Here’s a random piece about my teenage years. It’s about trespassing. In fact, it’s about the album “Trespass” by Genesis.
I bought the album back in the days when CDs were still the hype (late 80s I assume). I liked Genesis’ popular tracks such as “Land of Confusion” and I liked the cover of “Trespass”. What I didn’t know was that it didn‘t have anything to do with the Genesis I knew from the charts. It’s their second studio album, recorded even before Phil Collins joined the band. Back at home, when I first listened to the album, I was totally surprised but also a bit angry. Being an experimental progressive rock album, it sounded so strange to my ears that had been exclusively trained on chart music.
But, well, I actually spent money for the album (also I didn’t own that many albums) so, I listened again. And again. And it turned into a revelation. It was way richer and denser than what I was accustomed to from the charts. For me, it was the beginning of a journey to discover the richness of music as a storytelling tool and as a way of expressing yourself. First, I discovered other progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd and Yes, then I continued to Jazz which led me to discover Miles Davis and guitarists like John Scofield, Mike Stern, and Pat Metheny who inspired me during the time when I still thought I would become a professional guitarist.
Well, obviously I didn’t but I’m glad that I took that journey. Not sure if I would have trespassed the boundaries of pop music without “Trespass”.
