Genesis - Firth of Fifth - First Time Reaction 

That’s Steve Hackett on guitar and you can still catch him in concert performing these songs - and still at the top of his game.

Hands down, my favorite Genesis song. Progressive Rock at its finest. ❤

This is the so called "classic era" with founding members Tony Banks on keys, Mike Rutherford on bass and Peter Gabriel on vocals and flute (founded in 1967). Phil Collins on drums and Steve Hackett on guitar joined Genesis in late 1970 and beginning of 1971, and the bands music found it´s path. The Genesis fans is often divided with the "Gabriel era" up to 1975 and the "Collins era" from 1976, and for those lucky ones (such as me) the ones who loves both eras. Their longest song is Supper´s Ready which is ca. 23 minutes long, is also often considered to be their masterpiece and is a journey for sure. My favourite version is the studio version with Gabriel on vocals and the ultimate version from live album "Seconds Out" with Collins on vocals and additional drums. Always fun to watch such a great reaction to this gem of a song! One of the best songs in progressive music. The whole album is worth listening to! As all the others IMO. I will follow you on this Genesis-journey! Have fun and enjoy!

A fantastic Tony Banks composition. Banks wrote it, and at the time guitarist Steve Hackett came along and said to Tony ... 'I have an idea'. What transpired was the middle of the song contains the finest guitar solo in the whole of prog !

Tony Banks plays keyboards for Genesis

Tony banks on piano and keyboard is absolutely magnificent in this song. You are justifiably awed!

Steve Hackett is still playing this (and other Genesis) classics live with a phenomenal band, well worth catching. They were very early 20's when they wrote and recorded this!

From their glory years....artistically. The catalog of these years is phenomenal. Many bands want to create 1 masterpiece,others managed to do that and Genesis could easily fill a cd with masterpieces.

It IS done right!! It is a Masterpiece.

really cool - thanks for not interrupting the music - I like your format.

It's the river of constant change...Two stars were Tony Banks who wrote the song at the age of 22 and was/is arguably the best keyboard player in the world and Steve Hackett on lead guitar. Music and musical talent in Genesis that will live on forever!

The musicianship of this group and Hackett in particular is off the charts ..brilliant.

You think Phil is mental on the drums here I suggest you look up tracks like Nuclear Burn and And So to F by Brand X - Phil's drumming is on another level - if thats possible! Say what you will about later Genesis - you xan't deny Phil was one of the greatest drummers in rock - the man was an absolute beast - my biggest music hero 🙂

Part of the delight of progressive music is that it moves you through a series of musical scenarios and the quality and seamlessness of the transitions is a measure of the skill of the composers. It’s meant to be consumed like a film with your complete attention. On first hearing it is a series of surprises but on repeat there is the added sense of anticipation as your favourite switch up approaches. Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Camel, Supertramp, King Crimson , ELP, Mike Oldfield and many more were all producing amazing music of this kind in the 70s. More recently bands like Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater , Tool, Rush and Marillion have continued to carry the progressive baton into this century and Symphonic metal bands like Epica and Nightwish have also picked up these musical structures that are designed to have time set aside to listen to rather than provide background for dancing or doing the washing up.

Technical Brilliance

On this track - Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford (founding members), Phil Collins and Steve Hackett (this era lasted from 1970 to 1975) Peter left the band in 1975, Steve left in 1977 - all five appeared together once after that in 1982. Phil was actually the 4th drummer (he joined in the summer of 1970) - previous drummers: Chris Stewart, John Silver then John Mayhew. Hope that helps!

To many of us Genesis fans, the guitar solo rivals David Gilmore's solo in Comfortably Numb.

Probably the best prog rock work under 15 minutes 🙂And best guitar solo ever.. I've driven through the desert listening to Supertramp's 'Waiting so long' from 'Famous last words' - still gives me goosebumps just thinking about it...

That guitar melody is one of most iconic melody of prog rock history.

"Firth of Fifth" Words & Music by Tony Banks with Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Stephen Hackett, and Michael Rutherford Performed by GENESIS Tony Banks -- keyboards Phil Collins -- percussions Peter Gabriel -- vocals & flute Steve Hackett -- electric guitars Mike Rutherford -- bass & 12-string guitars, bass pedals

Peter Gabriel's Genesis era was magical. On the same album: "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" - very English/medieval sounding

The early progressive Genesis is my favorite band of all time, and I’ve heard a lot of bands, their 70s work is truly masterpiece of mankind, this song not even touch the surface of their prog discography, they created a lot of masterpieces back then

Best song ever.

'Firth of Fifth' is a play on words. A river estuary in Scotland is known as a Firth. In this case the Firth of Forth as in the River Forth - not to be confused with the word fourth.

I love that song (1973), with Peter Gabriel’s voice and flute, Phil Collins on drums, Steven Hackett at the guitar, Mike Rutherford on bass and Tony Banks on piano and keyboards. Tony composed this track. Genesis is, to me, the best prog rock band ever. You can listen to lot of gems of this era. Firth of Fifth is my favorite but I also love Dancing with the moonlite knight and The knife. Thanks for your reaction ❤

So glad you did this one. Kinda of jealous, wished I was just hearing it for the first time. I've been listening to it since rhe 70s. And I'd put Steve Hackett's guitar solo up against any Gilmour Pink Floyd solo. More Genesis please.

Genesis is the greatest theatrical prog band ever. Hat Tip! Their albums could easily be adapted to the stage, especially The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway ✨️🎶✨️

The best live recording of this song is on Genesis Seconds out LP

All prog rock is beholden to the White Album. Just a fact of life ❤🎉😊

...lots of comments already explaining... just one more: you came up with Peter Green as guitar player - he was in the early formation of Fleetwood Mac 😎

Couple more listens and you'll be hooked on Tony Banks's immense storytelling. Try a later one off And then there were 3... 'Burning Rope?'

You should watch Steve Hackett performing this live.

You strat straight in to a masterpiece. all songs by Genesis from 1970 to 1977 are treasures...albums from 1978 and 1979 can be listened to in cold days over a warm stout or whiskey

Wind pipe lol...think you'll find Peter was playing a flute there 😀 Nice reaction and glad you enjoyed one of the classic prog songs ever. Can I recommend Dancing With The Moonlit Knight from the same album ?

Tony Banks on keys.

That “synth sound” you refer to were hammer ons and pull offs by Steve Hackett (lead guitarist).

There have been several reactors I've seen who have started with Firth of Fifth and it opened their eyes to Progressive Rock. Years later they are still reacting to Prog and it has become one of their favorite genres. Not saying it will or won't happen for you, but you've taken the first step. Firth of Fifth happens to be my all-time favorite song. Plenty of people will give you song suggestions. Enjoy the ride! Love the Northern accent.

I love watching folks discovering prog rock.... hearing songs I have loved for 50 years for the first time makes me feel like it's the first time again for me there are some recomendations I know you will get that I totally agree with, e.g. Yes - Close to the Edge, Heart of the Sunrise { there are probably more than 10 Yes songs I would recommend) Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother Genesis - The Musical Box, Supper's Ready (in both cases, I recommend WATCHING a performance, instead of just listening, otherwise you will miss a lot: (Supper's ready: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K04HYw25zdY.html | The Musical Box ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-W35wtfcByIY.html a classic you may not get another recomendation for but that you should totally check out is Illusions on a Double Dimple by Triumvarat - Germany's answer to Emerson, Lake and Palmer

The switchups are part of a movement by British bands in the 60's and 70's called progressive rock, with Bands Genesis, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Pink Floyd to name a few top ones, you should check out all of these bands

Good choice. It's great to hear you react to your discovery of this band. One of the most successful in the 80' but a giant in prog in the 70'. This song has so many great instrumental solos, starting with the piano, and then Peter's flute and, overall, one of the best guitar solos ever (well my favorite guitar piece remains For The Love of Fod by Steve Vai). Hackett has so much emotions in his guitar playing… You said “like an opera”, that's the thing with prog, it's complex and tries to bring you to different emotions in one piece. Back in the time we also called the genre “symphonic rock”.

everyone in early Genesis reactions always say the same things: the piano/keys are amazing, of course Phil is the goat on the drums, and the guitar is doing some crazy shit, but no one ever mentions poor Mike Rutherford on bass. Next time you do an early Genesis reaction I want to really pay more attention to the bass parts, the bass pedals, the crazy runs and arpeggios, the more guitar like string picking playing style, the effortless funky ass shit that my man Mike be laying down. In my opinion Mike Rutherford is right up there with Chris Squire (rest his soul. Miss you Chris!) and poor Mike is always over looked. Maybe because he does so effortlessly lay down his genius in the background like the bass usual is, but once you start to finally here it, you can never unhear it. You're welcome. LOL. Great reaction by the way. And I'm only telling you this so you don't miss out next time. Not trying to be an ass. You'd want to check out next "Get 'Em Out By Friday" from the 1972 Foxtrot album, Now there is some sick ass bass.

Supper's Ready from the Foxtrot album is a full lp side. Around 20 minutes. Well worth the time spent. Also Cinema Show from this same album as Firth of Fifth. These are classically structured song with movements and can be thought of as suites of songs - same for Yes! I was 19 when Selling England By the Pound came out and I still listen to it regularly. I wore out several copies of the vinyl. Steve Hackett's band plays this stuff live still all over the world. Well worth seeing this music done live. The Musical Box - a Genesis tribute band from Quebec also tours worldwide. The original audience is aging out but newer fans like you are being created.

The "musical journey" in progressive music is magical. Keeps you interested. Thanks for reviewing!

the fact that it's short pieces, somehow lead their music to be used in TV/news themes and corporate videos ( i think ) pink Floyd also had short excerpts used everywhere. It gave those shows a sort of sci-fi mood since synths and electric guitars playing like this were new

all the people you've listed come from this grass root -- the early Genesis is their home.

Saw him last fall in Des Moines, Iowa Hoyt Sherman Place. Absolutely love his new drummer! He's fantastic

In effetti questo è uno dei pezzi migliori della storia musicale .... Top assoluto ....fantastica !!!! Dopo questa consiglio The Lamia e Carpet Crawlers ...

Suppers ready

It's called Prog Rock mate

One of my favorite song from Genesis my favorite band. Tony Banks is on piano and keyboards, Steve Hackett on guitar (his best solo ever with Genesis). Peter Gabriel on vocals and flute. Mike Rutherford on bass and 12 strings. Try the Seconds out (live 1977) from this song. You've got so many jewels to discover: Supper's ready, Cinema show, The musical box, Carpet crawlers, Dance on a volcano, Afterglow, Entangled, Ripples, Los endos, Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, Stagnation, The knife, Watchers of the skies, In the cage, Fly on a windshield, The lamb lies down on Broadway, Burning rope, Inside and out, Squonk, In that quiet earth, Many too many, Mad man moon, Duke's travels - Duke's end... Etc

My other favorite off of this album is," The Cinema Show". I highly recommend it.

Subscribing just to see you go down this rabbit hole. Genesis are one of my top three all-time favorite bands. They had three distinct eras. The first was the classic lineup with Peter Gabriel on vocals. This is when they did their most classically driven prog rock material. The second was when Phil Collins took over when Peter left, this is the shortest era - two albums -when their style transitioned a little bit. Then there's the last era, when Steve Hackett, the lead guitarist who did the solo at the end of this track left, and they made a full-on transition from prog to basically a pop rock band. Some people are fans of just one or maybe two of those eras, and some people, such as myself, are fans of all. Have fun. You'll enjoy it mate.

Excellent band seen them in Manchester way back they were absolutely fantastic live

A cracking track from a great album. The guitar solo by Steve Hackett is sublime. I agree it's like an opera and in this instance, a prog rock opera.

None of the reviewers cop that the synth solo is a reprise of the piano intro.. and the guitar solo ‘start ‘ is a reprise of the flute theme. The layers in this song. Too much to get on a first listen 😊

Great reaction with a true appreciation of the music. Firth of Fifth is a classic, much better live as well. Steve Hackett, the ex guitarist always still does this track in its entirety, its awesome live. The back catalogue of Genesis is immense. So many songs it almost impossible to recommend. However, the period from 1972-1977 was epic. Four incredible albums Selling England By The Pound, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, A Trick Of The Tail, Wind and Wuthering. The live versions as always sound so much better. Even in the 2007 tour when the three Tony, Mike and Phil reformed along with Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer the old medley of songs was 17 mins of pure musical majesty. The medley of In The Cage/Cinema Show/ Dukes Travels/Afterglow was imperious give it a listen ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0CQa4rObmuY.html

I really wish I could discover the 70's all over again

You’re getting through these thick and fast! Try the other songs on this album - I Know What I Like and Moonlit Knight. And if you think this one is complex, you ain’t heard nothing yet (you have Close to the Edge by Yes ahead) ❤ However, a lot of people consider this song to be the finest prog rock recorded. A couple of Yes songs and one Genesis songs edge towards the 30-min mark, btw 🎉

Need to listen to Supper’s Ready. Depending on version, around 20-25 minute long song.

Since you enjoyed this, I'd recommend other great prog classics. Watcher of the Skies from the Genesis Gabriel era, and Dance On a Volcano from the Collins era. And any Yes epic, but also Song For America, by Kansas (the studio, not the shortened live version). Also, for brilliant art rock, see XTC's Wrapped In Grey or The Garden of Earthly Delights. XTC post-1981 were excellent, blending catchy pop hooks with eccentric musical ideas!

Nobody mentions Rutherford gentle, precise and beautiful bass guitar?

Seems like you have a number of classic artists to dive through... Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, Steely dan, Samla Mammas Manna (von Zamla), Dire Straits, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Santana, Fleetwood Mac (1 with Peter Green! & 2), Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, Mike Batt, Mountain, Renaissance etc. and of course Frank Zappa (& Mothers of Invention), Beatles and of more recent artists Rachel Flowers, Eivør, Kaisers Orkester, Samantha Fish, Jon Gomm, Tash Sultana and many many more

Just a masterpiece,

Blood on the rooftops.... check out that one ....

Classic Genesis from their progressive era with Peter Gabriel leading the gang!Back in those days, my era, it was called transitions!You need to react to YES with Roundabout, Heart of The Subrise, and Close To The Edge if you want more longer tunes in the progressive era!

Peter Green with Fleetwood Mac, prior to Lindsay Buckingham

Genesis even have a 23-minute long song, which might seem daunting, but it’s a real masterpiece!

Peter Gabriel and David Bowie have often been compared. Mike was playing bass on this and a talented guitarist. The whole band is a collection of amazing musicians. A HUGE rabbit hole you've found.

Is it still the same song? Welcome to prog music, you may ask that question hearing music from Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Dream Theater and Nightwish, integral part of the beauty of advanced compositions. Peter Green was in Fleetwood Mac. Genesis started with Mike Rutherford (bass and guitar) and Anthony Philips. When the latter left, Steve Hackett joined the band.

This is music. Please, react to Genesis - Stagnation.

One Dream Theater gig I went to some years back, Dream Theater played for three hours, then did a two song encore. The first song was eighteen minutes long and the second was 23 minutes long. So, altogether, taking out a 15 min. break in the middle, they played for about three and a half hours solid, and all complex, intricate prog music. Check out Dream Theater next.

Fantastic reaction mate . Please consider reacting to the following Genesis : The Musical Box . Thank you .

Genesis is my Favourite band and has been for over 40 years. As others have said it is a deep rabbit hole. Their two best albums are , Selling England by the pound and A Trick of the Tail. Many Hard core fans will say The Lamb lies down is the best, perhaps their most experimental album. However it’s too lyrically dense for me and too patchy in places, particularly towards the end of the double album. Genesis have two sides, almost two different bands, in the 1970’s you have some fantastic prog rock, then in the 1980’s Genesis had to reinvent themselves to stay relevant and they became a more radio friendly commercial rock band, with the mid 80’s Invisible Touch being a huge commercial success and propelling them to be a huge stadium filling rock band. Be warned many of the prog fans can get a bit sniffy about 80’s Genesis, but personally I love both era’s.

😂 9 minutes, that's a SHORT song! Make your next Genesis song Supper's Ready, (live 1973)

Firth Of Fifth Meaning Firth Of Fifth is a metaphor for the flow (and the end) of life, seen as a river that runs for miles and drains into the sea. Those who think that the Genesis do not give us another pun will be disappointed because the Firth Of Fifth title is another nice little game starting from an emissary of the River Forth, known precisely as Firth Of Forth. Gabriel enjoys noting Forth's assonance with Fourth (fourth, in English) by changing the word to Fifth (fifth), et voilà, we have a rare example of a title that cannot be translated precisely. Gabriel writes the text and believes in destiny: life is a path already traced from the beginning, as the path of a river that is born, grows, becomes more or less large at various moments of its flow, but then ends. always at sea. That's life. There are also a couple of thoughts in the song that seem to break away from the overall meaning of the song to focus on English society, which is heavily attached to most of Selling England By The Pound. People are sheep in an enclosure, they don't move, they see the exit but they don't run away, except when their master arrives: The sheep remain inside their pen, Though many times they’ve seen the way to leave The sheep remain inside their pen, Until the shepherd leads his flock away And finally, the enigmatic closing sentence: The sands of time were eroded by The river of constant change. A reference to time, which by dint of passing (and God forbid) has inevitably changed an entire nation. Like all Selling England By The Pound, Firth Of Fifth is nostalgic for generations of people who seem to have disappeared. Love from Italy!

The more you listen, the more the structure gets embedded in your mind. Prog pieces require multiple listens before you really grasp them.

This was from the classic, and IMO best, Genesis line-up. The most notable instrument in this song were played by two members you did not mention: Tony Banks on keyboards and Steve Hackett on guitar. Mike Rutherford was the group's bassist. Tracks I'd recommend from this period: "Carpet Crawlers" and "Blood on the Rooftops". PS. Peter Green played with Fleetwood Mac and has no connection to Genesis AFAIK.

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Peter Green was a founder member of Fleetwood Mac, nothing to do with Genesis.

I’m not a prog fan in general, but I sure do respect the genius and skill of the artists in the genre. Floyd is one of my favorite bands but I don’t consider them prog. They’re their own genre.

Tony Banks

Try "Suppers Ready"......its brilliant

This is your first time, and my 500. It's the same

Peter Green was early Fleetwood Mac

Quando vedo video come questo, mi domando sempre come può una persona che si occupa di musica _ o alla quale comunque piace la musica, e si capisce _ non aver mai ascoltato un album come Selling England by the Pound, che è uscito 50 anni fa:)

“ Any of you that knows it, I’m sure you’ll be singing along”. 😁. Um. No.

rael nyc Genesis Documentary, Selling England by the Pound

Supper’s ready 23 minutes long 😂

Keep silente, please

Tony Banks greatest Keyboard Player in Rock.❤

Guess who their drummer is?

If you think a 9 minute song is crazy then listen to Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull 1972 as is a 43 minute song that takes up both sides of the album. Followed by A Passion Play 1973. Tull was a contemporary of the progressive bands of the early seventies-Yes, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Gentle Giant, etc. so you have a wealth of musical material to investigate for your enjoyment. Two other notable bands are Frank Zappa and Rush

Very surprised your dad was not into Genesis. You may have heard of the River Fourth. The River Fifth is imaginary. Genesis is magical. And also full of surprise.

"Is this the same song?" LOL... welcome to prog rock. They are musical pieces [similar to classical music], with different movements, rather than songs.