Customer Reviews

Turn It on Again: The Hits

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(44)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I admit that I came to Genesis after the departure of Peter Gabriel, which means that I was listening to top 40 Genesis versus the more challenging music attempted by Peter Gabriel. Despite the lack of experimentation and depth, Genesis did turn out one serviceable song after another, and a few of these songs are excellent.

This CD focuses on the Phil Collins years, which makes sense from the title, "The Hits". As I noted above, Peter Gabriel was trying for a more cutting edge and artistic sound that some consider to be progressive rock. Typically that type of rock doesn't make for commercial hits, though the music is often artistically better than released singles. The CD also includes one song from the post-Phil Collins years, "Congo". Thus there is at least an attempt to represent Genesis throughout the group's existence.

I was surprised to hear more keyboards in these songs than I remembered hearing. One of the characteristics of many popular 80s groups was their heavy reliance on synthesizers and other keyboards, and Genesis was no exception. As an example, "Abacab" from 1981 was strongly keyboard oriented.

From the title, this CD must focus on Genesis' hits, and it certainly does. "Invisible Touch", "I Can't Dance", "No Son of Mine", and "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" are among the numerous top 40 hits that Genesis seemed to churn out regularly throughout the 80s into the early 90s. There is much to listen to from these songs, and it's the inclusion of these songs that make this CD perfect for the casual fan. However, there is more on this CD.

"I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" is a reggae-influenced song featuring the original five-member lineup from 1973s "Selling England by the Pound". This song seems a little out of place in comparison to the predominantly middle-of-the-road pop selections featured on this CD. The intro has a very progressive sound that becomes a flavor as the song evolves. The full-bodied sound is more alternative and challenging than much of Genesis' pop music years.

Another song that seems a bit out of place is "Congo". This song from the post-Phil Collins CD "Calling All Stations" still retains a pop flavor, but with four members in the lineup and a styling that could recall Duran Duran at the peak of their popularity. I enjoy this song and am tempted to either borrow or buy the CD from which it comes to see whether the other music on that CD is consistent with this song.

The last out of place song is a 1999 remake of "The Carpet Crawlers" from 1974s "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", hailed by some as a great progressive album. Several other reviewers have stated that this song is a great improvement over the original, and wish the rest of the album would be re-recorded. This song does sound good, but it is not a pop song. In some ways I would consider this particular song the best from this entire CD. I have considered buying "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" since it has been compared to other progressive albums I have enjoyed.

You know what you are going to get with a Genesis "hits" CD. The pop was solid, generally very listenable and good; little in the way of breakthrough music. However, at least three of the songs give you a flavor of the breadth of which Genesis was capable. For the casual fan that enjoys Genesis' top 40 music, I highly recommend this CD. For those that preferred Genesis before Phil Collins became the lead vocalist, you may want to stick to buying the albums from the Peter Gabriel era.

This delivers what it says on the cover: The hits. As they only had the one hit single with Peter Gabriel ('I know what I like', a UK#21) the compilation comes across as a bit lop-sided. To compensate for this there is an excellent remake of 'Carpet Crawlers' which leaves you wishing that they could re-record the whole of 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' and make it so this good. The rest is a perfunctory list of the hits which means that some of the drippy songs from 'Invisible Touch' and 'We Can't Dance' are included over much better singles that didn't chart so highly ('Keep it Dark', 'Duchess', 'Man on the Corner', 'Home By the Sea' etc.) Also some of their best songs are edited versions but for a casual fan this is probably fine.

I am possibly one of the precious few who thought that the commercial flop 'Calling All Stations' was actually rather good (possibly the best since 'Abacab') and its nice to see they saw fit to include 'Congo'.

I would like to have seen the new version of 'Carpet Crawlers' released as a single so that long time fans don't have to fork out for songs that they already own.

From Foxtrot through Wind and the Wuthering, Genesis were possibly the best art-rock band in the world, during probably the most fertile period for art-rock ever. Then, with Steve Hackett's departure, came the slow change into a pop-oriented hit machine. What you get here, for the most part, are the highlights of that second era. There's nothing wrong with hits, but while this is all competent, listenable stuff, it's mostly lightyears away from the music that inspired--and continues to inspire--such worship from the knowing. It's not a little ironic that the best moment on here by far is the remake of Carpet Crawlers, a track from the golden era's "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway."

If you doubt me, try Trick of the Tail or Wind and the Wuthering. Or, for the more adventurous, go to the pots of gold: Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound and Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

dap

The Hits...Need I say more...the history and music of Genesis is long and diverse, and this collection is about their most popular songs. All 18 songs are worthy to be represented here. All considering, there is a nice balance here. Powerful rockers Abacab, Mama, Tonight Tonight Tonight, endearing ballads Misunderstanding, Hold On My Heart, In Too Deep. Genesis has always shown a wry sense of humor..I Can't Dance and Jesus He Knows Me.. fit the bill nicely.

The 3 most unique songs.. I Know What I Like, their first hit single from 1973, 1997's Congo which comes from the very underrated Calling All Stations featuring new singer Ray Wilson..and a terrific & newly recorded version of 1974's The Carpet Crawlers.. features Phil Collins, Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel..yes Peter Gabriel was in Genesis! This "new" classic is a special treat to all Genesis fans.

This collection is ideal for the casual fan but this is only a taste of Genesis. If you enjoy this collection, earlier albums such as A Trick Of The Tail and Wind & Wuthering are must listens..you won't be dissapointed.

IF it weren't for 2 Peter Gabriel songs (including an odd remake of Carpet Crawlers) and Congo this album could have been called Phil Collings - Hits Vol. 2: The Genesis Years. There was no Lamb Lies Down on Broadway here. Most of the classic Genesis songs with Collins are on here though including all the classics from the Abacab, Genesis, Invisible Touch, and We Can't Dance albums. Still songs like No Reply and Paperlate were discluded from the set. Some of the songs like Tonight Tonight Tonight, Abacab, and Mama werre edited severely too. I saw that the disc was pretty full when the Cd was over at 78 minutes but I would of been happier with a 2 CD set that gave the full versions and some Peter Gabriel songs too. Though I can't argue that the songs on here aren't good. Every song is great and its nice that Congo is available on this Cd so one doesn't have to waste his or her money buying their latest flop "Calling All Stations". This is a great CD and I highly recomend it for the casual listener.

The best of Genesis cannot be encapsulated in a 79 minute CD, and then to do it in a condensed form is a travesty. It is inexcusable to severely edit such songs as "Mama", "Abacab", and "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight". The vital parts of these songs are stripped away solely for the sake of keeping this a single CD. This was done in order to make it sell, because double CD's generally don't.Plus, the title itself is misleading. Because many hits are missing here. Where is "No Reply At All" and "Man On The Corner" from Abacab? Or "Illegal Alien" and "Home By The Sea" from the eponymous 1983 release? "Paperlate", a great single from the studio side of Three Sides Live, is not here. Where is it? Or even "Never A Time", from We Can't Dance, which was a hit single?And if the label felt compelled (I really don't know WHO was) to include "I Know What I Like(In Your Wardrobe)"from Selling England By The Pound, then why include some songs from lesser selling albums, such as The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, Trick Of The Tail, or Wind And Wuthering? Like "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway", "Ripples", or "Your Own Special Way"? These may not have been "hits", but they are important songs that brought attention to the band.Then again, if those songs were included here, there would not have been room for anything else.It would have served more justice to the public if this had been released as a double CD. After doing the math, I figured that if the full versions of all the edited songs were here, ALL of the hits included, plus the "other best songs" added, it would have become a true chronicle of Genesis that would clock in at slightly more than 2 hours. I think the public would have still accepted it, even if they had to pay a few dollars more. It could have been sold for twenty dollars or more, and it would have been a steal. Instead, we were cheated out of the money we paid for this. The new version of "Carpet Crawlers" is the only thing that saves this from being a total loss. It is great to hear the definitive line-up here again. The 2 stars I rated this are for that alone, yet it is a 5 star song by itself.

The notion that prog-rock Genesis would one day become a singles band, and wildely commercially successful at that, would have been unthinkable for fans of the band's first decade. But it did, and this complitation is to set the hits record straight. Or did it?

"Turn It On Again: The Hits" (18 tracks, 78 min.) concentrates rightfully on the singles-heavy albums "Invisible Touch" (all 5 of its singles are here: Land of Confusion, Tonight Tonight Tonight, In Too Deep, Throwing It All Away, title track) and "We Can't Dance" (4 of its singles are here: Hold On To My Heart, Jesus He Knows Me, No Son of Mine, title track). That takes up half of the CD. Other hits rightfully included here are Abacab, Mama, That's All, and Misunderstanding. Beware: some of the tracks come in a (heavily shortenend) radio-edit.

There are nevertheless a number of highly questionable tracks on here, and others missing. "Congo" was a 'hit', didn't you know? Me neither. "The Carpet Crawlers 1999" is a pointless remake of the 1974 classis (I guess any excuse to ask Peter Gabiel to join in, would do). Inexcusably missing from this "hits" compilation: Your Own Special Way (from "Wind & Wuthering", and the first Genesis single ever to make the US charts), Paperlate (major UK hit), Counting Out Time (from "Lamb Lies Down", and a decent hit in Europe), Man on the Corner (from "Abacab"), and It's Gonna Get Better (from "Genesis", a double A single with Mama).

So a flawed compilation at best. The trouble could've been avoided with a 2 CD set (as Columbia does in the excellent "Essential" series), which would have allowed to include all the Peter Gabriel-era singles and essential tracks. Finally, with 18 years of hindsight, it amazes me how badly the "Invisible Touch"-era songs have aged. It sounded ok then, but now these songs just sound bad, period.

In the interest of humanity, I wish! Wouldn't it be great if Genesis, at its musical peak during the Seventies, reunited, at LEAST for ONE new album and a tour! I'm not saying that the new Genesis, with Ray Wilson on vocals is all that bad! And 'Congo', while not my favourite song from 'Calling All Stations', is a pretty decent (not all that memorable) pop song. And who can dispute the midas touch of Phil Collins? He has a penchant for writing great pop songs. He took Genesis from a relatively unknown progressive rock band with a small cult following and moved them into top 40 territory during the Eighties and early Nineties. If pop is what ya wanted - pop is what ya got during the Phil era - except for his first two albums as lead singer in 1976. Their move into the pop mainstream came in 1978 with the release of '...And Then There Were Three...', which was a BIG disappointment, except for perhaps a couple of songs like 'Deep In The Motherlode' and 'Follow You, Follow Me'. 'The Carpet Crawlers 1999' is fantastic - and I think it's even BETTER than the original! Imagine if Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett and Rutherford got back together - and wrote music with REAL creativity and integrity - rather than just to sell! They could afford to do it. Aren't they all millionnaires? It would be nice, but I wouldn't hold your breath. 'Carpet Crawlers 1999' makes you wish ... that they could get it out by Friday? There must be no delay!

First off: Why wasn't this a 2-disk set! This is a great CD for Genesis fans, but not a complete look at the work they have accomplished over the last 25 years or so.

'The Hits' primarily focuses on the Phil Collins years, arguably their most successful, commercially speaking, but not in terms of creative output. "I Can't Dance"! C'mon! The radio-edited version of "Tonight, "Tonight, Tonight"! Give me a break!

What really made me buy this CD? The new version of "The Carpet Crawlers," which reunites the original members (Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett included) for an amazing 1999 rendition of a 70's quasi-classic. Then again, if Peter Gabriel is putting ANYTHING new out, I'm there.

My advice: If you're a Phil Collins fan, buy this CD (and his new Greatest Hits CD). If not, you'd be better off collecting the entire Genesis catalogue over time and finding out where the true gold is with these guys -- the songs you never heard on the radio.

(Then again, song 13, 'Congo,' with new singer Ray Wilson, was never on the radio, and they're calling THAT a Greatest Hit! )

Genesis has been around since 1967, and over the course of sixteen studio albums with six discrete lineups the only constant has been change: though every album brims with expansive musicianship and philosopical lyrics which have generally eschewed the more common subject matter of rock songs (love and dancing), each release reinvents the band into new modulations of instrumentality, production and design aesthetics. For this reason, among others, Genesis has always waged a love-hate flirtation with popularity and commercial success. During the band's classic period with Peter Gabriel at the helm, fan response was rabid, but ten minute tracks about internecine war among forest wolves ("White Mountain") or imperialist man-eating vines ("The Return of the Giant Hogweed") do not great radio play make.

With the release of one of their first unabashed love songs ("Follow You Follow Me") in 1978, Genesis first tasted the success that other bands of their ilk like Boston or Yes had been enjoying. While maintaining their talent for long exploratory pieces and solo virtuosity, Genesis exploited this strategy during the reign of lead singer Phil Collins until the massive success of 1986's "Invisible Touch," which drew a crowd for their live show at Wembly Stadium that was larger than that arena had ever seen, made some of their die-hard fans finally conclude that they had 'sold out,' and left the band feeling as though there was nothing left to accomplish. It was six years before Genesis's next album.

The conflict between core Genesis music and that which sells albums may explain why they have refrained for all these years from releasing a compilation or retrospective album. Instead, they have steadily produced concert recordings, one for every three studio albums, that include live versions of the pop hits as well as epic medleys of the fans' favorite classics like "In the Cage" or "The Cinema Show." It is to the band's credit that they have been able to add longer works to this list even after achieving commercial success, with late-era tour-de-forces like "Home by the Sea" and "Driving the Last Spike."

But none of these is included on "Turn it On Again: The Hits," released at long last possibly because of the mediocre success of 1997's "Calling All Stations" with novice lead singer Ray Wilson and the imminent probable dissolution of Genesis. That's because "The Hits" is exactly what this CD contains, quite literally. Die-hard fans will say that this release misses everything that made Genesis what it was. This is the reason the disc isn't called The Best of Genesis or even Greatest Hits. But the "best of" disc that the fans want can't really be created, and to be blunt, "Turn it On Again" isn't aimed at them. It's for those who have listened to Genesis's pop hits on the radio over the last decade and refrained from buying entire albums because of those long weird instrumental tracks that get in the way.