Let Your Prog Light Shine

Watchers Of The Sky- Genesis MP3

7/28/11

beeradvocate.com rating A-

Pretty Things Jack D'or Farmhouse Ale/ Saison- Brouweji Lane- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22 oz. bomber into 12oz. Brandy Snifter- 6.4% ABV

Head- Little to speak of maybe a half a finger which reced quickly. No lacing

Color- Cloudy, golden straw

Mouthfeel- Medium to light bodied. Small consistent prickly carbonation

Aroma- Tangerine, lemon. Banana? Yeast...?

Taste/ Overall- This beer was brewed in Massachusetts and is described as an Belgian inspired American Farmhouse Ale. Made with Belgian yeast strains and American Hops.This is my second Farmhouse Ale and is pretty refreshing. Not a bad summer style beer. I can definitely taste the hops in this and their is a pleasant, dry bitterness to it. A smooth drinker in my opinion and the 6.4 ABV is well hidden but could probably catch up to you.

On the turntable is Genesis Live- Genesis- Recorded in February 1973 at The De Monfort Hall, Leichester and The Free Trade Hall, Manchester. Issued as a stop/gap between albums by their record label and was issued as a single LP instead of the more popular 70's double live LP released by so many artists at the time. It would have been nice to have double live LP's growing up in the early 90's by some of my favorite artists but the only one I can remember is the live Guns n' Roses double album from the Use Your Illusion era. I guess the record companies unfortunately backed off this format as a form of promotion. I found this earlier this summer at a flea market in Brooklyn. I am not an expert on Genesis and really the only album I am particularly familiar with prior to Peter Gabriel’s departure is The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. But in the back of my mind I have been hoping to listen to more of their early 70’s work and this seemed like a good opportunity to expand my Genesis palette.

I was taken with the cover and Mr. Gabriel’s outfit looks like something Lady Gaga might wear today. Early Genesis in my mind is a bit like early Rush and to a lesser extent Pink Floyd but Floyd had a few years on these two groups. Both bands had trimmed the fat and streamlined their songwriting by the early 1980’s. Especially Genesis who has come to define a certain strain of 80’s pop. Prior to the 1980’s though their albums were often dense, thematic affairs which were not always easy to follow. I for one have had a hard time following the lyrical narratives on some of these records and my mind tends to focus more on the musical accompaniment to the lyrical themes.

I heard this album described in a review as “prog-grunge” and in all honesty that description is not completely off, though, I still don’t remember to many “grunge” groups with 8, 9 and 10 minute songs. Nor did many grunge albums feature keyboards heavily....I wonder why not. The live sound of this band has a grittiness I do not associate with their studio albums and without the polish of the studio this album borders on a proto-metal feel in spots. Popular opinion often describes progressive rock from the 1970’s as overly technical but this album remains musically satisfying without oversaturation. I really took a liking to the bass playing on this album and recognized Michael Rutherford’s bass playing talents in a way I had not in the past. I have posted the first track of this LP Watchers Of The Sky which immediately draws you into this album.