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Rating: Phil Collins: Voice and Drums
Anthony Banks: Keyboards
Mike Rutherford: Bass and Guitars
Daryl Stuermer: Guitars
Chester Thompson: Drums
Disc 1:
1) "Duke's (Intro)";
2) "Turn It To Again";
3) "No Son Of Mine";
4) "Land Of Confusion";
5) "Medley: In The Cage, The Cinema Show, Duke's Travels";
6) "Afterglow";
7) "Hold On My Heart";
8) "Home By The Sea";
9) "Follow You, Follow Me";
10) "Firth Of Fifth";
11) I Know What I Like.
Disc 2:
1) "Mama";
2) "Ripples";
3) "Throwing It All Away";
4) "Domino";
5) "Conversation With 2 Stooles";
6) "Los Endos",
7) "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight";
8) "Invisible Touch";
9) "I Can't Dance);
10) "The Carpet Crawlers".
The Genesis began their self-destruction in 1986 with the release of "Invisible Touch", an album featuring low-grade pop songs, of which only the singles "Invisible Touch" and "Land Of Confusion" were saved, abandoning "Domino" to the sad and overly pervasive use of electronic drums, giving it a sound very close to a disco vibe. The subsequent "We Can't Dance" (1991) confirmed the signs of crisis and decreed the end of the experimental, technical, and true musician Genesis, leaving room for a cheap pop group, capable of standing on the sole "Jesus He Knows Me", which relied heavily on catchy melodies for radio play, along with the pathetic "I Can't Dance" and "Hold On My Heart". Two pointless live albums followed, and in 1995, Phil Collins, Daryl Stuermer, and Chester Thompson left, leaving the Genesis name in the hands of Anthony Banks and Mike Rutherford, who recruited singer Ray Wilson and drummers Nick Di Virgilio and Nir Zydkyahu. The result is "Calling All Stations" (1997), by far the worst album in the band's history, to the point of being called embarrassing. The monotony of the music, the lyrics, and the rhythm section, devoid of Phil Collins's divine talent for the first time in 26 years, made the album, the advertising campaign, and the following tour a flop beyond any prediction, leading Banks and Rutherford to cancel the tour and declare the end of touring to avoid an inglorious end to the "Genesis" name.
Since then, Genesis fans have endured forced abstinence while waiting for a reunion, mitigated by the release of two collections and two boxes of unreleased tracks: "Genesis Archive 1969 - 75", with the live performance of the entire "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway", other live performances, and some unreleased tracks, all pertaining to the period with Gabriel, and "Genesis Archive 1976 - 1992", which chronicles the band's entry first into pop and then into the disco realm. Everyone has always hoped for a reunion of the historical lineup (1971 - 75), including Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel, and after several interviews and official denials, in November 2006, Collins, Banks, and Rutherford announced the 2007 "Turn It To Again Tour", which would hit Europe and America with about forty shows in total. The tour was a success, reaching its peak at a free concert in Rome, where they played in front of 500,000 delirious fans at the Circus Maximus. All of this is documented in this album, which witnesses the return of a still cohesive and capable band, where the age of the members is barely noticeable. The setlist ranges from "Selling England By The Pound" to "We Can't Dance", with an excellent mix of progressive tracks for the more demanding fans and the best songs of the pop period, in some cases appropriately revisited. The setlist is presented on the album exactly as it was proposed in the concerts, with each song taken from the performance where it was executed best, predominantly from the Rome and Manchester shows.
It opens with a piece that perfectly combines catchy pop melodies and instrumental passages worthy of the band's progressive era, namely "Dukes (Intro)", which is "Behind The Lines", the first track from the 1980 album "Duke", rendered perfectly here, if not improved with better sound quality of the keyboards and a more incisive rhythmic section, then continuing without a second of pause with "Turn It To Again", imbued with new vitality, constituted by the vitality of a band where the average age is around 50, yet what is presented here enchants the audience, literally in frenzy. In the available third spot is "No Son Of Mine", more infused with rock than the original, with a more considered rhythmic section, continuing with another pop era track, namely "Land Of Confusion", played with more aggression than the original, with a Chester Thompson who shows no sign of feeling the advance of age, maintaining his musicality intact, like a human metronome, not missing a beat. The fifth spot on the first album is taken by a medley that includes "In The Cage", from the album "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway", less incisive than the original, with Collins unable to reach the vocal heights of Gabriel, but making up for it widely in the link to "The Cinema Show", one of the most beloved tracks by fans of all times, moving to something that unites all the generations present at the event, with "Duke's Travels", which worthily concludes the medley.
Then come the pastoral "Afterglow" (1977), the syrupy "Hold On My Heart" (1991), "Home By The Sea" (1983), and Genesis's first "little ditty", "Follow You Follow Me" (1978), before moving to what is probably the most beloved track in their history: after "Follow You Follow Me" Chester's drums don't stop their rhythm and introduce the intense "Firth Of Fifth", as always shortened of the sung part and stripped of Banks's original keyboard sounds, yet not unworthy of listening but rather extraordinary and unmissable, with Stuermer delivering a beautiful and intense solo, broadly staying true to Hackett's original, though he can't capture its magic. When this great track concludes, Collins starts with his tambourine and launches into a very good "I Know What I Like", magnificently rendered and placed at the end of the first disc. The second disc is inaugurated by the electronic intro of "Mama" (1983), one of the best tracks of the pop era, which introduced several innovations to the genre, with Phil's chuckle framing it perfectly on this prestigious stage, continuing with the charming and passionate "Ripples", where Phil Collins delivers an excellent vocal performance, moving the audience, evoking his early experiences as a vocalist ("Ripples" was the second track of the album "A Trick Of The Tail", 1976, the first with Collins on vocals). It is followed by a duo taken directly from the 80s, "Throwing It All Away" (1983) and "Domino" (1986), which, stripped of the excessive use of electronic drums, is enjoyable in this surprising version.
Then comes the awaited drum duet between Phil and Chester, demonstrating the extraordinary talent of the two, with Phil more technical and Chester more devoted to the musicality of his beats, from the moment they sit down at the drum stool, for a duet that confirms them among the world's best drummers. This leads into "Los Endos", as moving as "Ripples", from the same album, played with the same commitment and nostalgia, which is exactly what the audience demanded. This is followed by the pop trio introduced by the slow "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", linked to a really charged "Invisible Touch", where Collins, as a great frontman, incites the audience, who follow their idol on the notes of one of the band's most loved hits from the pop era, followed by "I Can't Dance", which manages to be acceptable due to the enthusiasm of each musician and because at this point in the concert, every song would seem extraordinary... The emotional closure arrives with the classic "The Carpet Crawlers", from the concept "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway", which reaches levels of intensity, nostalgia, technique, and professionalism from the five that make it worthy of closing this extraordinary experience, whose beauty cannot be denied by anyone, willingly or unwillingly.
Genesis were already considered musicians adrift without art or part, and I would say with this album they managed to refute their detractors once again. They could have also included some tracks from "Nursery Crime" and "Foxtrot", but we can be more than satisfied with this beautiful double album that involves fans from every era and ultimately restores a great band to the history of music, always hoping that one day even Gabriel and Hackett will want to return and maybe gift us with a new masterpiece...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Turn It On Again (04:26)
All I need is a TV show
That, and the radio
Down on my luck again
Down on my luck again
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
It's driving me mad
Just another way of passing the day
I, I get so lonely when she's not there
I, I, I, I
You're just another face
That I know from the TV show
I have known you for so very long
I feel you're like a friend
Can't you do anything for me
Can I touch you for a while
Can I meet you on another day
When we will fly away
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
It's driving me mad
It's just another way of passing the day
I, I get so lonely when she's not there
I, I, I, I
Turn it on
Turn it on, turn it on again
Turn it on
Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
03 No Son of Mine (06:57)
Well the key to my survival
Was never in much doubt
The question was how I could keep sane
Trying to find the way out
Things were never easy for me
Peace of mind was hard to find
And I needed a place where I could hide
Somewhere I could call mine
I didn't think much about it
'Til it started happening all the time
Soon I was living with the fear every day
Of what might happen that night
I couldn't stand to hear the crying
Of my mother, and I remember when
I swore that, that would be the last they'd see of me
And I never went home again
They say that time is a healer
And now my wounds are not the same
I rang the bell with my heart in my mouth
I had to hear what he'd say
Well, he sat me down to talk to me
He looked me straight in the eyes
He said, you're no son, you're no son of mine
You're no son, you're no son of mine
You walked out, you left us behind
And you're no son, you're no son of mine
Oh, his words how they hurt, I'll never forget it
And as the time, it went by, I lived to regret it
You're no son, you're no son of mine
But where should I go, and what should I do
You're no son, you're no son of mine
But I came here for help, oh I came here for you
Well the years, they passed so slowly
I thought about him every day
What would I do if we passed on the street
Would I keep running away
In and out of hiding places
Soon I'd have to face the facts
We'd have to sit down and talk it over
And that would mean going back
They say that time is a healer
And now my wounds are not the same
But I rang the bell with my heart in my mouth
I had to hear what he'd say
He sat me down to talk to me
And he looked me straight in the eyes
He said, you're no son, you're no son of mine
You're no son, you're no son of mine
When you walked out, you left us behind
And you're no son, you're no son of mine
Oh, his words how they hurt, I'll never forget it
And as the time, it went by, I lived to regret it
You're no son, you're no son of mine
But where should I go, and what should I do
You're no son, you're no son of mine
But I came here for help, oh I was looking for you
You're no son, you're no son of mine, no
04 Land of Confusion (05:11)
I must've dreamed a thousand dreams,
Been haunted by a million screams.
But I can hear the marching feet,
They're moving into the street.
Now did you read the news today?
They say the danger's gone away.
But I can see the fire's still alight,
Burning into the night.
There's too many men, too many people,
Making too many problems,
And not much love to go round,
Can't you see this is the land of confusion.
This is the world we live in,
And these are the hands we're given.
Use them and let's start trying,
To make it a place worth living in.
Oh Superman where are you now?
Everything's gone wrong somehow.
The men of steel, men of power,
Are losing, control by the hour.
This is the time, this is the place,
So we look for the future,
But there's not much love to go round.
Tell me why this is the land of confusion?
This is the world we live in,
And these are the hands we're given.
Use them and let's start trying,
To make it a place worth living in.
I remember long ago,
Oh when the sun was shining,
And the stars were bright, all through the night,
And the sound of your laughter, as I held you tight.
So long ago.
I won't be coming home tonight,
My generation, will put it right.
We're not just making promises,
That we know, we'll never keep
There's too many men, there's too many people,
Making too many problems,
And not much love to go round.
Can't you see this is the land of confusion?
This is the world we live in,
And these are the hands we're given.
Use them and let's start trying,
To make it a place worth fighting for.
This is the world we live in,
And these are the names we're given.
Stand up and let's start showing,
Just where our lives are going to.
05 In the Cage (13:30)
I got sunshine in my stomach
Like I just rocked my baby to sleep.
I got sunshine in my stomach
But I can't keep me from creeping sleep,
Sleep, deep in the deep.
Rockface moves to press my skin
White liquids turn sour within
Turn fast - turn sour
Turn sweat - turn sour.
Must tell myself that I'm not here.
I'm drowning in a liquid fear.
Bottled in a strong compression,
My distortion shows obsession
In the cave.
Get me out of this cave !
If I keep self-control,
I'll be safe in my soul.
And the childhood belief
Brings a moment's relief,
But my cynic soon returns
And the lifeboat burns.
My spirit just never learns.
Stalactites, stalagmites
Shut me in, lock me tight.
Lips are dry, throat is dry.
Feel like burning, stomach churning,
I'm dressed up in a white costume
Padding out left-over room.
Body stretching, feel the wretching
In the cage
Get me out of the cage!
In the glare of a light
I see a strange kind of sight;
O cages joined to from a star
Each person can't go very far;
All tied to their things
They are netted by their strings,
Free to flutter in memories of their wasted wings.
Outside the cage I see my brother John,
He turn his head so slowly round.
I cry out "Help!" before he can be gone,
And he looks at me without a sound.
And I shout out "John please help me !"
But he does not even want to try to speak.
I'm helpless in my violent rage
And a silent tear of blood dribbles down his cheek.
My little runaway.
In a trap, feel a starp
Holding still, Pinned for kill.
Chances narrow that I'll make it,
In the cushioned straitjacket.
Just like 22nd St,
And they got me by my neck and feet.
Pressure's building, can't take more.
My headache's charged. Earaches roar.
In this pain
Get me out of this pain.
If I could change to liquid,
I could fill the cracks up in the rock,
But I know that I am solid
And I am my own bad luck.
Outside John disappears and my cage dissolves,
And without any reason my body revolvess.
Keep on turning
Keep on turning
Keep on turning
Keep on turning
Keep on turning
Turning around
Just spinning around.
Down, down, down..........
06 Afterglow (04:28)
Like the dust that settles all around me
I must find a new home
The ways and holes that used to give me shelter
Are all as one to me now
But I, I would search everywhere
Just to hear your call
And walk upon stranger roads than this one
In a world I used to know before
I miss you more
Than the sun reflecting off my pillow
Bringing the warmth of new life
And the sound that echoes all around me
I caught a glimpse of in the night
But now, now I've lost everything
I give to you my soul
The meaning of all that I believed before
Escapes me in this world of none
No thing, no-one
And I would search everywhere
Just to hear your call
And walk upon stranger roads than this one
In a world I used to know before
For now I've lost everything
I give to you my soul
The meaning of all that I believed before
Escapes me in this world of none
I miss you more
07 Hold on My Heart (05:58)
Hold on my heart
Just hold on to that feeling
We both know we've been here before
We both know what can happen
Hold on my heart
'Cause I'm looking over your shoulder
Ooh please don't rush in this time
Don't show her how you feel
Hold on my heart
Throw me a lifeline
I'll keep a place for you
Somewhere deep inside
So hold on my heart
Please tell her to be patient
'Cause there has never been a time
That I wanted something more
If I can recall this feeling
And I know there's a chance
Oh I will be there
Yes I will be there
Be there for you
Whenever you want me to
Whenever you call
Oh I will be there
Yes I will be there
Hold on my heart
Don't let her see you crying
No matter where I go
She'll always be with me
So hold on my heart
Just hold on to that feeling
We both know we've been here before
We both know what can happen
So hold on my heart
Just hold on my heart
Hold on my heart...
08 Home by the Sea (11:59)
Creeping up the blind side, shinning up the wall
stealing through the dark of night
Climbing through a window, stepping to the floor
checking to the left and the right
Picking up the pieces, putting them away
something doesn't feel quite right
Help me someone, let me out of here
then out of the dark was suddenly heard
"Welcome to the Home by the Sea"
Coming out the woodwork, through the open door
pushing from above and below
Shadows with no substance, in the shape of men
round and down and sideways they go
Adrift without direction, eyes that hold despair
then as one they sigh and they moan
Help us someone, let us out of here
Living here so long undisturbed
dreaming of the time we were free
so many years ago
before the time when we first heard
"Welcome to the Home by the Sea"
Sit down...Sit down
As we relive our lives in what we tell you
Images of sorrow, pictures of delight
things that go to make up a life
Endless days of summer, longer nights of gloom
waiting for the morning light
Scenes of unimportance, photos in a frame
things that go to make up a life
Help us someone, let us out of here
Living here so long undisturbed
dreaming of the time we were free
so many years ago
before the time when we first heard
"Welcome to the Home by the Sea"
Sit down...Sit down
as we relive our lives in what we tell you
let us relive our lives in what we tell you
Sit down...Sit down
Cause you won't get away
no with us you will stay
for the rest of your days. So sit down
As we relive our lives in what we tell you
Let us relive our lives in what we tell you
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Other reviews
By marco'86
"Live Over Europe is the most beautiful testament this band could leave to the fans."
"Phil sings all the notes and lines with a passion that moves you, making the audience interact in an anthem that praises everyone."
