their first to chart at #1 in Canada (no song linked because it’s mostly a concept album). From there, if you’re still interested, you can branch out however you like; the neat thing about Rush is they only stay with a particular sound for 2 albums at most, before branching out into different sounds and themes. Their Wikipedia page has a pretty decent breakdown of the musical styles explored through their career.

Also, for a newer band who reaches back through the decades for their sounds, you might also give The Mars Volta a listen. Very prog.

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[bonafides]Genesis/PG fan since 1973 here. Foxtrot is the first album I bought and fell in love with, Selling England By The Pound is the album I tend to listen to most often and was the first tour I saw, and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is my all-time favorite Genesis album. I love them all though, even From Genesis To Revelation, the one they did when they were snot-nosed public school twits. I was heartbroken when Peter left but I still liked their post-Peter music. I too stayed with Genesis up until after Abacab then my music tastes changed a bit and I started focusing almost 100% on female vocals. Though I kinda dropped Genesis by the wayside, I stayed with Peter Gabriel up to the present day.[/bonafides]

I came in to suggest Kate Bush as well. She’s the direct musical equivalent of Peter Gabriel, so much so that Peter sought her out to work with him multiple times (“Games Without Frontiers,” “Don’t Give Up” and other times). Their two best (IMO) albums, Security (aka PGIV) and The Dreaming, both came out in 1982. If Security is your favorite PG album, and you like those kinds of albums that are (usually) completely incomprehensible on first listen but with patience and repeated plays gradually reveal themselves to you so that you then become obsessed and listen over and over and delight in finding new things with every listen but they’re so dense that you could listen a thousand times and STILL hear something new and interesting, musically, vocally, sonically or lyrically with each listen, then put The Dreaming at the very top of your list. Have patience with it, give it the benefit of the doubt and keep listening over and over, and it will reward you a million times over for your perseverance.

Guaranteed.

One step down from Kate Bush is this artist, and especially this album, her own personal Security/Dreaming. She’s a huge PG/Genesis fan too and has covered them often. I don’t know if you like covers, but if so…

“Mercy Street” (studio version, with Project Lo)
“Mercy Street” (live version)
“Here Comes The Flood” (live version)
“Games Without Frontiers” (Bob Holroyd, with her doing the Kate Bush vocals)

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Wow, that Games Without Frontiers was awesome, I’d never heard that before.

She shoulda done both parts; her voice is deeper. And higher. :wink: