This review is from: Genesis 1976-1982 (Audio CD) With the release of "Genesis: 1976-1982", it's time for the diehard Genesis fans of the world to raise a toast to this most magnificent band, and to be grateful that their music is finally, at long last, getting some respect. The first of three (count 'em, three!) box sets devoted to Genesis, "1976-1982" covers the five albums the band recorded during this period: "A Trick Of The Tail," "Wind & Wuthering," "And Then There Were Three," "Duke" and "Abacab," and each album has not only been remastered, but remixed (i.e. changed in volume levels & effects) by producer Nick Davis. And each album now comes with a bonus DVD that includes all kinds of video goodies: interviews with the band members about the making of each album, rare archival concert & TV footage, and music videos! You also get two more exclusive Genesis treats: a bonus CD/DVD combo with rare Genesis songs from this period---songs released as EP's, B-sides, etc.---and a lovely 48-page book. I'm not going to re-review all five Genesis albums here---I'll just say briefly that I give all five featured albums in this box set the top rating of 5 stars. Instead, what I will touch down on is what you probably *really* want to know about: the sound quality, the DVD's, and the new mixes themselves. My verdict on the sound quality: SENSATIONAL. Sound-wise, these Genesis albums have all been given a fresh---and refreshing---coat of paint. One thing you notice instantaneously on these new mixes is that all of Phil Collins' lead vocals (and some of the backing vocals) have been brought right up front, so you can distinctly hear the words he sings without having to occasionally consult the lyric sheet. The band's instruments now have more crispness and more punch to them. You can hear more separation in the sound, more boom to the sonics, and you can detect more overall atmosphere. And yes, you can indeed hear notes, effects, and complete passages being played that you never could hear before. It's amazing! The DVD's are nothing short of fantastic. The concert & television footage, the music videos, the band interviews...in short, WOW. The bonus CD of rare songs is *excellent* stuff. (And welcome back "Match Of The Day" and "Me And Virgil," two rare songs that were unfairly kicked off the band's previous box set from 2000. A wrong has finally been put right!) And the accompanying booklet has great photos, and the text is insightful and a pleasure to read, although I disagree with a few of author Michael Watts' less-then-enthustiastic opinions of a few choice songs. But for the most part, he is quite respectful in his writings about the band. So, why am I only giving "1976-1982" four stars instead of a perfect five? Well, because although I give tremendous applause to Nick Davis for a remixing job extremely well done, he didn't do it perfectly. The new, earthier-sounding mix of "And Then There Were Three" took a couple of listens for me to fully appreciate. Also, on "Duke," Davis removed a brief guitar part of Mike Rutherford's towards the end of "Misunderstanding," for God knows why. And the title track to "Abacab" is faded out a few seconds too early, and there's a couple of other minor quibbles like that. So, Nick Davis didn't get it *completely* right---and I'm not gonna toss out any of my old Genesis CD's, 'cause I want to keep the old versions of the albums preserved---but, to Davis' credit, he came very close (oh, and he made a genius decision to alter Phil's vocals on the rare song "Pigeons" to make him sound like he's singing through an old-time radio---it fits the song perfectly!). So there you have it. Genesis have been greatly honored with the release of this marvelous box set, "1976-1982." I guarantee you will hear---and see---the band in a whole new light with this collection. So, a toast to Genesis! And I can't wait for box sets 2 and 3.... :-)
Review by Cody Shaffer
Review by Jeff Swindoll
'Genesis: 1976-1982' Launches Upgrade Of The Band's Catalog With First Of Three Box Sets.
With the May 15 release of 'Genesis: 1976-1982,' Rhino Records debuts the first in a series of three box sets spotlighting 13 studio albums by one of the top-selling recording artists of all time. This 6-CD/6-DVD boxed set encompasses five studio albums recorded between 1976 and 1982, plus a bonus disc offered exclusively with this collection that gathers essential rare tracks scattered among the band's EPs and b-sides.
Produced with help from band members Tony Banks (keyboards), Phil Collins (singer/drums) and Mike Rutherford (bass/guitar), 'Genesis: 1976-1982' presents each studio album as a two-disc set--a CD featuring a newly remixed version of the original studio album, and a DVD that includes a 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the album as well as videos, photo galleries, photographic reproductions of tour programs, and interviews with members filmed exclusively for this extensive collection. Three of the DVDs feature previously unreleased live concert footage.
'Genesis: 1976-1982' captures the band's steady evolution from its early days as prog-rock pioneers to the Grammy-winning polished-pop of the group's multi-platinum hits. The series picks up the Genesis' story after the departure of founding member Peter Gabriel.
Now anchored by Banks, Collins, Rutherford and guitar virtuoso Steve Hackett - Genesis returned with A Trick Of The Tail (1976). The group's best-selling album up to this point, the record spawned the singles "Ripples" and the title track along with the stunning album-opener "Dance On A Volcano" and the aptly titled instrumental finale "Los Endos." The DVD includes videos for "Robbery, Assault And Battery," "Ripples" and "A Trick Of The Tail," as well as 40 minutes of previously unreleased footage from that year's tour.
Inspired by Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Genesis titled their next album Wind & Wuthering (1976). The album veers from the progressive complexities of "One For The Vine" and "Eleventh Earl of Mar" to the accessibility of the Rutherford-penned single, "Your Own Special Way." The DVD features video "bootlegs" of the band's 1977 U.S. and Japanese television appearances.
A sly nod to the band's debut as a trio following Hackett's departure, Genesis christened its ninth studio album And Then There Were Three (1978). The album was the band's first gold record and was later certified platinum. While maintaining its fair share of art rock elements with "Many Too Many" and "Snowbound," the album also foreshadowed the pop successes to come with "Follow You Follow Me," Genesis' first major hit. The DVD includes videos for "Many Too Many" and "Follow You Follow Me," plus 25 minutes of previously unseen live performances filmed in 1978.
With Duke (1980), the band cracked the charts again with "Misunderstanding" and "Turn It On Again" scoring its first #1 album in the U.K. Featuring concise songwriting and a fresh pop sheen, the album also marked the first appearance of Collins' trademark electronic drum sound on the track "Duchess." The band's second gold record in a row, Duke was later certified platinum. The DVD contains videos for "Duchess," "Misunderstanding" and "Turn It On Again" along with nearly 40 minutes of footage of the group performing in 1980 at The Lyceum in London.
Genesis' breakout album Abacab (1981) went on to achieve multi-platinum status thanks to the well-crafted pop of the title track and "No Reply At All," a song the trio collaborated on with the legendary group Earth, Wind and Fire. Among the album's most popular tracks was "Man On The Corner," a song penned by Collins that mixed pop and social commentary. The DVD contains videos for "Abacab," "No Reply At All," "Keep It Dark" and "Man On The Corner."
'Genesis: 1976-1982' concludes with Extra Tracks 1976 TO 1982, a disc of rarities offered exclusively as part of this box set. Drawing from the band's wealth of non-album tracks, the compilation contains 13 songs including the hit single "Paperlate" and "You Might Recall" from the EP 3X3 (1982) along with "Match Of The Day" and "Inside and Out" from the EP Spot The Pigeon (1977). Included among the disc's many b-sides are "It's Yourself," "Open Door," "Submarine" and "Evidence Of Autumn," the flip side to the single "Misunderstanding." The DVD of Extra Tracks includes 5.1 mixes of the songs, as well as the video for "Paperlate" and a new interview with the band.
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
If the grouping of albums on this 2007 box set initially seems a little odd -- it is neither a collection of the band's early work, nor all of their albums after Peter Gabriel's departure, nor is it their most popular work -- it soon becomes apparent why these five albums are grouped together and reissued as remastered double-disc sets, with one disc containing a CD of the album, the other a DVD with a 5.1 mix and extra video material (in the U.K., the first disc contains hybrid SACDs of the albums, raising this question why they aren't in this format in the U.S., especially since the bonus disc in this box is a hybrid SACD in all territories). These are the key art rock albums from the Phil Collins-fronted lineup of Genesis, the ones that the fans value, certainly more so than the pop-oriented Genesis and Invisible Touch. Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford reunited in 2007 for a tour, so it made sense to box up their key texts as a deluxe reissue, because this is indeed the music that the fans will want to hear on the tour. If the remastered sound wasn't enough of an incentive for hardcore fans (although it often is), the set also includes plenty of supplemental material, highlighted by a bonus disc containing 13 rarities and B-sides, including the single "Paperlate." That's not the end of the bonus material, though: there's also a 48-page book, and each DVD is packed with extra material, including promotional videos, TV appearances, replications of tour programs, and new interviews with the band about the making of the albums. The only drawback to the set is that it's not available as hybrid SACDs in all territories, but really, that's a minor complaint because this set is executed with love and care, living up to the high expectations of Genesis' dedicated fans.
Genesis: 1976-1982 - Track Listings:
A Trick Of The Tail
1. "Dance On A Volcano"
2. "Entangled"
3. "Squonk"
4. "Mad Man Moon"
5. "Robbery, Assault And Battery"
6. "Ripples"
7. "A Trick Of The Tail"
8. "Los Endos"
DVD Extras
Videos: "Robbery, Assault And Battery," "Ripples" and "A Trick Of The Tail"
Photo Gallery: 'White Rocks' Premiere program 1977 (8 pictures)
Reissues Interview (2007)
Wind & Wuthering
1. "Eleventh Earl of Mar"
2. "One for the Vine"
3. "Your Own Special Way"
4. "Wot Gorilla?"
5. "All in a Mouse's Night"
6. "Blood on the Rooftops"
7. "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers…"
8. "...In That Quiet Earth"
9. "Afterglow"
DVD Extras
Video: Japanese and U.S. television bootlegs (1977)
Photo Gallery: World Tour programs 1977 (13 pictures)
Reissues Interview (2007)
And Then There Were Three
1. "Down And Out"
2. "Undertow"
3. "Ballad Of Big"
4. "Snowbound"
5. "Burning Rope"
6. "Deep In The Motherlode"
7. "Many Too Many"
8. "Scenes From A Night's Dream"
9. "Say It's Alright Joe"
10. "The Lady Lies"
11. "Follow You Follow Me"
DVD Extras
Videos: "Many Too Many" and "Follow You Follow Me"
Live With Genesis 1978
Photo Galleries: Japanese, Knebworth and German Festival tour programs 1978 (29 pictures)
Reissues Interview (2007)
Duke
1. "Behind The Lines"
2. "Duchess"
3. "Guide Vocal"
4. "Man Of Our Times"
5. "Misunderstanding"
6. 'Heathaze"
7. "Turn It On Again"
8. "Alone Tonight"
9. "Cul-De-Sac "
10. "Please Don't Ask"
11. "Duke's Travels"
12. "Duke's End"
DVD Extras
Videos: "Duchess," "Misunderstanding" and "Turn It On Again"
Live At The Lyceum London 1980
Photo Gallery: World Tour program 1980 (16 pictures)
Reissues Interview (2007)
Abacab
1. "Abacab"
2. "No Reply At All"
3. "Me And Sarah Jane"
4. "Keep It Dark"
5. "Dodo/Lurker"
6. "Who Dunnit?"
7. "Man On The Corner"
8. "Like It Or Not"
9. "Another Record"
DVD Extras
Videos: "Abacab," "No Reply At All," "Keep It Dark" and "Man On The Corner"
Photo Gallery: World Tour program 1981 (15 pictures)
Reissues Interview (2007)
Extra Tracks 1976 TO 1982
1. "Paperlate"
2. "Evidence of Autumn"
3. "Pigeons"
4. "You might Recall"
5. "Naminanu"
6. "Inside and Out"
7. "Vancouver"
8. "Me and Virgil"
9. "It's Yourself"
10. "Match of the Day"
11. "Open Door"
12. "The Day the Light Went Out"
13. "Submarine"
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