What does it sound like?:
Which is better – Gabriel-era or Collins-era?
Well here’s your chance to compare (granted the Gabriel fronted version only accounts for about 20% of this set). Drawn from BBC Broadcasts between 1970 and 1998, this 5 CD set spans their career covering all incarnations (including Ray Wilson era represented by 2 tracks). It may not settle the argument of PG, PC or RW, but shows a band growing in confidence in a live setting, moving from Radio Studios and theatres to headlining outdoor festivals and stadiums.
The set is curated by Tony Banks and available in 2 formats – the 5 CD set offers 53 tracks whilst the 3 LP set contains only 24.
The first CD covers the Peter Gabriel era (maybe not with all the obvious track choices, but from sessions for John Peel/Nightride, and a couple more from In Concert broadcasts.
This may be a purely personal note, but sadly, no recording of Supper’s Ready is available (and I can see no record of it being recorded for John Peel, or any other BBC session or broadcast).
CD2 catches highlights from Knebworth 78 (A Midsummer Night’s Dream – other bands on the bill that day: Jefferson Starship, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Devo, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Roy Harper, and Brand X – was Phil on a double-shift that day?).
The remainder of CD2 and the bulk of CD3 is given over to a full show from The Lyceum in 1980 promoting Duke.
Duke is a fine album, and to be honest sounds just as good (if not better) live. In many documentaries and write-ups I’ve seen, Duke is often hailed as the album driven by Tony Banks – maybe that’s why it’s the only full show in these discs.
Selected highlights of the Wembley 1987 show follows – I’m sure this one was televised as well as a Radio Broadcast, and it also made it to DVD (maybe that’s what was on telly?)
The 2 Ray Wilson tracks from 1998 are snuck in at the end here – they are worth a listen, but unlikely to change anyone’s mind and get them seeking out a copy of ‘Calling All Stations’. CD5 closes out with excerpts from the Knebworth 1992 appearance.
Knebworth 78, Wembley 87, Knebworth 92 – three huge shows across 3 decades. The Knebworth 78 show sounds a bit muffled – maybe late 70s recording technology wasn’t quite up to the job, and the Wembley 87 show is competent without being essential – I remember seeing it as the Phil Collins + Band show (no doubt confirmed by the near 15 minute Turn It On Again medley where Phil indulged himself in Rock History – it was good, but it wasn’t Genesis). The tracks here focus on the bands prog leanings, rather than appeasing the new found audience of the back of chart success with Invisible Touch.
Of those 3 big shows, it is the Knebworth 92 show that is the pick for me – sounding well rehearsed, tight and clear (hardly surprising as they’d been playing most nights for the last 3 months). I’m reminded that “Driving The Last Spike” is a great track, and the “Old Medley” is a moment of joy (and well received by the crowd too) reminding the listener of the high points of the back catalogue (but delivered in bite-size chunks)
What does it all *mean*?
In the absence of a Live album from The Last Domino? Tour, this set may well act as the last outing for unheard live Genesis material.
The bulk of the content has not been officially available before, and for those tracks that were, this is their first outing on vinyl. And this is the first time the Wembley 1987 show has been audio only.
Goes well with…
Convincing yourself you’re not Genesis-ed out after a year running through the catalogue – although this set may mark a breathing point in my Genesis relationship (for the moment).
They may not yet be hard-wired into my brain, but I think I’ve filled up nicely.
It is a nice summary run through of the high points across the bands life, and as is usual with radio sessions / live performance there is just enough difference to maintain interest.
It also spurred me into re-watching the Together & Apart documentary (even if I am convinced that Tony Banks is actually Tony Blair with some keyboard chops)
One final take away: We Can’t Dance – it’s actually not a bad album
Release Date:
3rd March 2023
Might suit people who like…
Genesis completists
Not really interested in this but why the review about 3 weeks before release?
Why not?
I thought there was an embargo on publishing “official” reviews until release date, what @Bargepole told me when I have done them anyway
I’ll have to check with Bargey before I publish mine, then…
Looking forward to the double album remixed version of The Kick Inside with new never released tracks…or am I wrong?
In this case, Unc – you’re a doughnut…
To clarify, some reviews, particularly big name high profile releases, are indeed embargoed until a specific date, while others aren’t…..this falls into the latter category as did the recent Haircut 100 set.
Yours is also fine to post whenever convenient for you.
Cheers, Bargey – I’d better get on and write the thing!
Thanks for the clarification. Naturally I only deal with high profile releases 😉
On or around is preferred by PR folk, so impulse buys can take place. If it is too far ahead, the reader may forget to purchase. All about sales, innit.
It’s a shame there’s only 5 songs from the 1978 Knebworth show – I wonder if that was all that was recorded for broadcast. The highlight for me is the superb 1980 show though, with the Duke album played as originally intended.
I was at the Knebworth 78 show and would have loved the full set. I guess I might go for this if it turned up as a bargain at some point.
(Phil Collins didn’t play with Brand X that day btw).
I was at knebworth June 78 too. Quite a good genesis set for a weak (imho) album that year, though not as good as the previous tour for prog fans. The knebworth show was broadcast on Tommy Vance, but left out a few tracks, eg, ‘eleventh earl of marr’.
I didn’t have Vance down as a Genesis man, was he just the R1 duty man that day?
It’s funny that I always liked TV even though I didn’t like any of the music that he played at the time (I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it now though). I can’t be alone in this…
Similar, according to the Chart Music guys “TV on the radio” wasn’t necessarily a big fan of the stuff he was playing either
I used to listen to The Friday Rock Show in the early 80s. Every year, he’d have a listeners poll of favourite rock tracks, and Supper’s Ready was always in there, so there were enough Genesis fans listening to put it up there with Rosie and Stairway.
Of course he wouldn’t play the full 22 minutes, so I remember that you’d either get everything up to “A Flower?” Or everything after it.
I was at the Knebworth 78 show, too.
If we’d only known, we could’ve had a big Lando-Vincent-duco meet-up!
Me too along with my old mate Mike the Gardener.
I’m sure a Time Machine mingle will be possible one day. I’m guessing a lot of us were at Blackbushe (hurrr), too.
Makes me think there should be a AWfest mingle one day.
Don’t eat the brown Corsair.
I knew I’d seen you somewhere before @pencilsqueezer !
Police 5.