Customer Reviews

Live: We Walk 1--Shorts

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4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I saw Genesis live in the summer of 1992 on what would turn out to be their final tour with Phil Collins, and it still remains THE greatest concert I have ever attended in my life. The band's performance, power, and live presentation were SO magnificent, it was the closest I ever got to Heaven in my years on this earth so far. As my friend Mike so eloquently said when it was over, "I could've stayed and watched them play 'til Christmas!" Amen, brother. "Live: The Way We Walk Vol. 1 (The Shorts)" is the first half of the live document of this Genesis tour, featuring some of the band's biggest hit songs: "Land Of Confusion," "I Can't Dance," "Mama," "That's All," "In Too Deep," and "Invisible Touch," among other hits (the band's longer, more progressive-sounding material is found on "Volume 2 (The Longs)"). "The Shorts" is proof positive of what a powerhouse in concert Phil & the boys are. The performances are stunning, and Phil's singing voice is also in top form. And this live CD also makes a great case for the band regarding the slickness of their "Invisible Touch" material---although *I* like the album just fine, the "Invisible Touch" songs, including the poppy hit title track, really do sound better & stronger live in concert.The only disappointments on "Volume 1: The Shorts" is that the live rendition of "Mama" is missing a verse towards the end, and the live version of "Tonight Tonight Tonight" is much too short. Then again, this live set IS called "The Shorts," so I guess these two songs had to be pared down to hit-single length. Other than that, "Live: The Way We Walk Volume One (The Shorts)" is a terrific live Genesis set, and things only get better with it's companion release, "Volume Two (The Longs)," but that's another review....

I'm more than likely the only teenager on this planet that listens to Genesis.My dad's a diehard fan,so I know a number of the songs(not all.If I inherit my dad's phonograph and record collection when he dies,I will.).Anyway,I usually borrow this cd(and Vol.2)off of my dad because the music is addictive.It's probably the best live music I've ever heard.In fact,it's so good I'll probably not think a whole lot of any live performances I attend for the rest of my life!I love all of the songs,although my least favorite is "I Can't Dance".I love "Throwing It All Away","Mama",and "Invisible Touch".All of those sound absolutely phenomenal live.This cd is incredible,and so is Vol.2.

These are the hits of Genesis. Not much needs to be said about the album: Genesis are excellent live, so nearly all the songs are as good on stage as on the albums. Nearly all the songs are played exactly like they are on the album; the joining of "Invisible Touch" and "Tonight..." is nice, though.

If you want a collection af Genesis' hits with focus on the Phil Collins era, bye "The Way We Walk 1 + 2" instead of "Turn it on again: The songs sound perfectly good live, and more of the good one from "Genesis" to "We Can't Dance" are included.

the first Genesis cd I ever got was this and It is still one of my favs.A great performance of "mama" and "throwing it all away" will have you hooked and don't forget about the grand finale in the album with "Tonight,tonight,tonight(shorter version)" and "Invisible Touch"...........a masterpiece

Wow, I'm surprised only two people have reviewed this CD......it should be more popular among people who have decent taste in music. The songs "Hold on my Heart" and "In Too Deep" are the only ones that I usually skip when I'm listening to this album because they're really slow and mellow and I have to be in a certain mood to listen to them. But the other tracks......man they're something else. A very impressive collection of songs.

Look, those of you who have been following my reviews know that I am a HUGE Genesis fan. My second favorite band perhaps (behind only Yes). But the line that divides many Genesis fans is that line between the Phil Collins era and the Peter Gabriel era. Most people are just unable to realize the difference. Well, they are COMPLETELY different bands. Genesis changed drastically after 1982 with 'Abacab' and became a pop rock act (or "progressive pop," as most people call it). They got big, and REALLY big.

So there seem to be Peter Gabriel/early Phil Collins era Genesis fans (1969-1982) and the Phil Collins era Genesis fans (1983-1993). Well, I like them both immensely. Yes, I said it. I like 'Invisible Touch.' And I'm proud too. Genesis were a fine pop group; with musicians like Rutherford, Banks, and Collins, how could you POSSIBLY go wrong? I can't think of any. And I've even grown to tolerate 'Calling All Stations,' the 1997 album with Ray Wilson on vocals.

But enough about me. Onto the review.

'The Way We Walk, Volume 1: The Shorts' spans Genesis' most radio friendly tunes from 1983 (the 'Genesis' album) through 1991 ('We Can't Dance'). It was recorded during various dates from 1986 and 1987 ('Mama' and 'That's All' both come from the Wembley Stadium show that has now become a classic concert film in 1987, and 'In Too Deep' was recorded at the L.A. Forum in 1986) through 1992, on the 'We Can't Dance' Tour.

And as a compilation of live tracks, this serves its purpose brilliantly. You get an overview of what Genesis sounded like live during the period. Some of the songs (like 'Mama') simply blow their studio counterparts away. The Wembley crowd is lively, and the band truly come alive for it. This was one of the highlights of the Wembley film, and it's great to have it on record. What a great crowd they had that day.

And the tracks from the 'We Can't Dance' Tour were great as well. 'Throwing it All Away' is great, better than the studio version, as Phil gets the crowd to participate in some vocal acrobatics with him at the beginning. Every track here is great, and I love the live versions of all of these. In fact, on most of them, I prefer these versions to their studio counterparts.

But I have some complaints too.

THE FLAWS:
* 'Tonight Tonight Tonight' from the Wembley show smoked. It was released as a b-side on the 'Never a Time' single in 1992. The band were tight, and it was easily the best performance of that evening. Why the band and Atlantic Records decided to include the shortened version that segued into 'Invisible Touch' from the 1992 tour is beyond me. The 1987 live version should have absolutely appeared on this set.

* Same with 'Invisible Touch.' There was some fine audience participation on the Wembley version, and that too should have seen the light of day on this live compilation. So I completely disagree with the compilers on that call.

Overall, this is an excellent sampler of Genesis live during their most successful years. You can hear Phil, Chester, Daryl, Mike, and Tony simply play their behinds off, and the crowd reception is overwhelmingly positive on all of these. Phil was a great showman, and the proof in that statement is all right here on this disc.

However, I wish they would release the Wembley show from July 1987 on CD. It's such a great video, and I can only imagine what it would sound like on CD. Oh well. One day Rhino will get around to releasing it, I'm sure. It's simply too good a concert NOT to release on CD.

I recommend this disc for the curious Genesis fan who wants a quick and dirty glimpse of what Genesis sounded like in concert from 1986-1992. It's cheap too, which always helps things.

Check this out. Three stars are more than deserved.

ONLY COLLINS GETS INTO IT.

As you probably know, there are two CD's released from the We Can't Dance concert tour, We Can't Dance, The Shorts and The Longs. Most of the songs from this tour came from the three previous albums, "Genesis", "Invisible Touch" and "We Can't Dance".

This biggest problem with the CD set is the sound quality. Early CD's tended to have poor sound, but by 1992, when this was released, the sound quality had improved greatly.

The problem with the sound is that it is muted with limited dynamic range. It is poorly mixed with the band sounding deep in the background. The only plus side is that the audience noise is kept to a minimum (although some people like to hear the screaming fans of the music and the whistles in the middle of a solo).

The band does not sound like it is in it, but some of that may be to the poor mix. During the songs on The Shorts, no one in the band breaks out or does anything interesting. I think the studio versions are much better and much more alive than these tracks.

The only one who does break out is Phil Collins. He really gets into a few of the songs. But, unfortunately, he gets little support (or that support is just mixed too far back to be heard).

In the end, this comes out as a poor quality greatest hits CD.

Compare this CD to the other live Genesis CD's, especially Seconds Out. On those CD's the music is alive and vibrant. I have other live tapes of Collins lead Genesis concerts that are sensational. Colins can be very entertaining and charismatic and the band can play some stunning music. None of that comes through on this CD.

This CD might benefit greatly from remastering. Genesis has always had problems with sound quality on their releases. Their early LP's on the Charisma label always had defects and pops. I actually bought these on cassette, hoping for a better listening experience. Of course, there were no crackles and pops, but the sound quality was not up to LP standards. The release of their catalog had all the problems of the 1980's CD releases. The transfer to digital was poorly done and the sound was muted. Now many of them are available in a remastered version.

Genesis' 18th album entitled The Way We Walk Volume One (The Shorts) was released in November of 1992.
This live album was recorded on different dates on the band's Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance tours in 1986/87 and 1992 respectively.
The first of this two-part series of live albums from the height of the band's peak of popularity as a three piece (lead singer/drummer Phil Collins, guitarist/bass player Mike Rutherford and keyboard player Tony Banks (plus help from drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist/bass player Daryl Stuermer in concert)) focuses on the band's hit singles from 1983-1992 and the songs are, in most cases, superior to their studio recording counterparts.
We begin with a great version of "Land Of Confusion" which was recorded on the WCD tour. Next is an excellent version of "No Son Of Mine" which rivals its studio counterpart. We then follow with an excellent version of "Jesus He Knows Me" which features fiery guitar work from Stuermer and Phil's mocking of the evangelists towards song's end (shame that the full intro where he talked about the shadiness of preachers (and mocking of a few) was deleted). Next, we go back to the Invisible Touch tour for an excellent version of "Throwing It All Away" recorded at Wembley Stadium in 1987. Then we go forwards in time back to the We Can't Dance tour for a great reading of "I Can't Dance".
We then go back to the Invisible Touch tour for "Mama" which is the same version as on the Wembley DVD. Then we head back to the WCD tour for "Hold On My Heart" which is a great version. The next two tracks come from the Invisible Touch tour. First is "That's All" recorded at Wembley Stadium. Then it's "In Too Deep" recorded in Los Angeles on the Invisible Touch tour (was dropped from the 1987 leg). We close with the medley of "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" and "Invisible Touch" from the WCD tour which was a great closer before the "Turn It On Again" encore (which was not on either part of this live album series).
The Way We Walk - The Shorts reached #35 in the US and became the last Genesis album to go Gold in the U.S. of A. (until the Turn It On Again - The Hits collection).
Recommended for all Genesis fans!

This cd contains the "hits" from the band, under Phil Collins era, I have to say that I'm a bit tired of hearing these songs, but also, most of these live versions are "refreshing" to hear in a different version.
I prefer these versions to the original ones. The sound is pretty good for a live release. That's All folks !

I don't know what it is with me and Phil Collins/Genesis; their syruppy-synth-soundscapes just kinda stick to my heart like sap, I guess. And what can you possibly say to justify Phil Collins' place on the pop-charts? He's an amazing vocalist, unique and emotive; the songs on this CD are just as dark as anything Genesis has written, with a bit of up-beat pop thrown in between; the basic difference between Phil Collins' solo career and the music of Genesis is that Phil Collins has mostly been a nice-guy-pop-act and Genesis has tended toward more brooding dark-room songs. Even songs like "Invisible touch" and "Jesus He KNows Me" are at least a tad bit cynicle ("Jesus He Knows Me" has a social message, so it's obviously more darker, at least in the lyrical range; it's not slow, so people tend to think it's a "positive" song). So given that information, this CD is basically a collection of top-hits by the band kinda re-imagined. Even the songs that this concert is supposed to be part of a tour for (We Can't Dance) sound a little different than the album versions and that's what makes this album worthy of fitting into a CD collection. The opener sounds kinda out of breath altogether, not just vocally; which is odd, b/c I think they opened the actual concert with that song ("Land of Confusion"), but either the wheeziness (spelling??) gets taken care of or it's just less noticeable as the CD progresses into other songs...I don't know; perhaps Collins sounds breathless as a way of connecting with his fellow middle-aged audience-members (they say Genesis was trying to connect with a baby-boomer market when they did INVISIBLE TOUCH in 1986). I'm no middle-aged man/boy/??, but my father (who was in his 20s at the time) was said by my mother (also in her 20s at the time) to have LOVED Genesis and I guess he listened to them quite often. I was describing the synth opener of a 1972 song called "Watcher of The Skies" (back when Peter Gabriel was lead singer, for those of you that don't know too much about Genesis) to my mother (I had bought the CD Foxtrot out of curiousity) and she said she thought she knew what I was talking about. And earlier in my life (not long before, a couple yrs tops - I'm 22 now) I bought SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND and was almost SURE I recognized one of the synth-lines or whatever they're/it's called in "The Battle of Epping Forrest"...so based on those two facts, I'm pretty sure my father (who abandoned me and my family when I was 7) loved Genesis. And my mother couldn't stop listening to INVISIBLE TOUCH, their only "really good" album according to her. So I think that's probably why the syruppy-sweetness of this music and most of all else by this band sticks to my heart like sap, so to speak. So anyway, I doubt I changed anyone's totally biased opinion about this album or the band, but I hope I made myself clear as to why I am the way I am, in case anyone who knows me reads this!