By Ryan Reed at ultimateclassicrock
Ever since vocalist Peter Gabriel abandoned Genesis‘ classic quintet line-up in 1975, following the release of the double-album concept-epic ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,’ the band’s ’70s purists have pined for a full-prog reunion.
The closest we’ve come was in 1999, when all five members (Gabriel, drummer-vocalist Phil Collins, bassist Mike Rutherford, keyboardist Tony Banks, guitarist Steve Hackett) joined forces for a stylish re-interpretation of ‘Lamb’ highlight ‘The Carpet Crawlers,’ released on the compilation ‘Turn it on Again: The Hits.’ But in 2012, it appears that dream is dead: Gabriel’s far too focused on his solo career and humanitarian efforts, while Collins — saddled from drumming by a debilitating spinal injury — announced his retirement last year.
Throughout it all, Hackett has always embraced the material from Genesis’ peak-prog period, reflecting fondly in interviews, constantly expressing his interest in a possible reunion (which is sad considering he was left out of the 2007 trio reunion), and playing the ’70s classics on-stage. His critics (and even his former bandmates) seem to feel Hackett’s stuck in the past — but he clearly still loves interpreting these songs, adding new textures and flourishes as the years go by.
The double-disc ‘Genesis Revisited II’ is Hackett’s second collection of updated Genesis tunes, and it’s a far more cohesive and inventive set than 1996′s ‘Watcher of the Skies.’ Utilizing the same basic format as that album, ‘Revisited II’ is almost entirely comprised of Genesis material, balanced out by a handful of solo Hackett tunes, most of which were originally rehearsed by Genesis in the ’70s.
As with any ‘Revisited’-style album, it’s tough to know where to draw the line. What’s the point of a note-for-note cover (especially since the early albums have been remastered)? On the other hand, is diverging from the source material prog-rock blasphemy? Hackett strikes a mostly successful balance: adding a few new intros, expanding a few Guitar Hero-style solos, and taking some bold liberties with his taste in singers, all-the-while keeping the songs’ core mysticism in-tact.
‘Lamb”s ‘The Chamber of 32 Doors’ is given a glistening classical guitar intro, while vocalist Nad Sylvan nails the nuance of Gabriel’s theatrical vocal; Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson adds warmth and color to ‘Foxtrot”s overlooked ‘Can Utility and the Coastliners,’ which is augmented by live orchestrations; ‘Wind & Wuthering’ highlight ’Blood on the Rooftops’ perked up by some excellent soprano sax. The album’s true highlight is, unsurprisingly, the 23-minute epic ‘Supper’s Ready.’ Hackett utilizes several vocalists, none of whom — at least on paper – -seem logical singing on the same track: Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt belts passionately; Simon Collins echoes the smooth delivery of his dad, and …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely adds a punk edge to the track’s ripping mid-section. Hackett adds extra guitar flourishes throughout, ending with a furious finger-tapped solo.
There are numerous reasons why Hackett’s ‘Revisited’ project works so well. One is that he joined forces with some of prog-rock’s finest players and singers; another is that he never views the material through a nostalgic lens. ‘Revisited II’ has an urgency most ‘tribute albums’ don’t, mostly because Hackett’s so liberal about letting the songs go to some often strange new places.
Sometimes, though, the risks don’t pay off — mostly due to some awkward vocalist choices: Gary O’Toole is distractingly macho on ‘Broadway Melody of 1974′; Amanda Lehmann’s throaty vibrato is distracting amid the swirl of ‘Ripples” tender acoustics; meanwhile, Nik Kershaw’s more straightforward, sleepy vocal interpretation on ‘The Lamia’ feels out of place given the track’s absurd lyrics.
But without taking a few gambles, the project wouldn’t feel so vital. Warts and all, ‘Revisited II’ is the stuff diehards dream about — and in 2012, it’s about as close to in-the-flesh classic Genesis as it gets.
By Xapam/USA
I was in line for the pre-order of this superlative CD set. My vinyl copies of most of the originals that were culled for this song roster have suffered a strange fate that I can only account for by vaguely remembering that I had my records stacked on the floor and leaning against a heat-radiator which (while a student in Buffalo NY), was hot for endless winters... Stunned to find them warped beyond playability I have lived without this music for a long time. I find much of digital (CD) music generally sonically disappointing these days and was hesitant to replace my now-useless LP's with dubious digital versions.
But still I could not resist the compulsion to go after this set and I will testify that I am not disappointed. This is a highly recommended re-creation of much of the classic-period (as I would define it) Genesis repertoire.
These kinds of musical exercises can pretty much go in one of two basic directions, a faithful recreation, maybe with a few of the original cast being one; I was pleased to see that Mr. Hackett and company took the other fork - avoiding the county-fair 'oldies-show' pitfall while re-imagining the music from a modern point of view and taking advantage of the bias of your particular instrument/s while opening the process up to folks who are equally enthusiastic about the journey.
I can see that a fair amount of time has gone into the track sequence and the various ways these songs were re-conceived and performed. The engineering of the material (primarily Roger King) is wonderful in it's innovation, punch and clarity and the reclamation of Steve Hackett's guitar authority within these songs, for my ears, reinvigorates and expands the originals. That hanging guitar sustain at the commencement of 'The Chamber of 32 Doors' will tell you all you need to know about Mr. Hackett's approach to this music and his role in it's original conception.
I confess that I went out and bought a sub-woofer, to upgrade the near-antique conglomeration of Hi-Fi (see how old I am?) components I cling to, essentially at the time of committing to this music purchase. I was stunned at the contribution to the output of my almost silly-looking paired Tandberg Fasett speakers those new-found lower bass notes made and this recording has plenty of those, even at the more subtle, low bass setting I prefer to maintain.
There are so many exemplary performances and vocal treatments here that both pay homage to and build upon the originals. I was afraid I would miss Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins' voices but after a couple of playings and the expected getting-used-to period, I came to realize that it was the music that held steadfast and the new players brought something to the endeavor.
I have read through the various reviews here and agree with many of the comments; I also disagree with a few perspectives. So, I think that Gary O'Toole hit his marks on all his vocalizations; these never sounded better. Contrary to some opinions here, I greatly enjoy Amanda Lehmann's handling of 'Ripples' and found that it opened up a new way of hearing that song, so-far "owned" by Phil Collins. Forget about who she is or is not sounding sort-of like; just listen to the intent of the music. I hit the repeat button a few times here (I had a similar reaction to hearing Shelby Lynne sing 'Surfer Girl' on Brian Wilson's Musicares tribute video; I think some of this may involve getting over the gender bias of an original music and see what new may come of it). Rob Townsend's wind contributions really do nudge a lot of this music into the improvisational jazz arena that it often tends toward. I have greatly enjoyed Mr. Hackett's association and projects involving Steven Wilson and have yet to be disappointed with those outcomes; in so doing, I have become a huge fan of Mr. Wilson's work with Porcupine Tree and on his own - this originating with these more recent collaborations of two creative thinkers. The participation of the Hungarian jazz ensemble Djabe in support of this music (and vice-versa) seems like a natural collaborative extension of their combined musical capabilities and interests.
Without pursuing the 'favorites' quagmire (okay, I'll allow Musical Box...), I highly recommend this music purchase: obviously to Genesis freaks but also to younger listeners possibly new to what we still call 'progressive rock' - those who may find something missing or redundant in much of the musical out-pour these days. The long form, epic, 'tone poem-ish' nature of Mr. Hackett's recent original works and now this particular 'musical rehash' - which may suffer under the "progressive" moniker - lends itself to introspection, absorption and a degree of musical feeling that remains with you after the demands of the day inevitably take you back over. The original or traditional classical and other musical references (the music-box intro; Greensleeves) which 'set up' or embellish certain selections help to redefine, enrich those pieces and bridge the chasm to other music forms and your own music memory.
Get it, queue it up, crank it up (I definitely agree with that fellow!) and sit down and listen. It's quite excellent.
Tracks:
Disc: 1
1. The Chamber of 32 Doors
2. Horizons
3. Supper's Ready
4. The Lamia
5. Dancing With the Moonlit Knight
6. Fly on a Windshield
7. Broadway Melody of 1974
8. The Musical Box
9. Can Utility and the Coastliners
10. Please Don't Touch
These kinds of musical exercises can pretty much go in one of two basic directions, a faithful recreation, maybe with a few of the original cast being one; I was pleased to see that Mr. Hackett and company took the other fork - avoiding the county-fair 'oldies-show' pitfall while re-imagining the music from a modern point of view and taking advantage of the bias of your particular instrument/s while opening the process up to folks who are equally enthusiastic about the journey.
I can see that a fair amount of time has gone into the track sequence and the various ways these songs were re-conceived and performed. The engineering of the material (primarily Roger King) is wonderful in it's innovation, punch and clarity and the reclamation of Steve Hackett's guitar authority within these songs, for my ears, reinvigorates and expands the originals. That hanging guitar sustain at the commencement of 'The Chamber of 32 Doors' will tell you all you need to know about Mr. Hackett's approach to this music and his role in it's original conception.
I confess that I went out and bought a sub-woofer, to upgrade the near-antique conglomeration of Hi-Fi (see how old I am?) components I cling to, essentially at the time of committing to this music purchase. I was stunned at the contribution to the output of my almost silly-looking paired Tandberg Fasett speakers those new-found lower bass notes made and this recording has plenty of those, even at the more subtle, low bass setting I prefer to maintain.
There are so many exemplary performances and vocal treatments here that both pay homage to and build upon the originals. I was afraid I would miss Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins' voices but after a couple of playings and the expected getting-used-to period, I came to realize that it was the music that held steadfast and the new players brought something to the endeavor.
I have read through the various reviews here and agree with many of the comments; I also disagree with a few perspectives. So, I think that Gary O'Toole hit his marks on all his vocalizations; these never sounded better. Contrary to some opinions here, I greatly enjoy Amanda Lehmann's handling of 'Ripples' and found that it opened up a new way of hearing that song, so-far "owned" by Phil Collins. Forget about who she is or is not sounding sort-of like; just listen to the intent of the music. I hit the repeat button a few times here (I had a similar reaction to hearing Shelby Lynne sing 'Surfer Girl' on Brian Wilson's Musicares tribute video; I think some of this may involve getting over the gender bias of an original music and see what new may come of it). Rob Townsend's wind contributions really do nudge a lot of this music into the improvisational jazz arena that it often tends toward. I have greatly enjoyed Mr. Hackett's association and projects involving Steven Wilson and have yet to be disappointed with those outcomes; in so doing, I have become a huge fan of Mr. Wilson's work with Porcupine Tree and on his own - this originating with these more recent collaborations of two creative thinkers. The participation of the Hungarian jazz ensemble Djabe in support of this music (and vice-versa) seems like a natural collaborative extension of their combined musical capabilities and interests.
Without pursuing the 'favorites' quagmire (okay, I'll allow Musical Box...), I highly recommend this music purchase: obviously to Genesis freaks but also to younger listeners possibly new to what we still call 'progressive rock' - those who may find something missing or redundant in much of the musical out-pour these days. The long form, epic, 'tone poem-ish' nature of Mr. Hackett's recent original works and now this particular 'musical rehash' - which may suffer under the "progressive" moniker - lends itself to introspection, absorption and a degree of musical feeling that remains with you after the demands of the day inevitably take you back over. The original or traditional classical and other musical references (the music-box intro; Greensleeves) which 'set up' or embellish certain selections help to redefine, enrich those pieces and bridge the chasm to other music forms and your own music memory.
Get it, queue it up, crank it up (I definitely agree with that fellow!) and sit down and listen. It's quite excellent.
Disc: 1
1. The Chamber of 32 Doors
2. Horizons
3. Supper's Ready
4. The Lamia
5. Dancing With the Moonlit Knight
6. Fly on a Windshield
7. Broadway Melody of 1974
8. The Musical Box
9. Can Utility and the Coastliners
10. Please Don't Touch
Disc: 2
1. Blood on the Rooftops
2. The Return of the Giant Hogweed
3. Entangled
4. Eleventh Earl of Mar
5. Ripples
6. Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers
7. ...in That Quiet Earth
8. Afterglow
9. A Tower Struck Down
10. Camino Royale
11. Shadow of the Hierophant
1. Blood on the Rooftops
2. The Return of the Giant Hogweed
3. Entangled
4. Eleventh Earl of Mar
5. Ripples
6. Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers
7. ...in That Quiet Earth
8. Afterglow
9. A Tower Struck Down
10. Camino Royale
11. Shadow of the Hierophant
