Genesis became their first album written, recorded, and mixed in its entirety at the studio room; previously they had to write in an adjoining space.

[4][5] Having the group work in their own space without the additional pressure of booking studio time and fees resulted in a more relaxed environment.

[5] They were joined by engineer Hugh Padgham, who had also worked on Abacab, but this time carried out production duties themselves with Geoff Callingham offering technical assistance.

[4] Rutherford recalled an initial period of slow and sluggish progress, but after a particularly productive session on the third day they had "two or three" songs worked out, which increased their interest and excitement towards the album and in performing the new material on stage.

[5] Before the sessions began, the group considered the idea of Banks or Rutherford taking on a lead vocal on the album, but opted out as they had developed material with Collins's voice in mind.

[7] The group considered their strongest material had been put together collectively, so they decided to make an entire album in such a way as opposed to developing someone's pre-arranged ideas.

This time tracks came about through jamming and improvisations in the studio that were recorded onto tape,[5][8] ensuring the band remained unified and kept songs fresh.

[8] The collaborative effort also had an influence on the album's title as the group were unable to come up with a suitable name, so they used Genesis to emphasise the fact that it was written collectively.

[9] The main keyboards that Banks used on the album are the Prophet 10, Synclavier, an E-mu Emulator, a Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano, and an ARP Quadra on "Mama".

[5] Banks considered the music, and overall sound of Genesis, something that the band had longed for many years prior, specifically its more aggressive edge.

His laugh was influenced by the 1982 song "The Message" by hip hop band Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, which features a similar sound.

[5] During one session, the band had a koto in the studio, which was recorded through the E-mu Emulator and used as a sample for the song's percussion effect, partly because Banks had tried other options and could not get another sound to fit.

[8][11] "That's All" originated from Banks's simple piano riff, which was followed by a drum pattern that instantly gave off a mood that the band wanted to develop further.

[11] The song originated with the band playing along to their Linn drum machine, during which Banks and Rutherford devised a guide theme on the keyboard and guitar, respectively, and Collins a vocal outline.

[13] The former track segues into "Second Home by the Sea", a mostly instrumental piece developed from a group improvisation that began with Collins playing a drum riff which Banks and Rutherford liked and joined in.

[13] It opens with sound effects of car horns and telephones that Banks played on his E-mu Emulator sampler, which he found particularly exciting to record and incorporate into the music.

[8] Collins felt more pleased with his drumming on "Mama" and "Illegal Alien" than on the band's more intricate tracks such as "Los Endos" from A Trick of the Tail.

[19] In the United Kingdom, the album reached Gold certification by the British Phonographic Industry on the day of release for shipment of 200,000 copies.

He was critical of "It's Gonna Get Better", summarising it as "pure formula" and compared its backtracked keyboard sound to "cosmic Elgar", but rated "Mama" as "savage as you're likely to get with post Gabriel Genesis" and a notable departure from their earlier songs.

[23] In his retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine criticised the album for lacking coherency, but found that a majority of the tracks are outstanding, "balancing such sleek, pulsating pop tunes as 'That's All' with a newfound touch for aching ballads."