Genesis Live 1973-2007 (8 CD/3 DVD) Review

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(More customer reviews)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"....

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Genesis Live 1973-2007 gathers the four live albums recorded by the legendary British group from 1973 to 1992. Featuring brand new stereo mixes, the boxed set also includes the long-awaited release in stereo and 5.1 of Live At The Rainbow 1973 only available with this collection. Genesis Live 1973 - 2007 11 disc boxed set that includes: Genesis Live, the band's first Top 10 album in the UK, recorded in Leicester and Manchester and issued in 1973, and featuring the classic line-up of Tony Banks (keyboards), Phil Collins (drums, vocals), Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute), Steve Hackett (guitars) and Mike Rutherford (bass, guitars). Genesis Live, for this box-set release, has been extended to feature five bonus tracks recorded at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles on January 24, 1975 and the full album is also presented in 5.1 for the first time. The double set Seconds Out, a Top 5 entry in 1977 that documented the group s Paris dates as a quartet with Collins on lead vocals following Gabriel's departure in 1975. The tour featured touring drummers Bill Bruford and Chester Thompson. Exclusive to this boxed set, Seconds Out is presented in stereo and 5.1 versions. Three Sides Live, a #2 album in the U.K. in 1982, mostly showcasing the Banks-Collins-Rutherford incarnation augmented by Thompson and guitarist Daryl Stuermer. The Way We Walk, finally sees these two live albums resequenced as per the original show's set list. Originally released separately and entitled Vol I: The Shorts, which made the Top 3 in Britain in 1992, and Vol 2: The Longs, this was the band s sixth # 1 album, and their only concert recording to top the charts in 1993. Recorded in London by the Banks-Collins-Gabriel-Hackett-Rutherford lineup, Live At The Rainbow 1973 expands on the live material first issued on the Archive 1967-1975 boxed set in 1998 and will delight die-hard fans of that period in their lengthy career. The concert from October 1973 features most of Selling England By The Pound at the time of its release, along with the conceptual piece 'Supper's Ready' and 'Watcher Of The Skies' from their breakthrough album Foxtrot, and 'The Musical Box' from Nursery Cryme, the last two titles on 5.1 version only. Genesis Live 1973 2007 has been designed to incorporate space for the most recent live Genesis release - the 2-CD set Live Over Europe 2007. All albums feature brand new stereo mixes created by Tony Banks, Nick Davis, and Mike Rutherford, while Genesis Live, Seconds Out and Live At The Rainbow 1973 all feature 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound versions.

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Genesis: When In Rome 2007 (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Yes, I truly believe that this IS IT....the chances of this band, in any form, reuniting again is so slim that we'll probably see Bill Clinton in the White House again before these guys Tour or record ever again. Indeed, watching this document of the last ever Genesis Tour is a sad event....4 (or is it 5!) decades of absolutely GREAT tunes....wonderful personel and commraderie through the years....and, maybe, one of the most profound musical careers of our times. Yes, I will certainly miss this "Family" of guys---maybe more so than any other band or group of people. The good news, for us TRUE fans, is that they decided to give us what I have just watched, AND, will watch many, many more times to come....'When in Rome'. This DVD package is as good as anyone could hope for; Great songlist, Great quality sound and video and the usual outstanding musicianship onstage.
The setlist includes what may be the most comprehensive set of songs the band has ever toured with. Of course there are the 'usual suspects' such as 'Turn it on', 'AfterGlow', 'Invisible Touch', Etc., But there are also several that we haven't heard since the 'Duke' Era ----'Ripples', 'Carpet Crawlers' and 'Los Endos'. Is it THE set I would have picked? NO....but, it was a good move by the guys to "cater" to a very, VERY large range of concertgoers. Don't be swayed by comments that are being made concerning the tour----"lowered key/ pitch makes songs unlistenable"...."Old guys simply going through the motions", Etc. Personally the songs being lowered in Key for the sake of vocals made NO difference to me and was probably the difference between Phil "choking" parts and the smooth delivery we get here....Phil, as usual, nails his parts. As for some saying these guys are uninspired on stage, I totally disagree...All songs were played with passion and prescision. These guys have never been a "showboat" band, and they make no bones about their age. That said, don't expect any David Lee Roth jumping splits or high kicks (although Phil's tambourine solo on "I know what I Like" is quite impressive!). As with most progressive bands, these guys are focused on one important element on this DVD----to replicate their music for the masses....this is no "Old Time Rock and Roll" here, this is very involved music that requires concentration from the members.
Another nice aspect of this package/ show is the sound and stage. The audio and video is the best I've seen on any Genesis release. Very clear picture and sound throughout the show, with good camera angles and everyone getting their fair share of the lens. Thats not to say it isn't without its faults....there are times when the massive lighting casts overbearing colors on the band....very red and green in certain spots. Also there are a handful of times when Tony's keys are too "upfront" in the mix, as well as some strange harmonics(for lack of a better way to describe) that eminates from the synths from time to time, but none of what I mention above distracts from the overall show. I would also give special mention to the awesome stage for this tour.....Genesis has always had groundbreaking lights and backdrops, but this is massive! Only Pink Floyd's 'Pulse' stage comes close. When I first saw the cover for 'When in Rome' I questioned the unsymetrical, almost "hokey" look of the stage....well, after viewing the DVD, I can see how it all fits together for one of the most spectacular stage/light shows that one is likely to encounter. There are at least 3 or 4 times during the show where the lights and video backdrop are almost as intense as the music being played....if 'In the Cage' doesn't raise the hairs, you might be dead!
So, all-in-all, this is probably the best we'll get from this great band....the show is certainly worthy, as well as the DVD documentary and extras included. Even if the band releases vault material such as 'Seconds Out' or 'The Lamb', it will never sound and look as good as 'When in Rome' (although an official 'SO' concert DVD would put me in Heaven!). In closing I would also like to throw out some opinions, since this may be the last review I write for a Genesis product. I have loved ALL incarnations of this band....early, experimental Gabriel era, as well as the prog-pop efforts of Phil and Ray Watson led Genesis. There are (and will always be) Gabriel-era "purists" who scowl at anything released after 'The Lamb', however, I can confidently say that EVERY album has somthing special and extraordinary....and YES, even moments of pure Progressive bliss! As matter of fact, I find myself reaching for 'We Can't Dance' or 'And Then There Were Three' more often than 'Nursery Chryme' or 'Lamb'. Some of the older albums simply didn't age well. That said, I will say that Peter leaving the band and Phil taking center stage was the best thing that could have happened to Genesis....otherwise they may have died a worse death than Gentle Giant, Focus and Camel. Phil, nor Genesis ever sold out musically(though they may have sold-out to Wal-mart!)....they remained musically significant till the end, and, quite frankly, you'll likely hear 'Throwing it All Away' or 'ABACAB' well into the future----will you hear 'Watcher of the Skies'....I doubt it....as much as I would like to. At any rate, if you are a fan of this band, don't think twice about picking this up....it really is a worthy memoir in every respect. Thanks, Genesis, for the wonderful music and memories....your music will never stray far from my life.


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Genesis - The Way We Walk (Live in Concert) (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you like the Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance albums, get this DVD. If you want to hear anything else, you'll be disappointed. The best thing about this DVD is it's the entire concert and not something edited down (although early on in the tour they went into Mama from Hold On My Heart; that would've been a nice addition). If you like old Genesis, the Old Medley is great but only offers short bits and a hint of what those songs could sound like if played in their entirety. They played it early on to get it out of the way, then got back to the new stuff. And the commentary isn't very interesting. At one point a cel phone rings and you hear one side of a conversation. They could've at least stopped the commentary and started over at that point. And they just seem tired. If you want to see the band as they were right before they hit it really big and Phil Collins' solo career took off, get the Mama Tour video if you can find it. It's got the band at their best and most energetic, with a nice mix of old and new (at the time) songs. Hopefully it will come out on DVD someday, and with additional footage.

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Phil Collins- Going Back: Live at Roseland Ballroom NYC DVD Review

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(More customer reviews)Great concert footage and Phil Collins gives a great interview. The DVD also has great extras such as concert rehearsals and music videos. Phil puts on a great concert as always and it is a real pleasure to hear him perform these songs. He is a amazing performer, musician, singer and song writer.

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This concert DVD sees Phil Collins take his superb new album Going Back into the live arena. Filmed in June of this year in theintimate surroundings of New York s famous Roseland Ballroom, this is a real chance to get up close and personal as Phil Collinsfaithfully recreates the soul and Motown classics that he loved as a teenager. His band includes three of Motown s original backing bandThe Funk Brothers: Bob Babbitt on bass and guitarists Eddie Willis and Ray Monette, as well as two stalwarts of Genesis live shows:Chester Thompson on drums and Darryl Stuermer on guitars.TRACK LISTING1) Intro: Signed, Sealed, Delivered 2) Ain t Too Proud To Beg 3) Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue) 4) Dancing In The Street 5) (Love Is Like A)Heatwave 6) Papa Was A Rollin Stone 7) Never Dreamed You d Leave In Summer 8) Jimmy Mack 9) You ve Been Cheating 10) Do I Love You11) Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever 12) Going To A Go-Go 13) Blame It On The Sun 14) Ain t That Peculiar 15) Too Many Fish In The Sea16) You ve Really Got A Hold On Me 17) Something About You 18) The Tears Of A Clown 19) Nowhere To Run 20) In My Lonely Room21) Take Me In Your Arms, Rock Me A Little While 22) Uptight (Everything s Alright) 23) Going Back 24) Talking About My Baby 25) You Can tHurry Love 26) My Girl Bonus Features: Interview with Phil Collins - Rehearsal footage for the live shows with Phil Collins commentary.

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The Movie Box, 1981-2007 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)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.

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5 DVD boxed set with new 2009 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital sound mixes, includes the DVD debuts of The Mama Tour and Three Sides Live. This DVD box set also includes Genesis Live At Wembley Stadium, Genesis: The Way We Walk-Live In Concert, and VH-1 Behind The Music. Three Sides Live, the concert film shot at Nassau Coliseum and released in tandem with the live album of the same title, which made the Top Ten on both sides of the Atlantic in 1982. Contains extra full length tracks in 5.1 Audio only. Available on DVD for the first time.Genesis Live The Mama Tour, filmed in 1984 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, and featuring the band performing material from the chart-topping Genesis album. Also features The Making of the Mama Album, a home video filmed by Phil Collins during the making of the Genesis album. Available on DVD for the first time. Genesis Live At Wembley Stadium, shot during the group's record-breaking run of four sold-out concerts in July 1987, at the height of their popularity following the release of the number one album Invisible Touch. The DVD also features the tour documentary entitled Visible Touch. Genesis: The Way We Walk Live In Concert, filmed in 1992 at London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre, and issued alongside the albums Live The Way We Walk Volume One: The Shorts and Volume Two: The Longs. Bonus material alongside The Mama Documentary comes in the shape of the updated 2009 version of VH1 Behind The Music special about the band. The original version aired in December 1999.

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