Firth of Fifth

Genesis, 1973. Solo by Steve Hackett.

Long, singing sustain.

Steve Hackett's solo arrives in the instrumental second half, after flute and synthesizer have stated the main theme. Rather than improvising, he takes a melody Tony Banks originally wrote for flute and piano and turns it into a long, singing guitar statement, using sustained, violin-like tones and a volume pedal to soften the attack. He played a 1957 Les Paul Goldtop on the track. The solo is widely seen as the defining moment of his time in Genesis. Listen for the absence of a hard pick attack; each note swells in gently, which makes the guitar sound more like a bowed string than a plucked one.

Firth of Fifth by Genesis is ranked #81 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Steve Hackett and the song was released in 1973. It appears on 7 lists, placing as high as #11 (Top 40 Weekly).

The story of Firth of Fifth

Firth of Fifth is the third track on Selling England by the Pound, the fifth Genesis studio album. Although the whole band shares the writing credit, keyboardist Tony Banks was responsible for most of the music. He had assembled much of the piece by 1972 and offered it for Foxtrot, but the rest of the group turned it down at that stage, so he reworked the material for the next record, where it was received far more warmly.

The title is a play on the Firth of Forth, the estuary in Scotland. Banks has admitted the pun was partly a joke meant to make the song sound weightier than it was, and the title itself never turns up in the words. The lyrics, written by Banks with Mike Rutherford, follow a loose, mythic journey tied to the idea of a river that never stops changing. Banks later ranked them among the weakest words he was ever involved with.

Musically the track falls into clear sections. It begins with a classical-style solo piano passage in B flat that switches between unusual meters such as 13/16 and 15/16 against 2/4. Two sung verses follow with drums, Hammond organ, bass and guitar. The long instrumental middle has Peter Gabriel playing a flute melody, synthesizer restating the piano theme, and finally Steve Hackett taking that melody up on electric guitar.

The album was cut at Island Studios in London in August 1973 with John Burns co-producing, and issued by Charisma in the UK and Atlantic in the US on 28 September 1973. Banks played the piano introduction without using the sustain pedal because its mechanical noise was bleeding onto the recording. Selling England by the Pound reached number 3 on the UK albums chart, and Firth of Fifth became one of the band's most enduring pieces.

The solo

Steve Hackett's solo arrives in the instrumental second half of the song, after Peter Gabriel's flute and Tony Banks's synthesizer have stated the main theme. Rather than improvising, Hackett takes a melody Banks originally wrote for flute and piano and turns it into a long, singing guitar statement, using sustained, almost violin-like tones and a volume pedal to soften the attack of each note. He has said he played his 1957 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop on the track, and during his Genesis years he generally used Hiwatt amps, with small amps such as a Fender Champ or Pignose in the studio. From 1976 he relied on an E-Bow onstage to hold the high F sharp reliably, since natural sustain could fail him live. The result is often described as the defining moment of his time in Genesis.

Legacy

Critics and fans routinely single out two moments in Firth of Fifth: Banks's piano introduction and Hackett's guitar solo. Rock author Edward Macan counted it among the finest nine and a half minutes Genesis ever recorded, and biographers Dave Bowler and Bryan Dray called the solo the high point of Hackett's tenure. The instrumental section stayed in Genesis setlists long after Hackett left, with Daryl Stuermer and later Anthony Drennan taking the solo. Hackett himself still performs it, saying the melody will always be linked to him and remains a joy to play.

Top 10 facts about Firth of Fifth

Tony Banks first offered the piece for the 1972 album Foxtrot, but the band rejected it until he reworked it for Selling England by the Pound.
Wikipedia
The title puns on the Firth of Forth in Scotland, and Banks has said the joke title was meant to make the song sound more profound than it really was.
Songfacts
The piano introduction moves through rare time signatures including 13/16 and 15/16, alternating with bars of 2/4.
Wikipedia
Banks recorded the piano intro without the sustain pedal because the pedal's noise was leaking onto the track.
Wikipedia: Selling England by the Pound
Hackett's solo is built on a theme Banks had written for flute and piano, which Hackett recast as the guitar centrepiece of the song's second half.
Wikipedia: Selling England by the Pound
Hackett has named his 1957 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop as the guitar he used on Firth of Fifth and Dancing with the Moonlit Knight.
MusicRadar
From 1976 Hackett used an E-Bow to guarantee the sustained high F sharp in concert, because the note would sometimes die on him live.
Hackett Songs (TWR interview, 2016)
From autumn 1973 Banks dropped the piano introduction onstage, blaming his RMI electric piano's lack of touch sensitivity; a mistake at one show led him to drop it for good.
Wikipedia
Genesis left the song out of the 1978 tour after Hackett's departure, then brought it back for the 1981 tour.
Wikipedia
During the 2020 lockdown Hackett released a home video of himself playing the solo over a backing track taken from his live band.
Louder

Live versions

Seconds Out (Palais des Sports, Paris) (1977) Post-Gabriel version with Phil Collins singing and Hackett still on guitar, on the band's classic double live album.
Savoy Theatre, New York (1981) Recorded on the tour that brought the song back; issued as a B-side on the UK 12-inch of That's All.
Six of the Best reunion concert (1982) Played at the one-off reunion show with Peter Gabriel back in the line-up.
The Tokyo Tapes (Steve Hackett with John Wetton) (1998) Hackett's own live take with John Wetton on vocals and bass.
Genesis Revisited: Live at Hammersmith (Steve Hackett) (2013) Hackett's full-band revival of the song from his Genesis Revisited tour.

Notable covers

Steve Hackett with John Wetton (1996) New studio recording on Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited, Wetton singing.
Steve Hackett (2013) Live version on Genesis Revisited: Live at Hammersmith.
Steve Hackett (2020) Included on Selling England by the Pound & Spectral Mornings: Live at Hammersmith.

In our lists

Sources

Who played the guitar solo on Firth of Fifth?

Steve Hackett played the solo on Genesis's Firth of Fifth (1973).

What guitar was used on the Firth of Fifth solo?

A gibson les paul, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Firth of Fifth rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#81 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 7 of them.

Who wrote Firth of Fifth?

All five members of Genesis are credited, but Tony Banks wrote most of the music and co-wrote the lyrics with Mike Rutherford.

What album is Firth of Fifth on?

It is the third track on Selling England by the Pound, released by Genesis in September 1973.

What guitar did Steve Hackett use on Firth of Fifth?

Hackett has said he played his 1957 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop on the recording.

What does the title Firth of Fifth mean?

It is a pun on the Firth of Forth, an estuary in Scotland; the phrase never appears in the lyrics.

Why did Genesis drop the piano intro live?

Tony Banks felt his RMI electric piano lacked touch sensitivity, and after a mistake onstage he stopped playing the introduction altogether.