Rutherford proved a dynamic performer on the guitar and turned in an impressive solo on Burning Rope and Many Too Many. Elsewhere, his flanged guitar gave Follow You Follow Me a distinctive sound and Deep In The Motherlode showed that he could hold his own as a rhythm guitarist.
When the band went on tour, Mike was initially unsure as to whether Genesis needed a bassist who could play guitar or vise versa. Alphonso Johnson suggested Daryl Stuermer and the rest is history. While Daryl proved adept at taking on the bass parts, it was as a lead guitarist that he truly shone. Having ditched Firth Of Fifth, the band were eager to find a song upon which Daryl could show his chops.
It's fair to say that when Genesis lost Steve Hackett they gained two distinctive players: the dynamic Mr Rutherford and the fret-shredding Mr Stuermer. All three players have given a distinctive voice to the Genesis sound and while Genesis might not be considered a "traditional" guitar band, it's hard to imagine many of their tunes without the contributions of Messrs Hackett, Rutherford and Stuermer.
There several bits I agree with some others I don't .
Much as I like Mike's parts on Many to Many or Burning Rope it is hard for me to define them as ''impressive'', either from a technical or compositional point of view. Perhaps you can explain what you mean with impressive because to me they simply fit the songs, they are adequate but far from jaw-dropping or going the extra mile.
I think where Mike gave something really original and fresh to the group was with things like FYFM or as rhythm guitarist and obviously his acoustic interplay with either Ant or Steve, certainly not as a soloist.
I think, I seem to remember and it makes sense that Mike knew right away he needed a guitar player who could also play the bass, because he knew some of Steve's parts were beyond his skillset. I don't seem to remember he being unsure about this. It was 78 and they were still playing a lot of the 5 and 4 man era.
I can't speak for anybody but I for one, can absolutely imagine any Genesis tune without the contribution of Daryl, it's not really difficult give the fact he hasn't written any.
While I share your admiration for Daryl's technical proficiency, you wrote yourself that the new course was much more direct, accessible hence not requiring particular chops and Genesis were certainly not a guitar based band, again your words, meaning plenty of guitarists would have done the job equally well and I think it is fair to say and I am sure you won't have any trouble admitting that fans are quite divided over Daryl's treatment and delivery of Steve's bits but most importantly: I don't mean to bring Daryl's down but it perplexes me when I read he was a star in his own right. Really? Fans went to the concert to listen to his bits? No sorry, he was a hired musician, playing somebody's else's parts, some of which not really demanding, some other revered and again argued over. I understand personal preferences but as I said before, history cannot be re-written according to those. This is probably your favorite Genesis incarnation but it doesn't change reality.
