Oil Well Bootlegs - RSC CD: Genesis – Moonlight Knight Oil Well

Genesis – Moonlight Knight
Oil Well – RSC 072 CD

1 Dancing With The Moonlit Knight #1 1:58
2 Only Your Love #1 4:10
3 Only Your Love #2 3:07
4 Master Of Time 3:07
5 Happy The Man 3:09
6 The Reaper 7:41
7 For Present Friends 5:13
8 A Child's Song 3:33
9 After The Ordeal 4:31
10 Silver Song #1 4:09
11 Silver Song #2 4:12
12 Dancing With The Moonlit Knight #2 1:39
CD - 46:19

Note:
All songs by Collins/ Gabriel/ Rutherford unless noted
~~Live in London, UK - February 9, 1973~~

Tracks 1,9,12 recorded in August 1973 at Island Studios, London
Tracks 3,11 recorded in November 1973 at Island Studios in London
Tracks 4,8 recorded in 1973
Track 5 recorded on: May 10th, 1972
Tracks 6,7 recorded between 1972-1976 in Send Barns, Woking, Surrey
Track 10 recorded between June/July 1973

Lineup
Tony Banks – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
Peter Gabriel – lead vocals, flute, percussion
Mike Rutherford – bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals
Phil Collins – drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on tracks 2,3, 10,11
Steve Hackett – guitars
Anthony Phillips – guitar (tracks 4,6,8) and lead vocals on tracks 4,11

This album is a digital clone of: "Studio" - Chapter One – CO 25205, 1993.
On the front cover of this Oil Well release Peter Gabriel performing live.
This is a rare compilation of outtakes and rough mixes from 1972 and 1973 Genesis' studio sessions. Some songs are from Anthony Phillips repertory.

It is interesting to note in this case how Oil Well has decided to publish for Genesis not a live album but a compilation of songs recorded at various times and with different formations. The album highlights the band's artistic research which reached its climax in 1974 with the double The Lamb Lies down on broadway. But from Trespass to the lamb's disc there is a gray area so fascinating that it deserves your attention. If you are already curious, this bootleg is for you.

Please note that "For Present Friends" is "Field Of Eternity"; "Dancing with the moonlight knight # 1" and "Dancing with the moonlight knight # 2"are different mix of the outro of the official version of "Dancing with the moonlight knight" from 1973 album. Read below for more informations!

Audio quality:

Quality content:

© Official released material:
Tracks 1,9,12 have been released officially on: "Selling England By The Pound" (1973)
Tracks 3,4,11 have been released officially on: "The Geese & The Ghost - Bonus CD" (2007)
Track 5 has been released officially on: "Happy The Man - Single" (1972) and on "Boxset 1970-1975 Bonus"
Tracks 6,7 have been released officially on: "Private Parts & Pieces" __________________________________________________________________

Beloved Symphonic prog rock through to stadium filling rock titans
Any biography of Genesis must recognise that there are distinct periods in the band's history, and that any discussion should recognise that musically and lyrically, the band which filled vast stadia throughout the 1990's was a completely different creature to that which played sweaty student halls filled with spotty young men in the early 1970's.

The original incarnation of the band had its origins in two outfits formed by Peter Gabriel (vocals & flute), Tony Banks (keyboards), Michael Rutherford (bass & rhythm guitars), and Anthony Phillips (lead guitars) whilst boarding students at the elite English public school, Charterhouse in the mid-1960's. Outside the confines of an extremely stuffy atmosphere, the world was becoming far more liberated, socially, sexually, politically, and musically, and these bands represented an outlet for young men who, basically, as young men do, wanted some of that. The two acts coalesced into one, and the students had the novel idea of placing a tape of their music into the hands of Jonathan King whilst he was visiting his alma mater. King was, at this time, a big selling artist and musical impresario, and, consequently, someone who mattered in the rock world.

The tapes were basic, but King took a shine to Gabriel's voice, and recognised a unique sound and talent which, if nurtured, could become huge. He arranged for the band, with drummer Chris Stewart, to record some sessions in London, where the boys experimented with quite complex, orchestral pastiches. Knowing that King was not happy, the band penned Silent Sun, a song which was essentially a Bee Gees tribute single. The brothers Gibb were huge commercially at this time, and King was known to be a huge fan.

Genesis to Revelation
The resulting album in early 1969 was named "Genesis to Revelation" by King, as representing something brand new and exciting in the musical world. It barely scratched the surface of the commercial music world, and, for many a year after, copies could still be found in the bargain bin section of stores. Following this, there was, initially, some doubt as to whether the musical careers would survive leaving school. Parental pressures were particularly acute on Rutherford, whose parents had virtually guaranteed him a scholarship with the British Foreign Office. However, a decision was taken to further the music, and, with new drummer John Mayhew (not a schoolmate) in tow, the band began to gig extensively, picking up admirers in the burgeoning progressive rock scene which was bursting out in student halls across the UK.

King had, by now, lost interest, but the band were lucky when, on a recommendation, Tony Stratton-Smith, a legendary Soho impresario and founder of Charisma Records, saw them live, fell in love with, particularly, a live version of what was to be later recorded as Visions of Angels, and signed them up virtually there and then. The key to this signing was the artistic freedom afforded by the label to the band to produce the music they wanted to produce, and, crucially, the time required to build a following, something which would be next to impossible in the modern world, with its record executives generally having the attention span of the average gnat.

The first Charisma release was Trespass in late 1970, a collection of complex songs which belied the youth and relative inexperience of the band. As strange as it may seem, the band continued to play music from this album right up to the final live shows of 2007, with elements of Stagnation forming part of the classic instrumental medley regularly played at gigs. Most recognise that the highlight of the work was the furiously paced, radical, revolutionary rock track The Knife, which was the album, and live show, closer. It became a hit in Belgium in 1971, helping to propel the album to number one in the charts there.The extensive touring was, though, beginning to take a toll on Phillips, who began to suffer from acute stage fright, this becoming so bad that he made the decision to quit. His departure was a body blow to the band, because Phillips was far more in terms of song-writing and playing one fifth of the outfit.

Phillips solo
Phillips would subsequently become a music teacher, and launched his own (studio based) solo career in 1977, encompassing a range of musical styles. Despite the loss, the decision was taken to carry on and to replace Mayhew, who had serious musical limitations, at the same time.

Steve Hackett on guitar was recruited on the back of an advert he had placed in the music newspaper Melody Maker, in which stated he wished to join "receptive musicians, determined to drive beyond existing stagnant music forms". Phil Collins on drums attended auditions held at the rather grand Gabriel residence, and learned the songs being played to and by other auditionees whilst relaxing in an outside swimming pool. By the time his turn came, he was note perfect!
As grave as the loss of Phillips must have been, Genesis had added two exceptional musicians. Collins came to be regarded as one of the finest rock drummers in the world, and he had the added advantage of being able to provide decent backing vocals to Gabriel. On the first album released by the line-up, Nursery Cryme in 1971, Collins sang (uncredited) lead vocals on the short For Absent Friends.

The album did not sell particularly well in the UK, where the band were still very much a cult act, but did break big in Italy. Belgium also continued its commercial affair with the band, and, as a result, the band toured extensively on the continent, and made several television appearances, some of which can still be viewed in varying degrees of quality, on YouTube. The breakthrough, though, was with the release of Foxtrot in 1972, featuring at its heart a sprawling epic on the second side, Supper's Ready, with its patchwork of differing ideas and tunes brought together to stunning effect and, literally, Biblical epoch.

Peter Gabriel on stage
On the resulting tour, the stage costumes and theatrical persona of Gabriel began to take shape. He caused no end of controversy in Eire when he leapt onto the stage in a lady's dress and fox head, a la the stunning album cover drawn by Paul Whitehead. An old man's mask was worn to frightening effect in the closing stages of Nursery Cryme, telling the story of a love unrequited, and unfulfilled. The mask of the Magog in the Suppers Ready passage Apocalypse in 9/8 was distinctly creepy and dark, whilst the flower head in The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man was simply silly. A Genesis gig at this time was becoming an event, visual as well as oral, and it is fair to say that the oral side was becoming more and more accomplished.

The follow-up, Selling England by the Pound, consolidated the progress made, and even spawned a hit single in I Know What I Like. Highly recommended for those wishing to get a flavour of the live act in this period is the initial Archive (1967-1975) boxset release of 1998, which has a 1973 set from The Rainbow theatre.
http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1