Genesis Archive 1967-75 by Genesis

Album Released: 1998

1.	The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway	6:29
2.	Fly On A Windshield	4:38
3.	Broadway Melody Of 1974	0:34
4.	Cuckoo Cocoon	2:17
5.	In The Cage	7:56
6.	The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging	4:25
7.	Back In N.Y.C.	6:18
8.	Hairless Heart	2:21
9.	Counting Out Time	3:59
10.	The Carpet Crawlers	5:45
11.	The Chamber Of 32 Doors	5:51
12.	Lilywhite Lilith	3:04
13.	The Waiting Room	6:15
14.	Anyway	3:28
15.	Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist	3:57
16.	The Lamia	7:12
17.	Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats	3:14
18.	The Colony Of Slippermen	8:46
19.	Ravine	1:38
20.	The Light Goes Down On Broadway	3:37
21.	Riding The Scree	4:29
22.	In The Rapids	2:25
23.	It	4:19
24.	Dancing With The Moonlit Knight	7:05
25.	Firth Of Fifth	8:29
26.	More Fool Me	4:01
27.	Supper's Ready	26:30
28.	I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)	5:36
29.	Stagnation	8:53
30.	Twilight Alehouse	7:48
31.	Happy The Man	2:54
32.	Watcher Of The Skies	3:42
33.	In The Wilderness	2:59
34.	Shepherd	4:00
35.	Pacidy	5:41
36.	Let Us Now Make Love	6:13
37.	Going Out To Get You	4:53
38.	Dusk	6:13
39.	Build Me A Mountain	4:12
40.	Image Blown Out	2:11
41.	One Day	3:08
42.	Where The Sour Turns To Sweet	3:14
43.	In The Beginning	3:31
44.	The Magic Of Time	2:01
45.	Hey!	2:27
46.	Hidden In The World Of Dawn	3:10
47.	Sea Bee	3:04
48.	The Mystery Of The Flannan Isle Lighthouse	2:35
49.	Hair On The Arms And Legs	2:41
50.	She Is Beautiful	3:46
51.	Try A Little Sadness	3:20
52.	Patricia	3:05

Reviews

1998 must have been a red letter year for true-blue Genesis fans. The five titans of the group, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, Tony Banks, and Michael Rutherford, got together and assembled this awesome four-disc boxset.

The first three discs predominantly contain material taken from live shows (that weren't on Genesis Live). Part of the third disc and all the fourth disc contain non-album singles, demos, and an assortment of early unreleased songs. There are 52 songs in the collection in total. Indeed, sitting through this album is a project in itself. However, speaking as someone who not only listened to this entire collection, but also wrote a track review for every single one of them, I'll tell you ... I had a blast!

The first thing to note about this collection is that the first two discs contain a live rendition of the entire Rock Opera, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Genesis play the material very similarly to how it was played on the studio album, and whilst it's a valid criticism to say that makes it a pointless exercise because the live version is essentially inferior, I personally appreciate it, because I like to marvel that the band were able to capture so many of the delicate textures from the album in a live setting (with that said, there were parts that had to be re-recorded in 1998 due to technical problems with the original recording, notably for the album closer “It” - Gabriel's vocals had aged tremendously! It would've been better if they'd left it as is, but the soul of the original shows is still there on full display). Steve Hackett fans should especially appreciate that he gets to shine a bit more here than he did on the studio cut.

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But I'm not going to spend much time talking about the first two discs, because it's the third disc where the highest concentration of goodies are. The crown jewel is an entire live rendition of “Supper's Ready”, a recording that probably would've been included on Genesis Live but for space constraints. But anyway, hearing the band perform it live is fascinating to me, because it has nearly the same effect on me as its studio counterpart. They were able to recreate that magic on stage? Wow. Those lucky people in the audience!

I also love all the Selling England by the Pound selections, including “Firth of Fifth”, “More Fool Me”, “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)”, and my personal favorite, “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight”. They're all marvelous renditions (but why was Tony Banks' opening piano solo cut at the beginning of “Firth of Fifth”?).

Probably the most interesting selections on this boxset for most Genesis fans though, are the non-LP studio songs, because they're brand new to many people. “Twilight Alehouse” was the B-side to “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)”, and it's quite fantastic, though it would've been a pretty weak fit on Selling England by the Pound, because the transition from its folky beginnings to the strange dance groove comes across as jarring to me. It certainly doesn't develop as gracefully as all the other songs on that album. But anyway, it's excellent to hear another Genesis song from that era that I'd never heard before.

"Happy the Man" sounds like an attempt to create a radio-friendly single in 1972, being a sweet sunny pop-rocker with a nice melody. However, it does take a few awkward turns here and there, so it's no surprise it never took off. The early pre-From Genesis to Revelation tracks on the final disc are certainly interesting to sit through. A few of them are demo versions of songs that would turn up later in their discography, such as “In the Beginning”, “In the Wilderness”, and “Where the Sour Turns to Sweet”. But the majority had never been released before, and some of them can be quite interesting ...

“Going Out to Get You” is based on one of the weirdest piano grooves I've ever heard, it sounds more like The Residents than Genesis! Most of the other songs though are very simplistic, and show these guys in their most formative years. Some of the material was even recorded as far back as 1967, before Peter Gabriel had developed confidence a singer, and it appears Tony Banks always just wanted to pound out blocky chords on a cheap-sounding piano like an amateur. But I do admit to finding these Art-nerd teenagers charming! I wonder if they had even an inkling of what lay ahead in their future?

This is a wonderful collection, that all Genesis fans will certainly treasure. If you've been sitting on the fence about acquiring it because its length intimidates you, then get off that fence!

[Footnote: Don Ignacio's Blog supplements this Review with a bonus track-by-track commentary]

Rated:

by Reviewer: Don Ignacio (blogging at Don Ignacio's Album Reviews)

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