Customer Reviews
Tantalising of what could be - By: Nudger99, 13 Jun 2008 
Its a job to know to review this, but the brilliant Carpet Crawlers
demonstrates what could be done to the much vaulted 'Lamb'project. Lets hope
it has inspired them to pursue this project, what we would all give
to hear Hacket & Gabriel again
An MOR triumph - By: P. Coates, 16 Apr 2008 
If, like me, you lost interestin Genesis when Steve Hackett left then this album is a good way to catch up with why they became MOR Superstarsin the '80's & '90's.
Collins (much as I dislike his solo work) is on great form vocally & the post-Hackett songs are excellently put together, catchy & very enjoyable. 'No son of Mine' & 'Hold on to my Heart' are particularly good IMHO. The attempts at longer form songs do not however do it for me.
As far as the songs from the Hackett era are concerned, my view is that at best they are performedin a perfunctory manner (Los Endos) & at worst resemble a 'Stars on 45' megamix ('In the Cage - Cinema Show - Dukes End' medley). The latter is put together so precariously, I really wonder what they were thinking of.
'Ripples' is a disaster - it is a very subtle song which needs a light touch & is made by the interplay between the 12-string guitars. Err...where are they?
As far as 'Firth of Fifth' is concerned, Stuermers butchering of one of the most famous guitar solosin the Progressive Rock canon is unforgiveable.
Soin summary, if you want to know where Genesis went then this is a great album. If you want to know where they came from buy 'Seconds Out'.
Pointless release - By: AN Other, 09 Apr 2008 
I bought this pretty much knowing what i was going to get. Excellent musicianship, good sound & for the most part good songs. Unfortunately the set is delivered with so little drive & energy that it sounds like a muzak set. All song keys are dropped by a full tone making some of them (Ripples esp.)virtually unrecognisable. Does Phil, who i rate very highly as a drummer & a singer, really have to sacrifice the proper song key for the entire set? Noone expects older rock musicians live work to stand up against work donein their youth - but this should serve as a stark warning not to record & release it. The set may satisfy those who have heard nothing of this group before but personally speaking it is a lacklustre effort of a once vibrant & truly musical group. Buy the magnificent 'Seconds Out' album instead.
A few myths put to rest - By: Mr. Thomas Thatcher, 01 Apr 2008 
Like so many other reviewers, I was at the Twickenham concert, with my daughter, 15, & son, 21. I though it was absolutely superb from start to finish, & the band injected life & style into some of the most unpromising material. The kids were completely silenced by the band's musical quality & by the brilliance of the sound. I have to say that we heard every word & every note with perfect clarity, & the old boys simply blew the place apart, as did the lightshow & firework display. In the last few years we have seen Cream, Jeff Beck (whenever possible), Stevie Winwood, Paul McCartney, Meat Loaf, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, B B King, Procol Harum (magical, quite unbelievably good), Gary Moore, Eric Bell - & now, Genesis.
And the CDs? Buy with complete confidence - they are just fantastic.
I mean, what do you people want out of life who moan about this recording? I think Phil Collins is bloody excellent, for all his faults - do any of you realise how hard this stuff is to sing? Or how incredibly well he sung it? And what a killer drummer he is, too - & with Chester Thompson, late of Weather Report & Zappa (go get "Inca Roads") the sound they made was, to use an overworked word, awesome. Chester Thompson & Daryl Stuermer on guitar do not need to play with Genesis -in fact, the pairing is unlikely - but they seem to really respect & enjoy this incredible music. I remember Chester sayingin an early interview that Phil Collins was one of the best drummersin the world & "hard to keep up with." That, from truly one of the best drummersin the world.
The tracks - well, if anybody out there thought that they would play "Supper's Ready" & wheel out the old catalogue & Mr Gabriel, then I would be surprised. Extracts from the very fine "Duke" were great, as were "In the Cage" with a long instrumental ending from "The Cinema Show." "Home by the Sea" is well-played but an OK song (chords from "Duke's Travels" for main theme) whereas "Domino," which I never enjoyed much, came across as a wierd & wonderful song, like a cross between "Underneath Your Pillow" & "Old Man & the Angel" by It Bites, & I can pay no better tribute to either band. The instrumental section of "The Firth Of Fifth" is a real powerhouse, with Stuermer excelling on guitar. I also disliked "We can't dance" on record but it was such fun on stage: & the duet between Chester & Phil was just so good - & very hard to play too. These guys are real real players.
"Los Endos" again had the demon drummers together & it was too easy to forget that basically we have here a four-piece that sounds like an orchestra. "Ripples" was faultless - again, a very hard song to sing - & Carpet Crawlers did the job, as always. The rest, all good, & "Land of Confusion" particularly enjoyable.
Special mention to: Phil Collins, for singing & acting his heart out & playing some sensational kit with the wonderful Chester Thompson: Mike Rutherford for being the Bass Player's Bass Player - & also for great 6 & 12 string guitar (clawhammer fantastic), bass pedals, vocals & songwriting: Tony Banks for being a keyboard wizard, for writing "Afterglow", for writing the whole of "Trick of the Tail" & for being Tony Banks: Darly Stuermer for consistent & accurate guitar: & the whole of the crew for a fabulous live sound & light show.
This is as good as it gets, folks, it really is. Forget all the crap about Collins being bland & so on & just listen to them PLAY. When you look at the opposition, who else can play music like this & show all the time that they were never happy to stay still or play three-chord ditties? I reckon that I am an OK musician & my son is a very good sax player, recording at present on alto, tenor & soprano - but we agreed at the end of the concert that we would never be that good. Why is it that so many atrocious new bands, successful after one single & one gigin the Goat Tent at Glastonbury, don't just at least listen to this & see what can be done with the same instruments & same number of fingers? I saw Genesis countless times & they were always brilliant (and my favourite is B B King)with a fab sound. This CD is also remarkable as is the band.
Just LISTEN to it, doubters. What else do you want from a fourpiece?
PS & to all those who still do it - PLEASE don't write reviewsin text "language" & PLEASE try to make reviews accurate enough grammtically to be readable. Old fools like me just cannot stand or understand Insta-Speak. It's horrible.
A Dream in the Theatre - By: Aron Jones, 04 Mar 2008 This concert is quite simply - Superb. For those who saw Genesis on this tour, both the forthcoming DVD & this recording are a 'MUST HAVE' item.
The memories it re-ignites are well worth the price. I saw Genesis at Old Trafford and, after recovering from the shock of Phil's bald head, ended up broken hearted when it had finished - I said to a friend that this is probably the very last time anyone will ever get the chance to see Genesis perform live - I doubt they will tour again, which makes this recording ALL THE MORE COLLECTABLE.
The songs on the CD's cover quite a few years worth of the band's successful songs, & it really is a delight to hear the pure live quality of a band who play what you hear.
The band finished with The Carpet Crawlers & the way they did it was absolutely beautifull, & very sad ... it's the final song on the CD's, & it was at Old Trafford.
Genesis, you were a 'Dreamin the Theatre' - We were 'Unitedin Manchester' !!
