GENESIS REVISITED: LIVE AT HAMMERSMITH

This was an excellent concert; I would have loved to have been there. The only downside, I think, is that the mix is not perfect - the drums are a bit too loud and-or muddy and at times the drummer's backing vocals are a touch too quiet. Most of the songs are very true to the originals, with the changes being mainly the addition of some sax and more flute bits (where tastefully warranted) and occasionally a guitar part being a bit more elaborate. I think the only song that had significant changes was the finale - Los Endos - which starts with a medley of excerpts from a few of Hackett's solo albums together with original bits, merged as if they were written as one piece. Given Hackett's extensive song catalogue, I think this shows admirable restraint on his part - the rest was entirely a concert of Genesis music. Er, well, plus one other exception - the inclusion of Shadow of the Hierophant, which was co-written with Mike Rutherford well before Hackett left the band.

As for the musicians ... Hackett is in fine form, if anything better than I remember him the one time I saw him in concert (back in 1979). The keyboardist, drummer, and bassist are all studiously accurate; the sax/flautist is an excellent addition, especially as he knows when to augment the others and when not to play at all. Vocalist Nad Sylvan, of Unifaun, might be the one who draws the most criticism, but I think that is unfounded. To sing Peter Gabriel's parts absolutely requires a certain amount of theatrics; I think he gives just enough to convey the role without drawing away from the music played by the rest. Dare I say it - I think he is technically a better singer as well. It would have been fantastic if Gabriel could have been there; but Sylvan is an excellent substitute.

Besides the mix, my only minor complaint is that - as a lover of albums more than individual songs - I often found myself wanting to hear what came next on the original album. Short of playing the entirety of the six albums covered or focusing just one two or three of them, however, that was unavoidable.

If we had a separate rating system for live performances, I would rate this a 4.5, with the mix being the only minor downside. At 2hr 41min it is a fabulous live album. But as it merely reproduces excellent music, rather than offers us new material of this calibre, I am only giving this 4 stars.