The music marked a departure from more pop-oriented songs, as displayed on their first album From Genesis to Revelation, towards folk-flavoured progressive rock.

This ranged from light acoustic pieces with multiple twelve-string guitars such as "Dusk", to the heavier live favorite "The Knife".

After discussing the situation, they agreed to continue, and replaced Mayhew with drummer and singer Phil Collins before they resumed touring.

The founders – guitarist Anthony Phillips, bassist Mike Rutherford, vocalist and flautist Peter Gabriel, and keyboardist Tony Banks – had been joined by drummer John Silver.

[4] They split from producer Jonathan King and decided to write more complex material than the straightforward pop on their first album From Genesis to Revelation.

[4] In November, Genesis played their first live shows as a professional band, touring the local university circuit, with new drummer John Mayhew.

[7] Also in November, Genesis friend and ex-schoolmate Richard MacPhail arranged for them to take up residence in his family's abandoned weekend retreat house in Wotton, Surrey, called Christmas Cottage.

[8] The group wanted to branch out from their earlier pop-oriented style, and write and perform songs that were unlike any other band at the time.

However, their chance for a recording contract with Threshold went up in smoke when Banks started arguing with producer Mike Pinder, saying they needed to do another take because he had played a wrong note on his organ.

[13] In March 1970, they secured a six-week residency at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in Soho, London, during which they were spotted by Charisma Records producer John Anthony.

[9] Phillips remembered that recording was "slightly more sophisticated" than on From Genesis to Revelation, with the 16-track capability allowing them to multitrack solos, "which would have been unheard of on the previous album.

"[9] Rutherford recalled that since the songs had already been composed, arranged, and refined during live performances, there was no need to work out such things in the studio the way they did for later albums.

[24] The band also drew from Gabriel's soul influences, along with classical, pop and folk music, and made regular use of Phillips and Rutherford's twelve-string guitar playing.

[25] The album opens with "Looking for Someone", beginning with Gabriel's vocal accompanied only by an organ, later described as being "idiosyncratic enough to set them apart from the herd within seconds".

[31] "Visions of Angels" was recorded for the previous album From Genesis to Revelation, but left off because the band did not think it was good enough in its present form.

[31] Phillips commented that while he was "rather heartbroken" when the song was rejected for From Genesis to Revelation, in retrospect it was a blessing, since if they had included it on that album, it never would have been developed into its best possible form.

[37] "Stagnation" and "Dusk" showed Phillips and Rutherford's combined twelve-string sound, along with Banks taking leads on piano, organ and Mellotron.

[41] The vocal effect on the section referencing "bitter minnows amongst the weeds and slimy water" was created by having Gabriel sing into a narrow tube with the intent of making it sound like he was underwater.

[28] As fans of that group, Genesis were inspired to put together a heavier rock song which Gabriel said was "something more dangerous" compared to their delicate acoustic numbers.

[38] The song's spoken word interlude, in which a group of soldiers fire on a crowd of protesters, was inspired by the Kent State shootings from the previous spring.

[46] Phillips later recalled that the songs "Everywhere is Here", "Grandma", "Little Leaf", "Going out to Get You", "Shepherd", "Moss", "Let Us Now Make Love" and "Pacidy" were not developed further in the studio.

Feeling that the cover no longer fitted the mood of the album, they asked Whitehead to re-design it; when he was reluctant to do so, the band members inspired him to slash the canvas with an actual knife.

Jerry Gilbert, writing in Sounds, gave a positive review and singled out "Visions of Angels" and "White Mountain".

[24] Rolling Stone printed an extremely brief but unambiguously negative review of the 1974 reissue, saying "It's spotty, poorly defined, at times innately boring, and should be avoided by all but the most rabid Genesis fans.

"[69] He initially feared that Genesis would not be able to continue without him, but with Banks gaining confidence with the organ and Rutherford having grown into a major songwriter, he ultimately recognized that the band no longer needed him.