Customer Reviews

Genesis: When In Rome Live 2007

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although Genesis has been my all time favorite band by far since I first discovered them in the mid/late 70's, I only had the opportunity to see them live and in person twice, once in 1981 at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena, and later in 1992 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Phil Collins broke from Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks (the only three surviving members of the original group) shortly after that 1992 tour, sadly. Though Mike and Tony would put out one more album with Ray Wilson as lead singer under the name "Genesis" ("Calling All Stations" - see my review elsewhere here on Amazon), that whole gig never caught on with most fans and "Genesis" was shortly afterwards, officially, no more. Until 15 years later, that is, when the guys finally got back together for their 2007 worldwide reunion tour. It was a long wait, but I'm happy to report it was well worth it, as these aging dinosaurs of progressive/pop rock more than showed their many millions of fans around the globe that they still have that old Genesis magic. And this three disc DVD set is simply stunning as a lasting document to their reunion and historic body of works, whether they ever tour again or put out (fingers crossed) any more new studio albums.

As has been the case for more than two decades, Daryl Stuermer (guitars, bass guitars) and Chester Thompson (drums) remain part of the Genesis Live touring band, deservedly so after all of these years, and both add their usual proficient, professional aplomb and emotional expertise to the original trio's performances. Now, in my mind, there have always been three different types of Genesis fans. One, those who generally eschew the newer stuff (post-"Duke"), in favor of the older stuff (pre-"Abacab"), Two, those who loved the newer, shorter pop stuff more than the generally longer, progressive offerings, and Three, those who loved and have all along loved both.

Let it be known, I fall into the last category, as I've personally been enchanted by and do still adore, almost everything this band has ever produced. And while I might admit to more of a predilection for the older, on the whole, longer and more ethereal efforts, I strongly believe no true Genesis fan of whatever sort, will want to be without this enthralling triple disc DVD set. For they bring effective, equal command, strength, effort, powerful and unassailable impressions and interpretations to every single old/new, shorter/longer song on this breathtaking endeavor. And to those who pretty much dismiss the post-"Peter Gabriel" or post-"Duke" more pop-oriented efforts, I would just point to later, just as strong progressive masterpieces such as "Domino" (arguably my favorite Genesis song), "Home By the Sea," and "Fading Lights" (played over the end credits), among several others.

The packaging and artwork in this DVD set is excellent, as is the picture quality and stereo sound and channel separation prominence (the latter quite astounding, especially with a good speaker system and/or a good set of headphones). The three DVD's are all easy to navigate, and provide the viewer with effortless choice selections, which adds to the value of repeated and future enjoyment. And finally, captions are available in several different languages, including Japanese!

Disc One contents include Duke's Intro, Turn It On Again, No Son Of Mine, Land Of Confusion, In The Cage (including excerpts from Cinema Show and Duke's Travels), Afterglow, Hold On My Heart, Home By The Sea, Follow You Follow Me, Firth of Fifth (excerpt), and I Know What I Like.

Disc Two contents include Mama, Ripples, Throwing It All Away, Domino, Conversations With 2 Stools (drum duo with Chester and Phil), Los Endos, Tonight Tonight Tonight (excerpt), Invisible Touch, I Can't Dance, and Carpet Crawlers.

Each track has its' own extras, available at the beginning of each song by pressing enter/ok/select on your DVD remote when a small "Duke" symbol appears or via the disc's main menu. There are, in fact, tons of fascinating and sometimes very funny extras and behind-the-scenes surprises throughout.

Finally, Disc Three contains a very informative and entertaining documentary called "Come Rain Or Shine" which chronicles in detail, the meticulous planning and preparations which led to the actual tour, various particulars of which began to take shape six months before the very first show.

Genesis has always been a one of a kind band, as has their superlative staging, lighting, and background effects, but they really outdid even themselves for this free concert before over half a million appreciative fans of all ages. Performing in front of the most colossal and most incredible and visually dazzling, choreographed CGI and other special effects setup I've ever seen, I doubt this aspect of the show will ever be surpassed. But that's only the beginning, because the excellent camerawork and editing, great song choice selections (I especially enjoyed the inclusion of music from "Duke," my favorite Genesis album), and audience interactions, add even more to each tune. Phil Collins jumps around a lot less here than in his more youthful days, but his voice is still magnificent, as are his drumming and clowning skills. Tony Banks remains the best keyboards player I've ever heard, and Daryl's soaring, solo guitar riffs in many pieces are nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Overall, I have nothing whatsoever negative to say about this DVD set. I was filled with ecstasy and tingles up my spine in so many instances, while other times the power and inherent messages within various pieces touched me deep within my heart and soul, as only Genesis music has ever been able to accomplish. And finally, songs such as "Afterglow," "Carpet Crawlers," and "Ripples" brought tears (of joy) to my eyes as they always have, and always will.

I've purchased many items from Amazon over the years, but this is without a doubt, the most satisfying, exceeding all of my expectations. Buy it now Genesis fans. Trust me, you will not be disappointed...

First words of advice after you get this DVD: watch the documentary first. I had read some reviews talking about Phil's lower keys and how this tour was just one big money grab. Wasn't sure what do expect but was somewhat prepared to be dissappointed. So i pick up the dvd and not sure why but played the documentary first. It is not an understatement to say my understanding of the band changed completely. I come from an era where rock stars had way more aura about them, and and Genesis was at the top of that list. If you're of certain age you remember a day before high def TV, home theatre, and xbox, where a bong and a couple of decent speakers and a great album was an escape the is really impossible to put into words today. Genesis, for me and alot of others was at the top of the list for producing album after album of great music

I have to confess this is my first review of anything on amazon, and i have read many reviews of this band and others where they all carry a similar theme, "this band is the greatest of all time, they walk on water, phil collins era doesnt hold a candle to gabriel, bla,bla,bla."

Frankly, I don't care if you hate , like, or love Genesis. What i took away from the dvd was (again back to the documentary) that this was a band that despite all their success, all their money, and all their accollades, was really struggling to get it together for this tour. The pedestals i put them on all those years ago dissolved as I watched these 3 blokes sweat the Challenges, like Phil's vocal shortcomings(minimal as it turns out) and more than anything else, dealing with getting old.(how can I not relate?). By the time the documentary was over, i was nervous as hell for them, because i feel i for the first time got to know them. i guess what I'm trying to say is that while I always expected(and got) a great show from these guys, This time, I was truly rooting for them to pull it off now.

Every old Genesis fan hopes for as many "old" songs as possible in any concert they give. The boys did not disappoint here.I found myself thinking of old friends and the good times we shared when we were young and didn't have mortgages and 401k's to worry about and music was so front and center in our lives. One of the things that struck me most of all was shots of the people in the audience singing along to the songs. there was a time when almost all my friends knew all the lyrics to all their songs.I've fallen out of touch with all of them, but hope they get a chance to take "take a little trip back" and watch the boys close it out in style.

Way to go guys-thanks for the all the great music through all the years.

I have been looking around for this DVD for few weeks, but I found it's overpriced at most websites or unavailable. After some investigating, I found that its some kind of Wal-Mart exclusive and the sites and stores offering it, like here and Best Buy are offering the product through back channels at an inflated price. So today I took a road trip top Wally World and picked up a copy for the regular price about twenty clams. Now on to the content, packaging and concert itself.

Very nice special 3 set DVD with a beautiful photo book and one of the DVD's is a documentary. I have to say Genesis always had great packaging for their products. This package screams quality. So I figured the concert sounds and camera work would be quality also. I was not disappointed; the sound track had DTS,DD 5.1 as well as 2.0 and has selection of languages. The set list is impressive, if missing some of the older stuff they shy away from. Every track has an icon that comes up at the start of it, which allows you to access extra content. Great sound, very clear DTS is the best track if you have a Theater that can accommodate it. The others tracks are fine though. The camera work is perfect and shows all players evenly. Genesis is in top form for this show, Phil sounds still young and hits all the notes well. Everyone else is spot on. I have to admit to being a Peter Gabriel snob. I found PG era to be amazing, even so I was impressed here. This is modern era Genesis at it's best, even all these years later.

Any Genesis fan should pick this set up, its well worth it, if you can find it at the normal price. I'm glad I made the trip to get it. I know you will be too. I won't bore you with the set list you can just look up here or elsewhere. I will say if your a Genesis fan at all this might be the last great DVD they release. Don't miss it.

This DVD was bought with a lot of apprehension. I found that overall this is a good production. The reason it didn't score a 5 star rating is that I could have done without some of the fluffy pop stuff. That being said, this is a fairly inspired performance featuring some great playing. At the beginning of the show they seem a little sluggish and the songs don't flow with the usual power. But, the band warms up with great versions of Follow You, Follow me, Firth of Fifth and I Know what I Like. Ripples was a true highlight of the show. Phil sang it with so much heart. It was also nice to hear the band thank the Italians for saving them in the early days before they hit it so big. Overall worth the purchase to see this special concert.

This DVD is one of the best music DVDs ever ! The sound is amazing ! A must.

-Patrick.

This is the Genesis DVD by which all others should be compared. Fantastic looking picture and crisp sound, this DVD captures Genesis in the new millenium. I had longed for a reunion, if for nothing more than just to see what kind of show they'd come up with. I was not let down. The band sounds as if no time had passed since the last tour with Phil 15 years ago. The stage was in typical Genesis style - unusual yet functional. This tour also had the most amazing screen visuals of any Genesis tour to date. Billed as the largest tour screen ever, it certainly appears to live up to it's name. Genesis concerts were always an event. You knew you'd be taken on a journey, and this reunion tour was like taking a trip with a good friend you hadn't seen in years. The set list had the standard Genesis concert fare, with some tasty nuggets thrown in as well. The band genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves. The Rome audience was enthusiastic and loud where they were supposed to be. I was very pleased with this DVD. The extras were interesting as well. The documentary was informative. Behind the scenes footage of each song showed the band rehearsing as they slowly pieced the concert together. The set was a bit hefty price-wise, having bought it as an import, but the discs are region-free, so it was worth every penny.

Buongiorno. It's clearly the best Live DVD that Genesis has made to date. Two disks that cover the entire concert in Rome from the "Turn It On Again" tour, and a third disk thats shows a documentary of them planning the tour. The concert has an amazing lights and FX that supersedes anything they have done in the past. The stage setting has a modern art rock feel to it, and I thought that the computer graphic images that was propelling on the screen behind them did justice for the excellent music that Genesis was playing flawlessly. As we all know the saying "when in Rome do as the romans do" does not fit the description of the Genesis songlist. If you are more keen to the 70's Genesis I would say that this DVD is more your cup of tea. The concert does not only play the expected old songs like "Firth of The Fifth", "I Know What You Like". Songs like "In The Cage" is introduced back into their old medley. Other old songs that made their way into the list are like Los Endos, Ripples, Carpet Crawlers, Cinema Show, Afterglow, and Duke's instrumentals. I personally thought that to start the show with Duke's intro, and end the concert with Ripples was not a good choice. The order of the songs they chose did not work for me. "Turn It On Again", which usually is a song they play near the end was their second song. Their finisher was "Invisible Touch", which did not suit at all. I know they have three decades worth of music to satisfy the audience, and it's not an easy job to put this kind of concert together. The "We Can't Dance" tour flowed better, but one thing that the "Turn It On Again" tour did boast is their musicianship. Daryl Stuemer's guitar playing is definitive in this concert. Even the duo drum solos with Chester Thompson and Phil Collins was much more enjoyable than their previous solos I have seen. Phil's singing sounds more musical than before, and it seems like everything is lowered by two keys, which does take off the edge a bit, but then again what you get is a pleasant vocal performance. Mike Rutherford's guitar playing has more of an attack, and his bass playing has more of the youthful energy of early 80's Genesis. Tony Banks? Well what can I say? He always will deliver, and his choice of lead synths sounded more digitally fresh than ever. The sound of the entire band was clear and the performance was calculated like true professionals. Now I thought that the stage design made it hard to film this concert. The actual stage was small, but their whole set was humongous! The proportion did not make sense. When they filmed the audience looking at the stage it made it feel as if this concert lost it's intimacy. It looked like they should have utilized the space more on stage. It felt as if the band was too crowded together for a concert that has hundreds of thousands of people. If you are giving the impression that you are playing in a galaxy, than you should be situated as one. The directing wasn't the best, and the cameras overplayed the audience just a bit. That being said it's the best filmed Genesis concert to date, cause if anybody has seen the previous released concerts you would agree that the filming and editing was not that good. You should see the "When In Rome 2007" concert because of Genesis. I just hope that this is not the last Genesis tour. Arriverderci.

i was there, circo massimo, rome, july 14 2007. standing in one of the first 5 rows or so, center stage. and now i'm on the DVD. God is good.

This is defenetly one of the best DVD concert that I own. The quality of image and sound are superb. The stage that Genesis prepared for this show will blow you away and the set lis is very well chosen. The only thing that is missing is Gabriel.

This is a must have if you are a Genesis fan, besides an excellent concert, the documentry disc is awesome, Do yourself a favor or get it for that Genesis fan in your family, Trust me you will love it