Tonight, a Genesis Tribute Band Will Recreate Prog-Rock’s Weirdest Moments

Selling England by the Pound came out almost 42 and a half years ago, but even on the day of its release in 1973 it must have seemed like a relic from another time. Genesis’ sixth album was perhaps the most cogent crystallization of the English art-rock band’s ideology thus far, a whorling reverie of 19th-century Romantic ideals and a wry lament for a country that had fallen from an imperial power into a gray, drab nation of Green Shield stamps, gang violence, and uniform Tesco chain supermarkets. To American ears, it’s perhaps one the most English albums ever recorded, full of puns, regional accents, and enough obscure references to British culture that it makes The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society look like John Wayne wearing an American flag and riding a bald eagle.

Laden with no fewer than four songs that last eight minutes or longer, it’s an example of progressive rock at its most excessive. But that’s reductive: Selling England by the Pound is also a feast of beautiful musical ideas, with an end result that’s closer to the work of composers like Berlioz and Mendelssohn than it is to ‘70s prog-rock contemporaries like King Crimson and Yes. Many diehards say it’s the best thing Genesis ever did—it isn’t, quite, in my mind, but it ranks highly—and since the band went on to metamorphose into one of the biggest and most loathed bands of the 1980s, its purity and strangeness will baffle those who are only familiar with Genesis’ later chart hits. (Side note: Selling England actually DOES contain the group’s first-ever “hit” single, but—since it’s saddled with the title “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe),” contains a bizarre spoken-word intro and outro, and celebrates the joys of mowing other people’s lawns—it’s not exactly blockbuster material.)

In 1973 and 1974, Genesis toured the album extensively, playing shows in many parts of America for the first time and expanding their cult following in Europe and North America. It was the heyday of “rock theater,” with pioneers like David Bowie and Alice Cooper incorporating visual and theatrical elements to their stage shows. Genesis had significant skin in this game, too. Their live show at that time included a panoply of costumes worn by singer Peter Gabriel to illustrate the convoluted plots of their songs. With bizarre epics like “Watcher of the Skies,” “Return of the Giant Hogweed,” and “Dancing with the Moonlit Knight” at his disposal, he brought a surreal quality to the live event that must have been seen to be believed.

The Musical Box is a Canadian band devoted to recreating these spectacles—they are the Genesis equivalent of Dark Star Orchestra, or even cosplay, right down to the outlandish outfits, the ornate musical arrangements, and even Gabriel’s weirdo stage banter. You can laugh at that, but I’ve seen them perform and been very impressed with not only their attention to detail but their musical power. This is pretty challenging and invigorating music, and although tickets tonight are expensive, I don’t hesitate to recommend it; the group is equipped with the skill to credibly pull off these art-rock fantasias. Tonight the Musical Box performs at Revolution Hall, and will be duplicating Genesis’ Selling England by the Pound-era live show down to the tiniest detail. If you’re curious, you should absolutely go. Keep them mowing blades sharp!

The Musical Box at Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, Thurs Feb 18, 8 pm, MORE INFO HERE