WHEN IN ROME

I assigned the 5 Star rating before starting this review. A message appears telling me to practically think about what im giving it. Im pretty sure when something is a 10 or a 5 star or an A+ or whatever you want to call it.

Im a big Peter Gabriel Era Genesis Fan, im also a fan of the Pop Genesis era. Of course they are two completly different bands, i think of them as two seperate entities. When i heard they were thinking of a reunion i was rooting for the Gabriel - Hatchet lineup, but of course, we all know that didn't happen (it's still open i hear), so the second best thing happend, a simple reunion of the 5 men group that made the band a pop 80's signature band.

I can tell you that the concert was far beyond what i expected. They played some songs from the past, and their top singles. To my surprise, the more enjoyable songs from their set list where from the Collins era: No son of Mine, Home by the sea and Domino come to mind. It's obvious that they would sound better, knowing that they were made for him to sing them. Ripples was a nicely done song, that also sounded very good.

One song in particular that caught my attention was I Know What i Like. I thought he sang it even better than Peter did, a lot more emotional, loved it. Of course, In the Cage sounds awfull with him in the lyrics, not to mention Carpet Crawlers UGGHHH! Totally ruins the song. Firth of fifth is another of the old songs that i didn't like that much. Daryl Stuermer totally destroys the beautiful solo made original by mr Steve Hackett. But hey, that's why we want him there so much. If we want those songs to sound as good as they are, we need Peter and Steve there. But hey! I wasn't that surprised by this. I expected it. Cinema Show's exerpt sounded brilliant, even though its altered.

Now, knowing all this, i expected a great Collins, Rutherford, Banks generation DVD replication of the live concert i attended. And i guess i got more than that. Let's start with the documentary. It's the typical behind the scenes documentary featuring some of the highlights of the back stage pre production experience. What i liked the most, is seeing this in a raw way. It's almost (not that much) like watching Metallica's Some Kind of Monster documentary, where they just let it all go. Of course, tony, phill and mike aren't laying the leather on each other, but you can see the frustrations and all the preasure a tour like this brings. it was pretty interesting in many ways seeing the rehersal for the stage theatrics, which they have been known for, and actually learning how the choose the songs and the actual stage design.

In the end, the qualityt of the picture, sound, songs, performance, packaging and extras, make this an essential in the collection of any Genesis fan, there is even some footage of some Lamb Tour Gabriel singing the cage. So, it has some hidden gems in it too. Well worth the price of admission.

9.5 out of 10