A Trick of the Tail Review by Josh Turner There are substantial differences between the old and new Genesis. Some prefer one style to the other.
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And Then There Were Three Review by Gary Hill There are those out there who basically think that any Genesis album once they were a three piece is just plain pop tripe. Well, I have to tell you that I think you are wrong.
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Calling All Stations Review by Gary Hill This album has been causing as much controversy among Genesis fans as Open Your Eyes has among Yes fans. Again many really like the album, while others hate it.
Duke (SACD and DVD set) Review by Greg Olma A lot of people were crying “sell out” when Genesis released …And Then There Were Three. Although they basically shifted their sound away from progressive and moved it more in a commercial pop sound, they still kept some of the elements to keep a few prog fans happy (but not many).
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Foxtrot might not get the attention that is afforded to Genesis works like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, but it is really an incredible piece of work that should be in the collection of any Genesis fan or progressive rock fan in general.
Genesis Review by Greg Olma Say what you will, Genesis would not have grown to the heights they achieved if Peter Gabriel was fronting them. More...
Invisible Touch Review by Gary Hill Certainly this is one of the most pure pop discs Genesis ever produced. That makes it a real thorn in the side to the prog head Genesis fans. More...
Live Review by Steve Alspach An import for a number of years, Genesis Live is a rather good document of the band during its heyday in the early 1970s. Recorded in some small town halls, the sound may not be all that great, but there's no denying the talent displayed by Messrs. Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett, and Rutherford in their early days.
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This year Genesis released a career spanning box set. I don’t have that one yet, but I figured that this would be a good time to take a look at this one that came out several years ago.
Wind and Wuthering Review by Gary Hill The second album from Genesis after Peter Gabriel left the fold, this one is rather maligned by a lot of prog fans. That's a shame because this one is really very good.
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I am not the most dedicated Genesis fan on the planet, but not the least either, and I do have quite a few of their live videos, but this is a set containing 32 clips.
When Life Is a Journey, the studio album released by Djabe and Steve Hackett came out recently, it made my best of the year list. So, I was anxious to hear this live set.
This new live album continues the trend of quality stuff from Djabe. Their music generally tends to land in the fusion zone, sometimes with healthy helpings of world music.
The first disc of this set was originally released in 1981, with a different mix. This is an instrumental album from former Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips.
This book is such a classy product. In fact, it's so impressive in terms of the presentation that I felt compelled to do one of our YouTube bonus feature videos about it.
Phil Collins - A Life Less Ordinary DVD Review by Gary Hill This video is not perfect, and is not quite what I was expecting, but is pretty darn interesting. Indeed, I was thinking that I would find a lot of musical snippets and clips, and while there are some (from all phases of Phil's career, I might add), they are short and far and few between, but that is not the true purpose or beauty of this video.
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If ever there was a perfect dream team then it would have to be the bassist with one of the legendary bands joining forces with the guitarist from another of the bands in the prog pantheon, namely Yes and Genesis.
Steve Hackett - and Evelyn Glennie With Roger King and Phillip Smith, London, 2002 Review by Steve Alspach London's Queen Elizabeth Hall was the site for the world premiere performance of Steve Hackett's composition "The City in the Sea." This conceptual piece, based on a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, combined Hackett's guitar work with the brilliant percussive work of Glennie.
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Djabe and Steve Hackett have worked together quite a bit over the years. The world jazz act and former Genesis guitarist who has pursued a brilliant solo career for a long time work really well together.
With a career spanning some 40 years, Steve Hackett has continued to blaze a trail across the prog firmament of which most other musicians can only dream.
Alan Simon consistently creates compelling music. It's generally of the prog rock variety, but lands more along the lines of rock opera or even musical theater.
Robert Fripp - Exposure Review by Steve Alspach Robert Fripp's first solo album (not counting the side projects with Brian Eno) was considered "A Day in the Life" for the 1970s. Fripp proves himself to be the "21st Century Schizoid Man" because this album runs the gamut from harsh metal to more ambient dreamscapes.
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Daryl Stuermer - Go Review by Gary Hill Certainly Daryl Stuermer is probably best known for his work in the touring version of Genesis. The truth is, though, he's a great musician in his own right and Go is his latest disc.
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When I recently interviewed Anthony Phillips he mentioned his quirky catalog (my words not his precisely) and that it was caused by record label pressure.
Lifesigns - Lifesigns Review by Alison Henderson Lifesigns is a music project spearheaded by John Young, composer, keyboards player and vocalist, aided by bass player Nick Beggs (Steve Hackett and Steven Wilson), drummer Martin “Frosty” Beedle (Cutting Crew) and producer Steve Rispin. More...
Steve Hackett - Live at NEARfest, 2002 Review by Stephen Ellis What can I say that has not already been said about this man and his music? I've loved his guitar work and sound since his days in Genesis.
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Peter Gabriel - Live in Athens 1987 DVD Review by G. W. Hill So, I’m going to go about this backwards. Normally I talk about the main course of a DVD release first and then look at the bonus stuff.
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Steve Hackett headlined NEARfest alumni night, Friday 18 June 2010.This would be his second appearance at the prestigious progressive and art rock festival, following a headlining set in 2002 at the festival’s second venue, the Patriot Theatre in TrentonNJ.
This concert's castfeatured a special line up consisting of Genesis’ most notable guitarist, Steve Hackett, and both the bassist and the singer of Agents of Mercy (a side project featuring Jonas Reingold and Nad Sylvan, respectively).
There is always something special about the music Djabe makes. They have previously made my "best of the year" list, and they just might land on my "best of 2020" list with this new release.
Brand X - Missing Period Review by Gary Hill Associated with the prog musical style both because of their imaginative and virtuosic fusion approach to music and the sometime presence of Genesis man Phil Collins, Brand X have always been a great largely unknown musical treasure.
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This is a new edition of this Brand X album. Since I already reviewed an earlier release of this, and this in terms of the content, the same thing, I’m going to just use that review here for the sake of consistency. Let’s just say, thing sounds great and is well worth having.
Associated with the prog musical style both because of their imaginative and virtuosic fusion approach to music and the sometime presence of Genesis man Phil Collins, Brand X have always been a great largely unknown musical treasure. This CD is the first official release of material predating their debut disc. This lost disc of instrumental wonderment is definitely a treasured find for fans of the band. The musicians on this CD are Phil Collins, John Goodsall, Preston Heyman, Percy Jones and Robin Lumley.
Peter Gabriel could be accused of resting on his laurels by producing an album of reworkings of some of his greatest hits – and with an orchestra, to boot!
Even though his previous release Scratch My Back was excellent, Peter Gabriel has outdone himself once again with this follow up video that also comes in 3D as well as a 2 CD special edition package.
Steve Hackett - Once Above A Time DVD Review by Gary Hill This new live DVD from Steve Hackett shows a vital and powerful progressive rock band creating an awesome musical landscape on the live stage. The film was recorded in April of 2994 in Budapest, and it find the former Genesis guitarist and his band making their way through songs from his solo repertoire and old Genesis material.
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Peter Gabriel - Ovo Review by Steve Alspach Peter Gabriel was one of the masterminds of the Millennium Dome in the East Docklands of London. The Millennium Dome was to be a multimedia-based attraction to celebrate the Millennium.
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Each album Anthony Phillips releases is quite different from the ones around it. This particular set is made up of atmospheric electronic music that calls to mind things like Tangerine Dream and Synergy.
The Beatles - Rare and Unseen DVD Review by Gary Hill This is definitely a treasure trove for Beatles fans. What we have here is a whole collection of all kinds of never before seen rarities. More...
It's hard, in retrospect, to understand the importance of King Crimson's debut album. It really did set a new standard for what would be known as progressive rock.
Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live DVD Review by Gary Hill This video was originally released in 1994. It actually won a Grammy Award for Best Music Film. The sound and video quality are exceptional.
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This new reissue is quite an impressive set. While a two-CD version of this album has appeared before, this one has a third CD of previously unreleased music.
Steve Hackett - Spectral Mornings Review by Steve Alspach Two years after Steve Hackett's departure from Genesis, he released Spectral Mornings. For this album he organized a band that played full-time with him on tour and on this album.
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Tony Banks - Still Review by Gary Hill Featuring both progressive and pop leanings, this solo album from Genesis keysman Tony Banks is a strong effort. There are some wonderful moments here, and no real throw away tracks.
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I generally like things like this where an album is created by taking the track list of a famous album and having different artists reproduce the songs.
Various Artists - Supper`s Ready Review by Gary Hill A tribute album devoted to the music of Genesis, Supper`s Ready is a strong work. The renditions here stay more true to the original performances than on some similar albums, but this does not take away from the relevance of the CD.
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The latest in an ever-growing string of Private Parts and Pieces albums from original Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips, this release works very well.
Alan Parsons - The Secret Review by Larry Toering The Secret by Alan Parsons is an album you don’t want to pass up, as it has everything there is to be expected by any fan and more.
Steve Hackett - To Watch the Storms Review by Steve Alspach Steve Hackett's first studio in four years shows that he hasn't lost a step in creating albums that go in different directions yet still manage to maintain a sense of coherence. To Watch The Storms is typical Steve Hackett - exploring as many moods as possible, from rock to folk to classical.
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Steve Hackett - Tokyo Tapes Review by Steve Alspach 1999 was a busy year for Steve Hackett. He saw the Original Masters releases of "Guitar Noir," "There Are Many Sides to the Night," and this CD, a 2 disc set recorded from a 1996 concert in Tokyo.
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Peter Banks - Two Sides of Peter Banks Review by Steve Alspach The initial string-slinger in Yes, Peter Banks appears to have been overlooked in progressive rock annals in favor of his successor, but his work in Flash has stood up quite well to the years. On this album, Peter assembles an extremely strong group of progressive rock musicians, and the CD explores a wide range of musical styles.
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Brand X - Unorthodox Behaviour Review by Steve Alspach Those fans of progressive music who stick their fingers down their throat at the mention of the name "Phil Collins" may not be familiar with this piece of work. If they were, they may think that Phil may deserve a bit of redemption before being cast to purgatory.
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Peter Gabriel - Up Review by Steve Alspach Peter Gabriel has always been one to have a keen lookout on where music is, or where it's going.
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Steve Hackett - Voyage of the Acolyte Review by Steve Alspach After the sprawl of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the subsequent 102-date tour, and Peter Gabriel's departure from Genesis, one could understand the band's willingness to go on a prolonged vacation and take stock of their future. Fortunately, they didn't exactly sit still all that time.
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Steve Hackett - Watcher of the Skies Review by Gary Hill Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett has assembled a wide variety of musicians to rework many classic Genesis songs. The end result is quite interesting.
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Steve Hackett - Wild Orchids Review by Steve Alspach While Messrs. Banks, Rutherford, Collins and Gabriel release albums at a snail's pace, leave it to Genesis' no. 2 ex-guitarist to take the lion's share of post-Genesis releases. Wild Orchids finds Steve mining the same fertile grounds that he did for To Watch the Storms.
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This four-CD set has some great music contained within. We get some of the bigger prog acts in terms of songs from Renaissance, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Electric Light Orchestra, Procol Harum and Yes.