In 1999, Genesis revamped a '70s classic with Peter Gabriel. It remains sadly overlooked.

The biggest "what-if" in progressive rock history dates back to late 2004. The five members of Genesis' beloved '70s lineup—singer Peter Gabriel, singer-drummer Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, and guitarist Steve Hackett—met in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss an ambitious reunion tour focused on their 1974 album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. (Those talks fizzled, leaving the band’s core later-era trio—Collins, Banks, and Rutherford—to organize the Turn It On Again Tour in 2007.)

It’s a shame that original brainstorm didn’t bear fruit—all these years later, even up through the trio’s final tour in 2021/2022, the fan-fiction dreams are tough to shake. But it’s worth remembering that, a decade or so before that pivotal meeting, the classic quintet did reunite in a different way—recording a dreamy and supremely underrated update of The Lamb ballad "The Carpet Crawlers." The revamped song, featuring the intertwined voices of Gabriel and Collins, likely marked the final true studio collaboration between these five prog giants.

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Strangely, despite the historical significance of this union, it’s hard to track down much information about the recording process. We do know that the slicker "The Carpet Crawlers 1999," released that year as part of the band’s compilation Turn It On Again: The Hits, was helmed by Trevor Horn: former singer of Yes and The Buggles ("Video Killed the Radio Star"), hit producer for the likes of Seal and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

In 2018, during an interview with Banks for Ultimate Classic Rock, I asked Banks about his memories of the sessions. "Peter’s idea was to use [producer] Trevor Horn since he was neutral territory: None of us had ever worked with him," he said. "It was nice working with Trevor; I'm an admirer of his. He's a talented chap, so it was fun to have done that. We had a good time just getting together at Peter's studio at Real World. Good food. We ate a lot, as I remember—and played a lot of tennis. [We did] about an hour in the studio a day, which is the way Pete tends to work usually, which is the trouble. So we moved into Peter's place, which was quite interesting."

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Horn—who enthused about the sessions to Prog in 2023, saying, "What fun!"—seems to have loomed large. The track feels more heavily produced than its warmer predecessor, particularly with the presence of synthesizer pads and what Banks described as "little, skippy" drum loop. But it’s still more soulful and atmospheric, elevated by the stunning harmonies and traded lines of Gabriel and Collins. "I thought the way Phil’s voice took over from Pete’s is just an amazing moment," the keyboardist told Dusk in 2013. "Their voices have always had a certain similarity in intensity, but he has a sort of slightly higher pitch that Phil has that seemed to give such excitement to that third verse when he came in…" While Banks thought the song was "good" overall, he added, "[I]f it’s better than the original I don’t know."

It’s indeed hard to top the original: arguably the heartbeat on The Lamb, Gabriel’s final album with the band. (The original version also holds a special place in Genesis lore, being the final song played during their final show.) But "The Carpet Crawlers 1999" is way better than it gets credit for—the single reached a hardly notable No. 18 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart, which I forgot even existed, and the song rarely winds up on any best-of list. (Ranking their whole catalog, I put it at a very respectable No. 79 out of 180, and I’m starting to wonder if I underrated it.)

But even if you think I’m being too generous, it’s worth revisiting this fascinating one-off, which still feels beamed in from an alternate rock universe.

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