Wayback Wednesday: Genesis – Watcher of the Skies

The sections at 2:45 and 4:25 is sort of why I believe Genesis inadvertently invented hip-hop back in 1972. When most of your song is in an ambitious theatric medieval march in 6/4, it’s understandable that you’d want to rope the listener back in with a ridiculously catchy and repeating groove that GOES. Moreover, I make this outrageous claim about hip-hop not only because I could see a Guilty Simpson or MF Doom spitting a verse over these 2 sections, but because the seminal J Dilla and Madlib often sampled progressive rock like Genesis, Yes, and Gentle Giant for their lo-fi breakneck creations, when they weren’t sampling motown, a 1970s Japanese stock film, etc. Maybe next week I’ll try to dig those out, but for now, just know that this Genesis album, Foxtrot, reached No. 12 in the UK Top 20 in 1972 and if you can find a couple parts in this tune to vibe with or find meaning in, you’re in esteemed company.

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