New Genesis Tribute album

"Another recent arrival at TWR HQ is a delightful CD by Leon Alvarado titled; Leon Alvarado Plays Genesis And Other Original Stuff. This one does exactly what it says on the cover; Leon opens his Cd with an update on the classic Hairless Heart which gives a hi tech treatment to this favourite. Behind The Screen/Cinemania is an Alvarado original, percussion driven and with some interesting use of atmospherics. Fly On A Windshield is another interesting re-working of a favourite Lamb… track. Musically it is excellent but sadly, Leon’s vocals really let the track down (sorry, Leon!). Earthbound/Albert’s Return is another original composition where Leon once again mixes rhythm with some wonderfully atmospheric synth work to create another enjoyable performance. Of Wind & Sorrow too manages to evoke a haunting atmosphere before we are back to the world of Genesis with Cinema Show (Part II) ushered in by some audience applause and then we are given a wonderful rendering of the instrumental part of yet another Genesis classic. The disc is rounded off with another Alvarado original; Broken Promises which once again, rounds off the disc in a suitably dramatic fashion."
Alan Hewitt's The Waiting Room On Line fanzine. http://www.twronline.net/issues/twr72/twr72_musicians_corner.htm

“I have now had a chance to listen to your CD. It really is excellent. Full of atmosphere and beautifully put together. Your own stuff is particularly good too. I can tell that a great deal of love, time and energy has gone into it all and I think the result is a strong product. The covers are good too. I particularly like the way in which you have something like an underground train map for the titles!
Keep up the good work! Congratulations...
All the very best,
Steve Hackett - Genesis


“Very cool indeed, I like how you bridged the world of your inspirations with your own.
As a long time Genesis fan I got the references on your artwork instantly, very cool! Nice job on the music and packaging...Good sounding stuff... I dug it :)”
Billy Sherwood - YES, CIRCA. Also, a well known talented producer.


“The mastering is good on all of it.”
Nick Davis - Genesis producer, when asked about the technical aspects of the CD.


“The music sounds really great and very tastefully played.”
Anthony Drennan - Genesis’ guitar player during the “Calling All Stations” Tour.


“Good luck with your Genesis music.”
John Goodsall - Guitar player and founding member of Brand X.

“This multi-instrumentalist's album consists of original music and tributes to Genesis songs. The tributes are "Hairless Heart," "Fly On A Windshield" and "Cinema Show Part II" which has a very impressive Phil Collins-like drum performance. The original music is well performed and incorporates the use of analog drum machines and a good recreation of the ARP synthesizer sound. Leon's music sounds like the quiet moments of Genesis' Duke era. If I didn't know any better, would have thought that these tracks were out takes from Tony Banks. Also, the great gatefold cardboard CD jacket was design by the artist himself.”
The Garden Shed - CD Club and record store in Tokyo, Japan.

With the idea of listening to yet another tribute to Genesis with alternate compositions of the originals, Leon Alvarado seemed rather pretentious and not very interesting, but when I received the CD I was struck by the packaging in terms of both design and the materials used. Father of three children with a regular job "from 9 to 5" as design / illustrator and no record label behind him, Leon had to take care of every aspect of the process: execution, production, marketing, promotion, distribution, utilising his own money and without the support of any investor or sponsor. The cover, designed like the Japanese mini-vinyl reproductions, shows a landscape (Broadway) where the neon lights serve as the backdrop to an undefined and unreal world. The presence of a human figure in pure white light is the only testimony of real life. The idea of the album’s title written in neon shows the influence of the NBC sign over at Rockefeller Center. On the inner cover, Leon has re-imagined the map of the N.Y.C. subway by changing the names of some stations with those of the songs contained in the CD. Musically, the inspiration came to Leon after hearing the remix in 1999 of Carpet Crawlers: the idea that a song so sacred was even altered gave Leon a changed set of parameters from which he could start his project.
The part of the Mellotron at the beginning of Hairless Heart sounds the same as written, but the sound changes through the digital keyboard whilst the percussion part is completely different using a mix of different drum machines.
On his Fly On A Windshield Leon shows his bond with the electronic music of Vangelis with it’s mysterious and ethereal atmosphere. Within the track you notice the sound effects of road noise that Leon added to better contextualize the song. The guitar parts originally by Hackett are played slightly below level, which Leon tried to compensate by emphasising the mellotron and percussion parts. Another weak point are the vocals, which unfortunately does not stand comparison with the voice of Peter in terms of timbre (significantly different), extension and voice intonation.
In Cinema Show Leon performs the second part taking in consideration that the best version of this song is the one in Seconds Out. There's a “live” feel with the addition of mixing in a “crowd” and two tracks of drums to emulate the two drum sets normally used by Genesis. Leon contacted and engaged Nick Davis in stages to give some advice on post-production and the masterisation of the track. But links to Genesis can be found even as traced autographs, like the initial rhythmic pattern of Behind The Screen / Cinemania (which reminds you of the live version of I know What I like and which Leon admits he’d taken the melodic inspiration from Behind the Lines), as well as Earthbound / Albert's Return which has a “Banksian” atmosphere to it with a morbid and evocative instrumental melody that is typical of his style. With Wind & Sorrow the inspirations are evident (at least in the title) to the track Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats. However, the track also reminds you of some musical passages from Wind & Wuthering and Entangled and it’s probably the song that takes more inspiration from the music of Genesis. The last piece, Broken Promises, is born with the intent to appeal to a wider audience by distancing itself from the typical progressive music of the 70’s. At first hearing, the original compositions seem to have the upper hand over the covers. Probably to ears like mine, who know every sound from Genesis, they remain somewhat off when taking into account the choices of sounds and arrangements. Furthermore, some tracks seem to suffer a bit from the sound choices not being properly centered in some of the drum machines and in the construction of the stylistic rhythmic patterns. However, I understand the difficulties that Leon would have had incurred in additional costs by going back to a studio for more recording of drum tracks. Also, given his limited vocals, perhaps Leon should have sought out a different vocalist with a closer intonation to the original material. In a couple of places the voice recording can be troublesome for those who know perfectly every note sung by Peter. The material is meant to be heard with an open mind as it is not just another tribute trying to rebuild the same argument by recreating the songs note for note. Like Leon says, “it’s a labour of love” and it can be order at:http://cdbaby.com/cdleonalvarado
Stefano Tucciarelli for DUSK magazine - April 2009 - page 62