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78 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE Genesis Compilation for Beginners - Still a Must for Hardcores, November 2, 2005
For the Genesis Beginner -
There have been several Genesis compilations released to date: (1) "Turn it On Again - The Hits" is essentially Disc 1 of this 3 disc set, culling most tracks from their hit albums "We Can't Dance" and "Invisible Touch". If you mainly are interested in Genesis for these tunes (ie, Land of Confusion, In Too Deep, Thowing it all Away, No Son of Mine, etc) you can save $10 by simply buying the one-disc set; (2) "Genesis Archive 1967-1975" is mainly live material from early Genesis' magnum opus "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" - for hardcores only; (3) "Genesis Archive 1975-1993" is mainly B-sides and random live cuts from this era of Genesis - also for hardcores only.
THIS compilation is BY FAR the best accumulation of Genesis songs across their entire career, released to date. Disc 1 covers the Phil Collins pop machine years; Disc 2 covers some of their pop years, moving more into their "introspective" period in the early years of Collins as front-man; Disc 3 covers the progressive rock era Peter Gabriel-fronted Genesis from the early '70's.
I would suggest that a "casual" fan of the band buy this set in order to give the tunes on Disc 3 a shot, among other reasons. For those of you who may have NO idea what to expect, and have never listened to other bands like King Crimson or Yes in their early years - these songs are more musically intricate, and generally of greater length, than their pop songs. They are less about hooks and catchy riffs, and more about telling a story, or creating a particular mood. They are more challenging, and less accessible. However, if you're looking for something different, look no further.
For Genesis Hardcore Rabid Fans -
I will not argue over song selection. This is the best anyone could have done over 3 discs. Personally speaking, the collection would have been perfected for me with the exclusion of "Illegal Alien," "Your Own Special Way," and "Calling All Stations" (the latter I like, though it just seems out of context here); and the addition of "Dance on a Volcano" and "One for the Vine." Otherwise, perfect.
Despite what others have noted, I do not detect a significant overall improvement in sound on Discs 1 and 2 over the "definitive edition" remasters released years ago. If there are improvements on certain songs, the effect is minimal, or even innocuous to the quality of the song (ie, sometimes I think they change things just for sake of changing).
However, I believe it's worth shelling out the $20 to buy this album for the improvement on Disc 3. There is a discernable sonic improvement on these cuts, especially for "Cinema Show" and "The Knife" (especially for those of us here in America where the definitive edition remaster of Trespass never made it to this side of the Atlantic!). I should caveat that statement, however, by adding that evidently "Supper's Ready" is not among those tracks newly remastered. It's the same version from the definitive edition remaster of Foxtrot; therefore, if you buy this compilation solely for a new and improved version of this cut, please do not.
Other comments for all -
I'll just add that a cool companion piece to this compilation is the newly released DVD with the same cover, and all of the videos (aptly titled "Cinema Show" - although ironically there was no video released for that particular cut). It is also worth picking up - and incidentally includes certain tracks excluded from the CD's, such as "No Reply at all" and "Man on the Corner" from the Abacab album.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful introduction to GENESIS, March 29, 2006
THE BAND: Mike Rutherford (guitars & bass), Tony Banks (keyboards & synth bass), Phil Collins (vocals, drums & percussion), Peter Gabriel - through 1974 (vocals, flute), Steve Hackett - through 1977 (guitars).
THE DISC(S): (2005) 3 discs containing 40 songs clocking in at approximately 234 minutes (Discs 1, 2 & 3 contain 77, 76, 79 minutes respectively). An 18-page booklet is included with a brief summary from band members; as well as song titles and writing credits, what songs came from which albums, pictures of the album covers, and thank you's. Digitally remastered sound. Label - Atlantic/Rhino.
COMMENTS: In my opinion, there's no one album, per say, that defines Genesis. This "Platinum Collection" is the single most comprehensive collection to date from the band. The 18 track "Turn It On Again: The Hits" (1999) is now obsolete as 16 of those 18 songs are here on the "Platinum Collection". The 2 songs missing are "Congo" and "I Know What I Like" - no issue from me with these being omitted. Genesis had two eras; the Peter Gabriel progressive/abstract era; and the Phil Collins rock/pop era. Gabriel left in 1975 after their magnum opus "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" - a great 2-disc set with some wonderful songs. Phil Collins stepped in on vocals and the band never looked back. The chronology of this set goes backward - disc 1 is their most recent stuff, and disc 3 is their oldest material. The radio listening public is probably most familiar with disc 1 and most of disc 2 (the songs on disc 3 rarely made it to the airwaves). The staple hits are here; "Invisible Touch", "Tonight Tonight Tonight", "Land Of Confusion", "In Too Deep", "That's All", "Home By The Sea", "Misunderstanding", "Abacab", etc. As well as some fan favorite gems (some of which were smaller hits); "Turn It On Again", "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway", "Behind The Lines", "Keep It Dark", "Throwing It All Away", "Many Too Many", "Afterglow", and others. As well as some early prog essentials on disc 3; the 22-minute "Supper's Ready", the two 10-minute songs "Music Box" and "The Cinema Show". This 3 disc set follows Genesis from 1971 through 1997. All the albums are represented with "Invisible Touch" (1986) and "Genesis" (1983) being best represented with 5 songs from each; followed by "Duke" (1980) with 4; and "Wind & Wuthering" (1977), "A Trick Of The Tail (1976), "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" (1974), "...And Then There Were Three" (1978), "Selling England By The Pound" (1973) each with 3 songs. There are 5 other albums represented with 1-2 songs from each. With any greatest hits package, there will be some hits and misses. For me, this is just dead on accurate with the exception of: I would have liked to have seen "Illegal Alien" and "Mama" omitted; and a few missing songs added... like the big hit "No Reply At All" or "Man On The Corner" (from Abacab), "Please Don't Ask" or "Duke's Travel/End" (from Duke), or "The Fountains Of Salmicis" (from Nursey Cryme), or my favorite instrumental "Fly On The Windshield" (from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway). Again, these are minor details in the scheme of things. Overall this is a great compilation and worthy to be in fans library young and old... and especially those new to the band that don't want to fork out the cash for 10-15 albums. This is a great 3-disc set.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Almost-Perfect Genesis Retrospective, August 13, 2006
Genesis are my favorite band in the whole universe, so naturally I'm thrilled to see my boys finally get a 3-CD retrospective set. "The Platinum Collection" greatly honors the band by choosing a vast array of songs from almost all of their studio albums, from 1997's "Calling All Stations" all the way back to 1970's "Trespass." I also appreciate that the tracks progress *backwards* in time, starting with the Phil Collins era and ending with the Peter Gabriel era (although Ray Wilson is still allowed a cameo track from his brief 1997 sojourn as the group's frontman). Not only that, but many of the tracks have been remixed by Genesis producer Nick Davis, who worked with the band on their albums "We Can't Dance" and "Calling All Stations." To Davis' credit, he really does strengthen the sound of the songs, and you can hear notes played that you couldn't hear before. Also, some of the vocals, both lead and background, also sound much clearer than ever before (such as on "Illegal Alien," "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway," and "Counting Out Time"). Davis' impressive remix work on "The Platinum Collection" also serves as an excellent sneak preview to the upcoming re-release of the band's catalog, remixed and remastered, now scheduled for 2007. I'd love to give "The Platinum Collection" a perfect 5-star rating, but I can't quite do it for two reasons. One, there's the remix of "Misunderstanding." Sounds great for the most part, but for some reason, Nick Davis removed a brief guitar part that Mike Rutherford plays towards the end of the song. Why? What was wrong with it? It's not like Rutherford was playing any bum notes. I don't get it. Also, nothing from the band's 1969 debut, "From Genesis To Revelation," is featured. I realise this is most likely because Atlantic/Rhino Records don't own the rights to the first Genesis album, but still, *something* should've been included from it, like "In The Beginning," "The Serpent," and the very first Genesis single, "The Silent Sun." It's a very regrettable omission. But other than those two criticisms, I am still very satisfied with this 3-CD set. "The Platinum Collection" is, for the most part, a marvelous retrospective & history lesson about my favorite band.
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