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Another band comparison thread - Yes vs. Genesis

Which band do you prefer?

  • Yes

    Votes: 19 46.3%

  • Genesis

    Votes: 14 34.1%

  • Carrots

    Votes: 12 29.3%
  • Total voters
    41
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Iristone

Iristone

Jul 8, 2017
2,924
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Beijing
#1
First of all let's set a rule - only the progressive era of each band would count in this discussion. Let's say, Yes up until Drama, and Genesis up until Duke. NO Yes-West and NO The Phil Collins Supergroup.
Personally I feel Yes is a bit more "brilliant", a modern art type of impression. Genesis feels more relaxed, more "spontaneous" with an open, natural soundscape.
 
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#2
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And I love DRAMA.
 
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#3
To me, they truly were equals (we are discussing the earlier parts of their trajectory). Each band did their own thing, musically. And both were superb, in recordings, and on stage. In live performances, I will give the edge to Genesis for the great theatrics that Peter provided, creating stories within the songs for us to follow along to.
 
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#5
Jeff Scott said:
To me, they truly were equals (we are discussing the earlier parts of their trajectory). Each band did their own thing, musically. And both were superb, in recordings, and on stage. In live performances, I will give the edge to Genesis for the great theatrics that Peter provided, creating stories within the songs for us to follow along to.
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Pretty much my thoughts on the topic. Well said Jeff.
 
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#7
I've mentioned this before, but: Despite being labeled (and proudly self-labeled) as a bona fide Prog-head during my formative years, I sometimes think it's an incredibly -- and perhaps atypically -- selective enthusiasm that I exhibited.

Because while I absolutely love(d) Yes, King Crimson, and Gentle Giant, I was (and remain) equally rabid in my loathing of Genesis, ELP, and Rush.

I understand why culturally Yes and Genesis are lumped together in the same bundle...but to my ear there are so few similarities musically between those two groups, even (or especially) at their respective early- to mid-1970s apexes, that it sometimes boggles my mind that such a comparison would even occur to someone.

Genesis' best works remind me of the Memories-In-Hindsight I have of my original teenage rock band: We thought we were making Prog-Rock, because our influences were Prog and our aspirations stemmed from that genre. But we sucked as musicians, and so our realizations and executions fell short of the mark. When I listen to prime Genesis I often come to the same conclusion: Somebody had a lofty idea that exceeded their ability to deliver, and the results come across as compositionally remedial.
 
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#15
rashrader said:
These bands are not at all alike. Carrots.
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Yeah I thought both had quite different styles (even into their pop years). They and King Crimson.
But to me Genesis and King Crimson sound a bit closer to each other than Yes - from the earlier, kind of relaxing orchestral (think Selling England vs. Lark's Tongue), to the later interweaving guitar arpeggios (think a few proggier songs in Abacab vs. Discipline). But Genesis fell apart after it, while KC remained strong to this day (albeit with some hiatus).
 
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#17
5StringBlues said:
Tho YES recorded their share of stinkers, they have no equivalent to "I Can't Dance" or "Illegal Alien”

For this, I am thankful.
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“Don’t Kill The Whale”

Don’t make me bring up some of the others. Yes rolled out a bit of pure garbage as well.

That being said…”Illegal Alien”. A song that was racist as hell even by the standards in place at the time of release, AND musically terrible as well. That’s a hard combo to pull off, but they did it. That album was so awful that my high school guitarist and keyboardist - both huge Genesis fans - threw in the towel on the band after that. I was the Yes fan of the band. Chris Squier vs Mike Rutherford? Pffft. That’s not even a choice.
 
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