As a progressive rock musician, Transatlantic‘s Roine Stolt shared his perspective on the bands that influenced him while he was growing up in a recent interview with Classic Album Review. Stolt also made a comparison between Yes and Genesis and delivered his thoughts about their impact on the rock and roll scene.
The prog-rock genre that emerged in the late 1960s and peaked in the mid-1970s was mainly led by the bands like Yes and Genesis. Those were the prime years before punk and new wave got in the way. Roine Stolt, performing in the same genre for years, first came across Yes before discovering Genesis.
“I was first a Yes fan, and then I found Genesis,” he said, recalling how he initially met the music of two iconic progressive rock acts. “I thought, oh, this band is great, I mean, and they did ‘Selling England’ and then did ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,’ which is a fantastic album.”
“I think Peter Gabriel gradually, you listen to ‘Nursery Cryme,’ and you can see he’s finding his way, in ‘Foxtrot,’ he’s better, he’s more convinced,” he continued, discussing the constant development in Gabriel’s singing style. “‘Selling England,’ he’s great, and there’s some beautiful stuff on it, but I think Yes was the more grown-up band, if you know what I mean. I don’t know how to say it, but they’ve felt more like already timeless. They were in their own space.”
After discovering Genesis, he admired most of the albums they consistently released. Roine witnessed the gradual evolution of Peter Gabriel, and several albums like ‘Nursery Cryme,’ ‘Foxtrot,’ and ‘Selling England’ were terrific. However, Stolt knew that Yes was the more enduring band since they had already made an unshakable place for themselves in the industry with their memorable pieces.
You can watch the interview below.
