You asked the first time for us and our reactions. For me, as an American, I never heard of the band until they hit here in the US with Follow You Follow Me. Then I was into the Phil Collins Genesis and loving it right up until 1985 when I noticed their back catalog in the record store and found out Peter Gabriel was in it. By that time I was also a Peter Gabriel fan. I was surprised that they had so many older records. I didn't know where to begin, so I just picked Foxtrot because I thought the cover was outrageous. Then I got it home and put the needle down on Watcher Of The Skies. Oh! My! God! I was in a trance. I loved their older sound better, instantly. Then I slowly bought them all as soon as I could afford them. The band became the soundtrack of my life.
That is the same for me . . . But, a late night on a LA FM/AOR station (either KMET or KLOS) they played "Back in NYC" . . . I was like "What the heck is this!?" That was the game changer for me and years later bought the older albums on Lp (circa 1982 to 87) so I was VERY late on Gabriel era Genesis..
@@NicknLex I don't know, if you know this already, but Steve re-recorded it in 1996 for his first Genesis Revisited album. It featured Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Levin on bass, the late great John Wetton on vocals and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 🙂
I have to respectfully disagree. After seeing both, Steve's band feels less authentic to the original sound. There's more modernized timbres/arrangements (which is a fantastic experience in its own right), but The Musical Box truly captures every piece of stimuli from watching the original band in the 70s.
Concert opener for many years. Peter's batwing headdress and multicoloured cape blew us all away as did the music. Out of this world and unlike anything the world had seen before 1971. I feel so lucky to have been 21 years old when I saw them for the first time in 1974. It is still tied for my favourite concert of my life - with Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning tour. The Musical Box still recreates that entire concert, so you have seen it.
Saw them do this at the Reading festival I was smashed to bits on ripple wine. What a fucking weekend. The grass sang to me. Goosebumps...............Man I was flying...........Watcher nearly sent me off the planet esp after...................THE KNIFE.
I was in Grade 7 when I was introduced to Genesis by a high schooler in Grade 12 who wanted to jam with me as I was wailing away in my bedroom in the basement on my Gibson SG through my 180W GBX Stack surprised to find some older teenagers standing outside my window around 1974 wanting to jam with me. Later he lent me Foxtrot, Genesis Live, and Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon. Interestingly the previous Christmas when we would go to the Record store Sam The Record Man, I remember going through albums we could buy for each other for Christmas and I remember stumbling across the Genesis Live Album and how enthralled I was with the Album cover with Gabriel's eyes glowing wondering what kind of band this was...well six months later I got my answer...of course I listened to Genesis Live 1st since I'd seen the Album cover and was intrigued by it. So I put the record on while staring at the Album cover and from the very first chords of Watcher Of the Skies and the roar of the crowd I felt like I was pulled right into that Album cover and was completely mesmerized by the sound and matching stage presence. I felt like I was transported into another world and was immediately amd completely hooked! Genesis then became my all time favourite band! The next Christmas my Uncle gave me Selling England By Pound, which quickly became one of my favourite Genesis Albums with Peter Gabriel...i turned a corner from straight up Rock and Roll to Progressive Rock loving the changes, dynamics and textured layered tonal nuances that combined each part to form a master piece of ethereal and madrigal music! In fact when I reached High School we Played Watcher Of The Skies, Squonk, and ELPs Peter Gunn for the Talent Show, which was a blast!! The guitar and bass parts of Watcher Of The Skies are very close in pattern to the Morse Code pattern for S.O.S.. Apparently, Rutherford and Banks were inspired by the desolate land scape where they were staying while on tour in Northern Rural Italy and fantasized about the idea what extra terrestrials would think if they landed there on Earth and what their 1st impression of Earth might be.
Great song!! Wait until you hear "Can Utility and the Coastliners". Great Banks section as well. That might be my favorite song from the album, aside from Suppers Ready!
I was a teenager when I discovered Genesis, yes and King Crimson, then came Camel, all great bands👍 I think it's wonderful that you enjoy it as much as we did👌, I'm going to all Steve Hackett's concerts in the Genesis Revised series, in July the lamb lies down on broadway live in Brussels🙃
This is the song that got me hooked on Genesis back in 1975. The local FM DJ used to start his midnight show with this song. Headphones on, in the dark, Mellotron intro, what more can I say?
For Foxtrot I always wonder if someone had said "Hmm, Mike Rutherford's not a very interesting bass player" and he was like "right, I'll show you" - the mix of dexterity and subtlety on Get 'Em Out By Friday is remarkable. As for Phil, retrospectively we all know he has BIG DRUMS/Buddy Rich capability, but when you consider the light touch of a lot of early Genesis it's hard to think of another drummer who would have had the sensitivity and range to do it justice, except maybe Bill Bruford.
I first heard this song at the age of 17 in 1988. My friend and I, who were in a cover band together (covering new wave songs), listened to the Genesis Live 1974 album, which opens with "Watcher of the Skies." We learned a lot from that listen. We learned that Peter Gabriel was the original lead singer of the band, we learned that Genesis wasn't always a pop rock group, and we learned that we weren't very good musicians because the talent level of every member of Genesis is intimidating. 😂 ❤
The LIVE version from "THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL" TV show is pretty epic. GENESIS recorded two songs (the other being "THE MUSICAL BOX") from that appearance and they're both FANTASTIC!! (You can easily find them on UA-cam and they're amazing to watch GENESIS with Peter Gabriel in full costume... It's such a trip. You'll LOVE it. Cheers!
The intro... one of the finest examples of what a melloton can achieve, masterfully played by Banks. Exquisitely dramatic. (I actually think that version from Genesis Live is even stronger, but anyway, both are great). Fun fact, the mellotron was bought from King Crimson.
Released in1972! Yet the lyrics are so relevant today with our descent into global warming (this tune was developed as Earth Day was becoming a real thing). The Musical Box band so did justice to this song when they played Denver last year. It was mesmerizing and dramatic. The visuals were SO Genesis.
Classic. Inspired by the novel Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke, the story is remarkable, as are the lyrics. Mankind enters a new phase of (non-human) life in space, while the protagonist watches the earth end. Watcher of the Skies, indeed. There is a great version of this on the live 1973 album, which Nick has heard. Somewhere out there are various later versions with Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Bill Bruford, John Wetton, Tony Levin, etc.
First time I heard "The Musical Box" performing "Selling England By The Pound" tour, this was the opener. Sent chills through my body. They are the BEST cover band.
Oh wow, what a treat. I remember when my older brother brought this home when it was released and played it on mum and dad's Dynatron radiogram. The speakers were huge and sounded terrible but loved it then, and it is still my all-time favourite Genesis album.
The old Mellotron keyboard came with three built-in sounds, with a rotary switch to select the sound you want to play. Tony Banks figured out how to set that switch so that he could play two sounds at once. On modern clones of the Mellotron, whether physical or digitally sampled/recreated, the sound from "Watcher of the Skies" is now officially named after Tony Banks. ---OronOfMontreal
Years later, when I was getting into classical music, I heard a Bach orchestral suit that sounded much like the opening to Watcher Of The Skies. It took me a minute to think of where I heard it before but soon recognized it as the opening to Watcher Of The Skies.
"Get them out by friday" song from this album is so amazing, still waiting for you to listen to it, it's even better for me than Supper's Ready, thank you for the video.
Yes amigo,the Shepperton live concert Is amaaaaazing ,a milestone ,a gem and treasure of this faaaaaaaantastic group ; and to think they were soo young at that time.from Treviso Italy Cattarin Luciano
Oh, where do I begin? This was the first Genesis song I ever heard, on release day in 1972 my friend bought it and told me to come over and hear this great album. I borrowed my dad's car (a Morris Mini) and drove straight over. He put the record on and that Mellotron opening! Wow! Not only a great opening track for an album but a great concert opener. I've written on here a few times that on the tour for this album soon after this was the beginning of the concert. Total darkness, then the Mellotron chords, then spotlight on Peter's eyes in the pitch black. I'm there right now, Birmingham Odeon 1972. I was 19, already a Yes, ELP, King Crimson fan but this was another strand of prog and I've loved them ever since. Foxtrot will always be my favourite Genesis album, rated just a fraction higher than all the others. I play them all very regularly with a mixture of everything on my playlists. Patreon album reaction? Yes please!
Lexie often comments on what is the first song of an album. Before internet, 24 hours tv etc, we had only two ways of hearing a song. FM radio and buying the album. Carefully taking it out of the sleeve, looking at it as it was some kind of jewel, and that was when you first dropped the needle on the vinyl...Wow!! 🤩🙃
"Horizins" is a gorgeous Steve Hackett piece. And yes, it is a great song to play. I was in college in the early 70's when all these great prog rock bands came on. It was a fabulous era and really enjoy revisiting these with you two. Cheers!!
Your reaction the same as mine seeing them in San Francisco During the selling england tour,This was there opener and my mouth open, stunned for this song and the whole show! ( mind blown)
When I was either 14 or 15 back in the 70's, I remember coming home from hanging out with friends. I turned on the TV and this band was on The Midnight Special. The singer had a long cape with bat wings. They were doing Watcher of the Skies. I was was thinking who is this? From that moment on I was a huge Genesis fan!
I saw Steve Hackett in Mpls on March 26. They performed the entire Foxtrot album.. and more. The best 2+ hours of live music that I’ve ever seen (not counting the 4 times I saw Rush😅)
Before I bought Foxtrot I heard them play the end part as the last track on Seconds Out. I had to find out more about the track which is why I bought Foxtrot, a decision I didn't regret.
The classic batwing headgear for PG for this song, as well as the fluorescent lights lighting up his eyes is part of rock and roll history. On three sides live with the fourth side live cuts, they end with IT/ watcher of the skies, great great ending of any genesis concert.
I saw them in late '71 at Liverpool Top Rank (Romeo & Juliets as was) touring this album. They were part of a Chrysalis label evening and were bottom of the bill after headliners Lindisfarne and support Rab Noakes and were limited to 5 songs; this, Suppers Ready, The Musical Box, Return of the Giant Hogweed and Twilight Alehouse. Needless to say, they stole the show.
This was the opening number when Peter Gabriel was with the band and as soon as Tony Banks hit that Bmaj7/F# on the Mellotron the place would erupt ... when I went to the "Lamb" concert there was so much gear on the stage and Peter had a whole new persona which made it impossible to open with "Watcher" ... but they didn't disappoint when they played it as an encore ... happy days :)
My friend Adam was Katy Perry's drummer and musical director for nearly a decade. He just posted a video of one of her early big tours and a bit of the Super Bowl set. They had cheerleaders spelling out Katy Perry whike th band played the intro to Rush's Cynus X-1. Years ago he posted a guess this song video from a sound check. He was playing Watcher in the Skies.
Watcher of the Skies was very often the encore at the end of the Lamb tour. My first introduction to seeing Genesis live at Newcastle City Hall, UK. Waited at the end as the roadies through out Phil's drum sticks. Got one! And still have it. A treasured possession!
The first song of my first concert when I was 14 in 1973. Magic! The title from a line in a poem by John Keats; the mellotron just bought from King Crimson.
Quintissential Gabriel-era Genesis...As others have commented, batwing headress with blacklight Day-Glo eye makeup took the live version to the next level ("Genesis Live' album is definitely a winner as well)...Glad you gave tbis the NiclnLex treatment!
@@lemming9984 That's true. Tony Banks bought it off Robert Fripp. Crimson had two mellotrons for the album _In the Court Of,_ so Fripp sold the second one to Banks.
Good choice and enjoyed seeing you both pick up on the magic of this track. I first heard the song on Genesis “Live” (1973) which I purchased along with “Nursery Cryme”- my first Genesis albums. You couldn’t buy them in the big local record stores that carried the bestsellers- at least not in the small midwestern town where I grew up. These were mind blowing records in 1974-75 when I discovered Yes and King Crimson. I’m with you on the early Genesis vs. later 80’s material. I understand that the later stuff is more pop and not as groundbreaking, but Phil Collins is one of the best drummers in this genre. Check out his work with Brand X. He could make all the mainstream material he wanted. His credentials are established and legitimate. Add to that his vocal skills. Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett- prog legends as performers and writers! In the Gabriel era, I think “Selling England by the Pound” is nearly perfect. That doesn’t make me love the other material any less. Steve Hackett has carried on with his recent “Seconds Out” and “Foxtrot” tours. I’ve seen The Musical Box as well and am happy to know that there are still musicians and audiences for this now 50 year old material played live. ✌🏻
This song was my introduction to Genesis. October 1972 Green's Playhouse, Glasgow. Genesis were the support act, and I had never seen or heard them before. Needless to say, I was completely blown away. The next day I bought the Foxtrot album and never looked back. I was 16 years old at the time.
I first heard the live album version of this song in the mid-70s. My cousins up in Philadelphia had recently introduced me to Genesis’s ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,’ which blew me away - so I went out and bought the Genesis Live album and Trespass. Later I picked up Selling England By the Pound, which remains my favorite Genesis album, tho Foxtrot and Nursery Cryme are both great as well. I got to see Genesis some years later on their Duke tour, which was an excellent show though I wish I had gotten to see them in their incarnation with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett.
Not all 70's prog bands were able to transition into an 80's style pop band. Think of Gentle Giant for example. Genesis were always masters of melody and songwriting hooks. It just became more and more apparent as the decade wore on. Yes are another example of a band who successfully found a way in the 80's. I did'nt like much of Genesis's pop stuff but you gotta give them credit.
Steve doing this live in his shows with his amazing band is still amazing. If you can see him live you should. Steve Hackett always pays homage to his time with the band and keeps this music alive in his stunning live shows. Again Nick and Lex if you can do the final suite of Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers/In That Quiet Earth/Afterglow. I don't think you have done Afterglow yet, this track live is off the charts.
Church organ? Have you guys listened to ELP's "The Only Way"? For later Genesis, the first pop album to me is Duke. It is also their last Prog. Prop? Pog?
@@NicknLex Sorry for the confusion, yes church organ. Both Emo (Mr. Speedy) and Wakeman played them to glorious effect. I don't think Keith ever even dabbled with the mellotron. Not sure about Rick. I was only responding to the comment that you loved that pipe organ sound, and suggesting The Only Way as a follow up. Love your channel!
Peter, Mike and Tony were all on the debut album, but they considered themselves writers writing fir others Moreno than a band writing for themselves. Tresspass was them writing fir themselves.
Scanning the racks of a hole in the wall Greenwich Village record shop in the 70s, my teenaged self found an album called _Genesis and Revelation._ I'm not sure but I think this was a very early incarnation of the band.
This is the first song from Genesis I listened to on Radio Caroline (a UK pirate radio station broadcasting from international waters in the North Sea to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly) back in 1972. I was 17 at that time and this how I started to become a big fan of that band and still am. I was living in the western part of Belgium where we could sometimes listen to that pirate radio and get a taste of all the popular Bristish bands at that time.
Hi favourite couple on youtube !! Love this song!! My dog loves this title but she loves French fries. I can vouche for my dog she’s the best “watchers of the fries” 🍟 👀
They had it on their playlist on Genesis Live from 1973, the record that is dedicated to Richard Macphail who left that year. It's the blue album with the pink mask and the black gown. Bought it on impulse around 1980, the time that Collins was getting succesful with his solo career. I was a bit dissappointed in the beginning, not used to the 'old Genesis'. That changed quickly. This fantastic live album I treasure, still playing it, especially on rainy sundays. Fine reaction.Thank you.
this may be a familiar pattern... when I first heard this stuff it was my friend's older brother who said "you need to hear this" and he loaned us his LPs. now I have a music degree. great. ;-)
I was introduced to Genesis in the late 80s, when a friend of mine was playing keyboards in a progband who did ELP, Yes and Genesis covers. I borrowed the Foxtrot album from the guitarist of the band, and being a big Yes fan at the time, it took some time for me to fully appreciate Genesis. Nowadays I hold Foxtrot as my second favourite Genesis album after The Lamb. I think Foxtrot often gets underrated in comparison to Selling England, who many rate as superior. Watcher of the Skies is one of Genesis best tracks imo, another great one, besides Supper's Ready, is Can-Utility and the Coastliners. Trespass and Nursery Cryme are also excellent, and I prefer the Gabriel era of the band. The Collins era was great but I think Genesis was not the same after Gabriel left.
This is one of the most difficult Genesis songs for drums. I have been a drummer for a Rush tribute, but I secretly wished I could play in a King Crimson or Genesis tribute so I could play Watcher of the Skies or Apocalypse in 9/8, or Indiscipline by KC, Lol!!
You finally got to Watcher of the Skies. Can Utility and the Coast Liners is another great one on Foxtrot. YOu can really get to hear Steve Hacketts influence.
I've just heard The Musical Box perform this at de Montfort Hall where Genesis Live was recorded. The title is taken from a poem by John Keats, who also wrote Lamia. The whole song is like a sci fi movie in ten minutes.
For those who might be interested: Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse had I been told That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne; Yet did I never breathe its pure serene Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken; Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He stared at the Pacific-and all his men Look'd at each other with a wild surmise- Silent, upon a peak in Darien. - John Keats, "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" (1816)
I too was spoiled by Selling England, which was my introduction to the band, and remains on Mount Rushmore, along with Close to the Edge, Echoes and In the Court of the Crimson King. After hearing the smooth velvety production of Selling England, those before sound a little rough by comparison. That said, it was light years ahead of most other bands, and they would get the flow together by the time of Second's Out, which is probably my favorite live album in the rock world. The video of Peter performing this song is well worthy your eyes.
Collins on absolute top form...the Live '73 especially good , and happened to be the first song from the Gabriel era I heard. It's a perfect Live album... Foxtrot though has an amazing tracklist , Supper's Ready , a Prog masterpiece , Get em out by Friday with masterful bass work from Rutherford , and Can Utility and the coastliners...Genius. 😍
First time I saw Genesis was just after Nursery Cryme was released, their set was a mix of Trespass and Nursery Cryme numbers plus The Light and Twilight Alehouse. Second time I saw them they had dropped The Light and added a new number they were going to record for their upcoming album. That number was Watcher of the Skies. Such an immediate number especially when seen live, I couldn't wait for Foxtrot to come out. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed. (I may be old but I got to see all the best bands 😎)
![STEVE HACKETT - Firth of Fifth [Live at Royal Festival Hall 2018] FIRST TIME COUPLE REACTION](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UvKr99_nHgs/mqdefault.jpg)
![STEVE HACKETT - Firth of Fifth [Live at Royal Festival Hall 2018] FIRST TIME COUPLE REACTION](/img/tr.png)
Fifty years later, and it still gives me goosebumps!
You asked the first time for us and our reactions. For me, as an American, I never heard of the band until they hit here in the US with Follow You Follow Me. Then I was into the Phil Collins Genesis and loving it right up until 1985 when I noticed their back catalog in the record store and found out Peter Gabriel was in it. By that time I was also a Peter Gabriel fan. I was surprised that they had so many older records. I didn't know where to begin, so I just picked Foxtrot because I thought the cover was outrageous. Then I got it home and put the needle down on Watcher Of The Skies. Oh! My! God! I was in a trance. I loved their older sound better, instantly. Then I slowly bought them all as soon as I could afford them. The band became the soundtrack of my life.
That is the same for me . . .
But, a late night on a LA FM/AOR station (either KMET or KLOS) they played "Back in NYC" . . . I was like "What the heck is this!?" That was the game changer for me and years later bought the older albums on Lp (circa 1982 to 87) so I was VERY late on Gabriel era Genesis..
The closest you can get to Peter Gabriel era Genesis isn't the band Musical Box, but Steve Hackett's band. See them live if you can.
We have!! Absolutely amazing! Even the way he clears his throat was the real deal!
And to watch Craig Blundell on drums live was incredible at the Foxtrot 50th anniversary show !!! 🤘
@@NicknLex I don't know, if you know this already, but Steve re-recorded it in 1996 for his first Genesis Revisited album. It featured Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Levin on bass, the late great John Wetton on vocals and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 🙂
Go Nad!
I have to respectfully disagree. After seeing both, Steve's band feels less authentic to the original sound. There's more modernized timbres/arrangements (which is a fantastic experience in its own right), but The Musical Box truly captures every piece of stimuli from watching the original band in the 70s.
This hooked me when I was a teenager. That opening mellotron intro is just something that stays with you forever once you hear it.
One of the Greatest Mellotron track ever ! 🎹🎼
"The Mellotron" the Keyboard of Classic Prog ! 👍🎹🎶✌
Concert opener for many years. Peter's batwing headdress and multicoloured cape blew us all away as did the music. Out of this world and unlike anything the world had seen before 1971. I feel so lucky to have been 21 years old when I saw them for the first time in 1974. It is still tied for my favourite concert of my life - with Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning tour. The Musical Box still recreates that entire concert, so you have seen it.
You lucky, Genesis and Renaissance in 1 concert together. Missed the opportunities both Genesis and Renaissance to see in a time long, long ago.
@@clannad99germany70 They were 2 separate concerts 2 years apart. 1974 and 1976.
@@tobytanzer Oh, anyway, I missed both bands, sadly.
@@clannad99germany70 I wish I had seen Clannad - the Irish band
Can you believe that it was 50 years ago?
One of their finest tracks. Just brilliant
Saw them do this at the Reading festival I was smashed to bits on ripple wine. What a fucking weekend. The grass sang to me. Goosebumps...............Man I was flying...........Watcher nearly sent me off the planet esp after...................THE KNIFE.
A masterpiece ! Genesis used the means of prog to create catchy, emotional songs like no other prog rock band , imo.
I was in Grade 7 when I was introduced to Genesis by a high schooler in Grade 12 who wanted to jam with me as I was wailing away in my bedroom in the basement on my Gibson SG through my 180W GBX Stack surprised to find some older teenagers standing outside my window around 1974 wanting to jam with me. Later he lent me Foxtrot, Genesis Live, and Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon. Interestingly the previous Christmas when we would go to the Record store Sam The Record Man, I remember going through albums we could buy for each other for Christmas and I remember stumbling across the Genesis Live Album and how enthralled I was with the Album cover with Gabriel's eyes glowing wondering what kind of band this was...well six months later I got my answer...of course I listened to Genesis Live 1st since I'd seen the Album cover and was intrigued by it. So I put the record on while staring at the Album cover and from the very first chords of Watcher Of the Skies and the roar of the crowd I felt like I was pulled right into that Album cover and was completely mesmerized by the sound and matching stage presence. I felt like I was transported into another world and was immediately amd completely hooked! Genesis then became my all time favourite band! The next Christmas my Uncle gave me Selling England By Pound, which quickly became one of my favourite Genesis Albums with Peter Gabriel...i turned a corner from straight up Rock and Roll to Progressive Rock loving the changes, dynamics and textured layered tonal nuances that combined each part to form a master piece of ethereal and madrigal music! In fact when I reached High School we Played Watcher Of The Skies, Squonk, and ELPs Peter Gunn for the Talent Show, which was a blast!!
The guitar and bass parts of Watcher Of The Skies are very close in pattern to the Morse Code pattern for S.O.S.. Apparently, Rutherford and Banks were inspired by the desolate land scape where they were staying while on tour in Northern Rural Italy and fantasized about the idea what extra terrestrials would think if they landed there on Earth and what their 1st impression of Earth might be.
Classical early Genesis...Rich and timeless!
Great song!! Wait until you hear "Can Utility and the Coastliners". Great Banks section as well. That might be my favorite song from the album, aside from Suppers Ready!
He already heard it seven months ago. 🙂
I was a teenager when I discovered Genesis, yes and King Crimson, then came Camel, all great bands👍
I think it's wonderful that you enjoy it as much as we did👌, I'm going to all Steve Hackett's concerts in the Genesis Revised series, in July the lamb lies down on broadway live in Brussels🙃
Phil Collins is killing it on the drums- Gabriel at his finest- Hackett Rutherford Tony Banks all tighter than tight- sounds like prog perfection
They were!
LOVE this song. You know what's even better? The version on "Genesis Live" album
I used to play just "Watcher of the Skies" over and over...just for the Mellotron intro and exit...but the whole "Genesis Live" album is pure gold.
Very repetitive song
Love you guys. Anthony Phillips. The Geese and The Ghost. Anthony was the guitarist on the first 2 albums. Incredible melodic music.
Some songs from this era in prog brings tears to my eyes. This is one of them, don´t know why. 😊
You guys must absolutely React the the Genesis "Live" album this and the other great songs are so much Better Live ! 👍🎶🎼✌
This is the song that got me hooked on Genesis back in 1975. The local FM DJ used to start his midnight show with this song. Headphones on, in the dark, Mellotron intro, what more can I say?
yes! great choice! this song ...maybe take some time in the beginning but if you get into it... great!
For Foxtrot I always wonder if someone had said "Hmm, Mike Rutherford's not a very interesting bass player" and he was like "right, I'll show you" - the mix of dexterity and subtlety on Get 'Em Out By Friday is remarkable. As for Phil, retrospectively we all know he has BIG DRUMS/Buddy Rich capability, but when you consider the light touch of a lot of early Genesis it's hard to think of another drummer who would have had the sensitivity and range to do it justice, except maybe Bill Bruford.
I first heard this song at the age of 17 in 1988. My friend and I, who were in a cover band together (covering new wave songs), listened to the Genesis Live 1974 album, which opens with "Watcher of the Skies." We learned a lot from that listen. We learned that Peter Gabriel was the original lead singer of the band, we learned that Genesis wasn't always a pop rock group, and we learned that we weren't very good musicians because the talent level of every member of Genesis is intimidating. 😂 ❤
The thing is, genesis have always written & included 'pop' songs throughout all their eras... Just a good band at any time
The LIVE version from "THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL" TV show is pretty epic. GENESIS recorded two songs (the other being "THE MUSICAL BOX") from that appearance and they're both FANTASTIC!! (You can easily find them on UA-cam and they're amazing to watch GENESIS with Peter Gabriel in full costume... It's such a trip. You'll LOVE it. Cheers!
It stands the test of time this music
Fabulous
Thanks guys for the trip down memory lane as a 12 year old back in 1970’s here in the UK
The intro... one of the finest examples of what a melloton can achieve, masterfully played by Banks. Exquisitely dramatic. (I actually think that version from Genesis Live is even stronger, but anyway, both are great). Fun fact, the mellotron was bought from King Crimson.
Released in1972! Yet the lyrics are so relevant today with our descent into global warming (this tune was developed as Earth Day was becoming a real thing).
The Musical Box band so did justice to this song when they played Denver last year. It was mesmerizing and dramatic. The visuals were SO Genesis.
It’s bonus material time so glad you self directed to this classic track and album. Great reaction. Brings back lots of good memories.
Remember seeing MUSICAL BOX opening with this this a couple of years ago. The opening mellotron literally vibrated the whole concert hall.
Classic. Inspired by the novel Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke, the story is remarkable, as are the lyrics. Mankind enters a new phase of (non-human) life in space, while the protagonist watches the earth end. Watcher of the Skies, indeed.
There is a great version of this on the live 1973 album, which Nick has heard. Somewhere out there are various later versions with Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Bill Bruford, John Wetton, Tony Levin, etc.
Can you give a link? I’ve never heard that. Sounds good
I think it's Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford's lyrics actually.
First time I heard "The Musical Box" performing "Selling England By The Pound" tour, this was the opener. Sent chills through my body. They are the BEST cover band.
I saw them on their first US tour in a small venue in LA. Incredible show..
Oh wow, what a treat. I remember when my older brother brought this home when it was released and played it on mum and dad's Dynatron radiogram. The speakers were huge and sounded terrible but loved it then, and it is still my all-time favourite Genesis album.
The old Mellotron keyboard came with three built-in sounds, with a rotary switch to select the sound you want to play. Tony Banks figured out how to set that switch so that he could play two sounds at once. On modern clones of the Mellotron, whether physical or digitally sampled/recreated, the sound from "Watcher of the Skies" is now officially named after Tony Banks.
---OronOfMontreal
Years later, when I was getting into classical music, I heard a Bach orchestral suit that sounded much like the opening to Watcher Of The Skies. It took me a minute to think of where I heard it before but soon recognized it as the opening to Watcher Of The Skies.
Instantly transports me to some of the best times of my youth. I'm happy you enjoy this so much too. Cheers guys. 😎🍁
1080p - nice.
"Get them out by friday" song from this album is so amazing, still waiting for you to listen to it, it's even better for me than Supper's Ready, thank you for the video.
5.9k in five days! Come on Genesis fans....SUBSCRIBE!!!!!!
They have a concert that's called Genesis live at Sherperton studios . All excellent mumbersr
Yes amigo,the Shepperton live concert Is amaaaaazing ,a milestone ,a gem and treasure of this faaaaaaaantastic group ; and to think they were soo young at that time.from Treviso Italy Cattarin Luciano
Oh, where do I begin? This was the first Genesis song I ever heard, on release day in 1972 my friend bought it and told me to come over and hear this great album. I borrowed my dad's car (a Morris Mini) and drove straight over. He put the record on and that Mellotron opening! Wow! Not only a great opening track for an album but a great concert opener. I've written on here a few times that on the tour for this album soon after this was the beginning of the concert. Total darkness, then the Mellotron chords, then spotlight on Peter's eyes in the pitch black. I'm there right now, Birmingham Odeon 1972. I was 19, already a Yes, ELP, King Crimson fan but this was another strand of prog and I've loved them ever since. Foxtrot will always be my favourite Genesis album, rated just a fraction higher than all the others. I play them all very regularly with a mixture of everything on my playlists. Patreon album reaction? Yes please!
Lexie often comments on what is the first song of an album. Before internet, 24 hours tv etc, we had only two ways of hearing a song. FM radio and buying the album. Carefully taking it out of the sleeve, looking at it as it was some kind of jewel, and that was when you first dropped the needle on the vinyl...Wow!! 🤩🙃
"Horizins" is a gorgeous Steve Hackett piece. And yes, it is a great song to play.
I was in college in the early 70's when all these great prog rock bands came on.
It was a fabulous era and really enjoy revisiting these with you two.
Cheers!!
"Watcher of the Skies" first heard on KOME 98.5 ROCK Radio Sunday Night on a show called "Stonetrek with Greg Stone". I was 12 and it was 1978.
Your reaction the same as mine seeing them in San Francisco During the selling england tour,This was there opener and my mouth open, stunned for this song and the whole show! ( mind blown)
When I was either 14 or 15 back in the 70's, I remember coming home from hanging out with friends. I turned on the TV and this band was on The Midnight Special. The singer had a long cape with bat wings. They were doing Watcher of the Skies. I was was thinking who is this? From that moment on I was a huge Genesis fan!
Love and gratitude from a small town in France
I saw Steve Hackett in Mpls on March 26. They performed the entire Foxtrot album.. and more. The best 2+ hours of live music that I’ve ever seen (not counting the 4 times I saw Rush😅)
Before I bought Foxtrot I heard them play the end part as the last track on Seconds Out. I had to find out more about the track which is why I bought Foxtrot, a decision I didn't regret.
Mike rutherford wrote this song! What an amazing talented, brillant brain!
Watch their live performance on Midnight Special, Americans didn't know what they were witnessing...
The classic batwing headgear for PG for this song, as well as the fluorescent lights lighting up his eyes is part of rock and roll history. On three sides live with the fourth side live cuts, they end with IT/ watcher of the skies, great great ending of any genesis concert.
I saw them in late '71 at Liverpool Top Rank (Romeo & Juliets as was) touring this album. They were part of a Chrysalis label evening and were bottom of the bill after headliners Lindisfarne and support Rab Noakes and were limited to 5 songs; this, Suppers Ready, The Musical Box, Return of the Giant Hogweed and Twilight Alehouse. Needless to say, they stole the show.
What a great song,...What a GREAT album!!!
This was the opening number when Peter Gabriel was with the band and as soon as Tony Banks hit that Bmaj7/F# on the Mellotron the place would erupt ... when I went to the "Lamb" concert there was so much gear on the stage and Peter had a whole new persona which made it impossible to open with "Watcher" ... but they didn't disappoint when they played it as an encore ... happy days :)
My favourite track is get them out by Friday, it mentions Harlow new Town, and I live in Harlow New Town. It’s also a great tune.
Absolutely amazing opener to this masterpiece! Words cannot explain how much I love this album! So good! Glad to see you react to this song! 🤟🏻
My friend Adam was Katy Perry's drummer and musical director for nearly a decade. He just posted a video of one of her early big tours and a bit of the Super Bowl set. They had cheerleaders spelling out Katy Perry whike th band played the intro to Rush's Cynus X-1. Years ago he posted a guess this song video from a sound check. He was playing Watcher in the Skies.
Watcher of the Skies was very often the encore at the end of the Lamb tour. My first introduction to seeing Genesis live at Newcastle City Hall, UK. Waited at the end as the roadies through out Phil's drum sticks. Got one! And still have it. A treasured possession!
The first song of my first concert when I was 14 in 1973. Magic! The title from a line in a poem by John Keats; the mellotron just bought from King Crimson.
the lyrics were conceived while looking at the sky of Naples from the roof of their hotel.
If you get a chance to see Steve Hackett on his current - Foxtrot at Fifty tour, they play this song.
Quintissential Gabriel-era Genesis...As others have commented, batwing headress with blacklight Day-Glo eye makeup took the live version to the next level ("Genesis Live' album is definitely a winner as well)...Glad you gave tbis the NiclnLex treatment!
I really miss this musical era thematically. When artists were inspired by topics far beyond personal relationship topics.
The Mellotron intro is epic. Blend of the three violins tapes with mixed brass in the right hand with French accordion tapes in the left hand
I'm sure I read a few years ago that Genesis bought a Mellotron from Crimson?
@@lemming9984 That's true. Tony Banks bought it off Robert Fripp. Crimson had two mellotrons for the album _In the Court Of,_ so Fripp sold the second one to Banks.
Best drummer ever
For me is a big YES!
Good choice and enjoyed seeing you both pick up on the magic of this track. I first heard the song on Genesis “Live” (1973) which I purchased along with “Nursery Cryme”- my first Genesis albums. You couldn’t buy them in the big local record stores that carried the bestsellers- at least not in the small midwestern town where I grew up. These were mind blowing records in 1974-75 when I discovered Yes and King Crimson.
I’m with you on the early Genesis vs. later 80’s material. I understand that the later stuff is more pop and not as groundbreaking, but Phil Collins is one of the best drummers in this genre. Check out his work with Brand X. He could make all the mainstream material he wanted. His credentials are established and legitimate. Add to that his vocal skills. Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett- prog legends as performers and writers!
In the Gabriel era, I think “Selling England by the Pound” is nearly perfect. That doesn’t make me love the other material any less. Steve Hackett has carried on with his recent “Seconds Out” and “Foxtrot” tours. I’ve seen The Musical Box as well and am happy to know that there are still musicians and audiences for this now 50 year old material played live. ✌🏻
The costume Peter wears during the live performance, such as "Midnight Express" video of this is insane.
This is one of my favorite songs by Genesis! I like the "Live" version even better! Great you two are reacting to this.
This song was my introduction to Genesis. October 1972 Green's Playhouse, Glasgow. Genesis were the support act, and I had never seen or heard them before. Needless to say, I was completely blown away. The next day I bought the Foxtrot album and never looked back. I was 16 years old at the time.
I first heard the live album version of this song in the mid-70s. My cousins up in Philadelphia had recently introduced me to Genesis’s ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,’ which blew me away - so I went out and bought the Genesis Live album and Trespass. Later I picked up Selling England By the Pound, which remains my favorite Genesis album, tho Foxtrot and Nursery Cryme are both great as well. I got to see Genesis some years later on their Duke tour, which was an excellent show though I wish I had gotten to see them in their incarnation with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett.
Not all 70's prog bands were able to transition into an 80's style pop band. Think of Gentle Giant for example. Genesis were always masters of melody and songwriting hooks. It just became more and more apparent as the decade wore on. Yes are another example of a band who successfully found a way in the 80's. I did'nt like much of Genesis's pop stuff but you gotta give them credit.
Love that mellotron in the beginning!!!
Steve doing this live in his shows with his amazing band is still amazing. If you can see him live you should. Steve Hackett always pays homage to his time with the band and keeps this music alive in his stunning live shows. Again Nick and Lex if you can do the final suite of Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers/In That Quiet Earth/Afterglow. I don't think you have done Afterglow yet, this track live is off the charts.
He respects Tony Banks’ compositions more than Tony does!
great drumming by collins
It’s so detailed. Intricate.
Church organ? Have you guys listened to ELP's "The Only Way"? For later Genesis, the first pop album to me is Duke. It is also their last Prog. Prop? Pog?
Mellotron? Us guitar players don't have a clue🤣
@@NicknLex Sorry for the confusion, yes church organ. Both Emo (Mr. Speedy) and Wakeman played them to glorious effect. I don't think Keith ever even dabbled with the mellotron. Not sure about Rick. I was only responding to the comment that you loved that pipe organ sound, and suggesting The Only Way as a follow up. Love your channel!
Best band ever best era ever so so clever
Peter, Mike and Tony were all on the debut album, but they considered themselves writers writing fir others Moreno than a band writing for themselves. Tresspass was them writing fir themselves.
I almost wish I could discover this amazing music now and have my mind blown again!
Scanning the racks of a hole in the wall Greenwich Village record shop in the 70s, my teenaged self found an album called _Genesis and Revelation._ I'm not sure but I think this was a very early incarnation of the band.
You’re correct. “From Genesis to Revelation” (1969)
This is the first Genesis album that I heard.😢
Bagaimana ada musik seperti ini di era Hardrock.? Aku langsung jatuh cinta❤
This is the first song from Genesis I listened to on Radio Caroline (a UK pirate radio station broadcasting from international waters in the North Sea to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly) back in 1972. I was 17 at that time and this how I started to become a big fan of that band and still am. I was living in the western part of Belgium where we could sometimes listen to that pirate radio and get a taste of all the popular Bristish bands at that time.
Exciting !
Hi favourite couple on youtube !! Love this song!! My dog loves this title but she loves French fries. I can vouche for my dog she’s the best “watchers of the fries” 🍟 👀
Marley says woof to your fry-lover! 🐶 ❤️
The main vocal is Peter and Mike in Watcher, though Phil is probably there somewhere.
They had it on their playlist on Genesis Live from 1973, the record that is dedicated to Richard Macphail who left that year. It's the blue album with the pink mask and the black gown. Bought it on impulse around 1980, the time that Collins was getting succesful with his solo career. I was a bit dissappointed in the beginning, not used to the 'old Genesis'. That changed quickly. This fantastic live album I treasure, still playing it, especially on rainy sundays. Fine reaction.Thank you.
this may be a familiar pattern... when I first heard this stuff it was my friend's older brother who said "you need to hear this" and he loaned us his LPs. now I have a music degree. great. ;-)
I was introduced to Genesis in the late 80s, when a friend of mine was playing keyboards in a progband who did ELP, Yes and Genesis covers.
I borrowed the Foxtrot album from the guitarist of the band, and being a big Yes fan at the time, it took some time for me to fully appreciate Genesis. Nowadays I hold Foxtrot as my second favourite Genesis album after The Lamb.
I think Foxtrot often gets underrated in comparison to Selling England, who many rate as superior.
Watcher of the Skies is one of Genesis best tracks imo, another great one, besides Supper's Ready, is Can-Utility and the Coastliners.
Trespass and Nursery Cryme are also excellent, and I prefer the Gabriel era of the band. The Collins era was great but I think Genesis was not the same after Gabriel left.
This is one of the most difficult Genesis songs for drums. I have been a drummer for a Rush tribute, but I secretly wished I could play in a King Crimson or Genesis tribute so I could play Watcher of the Skies or Apocalypse in 9/8, or Indiscipline by KC, Lol!!
I think I First Heard Genesis when I was 14. Carpet Crawlers exciting! was a Hit in Teenage Parties , when you got the chance to dance close , really
You finally got to Watcher of the Skies. Can Utility and the Coast Liners is another great one on Foxtrot. YOu can really get to hear Steve Hacketts influence.
I've just heard The Musical Box perform this at de Montfort Hall where Genesis Live was recorded. The title is taken from a poem by John Keats, who also wrote Lamia. The whole song is like a sci fi movie in ten minutes.
For those who might be interested:
Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific-and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise-
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
- John Keats, "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" (1816)
I love it when you do Genesis.
You never know what you are going to be treated to on a Genesis tune and I love that. Nice shirt Nick!
Phish opens the rock hall induction ceremony for Genesis with this song.
I too was spoiled by Selling England, which was my introduction to the band, and remains on Mount Rushmore, along with Close to the Edge, Echoes and In the Court of the Crimson King. After hearing the smooth velvety production of Selling England, those before sound a little rough by comparison. That said, it was light years ahead of most other bands, and they would get the flow together by the time of Second's Out, which is probably my favorite live album in the rock world. The video of Peter performing this song is well worthy your eyes.
Collins on absolute top form...the Live '73 especially good , and happened to be the first song from the Gabriel era I heard. It's a perfect Live album... Foxtrot though has an amazing tracklist , Supper's Ready , a Prog masterpiece , Get em out by Friday with masterful bass work from Rutherford , and Can Utility and the coastliners...Genius. 😍
There’s so much variety. A very special album indeed. Amazing social commentary, myths retold. Love it ❤️
After this masterpiece… ❤ I always go to the live 73 album … the atmosphere of it makes the songs Breathe!! Fantastic
I heard it very long ago. I've you like such music, Listen to the swedish band " KAIPA". 😊
Classic Gabriel Genesis track. Love that opening build up. Great song to react to. Looks like you both had a good time. 👍
Masterpiece.
First time I saw Genesis was just after Nursery Cryme was released, their set was a mix of Trespass and Nursery Cryme numbers plus The Light and Twilight Alehouse. Second time I saw them they had dropped The Light and added a new number they were going to record for their upcoming album. That number was Watcher of the Skies. Such an immediate number especially when seen live, I couldn't wait for Foxtrot to come out. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed. (I may be old but I got to see all the best bands 😎)