Genesis: 03 10 09

Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks of Genesis took over Rock Radio on October 3. Here are the tracks they played - and what they had to say about some of them.
Jimi Hendrix: Hey Joe
MR: The solo epitomises what Hendrix was good at. He’s a wild player but it’s so melodic.
Led Zeppelin: Kashmir
TB: I think it’s one of the best true rock tracks ever recorded. I heard it in Germany and I had no idea who it was – although I should have guess from the voice - but it was a stunning sound and I’d never heard anything like it.
Don Henley: The End of the Innocence
MR: Bruce Hornsby as a writer is classic, and I love the Eagles but I prefer Don’s solo stuff. They’ve produced a lovely underrated song here.
Beatles: Twist and Shout
TB: It was the first Beatles record I bought. At the time I wasn’t clued up and I didn’t realise all the songs on the EP were taken from the album Please Please Me, which I might have bought instead. This is one of the best vocal performances they did, especially when you compare it to the other two versions of the song at the time, by the Isley Brothers and the Tremeloes.
Ace: How Long
MR: Over the years I’ve been lucky to have worked with three great singers and Tony Banks wasn’t one of them. Paul Carrack was. Everyone imagines it’s a love song, but it’s about two rival bands when Paul was young in Sheffield and another band were trying to steal Paul’s bass player.
Kinks: You Really Got Me
TB: The Kinks were probably my next-favourite group after the Beatles and the Beach Boys. They really stand the test of time. This was their first hit but I’m not sure it ever got better than this.
Seal: Crazy
MR: He’s one of those amazing singers and I’m a big fan of producer Trevor Horn. The track has some amazing rhythms and grooves without being too clever-clever.
Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze
TB: I’m not as much a fan of lead guitarists as some people but everything Hendrix did sounded good to me for those first two albums. A very exciting song.
Steely Dan: Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
Genesis: Turn It On Again
TB: We played it so many as an encore then we decided to start the last tour with it, which gave it a new lease of life.
Extreme: Rest in Peace
TB: It borders on heavy metal but it has a lot of subtletly to it. I remember hearing and thinking it was a clever, unlikely song.
ELO: Mr Blue Sky
MR: The sound, the arrangement – it’s a real masterpiece. Jeff Lynne is a great producer and I really like the way he sings it.
Gerry Rafferty: Baker Street
Beatles: Paperback Writer
MR: How do you choose one Beatles song? The band’s contemporaries always sounded so lightweight. To this day I try to copy their sound but I haven’t done it.
TB: You’re telling me…
Stevie Wonder: Superstition
TB: There was a time when he could do no wrong. He touched a very rich seam and this is one of the best of them.
Steve Winwood: Back in the High Life
MR: To this day his voice moves me. I remember people in America getting a shock when they saw him, because no one could believe he wasn’t black.
Simon & Garfunkle: America
Genesis: I Know What I Like

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