Looking for Someone

"" is the first track on the Genesis second studio album, Trespass.

History
The song originated from the music written ahead of and used for the Genesis Plays Jackson sessions for the BBC under the title "Provocation" (years included in the Genesis 1970–1975 box). It developed from an idea from Peter Gabriel, but it is also an example of how the band would develop songs on the road. Initially running at around thirteen minutes, the song was reduced to half that length before the album was finished. It begins with Gabriel calling out the title, delivering a powerful vocal performance of these lyrics, describing a journey of self-discovery. During this intro, Peter is accompanied only by Tony Banks' organ, before leading the band into a song that brings together elements of both soul and folk. The recording demonstrates how the band had started to work by joining various pieces they had written before. The resulting structure includes various shifts in tempo and mood. John Mayhew recalled, "we got stuck with 'Looking for Someone' and could not decide which direction to go in, and so one evening we said: 'That’s it, enough. We’ll go upstairs, just listen to some music and have a rest'. A couple of hours later we came downstairs, the blockage was past and we went on and finished the song.".

The first section was developed from a piece Gabriel had written with just piano and vocal. The song then goes through a series of changes, with some folk-inspired elements. At about 4:30, some chords and vocals flow into a section where Banks brings out some organ riffs and Anthony Phillips provides some powerful electric guitar runs, but Mayhew’s drums tend to race away during these faster sections.

Single release
The song was never officially released as a single for the retail format, but a promo UK Single backed wit "Visions of Angels" (Charisma. GS1/GS2) was circulated to help promote the release of Trespass. In the U.S., a single-sided acetate pressing of the song was distributed to the radio stations.

Live performances
The band played the song in 1969/1970/1971. It was never performed on any subsequent tour.

Live recordings
No officially released live recordings available.