Steve Hackett Says Genesis Music Got Lost in ‘Audio Space’ Battle

Steve Hackett thinks a few of the finest parts of the basic Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway had been misplaced in a battle for “audio space” between Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks.

The 1974 launch was their final to characteristic frontman Gabriel, whereas guitarist Hackett left three years later. In a brand new interview with Ultimate Guitar, he stated it was apparent the lineup was about to vary because the band labored on Lamb.

“I would say working with Peter Gabriel was somewhat easier in the earlier stages of Genesis’ development,” Hackett mirrored. “I think we did some wonderful albums together – Foxtrot and Selling England by the Pound, I think, are phenomenal albums.”

He continued: “I don’t think there’s a weak track on either of those albums. And that’s the strength of the collective songwriting team bringing that together.”

READ MORE: Tony Banks Says ‘The Lamb Lies Down…’ Was His ‘Least Favorite Part of Being in Genesis’

Things had been altering by 1974, he stated. “The band was beginning to fragment into factions. It was obvious Peter wasn’t going to stay. There seemed to be a competition between Peter and Tony to see how much audio space they could fill.

“And it means you’ve got very busy, crowded virtuosic keyboard work and very busy narrative-driven lyrics from Peter… these two paths seemed to be at loggerheads to a large degree. It became more difficult to define what the other instruments can do because there was less breathing space.”

Hackett argued that the music suffered in consequence. “I think although The Lamb has many wonderful tracks on it overall, it really hasn’t been until the later remixes that you’re hearing half the detail… There was lots of detail on it. Surround sound and later mixes have brought back the detail that should have always been on it.”

“It fell into that classic conundrum of what groups have to deal with when there’s power play at work – where there are separate agendas.”

Steve Hackett Says Genesis Members Were Good For Each Other

Regardless, Hackett described Lamb as “very interesting” and hailed the solo materials Gabriel’s launched after quitting, occurring to notice that, in the mid ‘70s, he’d already been exploring the form of uncommon instrumentation that Gabriel would later change into recognized for.

“With Genesis, I was using kalimba, autoharp – all these things I didn’t credit myself with,” Hackett recalled. “I just thought, ‘It’s a very competitive band. I’ll only get flak if I start announcing all the things I do in the credit. Be diplomatic.’”

He stated the previous band members remained mates, including: “I think we were all good for each other… in the early days before it fell into factions.”