THE TOKYO TAPES

Watcher Of The Skies - Genesis Revisited-group decided to stick around for a tour which resulted in this live album (or maybe it was the other way around). Comparison to any Genesis live-album would be pointless and unfortunately this album doesn't stand too well on its own since there isn't really anything interesting about it.

This live album did originally seem a bit more impressive than the Steve's Genesis Revisited album but the 110 minutes worth of mixed live material becomes somewhat tedious after a while. The classic Genesis pieces work a whole lot better in this five man band setting and I would have hoped that the performance would have stayed as such. This is of course not the case and instead we also get material from Steve's solo career, early King Crimson and even Asia!

It's a real treat listening to John Wetton totally destroying the one time Asia hit with this acoustic performance that I hope he won't try to re-create any time soon. Otherwise there aren't any real stand-out performances here since most of these tracks have sounded better on other releases. Ultimately this is another one of those good, but not in any way essential releases made only for the inducted fans.

**** star songs: Watcher Of The Skies (8:59) Firth Of Fifth (9:32) Camino Royale (9:06) The Court Of The Crimson King (7:39) Horizons (1:53) In That Quiet Earth (4:02) I Talk To The Wind (5:28) Shadow Of The Hierophant (7:14) Los Endos (6:54) I Know What I Like (5:51)

*** star songs: Riding The Colossus (3:32) Battlelines (6:43) Walking Away From Rainbows (3:47) Vampyre With A Healty Appetite (7:26) Black Light (2:30) The Steppes (6:48) Firewall (4:42) The Dealer (4:23)

** star songs: Heat Of The Moment (4:06)

Total Rating: 3,57