Sunday, October 23, 2011

Genesis Live 1973 - 2007 - Box Set



By John Kelman
Rhino Records 2009

With all of British mega-group Genesis' studio discography now available in remixed/remastered form, including 5.1 surround mixes and a bevy of bonus audio and video features, the only commercial material left to receive engineer Nick Davis' careful attention is its series of four live albums. These begin with Genesis Live (Charisma, 1973) and end with The Way We Walk--originally issued as two separate releases, The Shorts (Atlantic, 1992) and The Longs (Atlantic, 1993).
While Davis' work on the previous boxes--1970-1975 (Rhino, 2008), 1976-1982 (Rhino, 2007) and 1983-1998--has been the subject of some controversy, Live 1973-2007 is going to be the most contentious box amongst hardcore Genesis fans, for a number of reasons. Unlike many bands that evolve over the years, Genesis morphed from its early, progressive rock beginnings into a stadium act in the 1980s and 1990s, one that could also be found in heavy rotation on MTV--appearing, at least on the surface, to have deserted its art rock roots. While it is true that the group adopted a more decidedly pop approach in its later years, longer songs like "Driving the Last Spike" from We Can't Dance (Atlantic, 1991), "Domino" from Invisible Touch (Atlantic, 1986), and "Dodo/Lurker" from Abacab (Atlantic, 1981), while less complex than, say, the group's epic "Supper's Ready" from Foxtrot (Charisma, 1972), were all far from radio-friendly. In their largely episodic construction, they were clear descendents of early masterpieces like "The Knife" from Trespass (Charisma, 1971) and "The Cinema Show" from Selling England By the Pound (Charisma, 1973).
Equally, while early episodic pieces like "The Musical Box" from Nursery Cryme (Charisma, 1972) and Selling England's "Firth of Fifth" were filled with shifting meters and challenging, interlocking parts, shorter songs like Selling England's "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," Nursery Cryme's "Seven Stones" and Foxtrot's "Time Table" all demonstrated a group more concerned with songs than the grandstanding instrumental virtuosity so often at the root of early 1970s progressive rock.
In the final analysis, even amidst the instrumental brilliance, Genesis was always a songwriting band--a characteristic revealed, perhaps, most vividly by listening to the group's discography chronologically, from its earliest days to its final studio gasp on the unfairly overlooked Calling All Stations (Atlantic, 1998). More than the previous boxes, which capture specific periods in the group's development, Live 1973-2007 documents the group's evolution in a more self-contained fashion. As such, it's bound to have fans who prefer the "prog" Genesis to the "hit making" Genesis content (or vice versa). But it's also possible--hopeful, even--that this box might make at least partial converts of both factions; uniting, rather than polarizing.
Still, there's plenty more controversy to be found. Unlike previous boxes--which had, in addition to 5.1 surround mixes on either SACD (in the UK) or DVD (in North America), a wealth of audio and video extras including interviews with the band, hard-to-find or previously unreleased odds and ends, and some terrific concert footage--Live 1973-2007 has but three bonus DVD discs with only 5.1 surround mixes and no video content, and the transitional Three Sides Live (Atlantic, 1982) and The Way We Walk excluded (though they do receive new stereo mixes.
The reason for the 5.1 omissions on Three Sides and The Way We Walk is because the DVD box that's to come will have surround mixes of the concert performances from those tours. Still, it's nice to see the running order of The Way We Walk restored to concert sequence over its two discs, with the three tracks either not performed or recorded on that tour--"Mama," "That's All" and "In Too Deep"--appended as bonus tracks at the end of the second disc. With the previously unavailable (other than as the "flip side" of the 1992 Tell Me Why single/EP) "Turn It On Again" added, it makes a complete performance from the We Can't Dance tour. There is a reason why there's no video footage, however: the next Genesis box will be an all-video one, reissuing its commercially available concert DVDs and, hopefully, more.
The addition of a full CD and DVD from the group's 1973 performance at The Rainbow in London, England raises yet another contentious issue: the dearth of previously unreleased material in this box set--although, in truth, there's more than meets the eye. It's true that the five tracks from The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles performance of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Atco, 1974), that are appended to the end of Genesis Live as bonus tracks, first appeared on the Genesis Archives, Vol. 1: 1967-1975 (Virgin, 1998) box set. It's equally true that five of the Rainbow tracks also appeared on Archives.
When Archives was released, despite a full, two-disc performance of The Lamb being its major attraction, there was a sore point amongst fans that remains to this day. A combination of vocal flaws and logistical problems with Gabriel's elaborate costumes used on the tour (and an inherent inability to sing close enough to his microphone) making some original vocal tracks unusable, the decision was made to rerecord a substantial number of vocals by Gabriel in the mid-1990s, by which time his voice had changed considerably, being much huskier and deeper. He also rerecorded some of the vocals to "Supper's Ready," from the Rainbow set. The performances may have been more technically perfect (and audible), but the difference in the complexion of Gabriel's mid-1990s voice was simply too dramatic, offending purists who, having heard bootleg recordings from the same period, would have preferred the undoctored vocals from back in the day.
Here, Gabriel's original vocals are largely restored, and they do, at least to some extent, explain the vocalist's decision to re-record his tracks on a technical level: he lacked the stamina and, at times, range in live performance that would improve significantly in his post-Genesis solo career, and there are some major flaws to be found in these recovered vocals. Imperfections aside, however, the spirit of Gabriel's original performance is, most importantly, also largely restored, making these versions--also remixed/remastered by Davis--clearly the definitive ones. Where re-recorded vocals remain, they're less jarring, less in-your-face (except to die-hard Genesis fans who are familiar with every note, every nuance).
With the outcry against Gabriel's decision to re-record his vocals for Archives, this restoration should be met happily--though, no doubt, there will be those who will complain that the entire Lamb show hasn't been restored and included. Of course, the songs that have been included are ones that didn't involve complex costumes, rendering vocal issues technical rather than logistical. Without hearing the original vocals, of course, and considering the flaws that Gabriel lets through here, it's impossible to know the shape of those other vocal tracks. Hackett also made some overdubbed fixes on Archives, but those remain intact on Live 1973-2007.
All of this means that Live 1973-2007 possesses only four absolutely brand-new, never-before-heard bonus tracks, all from the Rainbow show: "Watcher of the Skies" and "Musical Box," both only available on the DVD (a sensible decision, since they're very close to the versions on Genesis Live and including them in CD form would have necessitated stretching the single, full Rainbow CD into a less-than-packed double) and, on both CD and DVD, "The Cinema Show" and "The Battle of Epping Forest."
So, with all these potential issues, what does Live 1973-2007 have going for it?
Plenty.
First, Davis' remixes/remasters are as good as those on 1970-1975, which has been met with less criticism for what some consider excessive compression on the other two studio box sets. All four live albums sound richer, fuller and more alive than earlier versions. There will be the inevitable discussion about Davis' mixing choices--decisions that have been approved by the band--the truth is that there are now plenty of hidden details revealed for the first time. Genesis co-founder/keyboardist Tony Banks may consider Genesis Live to be an inferior performance (originally a radio broadcast, but the only one available from that time with multi-track masters), but equally, he's said that Davis' remix/remaster significantly improves the disc, and he's absolutely right. This new version possesses far more of the power, energy and, especially, magic of Gabriel-era Genesis--a quality that, despite plenty of other positives to describe post-Gabriel incarnations, was lost when the singer left after the Lamb tour completed in 1975.
Seconds Out, often considered the group's best live release, has never sounded better, and Three Sides Live, which suffered from especially poor sound on initial release, now matches the rest of the albums in sonic depth. It's great to have the running order of The Way We Walk restored, especially with the curious decision to end the original The Longs with a drum duet (The Drum Thing"). The group has, smartly, not remixed or remastered the double-disc from its 2007 reunion tour, Live Over Europe 2007 (Atlantic, 2007), but space is left in the box to slide that set in, making Live 1973-2007 a complete document of Genesis' entire, commercially available live albums.
Hearing Gabriel's original delivery on the Rainbow disc--especially on "Supper's Ready," for which the Seconds Out version has long been considered the gold standard--and the five bonus live Lamb tracks demonstrates the significant difference between his approach and that of Phil Collins. Even in the drummer-turned-lead vocalist's early days as Genesis front man around the time of Seconds Out, where he was intentionally aping Gabriel's delivery, Collins may have possessed greater range and stamina, but he lacked Gabriel's narrative beauty. Gabriel always was--and would remain, in his solo career--a more considered singer, but it was that very consideration which made Genesis' early, tale-driven material especially compelling, in particular songs like "Epping Forest" and "Get 'Em Out By Friday"--miniature musical theater both, with Gabriel assuming multiple roles.
Live 1973-2007 encapsulates, in one self-contained box, the remarkable evolution of Genesis, from its progressive roots on Genesis Live and Seconds Out, through the transitional period of Three Sides Live, through to the arena and million album-selling megastars of The Way We Walk and Live Over Europe.
Yes, there are plenty of radio shows out there but Live 1973-2007, like the previous box sets, is about releasing Genesis' commercial releases in significantly improved form. Despite less overt bonus material (though, with Gabriel's restored vocals, there's actually nearly 100 minutes of music that's not been commercially available in precisely this form), that should be reason enough. But if another one is need, it's this: there's no other place to experience, so clearly, the constant thread that winds through Genesis' lengthy existence--and, despite a number of emphatic shifts over the years, there is a thread. Genesis, an emphatically songwriting band with the added benefit of outstanding instrumental performances, is all here on Live 1973-2007, a box set that suggests serious reconsideration of the clear arc that defines its entire career.
And that is, in the final analysis, the purpose of Live 1973-2007. There are plenty of radio shows out there, of near-excellent quality, that the group could have culled for this box, but the entire Genesis box set series has been about releasing its already available commercial discs, in significantly improved sonic form.

Genesis Live

At the time, Genesis Live (Charisma, 1973) seemed largely intended to maintain group's momentum since guitarist Steve Hackett and drummer Phil Collins joined original group members Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel and bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford for its second Charisma disc (and third overall release), Nursery Cryme (1971). As strong as that album was, with three major epics in "The Musical Box," "The Fountain of Salmacis" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed," Foxtrot (1972) was even better, with its dramatic album and live show opener, "Watcher of the Skies" and nearly side-long epic, "Supper's Ready," an episodic masterpiece that's still considered one of the pinnacles of progressive rock.
Genesis Live--a performance originally recorded for a radio broadcast--was released while the group was in the studio, preparing for Selling England By the Pound (1973)--considered by many to be its best overall Gabriel-era album. Genesis Live may well be less-than-perfect, both to Banks' ears and to careful listeners, but Nick Davis' remix/remaster restores much of its vitality, revealing a group that may still have been finding its performing legs, but possessed a distinctive narrative magic unique amidst its British progressive rock brethren.
While Yes' Jon Anderson was writing incomprehensible lyrics that still sounded right with the group's music, and King Crimson was shifting from the early, flowery poetry of Peter Sinfield to Richard Palmer-James' more direct prose, Genesis was creating a small theatrical universe through its story-telling lyrics. The subjects were broad--from the science fiction-informed "Watcher of the Skies" to the curious tale of sexually deprived ghosts in "The Musical Box" and a cautionary tale of big business and overcrowded housing in "Get 'Em Out By Friday"--and lent themselves to the group's increasingly theatrical presentation. No usual walls of amplification for Genesis; its stage was spare and clean, with all but Gabriel seated, placing the visual focus on Gabriel, his masks and his costumes. Genesis Live may suffer from the lack of those visuals, but there's still plenty to recommend.
While the group almost painstakingly avoided overt virtuosity, it had, instead, established a wealth of personal stylistic markers. With Rutherford using bass pedals so that he could also play 12-string electric guitar alongside Hackett on songs like "The Musical Box," Genesis had a clearly recognizable harmonic and textural voice, owing something small to the traditional folk tradition and unmistakably English but, with Collins' muscular drumming, also possessing no shortage of rock and roll strength. Banks' dramatic mellotron opening to "Watcher of the Skies" remains one of progressive rock's most spine-tingling moments, while his organ work--a particularly dominant voice on early Genesis music that, sadly, gradually diminished as the band evolved--may not posses the fire of Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman, but it was as compositionally strong as either--in some cases, perhaps, even more, as the focus on writing and not "look at me" grandstanding yielded far more memorable melodies and dramaturgy.
Only the closing "The Knife" comes from the pre-Hackett/pre-Collins incarnation and, while founding guitarist Anthony Phillips' work Trespass' original from 1970 was far from shabby, Hackett proves himself the superior guitarist, one who may not have taken the spotlight in Genesis often, but whose supporting contributions and stylistic innovations are even more impressive in the previously unheard clarity of this remix/remaster.
The inclusion of five bonus tracks from the January, 1974 performance of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in Los Angeles initially seems like an odd choice. The group had evolved considerably between the time of Genesis Live and The Lamb a couple years later, but as a self-contained, five-song medley, it's a nice addition to flesh out the length of the CD. "Back in N.Y.C.," "Fly on a Windshield," "Broadway Melody of 1974," "Anyway" and "Chamber of 32 Doors" are not in even proper sequential order, but still work even out of context. With Gabriel's vocals restored, replacing the re-recorded tracks heard on Genesis Archives, Vol. 1: 1967-1975, the spirit is back but so, too, are the flaws in range and stamina, most noticeably on "Back in N.Y.C," where he almost painfully misses a couple of high notes. Rather than detracting from the performance, however, Gabriel's imperfections just make the performance more human, and his original delivery is far more in-character as The Lamb's hero, Rael.

Live at The Rainbow 1973

Containing the most new material in the box, much of Live at the Rainbow has been available before (in the Archives, Vol. 1 box), but not in exactly this format. Like the bonus Lamb tracks on Genesis Live, "Supper's Ready" featured, in the Archives box, some re-recorded vocals by Gabriel in the mid-1990s. The rest of the material--Selling England's "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight," "Firth of Fifth" and "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"--is largely the same as on Archives, including the less-vilified guitar overdubs by Hackett. Only Selling England's Rutherford/Banks duet, "More Fool Me," was issued in completely original form.
Live at the Rainbow restores everything largely to its original form, though Hackett's overdubs and some of Gabriel's remain. Expanded out to a full CD, it also includes Selling England's "Cinema Show" and "The Battle of Epping Forest." The DVD disc also includes two additional songs that, since already appearing on Genesis Live, were deemed if not exactly superfluous, then an unnecessary duplication that would have necessitated stretching the single CD to a double-disc set. Given the group's largely literal, solo-light performances, the Rainbow takes of "Watcher of the Skies" and "The Musical Box" are simply not different enough to warrant changing the formatting of the release, but for those who want to experience a full Selling England concert (minus the group's usual encore, "The Knife"), it's all there on the DVD.
Equally, in order to fit all the material onto the CD--and another potential bone of contention for Genesis purists and completists--Gabriel's curiously enigmatic introductions to songs like "Supper's Ready," originally included on Archives, Vol. 1, have been excised here. A purely practical decision, and thankfully it's still possible to hear them on the less time-constrained DVD version.
With a couple of almost cringe-worthy flaws in Gabriel's Lamb performances (that still don't stop them from being a significant improvement over his re-dos), it's hard to imagine why he was so unhappy with his original Rainbow performances as to compel him to re-record them with a voice that had aged considerably, deepened and no longer sounded the same as it did back in the day. There are, indeed, a few pitch problems in the Rainbow show, but in this case authenticity trumps perfection, with Gabriel's delivery far more in context with the music--and possessing a certain in-character playfulness as well. Gabriel's delivery on "The Battle of Epping Forest," surely Genesis' zaniest epic, is a treat as he shifts persona throughout its constantly shifting 12 minutes--as are Banks' dramatic mellotron parts, especially near the song's end, pushed up in the mix by Davis. And even though Collins replaces Genesis' touring drummer, Bill Bruford, behind the kit during Banks' iconic keyboard solo on Seconds Out's version of "Cinema Show," there's a transcendent vibe on the Rainbow take that, with the Gabriel-era line-up, simply couldn't be duplicated.
While Seconds Out has long been considered the pinnacle of Genesis' live recordings, the energy and theatricality of the Rainbow set makes it less clear. Certainly "Supper's Ready," "Cinema Show" and "Firth of Fifth," being closer to the studio recordings with Collins behind the kit, feel somehow truer to their original spirit. There's no denying Collins had, at that time, a better voice from a technical perspective; but Gabriel-era Genesis was a group that transported its audiences with performances that surpassed faithful replication of its studio material, and it's all here, again even without the visuals. With Gabriel a mysterious and charismatic front-man, in contrast to Collins' more direct and audience-friendly approach, Genesis' focus was different--this wasn't so much a playing band as it was one telling tales through music--and as close as Collins came to replicating Gabriel in his early days as the group's front man, there's still no replacing him.
Taken together with Genesis Live performance, live versions of almost all of Genesis' Gabriel-era classics--certainly all of its epics, with the exception of "Fountains of Salmacis," which can be heard in a post-Gabriel version on Three Sides Live--are now available in one place. And it's also possible to look at Seconds Out from a different perspective, now that all the Gabriel-era classics are available with their original singer, where Phil Collins' assumption of vocal duties, but just as importantly his overall desertion of the drum seat, make for a very different set of performances, despite the largely scripted nature of the writing.

Seconds Out

A lot had happened by the time Seconds Out was released in 1977. Gabriel had left the band, and was already in the process of kick-starting a solo career that would grow in parallel with Genesis' (it's curious how, together, the two would likely never have achieved the commercial success both managed separately). Collins had taken over lead vocals and, on the group's first two post-Gabriel releases--the stunning one-two punch of Trick of the Tail (Atlantic, 1976) and Wind & Wuthering (Atlantic, 1976) that proved Genesis could easily withstand the loss of a figure once considered essential--he'd largely tried to replicate Gabriel's vibe, range and courser texture. Hackett had also left the band, though he was still a participant on Seconds Out, documenting, as it did, the tours following each studio release.
Considered by many, at least until now, to be Genesis' best commercial live release, Seconds Out also documented an equally important instrumental shift. With Collins' out front and center, he had to relinquish the drum chair, outside of longer instrumental passages, where he could jump back behind the kit. For the group's first post-Gabriel tour, Bill Bruford was recruited to take over, and it seemed like a logical choice given the percussionist's art rock background with Yes and King Crimson. As it turns out, it was a less-than-perfect marriage. Bruford was focused increasingly on improvisation, a position that couldn't have been more diametrically opposed to Genesis' tight arrangements. Bruford's live performance on the DVD that accompanies the Trick of the Tail remix/remaster of 1976-1982--as undeniably good as he is--feels strangely out of place, as he turfs scripted rhythmic ideas for in-the-moment spontaneity. The solution was, just as surprisingly, the recruitment of ex-Weather Report/Frank Zappa drummer Chester Thompson. But while Thompson's résumé would suggest a player with an equal improvisational bent, he was also a consummate session musician--ready, willing and able to stick with the group's arrangements and only inject his personality within its confines.
The result is that the Gabriel-era material that makes up much of Seconds Out nicely mirrors earlier performances, but there are differences. During the instrumental "Apocalypse in 9/8" section of "Supper's Ready," for example, while Banks' organ lines are melodically definitive, so, too, does it become a rhythm feature as Collins and Thompson attack its driving "da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da" rhythm together. The two also solo in the medley of Trick's "Dance on a Volcano" and "Los Endos" that closes the double-disc set. But Thompson's drum tone, echoing the more muted tom sound of American studio recording of the time, is very different from Collins' more expansive tone, and it changes the texture of the material when Collins' is out front singing and he's the sole drummer. It's not better, not worse; only different.
Past complaints that Hackett was brought down in the mix during the post-production of Second Out--leaving, as he did, with a phone call during the mixing sessions--may have had an element of truth, possibly not; here, detractors won't find any noticeable difference in his levels. Certainly his solo in "Firth of Fifth" is as dominant as it needs to be, although some of his ensemble work remains further down in the mix than might be expected--a function, no doubt, of Davis trying to retain the overall authenticity of the new mix while still adding more detail, depth and clarity.
Wind & Wuthering marked a change in direction, with the radio-friendly "Your Own Special Way" the most direct, pop-friendly song the group had ever written, and a significant move towards a simpler "verse-chorus" style. While not on Seconds Out, it still loomed over the group at the time, as its album sales, rather than being hurt by Gabriel's departure, appeared to be on the ascendancy. Collins was still, at this point, searching for his own voice, so his singing is largely literal, something that would change in later years when singing not only material from the Gabriel-era, but also songs from this period. Still, his increased range and accuracy made some of the performances here definitive at the time of release. With the Rainbow performance now available in the box with Gabriel's original vocals restored, it's a tough call. Gabriel's careful delivery of "Supper's Ready," "Cinema Show" and "Firth of Fifth," was more about theater, while Collins was more about the singing.
Collins' drumming behind Gabriel possessed a different kind of edge, a different kind of sound and the kind of élan that only comes from being the one who defined what the parts were, as opposed to Thompson, whose job was to replicate them. Still, Thompson, who would become Genesis' permanent touring drummer from this point on (with the exception of the Collins-less Calling All Stations tour), was already forging a real role in the overall group sound, and his more direct approach was clearly an inspiration for the increasingly pared down approach that Collins would begin taking from Duke (Atlantic, 1980) forward.

Three Sides Live

If Seconds Out represented a change in Genesis' direction, 1982's Three Sides Live augured a virtual paradigm shift. With "Follow You, Follow Me" the group's biggest radio hit yet, from the transitional ...And Then There Were Three (Atlantic, 1978)--the group's first recording without Hackett, and with Rutherford assuming all the guitar duties--Banks, Collins and Rutherford began a gradual move away from their progressive rock roots and an evolution towards simpler, more widely accessible form. Duke, considered by purists to be the group's progressive rock swan song with the multi-part, continuous titular suite that opened and closes the album, also continued the group's commercial climb with two huge hits--the easy shuffle of "Misunderstanding" and more driving "Turn It On Again," which proved that was possible--even in 1980 after the popular death-knell for progressive rock--to have a hit in an irregular meter.
Abacab (Atlantic, 1981) continued the stylistic shift, though with longer tracks like "Dodo," it still possessed some of Banks' unmistakable voicings. Still, Genesis had gone from being a progressive rock band to, well, just plain rock, with Abacab's title track a pulsing, four-on-the-floor piece of dance music. The original US release of Three Sides originally comprised three vinyl sides of the group's more radio-friendly live performances and one studio side of EP material including the Top 40 hit "Paperlate" and other tracks that would later surface on the 1976-1982 box. The rest of the world was treated to a fourth side of more progressive material, a cross-section culled from the Second Out tour of 1976/77, the 1978 tour in support of ...And Then There Were Three... (Atco, 1978), and the 1980 Duke tour. In some ways, it was all a bit confusing for new Genesis fans, and a tease to its longtime progressive contingent. It was this latter version that would later be released on CD, and it's this version that's included here.
Longer tracks like Wind & Wuthering's outstanding "One for the Vine" and a powerful live version of Nursery Cryme's "Fountain of Salmacis" went a long way to appease the increasingly alienated progressive contingent, but with "Misunderstanding" back-to-back with a lengthy medley of The Lamb's "In the Cage" and "Colony of Slippermen," and an excerpt from "Cinema Show," it felt, at the time, like an album that didn't know what it wanted to be. The good news is that, with the perspective of time, the majority of the music on Three Sides sounds remarkably unified, still the voice of as single group.
With Hackett gone and Rutherford assuming all string instrument duties, Genesis badly needed to recruit another member for its touring band. Fortunately, Collins--whose voice had emerged from Gabriel's shadow by this time and who'd had a major hit of his own with his first solo album, Face Value (Atlantic, 1981) and its massive radio single, "In the Air Tonight"--already had the perfect musician in mind. Enter guitarist Daryl Stuermer, who had emerged in the 1970s fusion arena with violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and was Collins' guitarist on Face Value, though he'd been touring with Genesis since 1978. Like Chester Thompson, Stuermer was a studio chameleon; a guitarist who could fit into almost any context and was also capable of doubling on bass. He was just what Genesis needed to replicate Rutherford's layered studio parts and provide greater virtuosity as required, to handle Hackett's parts on older material.
The problem with the initial release of Three Sides was the sound, but Davis has done an especially good job at making it sound as good as the rest of the discs in Live 1973-2007. With this album, the touring Genesis took on a personality of its own, as Collins' confidence increased from both his and Genesis' seemingly meteoric success and even older material took on a somewhat stripped-down sound. If anything, the only flaw with Three Sides is the dated "yooows" that Collins used to great excess throughout the album. By this time Gabriel-era Genesis was a thing of the distant past and, even when the group tackled older material, its choices seemed to fit in the context of its now leaner approach. The only odd man out, though a welcome one, is the closer to the second disc. A medley of The Lamb's "It" with an excerpt from "Watcher of the Skies" from the group's 1976 tour with Hackett and Bruford--despite a clear line through the group's entire history--only serves to highlight the radical shift that had taken place in the ensuing five years.
A full decade--the longest gap between Genesis live albums--passed before The Way We Walk, first releases as two CDs a year apart--1992's The Shorts, a collection of its shorter hits, and the 1993 follow-up, The Longs, featuring longer, more progressive-oriented tunes. The touring unit remained the same as on Three Sides, but even more had changed around it.

The Way We Walk

Collins' commercial success continued to rise on a sharp trajectory with no sign of letting up, but so, too, did Rutherford's. Mike + The Mechanics began humbly as a side project, but took on a life of its own with hits like "All I Need is a Miracle" and "The Living Years." What was, perhaps, most significant about the massive success both Rutherford and Collins had achieved outside of Genesis was just how much their flagship group remained a different project for both of them--a true collective with Banks, that was greater than the sum of its parts. Gabriel-era Genesis credited all songs to the group, even though there were plenty of individual contributions and collaborative subsets within the quintet. As post-Gabriel albums deserted collective crediting for individual songwriting acknowledgement, the music became more personal. Despite contributions from Rutherford, Hackett and Collins, Wind & Wuthering, for example, was largely driven by Banks--whose role in the overall Genesis sound may have initially seemed less dominant because of his reticent nature, but over the years has become increasingly clear.
The group returned to collective songwriting with Genesis (Atlantic, 1983) and the emphasis remained on more direct song-form, even on longer tracks like We Can't Dance's rock-heavy "Driving the Last Spike." But the group was, in its own way, as experimental as ever, with a song like the thundering "Mama" accessible, but hardly catchy in the conventional sense. Progressive rock had, in some ways, taken on the same kind of label-mania and rigid definition that was truly anathema in its earliest days, but it's clear, with tracks like "Mama" and "Silver Rainbow," also from Genesis, that there was no lack of forward-thinking going on in the Banks/Rutherford/Collins writing camp.
The restoration of The Way We Walk to proper concert sequence makes it a welcome addition to Live 1973-2007, providing a solid document of Genesis' final tour before Collins decided to throw in the towel. There's a greater emphasis on hits like "Land of Confusion" and No Son of Mine," though recent epics like "Driving the Last Spike" and "Domino" are well represented. The group's earlier progressive roots are represented only by a 20-minute "Old Medley," beginning with Trick of the Tail's "Dance on a Volcano" and seamlessly incorporating excerpts from "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway," "The Musical Box," "Firth of Fifth" and "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," where Collins also tosses in quick references to radio hits that didn't make it into the tour's set list--"Illegal Alien," "That's All," "Your Own Special Way" and "Follow You, Follow Me." The group dips right back to Trespass with a closing reference to "Stagnation" that had been part of its live arrangement of "I Know What I Like" beginning with the Trick of the Tail tour, and can also be heard on Seconds Out. What's perhaps most remarkable is that, by this time, Genesis had racked up so many chart hits that it couldn't fit them all into a single concert.
While certain markers would always define Genesis' songs, by this time the group had broken some of its own sacrosanct arrangements as Stuermer, in particular, takes greater liberties with Hackett's guitar parts, especially in the instrumental section of "Firth of Fifth," where he gets his biggest feature. Collins rarely jumps behind the drums by this point, with Thompson driving the entire set with power, economy and unshakable groove, though he works hand-in-glove with the ex-Weather Reporter on the six-minute "The Drum Thing" which, positioned before the group's 1991 hit "I Can't Dance," makes far more sense than its original place at the end of The Longs, where it seemed almost an afterthought.
By this point Collins was truly an iconic pop personality--like it or not--who had, thankfully, deserted some of the dated phrasing and exclamations of Three Sides Live. His approachable stage presence turned Genesis into a group that was as much about entertainment as it was content, despite the Banks and Rutherford's more distant personae. It was the end of a long evolutionary path for a group that started as a "serious" art rock group but, by the 1990s, had become more easygoing and fun, albeit somewhat fluffy with songs like "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" (despite admittedly deeper subject matter) and "In Too Deep."
While some might say they'd devolved, the truth is that Banks, Rutherford and Collins had evolved as songwriters, now just as capable of finding accessible hooks and memorable melodies as they were complex and epic epics in the past. Still, supported by Banks' still unmistakable harmonies and Rutherford's deceptively simple but effective guitar and bass work, there was a depth to the writing that remained at the core of every song the group produced. It's too easy to accuse songs like "Invisible Touch" of being simplistic, of a song like "Follow You, Follow Me" being overly sentimental. But the reality is that Genesis, more than most groups, managed to straddle the fence between greater depth and leaner, pop simplicity. For every "I Can't Dance" there's a "Domino"; for every "Hold on My Heart" there's a "Home By the Sea."
While not exactly bonus tracks, "Mama" "In Too Deep" and "That's All"--either performed occasionally or not at all during the We Can't Dance tour from which The Way We Walk is culled--have been placed at the end of the second disc. "Turn It On Again," which closed the show during the tour and was curiously left off the original The Shorts, has been restored, making The Way We Walk a complete concert, and will be new to those who don't have the Tell Me Why CD-single/EP.

Live Over Europe 2007

While not included in the Live 1973-2007 box, there is a space for Live Over Europe 2007, released after Genesis' heralded 2007, 48-city reunion tour. While there was plenty of speculation before the tour details were announced--would Gabriel be back? would Hackett return to the fold?--it ultimately turned out to be the same core trifecta and touring group that, coming together as a five-piece in 1978 in support of ...And Then There Were Three, has ultimately proven to be Genesis' longest-lasting and most stable line-up.
While the expectation, once the line-up was confirmed, was that the music would weigh heavily on Genesis' radio-friendly music from the 1980s on, both the tour and Live Over Europe proved to be a far more balanced repertoire than on The Way We Walk. Given its recent release, there was no reason to remix/remaster the disc, and with Davis the same engineer, sonically it fits in perfectly with the remixed/remastered music of Live 1973-2007. Yes, there are all the chart-toppers, including "Turn It On Again," "No Son of Mine," "Land of Confusion," "I Can't Dance," "Invisible Touch" and more; but there's also a 13-minute medley of "In the Cage," with excerpts from "Cinema Show" and "Dukes Travels"; the opening salvo of "Dukes Intro," which is a powerfully proggy way to open the show; and an excerpt from "Firth of Fifth" that, featuring Stuermer, leads into the audience participation of "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe." For the first time in 30 years, the group revisits Trick of the Tail's compelling "Ripples," and Collins' drum duo with Thompson, "Conversation With 2 Stools" leads more appropriately into "Los Endos." The final encore is even a look back at The Lamb, with the soft "Carpet Crawlers."
Banks' synth tones are better than on The Way We Walk and, while a physical condition that has recently been announced as permanently scuttling Collins as a drummer (and, most likely, any future Genesis reunions) could be seen to be painful to the Genesis front man on the DVD release from the tour, When in Rome (WEA, 2008), without the visuals he sounds as good as ever. Nick Davis feels that Collins wasn't at his best, vocally, on The Way We Walk, but he's at his absolute best on Live Over Europe. There are no dated exclamations as on Three Sides and, taken as the end of a long journey that began with Seconds Out, where he had all the building blocks but no personal direction, his voice has clearly come a long way in the 30-plus years since he first took center stage with the group.
The instrumental performances of older, more progressive material on Live Over Europe almost all surpass those from The Way We Walk as well, even though the rhythms that drive them remained just as stripped down. Proof that good music transcends time and avoids being dated, what's perhaps most impressive about the entire Live Over Europe 2007 is just how relevant everything still sounds. By tempering some of the earlier versions' dated sounds with newer, more organic-sounding technology, Genesis may not surpass some of its original, more progressive music in terms of innovation, but it brings the music into the 21st century with a set list that was surprising in its coverage of the group's music, from 1971 on.
There will, no doubt, be plenty of discussion about the merits and omissions of Live 1973-2007. Still, perhaps the most important aspect to the box set--eight CDs (not including Live Over Europe) and three DVD-As--is its portrayal of Genesis as a group that evolved gradually over time, but never completely deserted its roots. While its music simplified and became more pop-oriented, Genesis was a band always devoted to song, regardless of the context; a fact that has never been clearer or more self-contained than in this career-spanning box set. It's a set that, if nothing else, will spark revisiting/ reevaluation by some, the surprise of discovery for others. For those who have followed the group during any of its stylistic periods, any of its gradually diminishing creative line-ups, the beautifully packaged Live 1973-2007 provides hours of sonically upgraded material, bolstered with bonus tracks that may have largely been available in other forms in the past, but have never been presented as they are here: as they were first recorded, with original performances intact


By Alan Caylow 
The Genesis box set releases continue! This time around, the band focuses on their live albums for this particular set, "Genesis Live 1973-2007". Four live albums: "Genesis Live," "Seconds Out," "Three Sides Live," and a re-sequenced "The Way We Walk," all remastered and remixed by Nick Davis, who worked on the band's previous box sets of studio albums. There is also an empty slot in the box to put in 2007's "Live Over Europe" (as the band wisely assumes that most diehard fans have already bought it), AND, as an added bonus, you get a CD and 5.1 DVD of the band's complete "Live At The Rainbow" concert from 1973! Also included is an excellent 52-page booklet, with insights from the band members, and wonderful photographs of the band taken from many years of live concerts. Overall, I'm very happy indeed with this live box set, but I still have to agree with other reviewers that "Live 1973-2007" still falls short of perfection. Let's briefly go through the live albums:
"Genesis Live"---the band's only proper live album with Peter Gabriel, recorded in 1973, sounds great, but it now includes 5 bonus tracks from the 1975 "Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" show in Los Angeles, and they're not even in the correct order---"Back In NYC," "Fly On A Windshield," "Broadway Melody Of 1974," "Anyway," and "The Chamber Of 32 Doors." On the one hand, yes of course it's great to hear some live "Lamb" material in this box set, but why not give us the *whole* "Lamb" concert? In fact, why didn't they just expand "Genesis Live" into a double album so it's now the complete 1973 show (and not just five songs), and throw in the entire L.A. "Lamb" show as a bonus? That, I think, would have been the much better way to go. (At least the whole L.A. "Lamb" concert---more or less---is available on the "Genesis Archives Vol. 1" box set).
"Seconds Out"---this classic Genesis live album, recorded in Paris in 1976 and '77 on the "Trick Of The Tail" and "Wind & Wuthering" tours, sounds amazing, and the slipcase packaging is excellent, but dammit, there are a couple of CD glitches: the second song on Disc One, "Carpet Crawlers," starts to play, only to restart itself before it plays properly (the very beginning of the song is mistakenly attached to the end of Track One, "Squonk"---the CD player then switches over to Track Two and restarts "Carpet Crawlers"). The exact same problem happens again with the second song on Disc Two, "Cinema Show," the beginning of which is mistakenly attached to the end of Track One, "Supper's Ready," so it too begins to play, and then restarts itself. Sure, we're still getting the complete performances of both songs, as neither of them are chopped up in any way, but it's still an annoyance. May as well keep your old CD copy of "Seconds Out" until the folks at the record label can fix the problem, and I hope they do.
"Three Sides Live"---mostly recorded in 1981 on the "Abacab" tour, as well as some concluding live material taken from the "Trick Of The Tail" and "Duke" tours, this re-issue replicates the UK release of the album, and, once again, the sound quality is excellent, but I do have one very minor quibble---I always liked the album's concluding touch of hearing Ethel Merman singing "There's No Business Like Show Business" over the PA system as the album fades out, after the band conclude "It/Watcher Of The Skies". Alas, Ethel has been removed, and that's a shame.
"The Way We Walk"---recorded on the "We Can't Dance" tour from 1992, this a GREAT revamping of this live album, as the original release cut the album in half: "Vol.1: The Shorts" was all the shorter hit songs, and "Vol. 2: The Longs" was the longer, more art-rock sounding stuff. This new version of "The Way We Walk" re-sequences the songs in the correct performance order, and combines them into the complete double album that "The Way We Walk" should've been the first time around. There's also some extended bits of inbetween-song dialogue from Phil Collins that wasn't heard before, which is really nice. I couldn't be happier with this new, improved version of "The Way We Walk".
The bonus set "Live At The Rainbow 1973"---*of course* I'm thrilled to have a complete live concert of Genesis with Peter at the microphone, and it sounds awesome, but there's a catch: the 5.1 DVD has the complete concert, but the accompanying CD omits "Watcher Of The Skies" and "The Musical Box," presumably for CD time limitations, and also because the band didn't want to give us *two* live versions of the same song (there's still the live versions of "Watcher" and "Musical Box" on the "Genesis Live" CD). It's understandable, but it still ticks me off that I can't play the *entire* concert in my car or on my home stereo system, just only on my DVD player. Also, the CD of the "Rainbow" concert also omits some of Peter and Phil's inbetween-song dialogue with the audience. Luckily, some of the Rainbow material was previously released on the "Genesis Archives Vol. 1" box set, including Peter and Phil's spoken-word stuff. The only way you can have the complete Rainbow concert on CD (sort of) is if you splice together the Rainbow material from *both* box sets, and throw on "Watcher Of The Skies" and "The Musical Box" from "Genesis Live" to fill in the gaps, and burn it onto a CDR for your own personal private pleasures. It's crazy, but I just might do it.
Insert your copy of "Live Over Europe" into the empty slot, and your Genesis live box set is complete!
So yes, I'm very happy with "Genesis Live: 1973-2007," even though it's not a perfect representation of these live albums. It's still great that the band decided to give the live albums a box set of their own, and I will treasure it. But guys, PLEASE fix those glitches on "Seconds Out," will ya? Thanks. Now, bring on "The Movie Box"....


Tracks and Personnel:
Live (CD1/DVD1)
Tracks:
CD1: Watcher of the Skies; Get 'Em Out By Friday; The Return of the Giant Hogweed; The Musical Box; The Knife. Bonus Tracks (The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, 01/24/1975): Back in N.Y.C.; Fly on a Windshield; Broadway Melody of 1974; Anyway; The Chamber of 32 Doors. DVD1: Watcher of the Skies; Get 'Em Out By Friday; The Return of the Giant Hogweed; The Musical Box; The Knife. Bonus Tracks (The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, 01/24/1975): Back in N.Y.C.; Fly on a Windshield; Broadway Melody of 1974; Anyway; The Chamber of 32 Doors.
Personnel:
Peter Gabriel: vocals, flute, tambourine, bass drum; Tony Banks: keyboards, acoustic guitar, background vocals; Phil Collins: drums, percussion, vocals; Steve Hackett: guitars; Mike Rutherford: bass, guitars, bass pedals, background vocals.

Live at The Rainbow 1973 (CD2, DVD2)
Tracks:
CD2: Dancing With the Moonlit Knight; The Cinema Show; I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe); Firth of Fifth; More Fool Me; The Battle of Epping Forest; Supper's Ready. DVD2: Watcher of the Skies; Dancing With the Moonlit Knight; The Cinema Show; I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe); Firth of Fifth; The Musical Box; More Fool Me; The Battle of Epping Forest; Supper's Ready.
Personnel:
Peter Gabriel: vocals, flute, tambourine, bass drum; Tony Banks: keyboards, acoustic guitar, background vocals; Phil Collins: drums, percussion, vocals; Steve Hackett: guitars; Mike Rutherford: bass, guitars, bass pedals, background vocals.

Seconds Out (CD3-4/DVD3)
Tracks: 
CD3: Squonk; The Carpet Crawl; Robbery, Assault & Battery; Afterglow; Firth of Fifth; I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe); The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway; The Musical Box. CD4: Supper's Ready; The Cinema Show; Dance on a Volcano; Los Endos. DVD3: Squonk; The Carpet Crawl; Robbery, Assault & Battery; Afterglow; Firth of Fifth; I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe); The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway; The Musical Box; Supper's Ready; The Cinema Show; Dance on a Volcano; Los Endos.
Personnel: 
Tony Banks: RMI electric piano, Hammond T. organ, ARP Pro Soloist, Mellotron 400, Epiphone 12-string guitar, backing voices; Mike Rutherford: Shergold Electric 12-string and bass, 8-string bass, Alvarez 12-string guitar, Moog Taurus bass pedals, backing voices; Steve Hackett: Gibson Les Paul, Hokada 12-string guitar; Phil Collins: voice, Premier and Gretsch drums (CD3#3, CD3#5, CD3#8, CD4#1 ("Apocalypse in 9/8" section only), CD4#2, CD4#4, DVD3#3, DVD3#5, DVD3#8, DVD3#9 ("Apocalypse in 9/8" section only), DVD3#10, DVD3#12); Chester Thompson: Pearl drums and percussion (CD3#1, CD3#2, CD3#4-8, CD4#1, CD4#3-4, DVD3#1, DVD3#2, DVD3#4-12); Bill Bruford: Ludwig and Hayman drums and percussion (CD4#2, DVD3#10).

Three Sides Live (CD5-6)
Tracks:
CD5: Turn It On Again; Dodo; Abacab; Behind the Lines; Duchess; Me & Sarah Jane; Follow You Follow Me. CD6: Misunderstanding; In the Cage (Medley: Cinema Show/The Colony of Slippermen); Afterglow; One for the Vine; The Fountain of Salmacis; It/Watcher of the Skies.
Personnel:
Phil Collins: drums, vocals; Tony Banks: keyboards, backing vocals; Mike Rutherford: guitar, bass, bass pedals, backing vocals; Daryl Stuermer: guitar and bass (CD5, CD6#1-5); Chester Thompson: drums (CD5, CD6#1-5); Steve Hackett: guitar (CD6#6); Bill Bruford: drums (CD6#6).

The Way We Walk (The Longs and the Shorts) (CD7-8)
Tracks:
CD7: Land of Confusion; No Son of Mine; Driving the Last Spike; Old Medley (Dance on a Volcano/The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway/The Musical Box/Firth of Fifth/I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)); Throwing It All Away; Fading Lights; Jesus He Knows Me; Home By the Sea/Second Home By the Sea. CD8: Hold on My Heart; Domino (In the Glow of the Night/The Last Domino); The Drum Thing; I Can't Dance; Tonight, Tonight, Tonight; Invisible Touch; Turn It On Again. Additional Tracks Not Performed On the We Can't Dance Tour: Mama; That's All; In Too Deep.
Personnel:
Phil Collins: vocals, drums; Tony Banks: keyboards, vocals; Mike Rutherford: guitar, bass, vocals; Daryl Stuermer: guitar, bass, vocals; Chester Thompson: drums.

Live Over Europe 2007 (CD9-10)
Tracks:
CD9: Dukes Intro; Turn It On Again; No Son of Mine; Land of Confusion; In the Cage, including excerpts from Cinema Show and Dukes Travels; Afterglow; Hold on My Heart; Home By the Sea; Follow You, Follow Me; Firth of Fifth (excerpt); I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe). CD10: Mama; Ripples; Throwing It All Away; Domino; Conversations With 2 Stools; Los Endos; Tonight Tonight Tonight (excerpt); Invisible Touch; I Can't Dance; Carpet Crawlers.
Personnel:
Phil Collins: vocals, drums; Tony Banks: keyboards, vocals; Mike Rutherford: guitar, bass, vocals; Daryl Stuermer: guitar, bass, vocals; Chester Thompson: drums.

The Movie Box 1981 - 2007


By John Kelman
Rhino Records 2009
With its entire audio discography now remixed and remastered on 1976-1982 (Rhino, 2007), 1983-1998 (Rhino, 2007), 1970-1975 (Rhino, 2008), and, most recently, Live: 1973-2007 (Rhino, 2009), legendary progressive popster Genesis finishes its series with Genesis: The Movie Box. Like the Live CD box, The Movie Box: 1981-2007 collects a series of concert performances--some making their appearance on DVD for the first time--leaving space for When In Rome 2007 (Rhino, 2008), a three-DVD concert set from the group's 2007 reunion that also includes a nearly two-hour tour documentary, Come Rain Or Shine. Like the other boxes, it's CD-size, with DVDs housed in CD-style jewel cases.
The disappointment is that, while the box documents every Genesis tour from Abacab (Rhino, 1981) forward--with the exception of the much-maligned and, sadly, overlooked Calling All Stations (Rhino, 1997), where Genesis co-founders Mike Rutherford (bass, guitar) and Tony Banks (keyboards) were forced to replace departed drummer/lead vocalist Phil Collins with Ray Wilson--there's nothing from the group's rich and innovative pre-1981 period. The reality is that there's simply not that much material available from Peter Gabriel-era Genesis up until 1975, nor is there much from the pre-Abacab period that began with Trick Of The Tail (Rhino, 1976), where Collins took over front man duties. What video material there is has been included on DVDs in the audio boxes which, amongst other features, also include 5.1 Surround and new stereo mixes of Genesis' entire discography.
What Genesis: The Movie Box does not represent is Genesis' earliest days as the groundbreaking band that contributed, amongst other things, the iconic "Watcher of the Skies," epic "Supper's Ready" and concept-heavy The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (Rhino, 1974), along with classic albums including Selling England By The Pound (Rhino, 1973), Trick Of The Tail (Rhino, 1976) and the transitional Wind & Wuthering (Rhino, 1976) to the progressive rock pantheon. What it does document is the group's ascendance to arena-rock megastar, one of the most commercially successful groups of the 1980s, 1990s and, with the success of a 2007 tour that saw Banks and Rutherford rejoined by Collins, the new millennium as well.
Over the course of five concert performances, massive radio hits including "Invisible Touch," "Turn It On Again," "Land Of Confusion," "That's All" and "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" are balanced by longer pieces like "Driving The Last Spike," "Domino," "Home By The Sea" and "Dodo/Lurker"--all demonstrating that, while the group seemingly left its more experimental roots behind both musically and lyrically, it still operated along the progressive rock continuum, albeit in a more simplified, accessible fashion. All but twelve songs recorded on Abacab, Genesis (Rhino, 1983), Invisible Touch (Rhino, 1986) and We Can't Dance (Rhino, 1992) appear at least once during the nearly ten hours of concert footage (including When In Rome's 160-minute show), in addition to numerous medleys bringing together material dating as far back as Trespass (Rhino, 1970), right through to Duke (Rhino, 1980), generally considered the groups' final progressive gasp.
Stereo, Dolby and DTS surround mixes are clear and crisp throughout, though the video quality does vary. Three Sides Live, making its first appearance on DVD, is perhaps the least impressive visually, but it is an early opportunity to watch the group tackle older material like The Lamb's "In the Cage" and an excerpt from "The Colony of Slippermen" as part of a longer "Old Medley" that included a variety of segments from the group's more progressive past. Live at Wembley, representing the group's tour in support of Invisible Touch, is the only show to desert, at least as documented here, Genesis' Gabriel-era material completely. Elsewhere, the "Old Medley" would change from tour-to-tour, though the thrilling 7/4 instrumental excerpt from Selling England's "The Cinema Show," heard here, would make a return appearance on later versions--as would an eventual segue to the hit-that-should-have-been, Wind & Wuthering's "Afterglow." Three Sides Live distinguishes itself further with performances of then-current progressive fare like the thundering "Dodo/Lurker," as well as much of the material from Duke that bookends that album's two major radio hits, "Misunderstanding" and "Turn It On Again."
In contrast to Gabriel's theatrical presence, Collins was more natural and approachable, with a pervasive comfort level that made him a confident front man, whether in front of an audience of tens of thousands or, in the case of 1987's Live At Wembley Stadium from the Invisible Touch tour, nearly 300,000. But Collins' showmanship could be a double-edged sword. For a group delivering radio-friendly hits, his ability to encourage audience participation was entertaining and engaging; but (though it would be unfair to attribute this to him alone), he crossed the line during the Mama and Invisible Touch tours where, in the set-closing "Turn It On Again," the group turns to near-Vegas-style shtick with an embarrassing medley of songs by The Who, The Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, The Beatles and (gulp) Boy George. Watching Collins deliver the same "everybody needs somebody" routine three years apart--including fedora, sunglasses and undershirt--makes the DVD player's "skip" button an invaluable friend.
Fortunately, by the time of 1993's The Way We Walk tour in support of We Can't Dance, Genesis had abandoned such cringe-worthy pandering. The group had also begun, after two tours where older material was paid little more than lip-service, to offer a more balanced set list that may still have weighed heavily on the side of radio hits, but began focusing more welcome attention on older, progressive-leaning material. The "Old Medley" was expanded and, in the case of When In Rome, there was greater symmetry and assimilation found between Genesis' progressive and pop tendencies, including full (and stunning) versions of Trick Of The Tail's "Ripples," and the same album's instrumental closer, "Los Endos," in addition to a final encore from The Lamb, the chillout-inducing ballad, "Carpet Crawlers."
By 1978, guitarist Steve Hackett was gone and a single tour finished, featuring another progressive legend, drummer Bill Bruford, picking up drum duties with Collins out front (a 40-minute video excerpt from this tour can be found on Trick Of The Tail's companion DVD). Slimmed down to a trio in the studio, Genesis still needed to be a quintet live in order to execute its material, and so two Americans--guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer and ex-Weather Report drummer Chester Thompson--became part of the touring group and, ultimately, Genesis' longest-standing members outside of Banks, Rutherford and Collins.
Stuermer first came to attention for his work with French fusion violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and was immediately more overtly virtuosic than Hackett; a true stylistic chameleon capable of lifting seminal Hackett solos while equally adept at handling whatever Rutherford chose to send his way, bringing serious rock attitude throughout. Thompson proved to be an equally versatile player, bringing thundering support and powerful groove, not to mention show-stopping drum duets with Collins.
Genesis was not just a musical innovator, but a performing one as well, creating new lighting designs, including programmable lighting schemes, which made the group's live shows as compelling to watch as they were to hear. Genesis could hardly be described--with arrangements that remained heavily scripted from one night to the next--as a group of risk-takers; it was, in fact, Bruford's constant spontaneity that made him a less-than-perfect fit. Furthermore, Rutherford and Banks were never charismatic stage performers, relying first on Gabriel's theatricality and, later, Collins' affable stage presence. And so it was the group's set designs which grew in scope and complexity over the years, culminating in the massive stage of When In Rome, with its huge video screens and lighting. Every show became a thrilling multimedia experience, even for those in the "nosebleed" section of the large arenas in which the group often found itself performing. All this is conveyed throughout the concerts documented on The Movie Box.They may not have varied much from night to night but Genesis still brought an energy to the music that wasn't necessarily better than its studio versions, yet was certainly more immediate and visceral. As potent as Trick Of The Tail's "Dance On A Volcano" was on record, a muscular strength in concert, combined with impressive staging, made it perhaps even more exciting and well worth experiencing. The Movie Box successfully captures, as close as any recorded document can, a true feeling of "being there."
The value of the box's bonus material varies. Fans of Three Sides Live will be disappointed to discover that the interviews, interspersed throughout the concert footage and always detracting from the experience, remain intact; again, another endorsement of the DVD player's "skip" button, and for those interested, it's possible to watch them as separate bonus features. The double-CD set of Three Sides Live that's in the Live: 1973-2007 box didn't include a surround mix, but the DVD version here also includes audio-only, Dolby and DTS Surround versions of tracks from earlier tours that were on the CD, including Wind & Wuthering's "One For The Vine" and "Fountain Of Salmacis," originally recorded during the Gabriel years on Nursery Cryme (Rhino, 1971). Curiously, the medley of The Lamb's "It" and "Watcher Of The Skies," from Foxtrot (Rhino, 1972) is omitted; the only assumption is that the multi-track tapes couldn't be found.
The Mama Tour includes an 80-minute handheld documentary on the making of 1983's Genesis, but other than some interesting footage of the group working in its farm/recording studio, The Farm, in Surrey, England, it's at best a one-time watch--as is the 16-minute Invisible Touch tour documentary on Live At Wembley Stadium. The original release of The Way We Walk: Live In Concert was a double-DVD set, with a wealth of multi-angle possibilities; while the whole multi-angle feature ultimately turned out to be both superfluous and less appealing than early DVD producers anticipated, The Movie Box version has been reduced down to a single, dual-layer disc without the multi-angle option. The addition of VH1's Genesis documentary, Behind The Music on a separate DVD--originally broadcast on the cable network in 1999 but revised and updated for this box set--is an OK-ish watch but, at 43 minutes, falls considerably short of the independent video documentary that Genesis deserves.
Which leaves the bonus features on When In Rome, a set that's not actually included in the box set but contains the best added material. With an "information" button that appears throughout the concert (divided onto two discs), it's possible to branch to bonus features that show the group discussing arrangements, touring, staging and more. Add to this a bonus disc with 110-minute Come Rain Or Shine--one of the more interesting and enlightening tour documentaries available, and When In Rome not only becomes the most balanced and impressive post-Duke Genesis document, but the one best supported by bonus materials as well.
But that doesn't mean it's the only post-Duke show worth seeing. Between set lists that, over the course of five tours, cover most of its repertoire current at the time of recording, and visuals that continued to evolve and innovate over the box's quarter century time-span, Genesis: The Movie Box is a largely successful finale to Genesis' multi-year reissue program. There will, no doubt, be complaints amongst committed Genesis fans--most notably, perhaps, the decision to retain the interviews throughout Three Sides Live. In addition, throughout the reissue series there's been plenty of debate about remix choice and the use of compression. Genesis appears to have been listening, with engineer Nick Davis' remastering approach improving on each successive box set, paying greater reverence to updating the sonics without sacrificing the dynamics that have always been such an important part of the group's sound, whether it was progressive, pop or somewhere in between. Visually, The Movie Box ranges from very good to superb; sonically, the box is consistently excellent from start to finish.
You can't please all the people all the time, and The Movie Box's complete focus on post-Duke Genesis will likely be met with some disappointment. Still, Genesis was always about songwriting first and instrumental virtuosity second, even when it was at its most compositionally complex. That thread links the set of four audio box sets and, for that matter, the group's 40-year career, continuing to define The Movie Box: 1981-2007 despite its preponderance of radio-friendly material. Every "commercial" Genesis release featured longer pieces linking the group to its progressive rock past; for those who favor the group's music before it became one of rock music's most massive stadium draws, The Movie Box still has plenty on offer.

By Philip A.Cohen 
This box set contains four video programs by the Collins/Banks/Rutherford/Steurmer/Thompson line-up of Genesis, and finds the group touring behind the "Abacab", "Genesis"(1983), ""Invisible Touch" & "We Can't Dance" albums. There is also a VH-1 "Behind The Music" documentary, and empty spaces in the packaging so that you can install the renuion tour "When in Rome" 3-DVD set into the packaging. The musical performances & sound quality in the four concerts included are uniformly excellent, assuming that you like the later, more commercial part of the group's career.
First you get "Three Sides Live" a concert film/documentary that had been offered on VHS & Laserdisc, but never before on DVD. Unfortunately, the opening song "Behind The Lines" is slightly edited, and interviews & behind the scenes footage interrupts "Duchess", "Me & Sarah Jane" & "Man on The Corner", and there is nothing that can be done about this. The material was originally shot on film, then edited on videotape, and unfortunately, after an extensive search, the group was not able to find the raw film footage, therefore, it wasn't possible to re-edit the footage or add extra songs. However, you do get a newly remixed 5.1 soundtrack which sounds great, and it is a genuine remix, not some fake upmix. As bonus material, you get audio only surround versions of "Behind The Lines", "Duchess", "Me and Sarah Jane", "Man on The Corner", "One For The Vine", Fountain of Salmacis" & "Follow You, Follow Me". The video quality is slightly better than the original VHS & Laserdisc releases.
"The Mama Tour" also makes its' DVD debut, and regretably, the situation is the same as for "Three Sides Live". The material was shot on film and edited on videotape, and the raw film footage cannot be found, so all that is available to work from is the videotape master. Video quality is no better than the VHS release. Fortunately, it appears that the concert is being presented complete or near-complete, and you get an excellent 5.1 surround sound remix. There is a bonus of 79 minutes of home camcorder footage shot by Phil Collins during sessions for the group's 1983 "Genesis" album.
The 3rd DVD is "Live at Wembley"(originally titled "Invisible Touch Tour"), and the disc's contents are identical to the separately released DVD that most of us already have. This series of four concerts was shot on an early prototype Sony analogue high definition video recording system, of which only a few machines ever existed . When it came time to release this material on DVD, there was a question of there was still a machine in existence to play the original high definition tapes, to permit a properly mastered widescreen DVD(I.E. not a letterboxed 4:3 ratio disc). Fortunately one such machine was found in England, but the search for unreleased material had a sad result. In each of the four shows, the group played a 20 minute medley of early Genesis songs. Unfortunately, without asking or informing the group, in each of the four shows, the video crew used the 20 minute medley as a time to shut down their equipment and re-load their video recorders with more recording tape, so in all four shows, the medley was not recorded. As supplemental material, you get a tour documentary that was originally included as bonus material on a UK/Europe/Japan video collection "Visible Touch".
The fourth disc is "The Way We Walk Live",and this concert, recorded at London's Earl's Court Exhibition Centre is presented complete. However, for no apparent reason, this is a stripped-down version of the previously available 2-DVD set. The concert is complete, but this time, to facilitate a single disc, the alternate camera angles, commentary track, and supplemental features are all omitted. In a deluxe box such as this, fans deserved the full 2-DVD version. So, if you have the already released(now deleted) 2-DVD version, hold onto it. It will be a collectors item.
The 45 minute "VH-1:Behind The Music" documentary is fun to watch.....once, though it contains numerous factual errors. Phil Collins did not join the group on the album "Tresspass". He joined the group on the album "Nursery Cryme".(the late John Mayhew drummed on "Tresspass"). And when Collins auditioned for the three remaining original members(Gabriel, Rutherford & Banks), Banks says that they all felt that Collins was the best drummer. In fact, Tony Banks had previously admitted that he prefered one of the other drummers, but he was outvoted by Mike Rutherford & Peter Gabriel.
For those of you who complain about the lack of a Blu-Ray edition, here are the facts(which I've confirmed with the "World of Genesis" website operator). "Live at Wembley" & "When in Rome" could someday be offered on Blu-Ray, but there are presently no plans to do so. "The Way We Walk Live" was shot on 625-line standard definition Uk videotape. It cannot be upgraded for high definition. If the actual raw film footage for "Three Sides Live" & "The Mama Tour" is ever found, it could be presented in high definition, but it now appears that the footage was not saved, I.E. that it was discarded after the selected parts were transfered to videotape. No one envisioned that the raw film footage would have any future use.
I thank the group for not redundantly including the "When In Rome" reunion tour video. It was a lucrative nostalgia tour which showed the group past its' prime, with many of the songs de-tuned one and a half tones(3 keys) to reflect Phil Collins' late 50-ish vocal limitations.

Tracks and Personnel:
Three Sides Live (DVD1, 1982)
Tracks:
Three Sides Live video (stereo/Dolby 5.1 Surround/DTS 5.1 Surround), total time: 83 minutes: Behind The Lines; Duchess; Misunderstanding; Dodo/Lurker; Abacab; No Reply At All; Who Dunnit?; In The Cage Medley (In The Cage / Cinema Show / Slippermen); Afterglow; Me And Sarah Jane; Man On The Corner; Turn It On Again. Bonus Features: Audio only (Dolby 5.1 Surround/DTS 5.1 Surround): Behind The Lines; Duchess; Me And Sarah Jane; Man On The Corner; One For The Vine; Fountain Of Salmacis; Follow You, Follow Me. Interviews from Three Sides Live film, excised as separate, addressable mini-features.

The Mama Tour (DVD2, 1984)
Tracks:
The Mama Tour video (stereo/Dolby 5.1 Surround/DTS 5.1 Surround), total time: 105 minutes: Abacab; That's All; Mama; Illegal Alien; Home By The Sea; Second Home By The Sea; Keep It Dark; It's Gonna Get Better; In the Cage Medley (Cinema Show, In That Quiet Earth, Slippermen); Afterglow; Drum Duet; Turn It On Again (Medley). Bonus Features: 80-minute The Making Of The Mama Album.

Live At Wembley (DVD3, 1987)
Tracks:
Live At Wembley video (stereo/Dolby 5.1 Surround/DTS 5.1 Surround), total time: 115 minutes: Mama; Abacab; Domino (Part 1: In The Glow Of The Night); Domino (Part 2: The Last Domino); That's All; Brazilian; Land Of Confusion; Tonight, Tonight, Tonight; Throwing It All Away; Home By The Sea; Invisible Touch; Drum Duet; Los Endos; Turn It On Again (Medley). Bonus Features: The Invisible Touch Tour documentary (16 minutes); Tour Programme; Photo Gallery.

The Way We Walk: Live In Concert (DVD4, 1993)
Tracks:
The Way We Walk: Live In Concert video (stereo/Dolby 5.1 Surround/DTS 5.1 Surround), total time: 132 minutes: Land Of Confusion; No Son Of Mine; Driving The Last Spike; Old Medley (Dance On A Volcano / Lamb Lies Down On Broadway / The Musical Box / Firth of Fifth / I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe); Fading Lights; Jesus He Knows Me; Dreaming While You Sleep; Home By The Sea; Hold On My Heart; Domino / Domino Principle / In the Glow of the Night / The Last Domino; The Drum Thing; I Can't Dance; Tonight, Tonight, Tonight; Invisible Touch; Turn It On Again.

VH1: Behind the Music Documentary (DVD5, 1999/2009)
Tracks: 12 Chapters, total running time: 43 minutes.

When In Rome 2007 (DVD6-8, 2008)
Tracks:
DVD6: When In Rome 2007 video, Part 1 (stereo/Dolby 5.1 Surround/DTS 5.1 Surround), total time: 80 minutes: Duke's Intro; Turn It On Again; No Son Of Mine; Land Of Confusion; In The Cage Medley (In The Cage / Cinema Show / Duke's Travels); Afterglow; Hold on My Heart; Home By The Sea; Follow You, Follow Me; Firth Of Fifth (excerpt); I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe). Bonus Features: interviews/info accessible throughout performance; Tour Programme Gallery. DVD7: When In Rome 2007 video, part two (stereo/Dolby 5.1 Surround/DTS 5.1 Surround), total time: 76 minutes: Mama; Ripples; Throwing It All Away; Domino; Conversations With 2 Stools; Los Endos; Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (excerpt); Invisible Touch; I Can't Dance Carpet Crawlers. Bonus Features: interviews/info accessible throughout performance; Photo Gallery; Deleted Scenes (3 minutes). DVD8: Come Rain Or Shine documentary ( 110 minutes): Opening Night; October 2006; 7 Months Before First Show; 4Months Before First Show; 18 Days Before First Show; 15 Days Before First Show; 12 Days Before First Show; 10 Days Before First Show; 8 Days Before First Show; 6 Days Before First Show; 4 Days Before First Show; 3 Days Before First Show; 1 Day Before First Show; Show 1; Part 2, The Rain; Katowice, Poland Show 7; Rome, Italy; Credits.

Personnel on all DVDs: Phil Collins: lead vocals, drums, percussion; Tony Banks: keyboards, background vocals; Mike Rutherford: guitars, bass, bass pedals, background vocals; Daryl Stuermer: guitars, bass, bass pedals, background vocals; Chester Thompson: drums, percussion. Additional personnel on DVD5: Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips, Steve Hackett.

Photo Credits
All Photos from Genesis: The Movie Box, courtesy of Rhino Records

Saturday, October 22, 2011

CALLING ALL STATIONS

Cover (Calling All Stations:Genesis)


by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Phil Collins left Genesis following the We Can't Dance tour and many observers expected Tony Banks and Michael Rutherford to finally call it a day. They decided to persevere instead, hiring former Stiltskin vocalist Ray Wilson to replace Collins. Given that Stiltskin was a European neo-prog band, it isn't a total surprise that Genesis returned to their art rock roots on Calling All Stations, their first album with Wilson. The music on Calling All Stations is long, dense, and lugubrious, but it's given the same immaculate, pristine production that was the hallmark of their adult contemporary work with Collins. It wants to be an art rock album, but not at the expense of losing the pop audience -- which makes it all the stranger that the group doesn't really write pop songs on Calling All Stations. That may be because Wilson's voice isn't suited for pop, but works well with languid, synthesized prog settings. But even ponderous prog rock has to have musical themes worth exploring, and on that level, Genesis come up dry on Calling All Stations. 
Released 1 September 1997
Recorded January–June 1997 at The Farm, Surrey
Length 1:07:42
Label Virgin (UK)Atlantic (US)
Producer Nick Davis, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford


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By seamonkey (Southfield, MI, USA) 
Why inspiring? because this is a band that never quits. First they lost what many believed to be the core of Genesis and that was Peter Gabriel, they replace him with Phil Collins and although the music changed they continue to make great music. 2 albums later Steve Hackett leaves and then later Phil retires from the band but Tony and Mike decide they enjoy making writing together so they audition Ray Wilson and give him the job.
Of course Ray can't replace Phil anymore than Phil could Peter so one has to step "outside" of the Genesis box and listen to it as a total different entity. If one can do this it's easy to enjoy the cd for what it is, an excellent pop/prog album.
I had the privelege to see Genesis perform with Peter for the Selling England by the Pound tour so I have been with them from early in their career. I find it sad people can't accept change, I have always enjoyed Genesis whether they're playing Fading Lights or The Royal Hogweed.
I've enjoyed CAS since I first purchased it and now to have it in 5.1 surround sound is even more enjoyable to listen to.
The DVD interview gives us an insight into their thought process following Phil's departure and the recording of CAS with Ray. They both commented they knew he was the guy from the moment he started audtioning No Son of Mine.
I think Ray has a great voice and it fits in well with Genesis songs, in fact there are times he hits tones which are very reminiscent of Peter(the Dividing Line) however there are very few times he sounds like Phil.
There are 3 songs on the DVD which are live, 1 is the song Calling All Stations and then there are two from Polish TV which are from a longer concert they did.
It's a wonderful treat to see them perform live with Ray as their singer and Nik Zidyahu on drums. Nik's drumming is awesome and adds freshness to the music so does the guitarist who performs with them, at times he and Mike play against one another which is fun and great to listen to.
I think the Polish concert video is worth the price of the cd itself, why they didn't give us the rest of the songs is beyond me, it's a fantastic concert and shows Genesis playing with in my opinion new and fresh energy.
If you've always loved Genesis but passed on this because Phil isn't on it, try to get past it and think of this as a new group with a similarity to Genesis. Just enjoy the music and forget about who's on it.

WE CAN'T DANCE

Cover (We Can't Dance:Genesis)


by Geoff Orens
After spending the 1980s moving in an increasingly pop-friendly direction, 1991's We Can't Dance marked a return to earlier aesthetics for Genesis. Edgier with more prominent guitars and live drums than on Invisible Touch, the record was the band's strongest musical statement in over a decade. With "Driving the Last Spike" and the dark "Dreaming While You Sleep" the group revisited one of their forgotten strengths, telling extended stories. That's not to say the album is a return to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway or Trick of the Tail. Indeed, while there are several extended pieces on the record, there is none of the eccentricities, odd meters, or extended virtuoso solos of the band's progressive heyday. The album's closer, "Fading Lights," comes the closest, featuring an outstanding instrumental mid-section. Unfortunately, the record also contains some gutless ballads and peons for world understanding that sound miles away from any immediacy. However, the surprisingly gritty singles "No Son of Mine," "Jesus He Knows Me," and "I Can't Dance" help make up for the album's weaker moments. 
Released 11 November 1991
Recorded March–September 1991 at The Farm, Surrey 
Length 71:31
Label Atlantic, Virgin
Producer Genesis, Nick Davis


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By Terrence J. Reardon "Classic rock and old sch... (Wareham, MA) 
Genesis' last studio album with Phil Collins to date called We Can't Dance was released in November of 1991.
The album was the band's first album in five years since the monster smash Invisible Touch. In between that album and its tour, singer/drummer Phil Collins appeared in the movie Buster (which its soundtrack spawned two #1 hits for Phil out of "A Groovy Kind of Love" and "Two Hearts") and released his fourth solo album But Seriously (which hit #1 and sold millions Stateside) and went on the Serious Tour. Guitarist/bass player Mike Rutherford released two more Mike and the Mechanics albums The Living Years (which its title track was a US #1 hit) and Word of Mouth and also pursued his interest in polo. Keyboard player Tony Banks recorded his third solo album Bankstatement and was recording his solo disc Still (which would not be released until 1992).
Then in 1991, Banks, Collins and Rutherford got together with Nick Davis (whom had done solo projects for Banks and Rutherford) and began recording the album We Can't Dance. When the album was released in late 1991 fans didn't know if either it was a great record or the band ran out of energy, read on.
We begin the album with the six minute epic "No Son of Mine" which deals with a very personal and troubled Father-Son relationship. The song was a US hit single and what a great album opener. Next is the comedic "Jesus He Knows Me" which pokes fun at the TV evangelists that occurred during that time. Its video was hilarious with the guys in leisure suits and fake wigs mocking the preachers. This track was the last US single from the album. Next is the first of two 10 plus minute epics "Driving the Last Spike" which is about England's railway workers. Next is "I Can't Dance" which was a rightfully great hit single. Its video was priceless with the band poking fun at the jean and model ads popular at the time. Next is the ballad "Never a Time" which is a great ballad. Next is the epic "Dreaming While You Sleep". This seven minutes epic shows Genesis didn't lose their prog side to their music.
The album's second half starts with "Tell Me Why" which is a nice Beatles-ish sounding piece about thr sociological problems of the world. Next is the excellent poppish "Living Forever" with excellent guitar work by Rutherford. Next is the album's third single and most memorable ballad "Hold on My Heart". Nice ballad. Next is the excellent "Way of the World" which is another piece about the problems in the world. Next is Phil's song for Eric Clapton's son who passed away that March called "Since I Lost You" which is a nice piece. We close the album and the Collins tenure with Genesis with the epic "Fading Lights". This piece includes a lot of elements of Genesis from their progressive days (long instrumental) in between the short vocal passages.
We Can't Dance reached #4 on the Billboard album chart and has sold four million copies in the US alone to date. While some fans don't like the record, We Can't Dance was a great album.
In 2007, the album was re-released as a CD and DVD combo pack remixed and remastered. The DVD has videos for No Son of Mine, I Can't Dance, Hold On My Heart, Jesus He Knows Me and Tell Me Why. Plus interviews with the band. Also, there is a documentary on the making of the album. Also there is the 1992 tour program on the DVD as well.
RECOMMENDED!

INVISIBLE TOUCH

Cover (Invisible Touch:Genesis)



by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Delivered in the wake of Phil Collins' massive success as a solo star, Invisible Touch was seen at the time as a bit of a Phil Collins solo album disguised as a Genesis album, and it's not hard to see why. Invisible Touch is, without a doubt, Genesis' poppiest album, a sleek, streamlined affair built on electronic percussion and dressed in synths that somehow seem to be programmed, not played by Tony Banks. In that sense, it does seem a bit like No Jacket Required, and the heavy emphasis on pop tunes does serve the singer, not the band, but it's not quite fair to call this a Collins album, and not just because there are two arty tunes that could have fit on its predecessor, Genesis. There is a difference between Collins and Genesis -- on his own, Phil was lighter, and Genesis was often a bit chillier. Of course, the title track is the frothiest thing the band ever did, while "In Too Deep" and "Throwing It All Away" are power ballads that could be seen as Phil projects, but "Land of Confusion" was a protest tune and "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was a stark, scary tale of scoring dope (which made its inclusion in a Michelob campaign in the '80s almost as odd as recovering alcoholic Eric Clapton shilling for the brewery). But those songs had big hooks that excused their coldness, and the arty moments sank to the bottom, obscured by the big, bold pop hooks here -- pop that was the sound of the mainstream in the late '80s, pop that still effortlessly evokes its time. 
Released 9 June 1986
Recorded October 1985 – March 1986 at The Farm, Surrey
Length 45:42 
Label Virgin
Producer Genesis and Hugh Padgham


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By T. P Roberts "Terry212am" (Tallahassee, FL, USA)
I'm writing this review for people who are actually trying to decide whether to buy the album. No doubt, reading the reviews here is confusing because half the people love it and half the people hate it. Genesis is one of the biggest acts of the rock-pop era...and that's without the solo work of its members, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford (of Mike and the Mechanics) and various more obscure projects. THIS album is the band's biggest POP album success. It's got FIVE top 10 singles and two more songs that charted in the top 40. How many albums can you say that about?? So why do some people hate it? Well, Genesis started as a progressive rock band that focused on long (10 to 20 minute), complicated songs that displayed a huge degree of musicianship. Unlike most prog bands, the vocals were always good. Still, the poetic, complicated lyrics about mythical creatures, etc, do turn off general audiences. When Phil Collins took over on lead vocals after the departure of Peter Gabriel (Phil had just been the drummer up to that point), the band stayed prog for a while, but in the 80s, drifted into more melodic, romantic, shorter, and, yes, poppier songs. Some musical snobs pretend that the Gabriel era was all about art and the Collins era was all about selling out. It's just not true. Some of the Gabriel stuff still sounds great, but some of it is hopelessly dated. Gabriel stopped making that kind of music when Genesis did. It ran its course. And make no mistake: EVERY Genesis album, including this one, ALWAYS features great musical playing and some progressive elements (the big prog track here is Domino, a three part song). Not only was Phil a great singer; he was one of the best rock drummers of all time. The title track of this album is a great pop song, but most of the other "pop" songs here have some weird little edge to them or some kind of darkness that make them stand out from other pop songs. Tonight, Tonight is pretty murky for a pop song. The few ballads are about as good as ballads get and deserved their "hit" status. This was actually the first album I bought. I was a radio kid until I heard this album. This was my "gateway album" that steered me from solely radio pop toward more complicated fare. Domino changed my life. I'd never heard a 10 minute song before...with lyrics about melting children, no less! And a whole instrumental track? But the album is so LISTENABLE. It's like a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down--progressive music in a tasty pop frosting. NOTE: If you like this, the NEXT step in Genesis is Duke. That 1980 album had what I consider the best mix of real progressive rock and melodic or pop sensibilities. It's my favorite Genesis album. Best Gabriel album? Selling England By the Pound. Working your way BACKWARDS in Genesis a great way to discover the band for people unfamiliar with progressive rock or technical music. It's a fun band with a diverse catalogue of music. Enjoy!

GENESIS

Cover (Genesis:Genesis)


by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Moments of Genesis are as spooky and arty as those on Abacab -- in particular, there's the tortured howl of "Mama," uncannily reminiscent of Phil Collins' Face Value, and the two-part "Second Home by the Sea" -- but this eponymous 1983 album is indeed a rebirth, as so many self-titled albums delivered in the thick of a band's career often are. Here the art rock functions as coloring to the pop songs, unlike on Abacab and Duke, where the reverse is true. Some of this may be covering their bets -- to ensure that the longtime fans didn't jump ship, they gave them a bit of art -- some of it may be that the band just couldn't leave prog behind, but the end result is the same: as of this record, Genesis was now primarily a pop band. Anybody who paid attention to "Misunderstanding" and "No Reply at All" could tell that this was a good pop band, primarily thanks to the rapidly escalating confidence of Phil Collins, but Genesis illustrates just how good they could be, by balancing such sleek, pulsating pop tunes as "That's All" with a newfound touch for aching ballads, as on "Taking It All Too Hard." They still rocked -- "Just a Job to Do" has an almost nasty edge to its propulsion -- and they could still get too silly as on "Illegal Alien," where Phil's Speedy Gonzalez accident is an outright embarrassment (although in some ways it's not all that far removed from his Artful Dodger accent on the previous album's "Who Dunnit?"), and that's why the album doesn't quite gel. It has a little bit too much of everything -- too much pop, too much art, too much silliness -- so it doesn't pull together, but if taken individually, most of these moments are very strong, testaments to the increasing confidence and pop power of the trio, even if it's not quite what longtime fans might care to hear. 
Released 3 October 1983
Recorded February – August 1983 at The Farm, Surrey
Length 45:59
Label: Charisma (original UK release)Virgin (UK re-release)Atlantic (USA)Vertigo (South America) 
Producer: Genesis, Hugh Padgham
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By H. Jin (Melbourne, Australia) 
Genesis don't so much continue the trend of 'Abacab' for the Shapes album....it's more that they expand it in different directions. In my opinion, this album is more varied and interesting than 'Abacab', both because it tries more things, and because the results are more mixed. The band moves deeper into pop, deeper into their prog-rock roots, and (unfortunately) deeper into bland adult contemporary territory. They also are beginning to develop the slightly self-conscious sense of humour that would characterise songs such as 'We Can't Dance'.
The album is quite front-loaded, with its first four songs among its best. 'Mama' is a personal favourite, and one of their best songs. Driven by a heavily processed drum beat and eerie keyboard lines, this unsettling song features an outstanding vocal performance from Phil, particularly on the final verses. 'That's All' was the poppiest song Genesis had recorded to date, yet still contained some faint traces of prog such as tempo shifts. 'Home By The Sea' and 'Second Home By The Sea' are the clearest examples of old-school Genesis, combining extended story telling with complex instrumentation.
After that, things are a bit mixed. The closer 'It's Gonna Get Better' is an intelligent prog-influenced ballad, with strong bass presence, dreamy keyboard washes, and shifts from minor to major keys. 'Just A Job To Do' is one of my favourites, a strong pop/rock song with a powerful chorus. 'Illegal Alien' is a guilty pleasure, a silly but fun song with a catchy melody. 'Silver Rainbow' and 'Taking It All Too Hard', though, are pretty uninteresting; the latter seems to look forward to similar uninspiring ballads such as 'In Too Deep' and 'Hold On My Heart'.
Despite these few mis-steps, Shapes is pretty good. It's one of those albums that isn't quite as consistent as it could be, but whose best moments easily make up for the less successful songs. And the sheer variety of different ideas and styles on the album (even if they don't all come off) prove the band are far from out of ideas, and are continuing to search for new ways to push their music forward.

ABACAB

Cover (Abacab:Genesis)


by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Duke showcased a new Genesis -- a sleek, hard, stylish trio that truly sounded like a different band from its first incarnation -- but Abacab was where this new incarnation of the band came into its own. Working once again with producer Hugh Padgham, the group escalated the innovations of Duke, increasing the pop hooks, working them seamlessly into the artiest rock here. And even if the brash, glorious pop of "No Reply at All" -- powered by the percolating horns of Earth, Wind & Fire, yet polished into a precise piece of nearly new wave pop by Padgham -- suggests otherwise, this is still art rock at its core, or at least album-oriented rock, as the band works serious syncopations and instrumental forays into a sound that's as bright, bold, and jagged as the modernist artwork on the cover. They dabble in other genres, lacing "Me and Sarah Jane" with a reggae beat, for instance, which often adds dimension to their sound, as when "Dodo" rides a hard funk beat and greasy organ synths yet doesn't become obvious; it turns inward, requiring active listening. Truly, only "No Reply at All," the rampaging title track (possibly their hardest-rocking song to date), and the sleek and spooky "Man on the Corner" (which hides a real melancholy heart underneath its glistening surface) are immediate and accessible -- although the Mockney jokes of "Who Dunnit?" could count, it's too much of a geeky novelty to be pop. The rest of Abacab is truly modern art rock, their last album that could bear that tag comfortably. 
Released 14 September 1981
Recorded May – June 1981 at The Farm, Surrey
Length 47:10
Label: Charisma (original UK release)Virgin (UK re-release)Atlantic (USA)Vertigo (South America)
Producer: Genesis


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By Paul Allaer (Cincinnati)
Abacab is the 5th post-Peter Gabriel album, originally issued in Fall, 1981. It continued the rapidly evolving sound of Genesis from prog rockers to more commercial and mainstream-sounding. Personally, I had a difficult time to accept or like that change as it took place 25 years ago. I never did buy either "Duke" or "Abacab" when they came out. But the temptation of a bunch of DVD bonus materials was such that I did buy the "Genesis 1976-1982" 6 CD/6 DVD set, and now I finally have the "Abacab" album proper.
As to the CD, "Abacab" (9 tracks, 47 min.) is somewhat of a revelation to me. I still don't like "No Reply At All" or "Mman on a Corner" as a Genesis song (how can you differentiate it from Phis Collins' "Face Value" album? you can't, as Phil wrote these at the same time and it just sounds the same), but I found a lot of other things here I like a lot. The title track, of course, but also a brooding "Keep It Dark", the epic 7+ min. "Dodo/Lurker", and "Like It Or Not". Abacab will never be my favorite Genesis album, but I enjoyed it better than I ever expected.
As to the DVD, it first brings the album in a terrific 5.1 surround system, and it sounds fantastic if you have the proper home music set-up (which I do). As to the visuals, it comes with the videos for Abacab, No Reply At All, Keep It Dark, and Man on the Corner, nice but nothing earth-shattering. The "Reissue Interviews 2007" brings about 20 min. of the guys bringing their perspectives on the album, quite entertaining. Regretfully, there is no concert footage, unlike most of the other albums reissued, and that makes this reissue of "Abacab" less essential.
If you are considering buying any of the reissued CD/DVD albums, you really should look at buying the "1976-1982" box instead as it offer far more "bang for the buck" (only $69 here on Amazon), and on top it comes with a bonus CD/DVD of assorted B-sides, EPs and other hard to find tracks from that era.