CALLING ALL STATIONS

Partially because I'm such a long time fan of this band, and partially because I actually liked some of the material on this album. I'm giving it 3 stars. The major issue with this album is clearly the fact that Ray Wilson, though talented, does not fit the style of music Genesis produces... even in it's weakest form.

Most of the songs are not bad songs, just dated. Still there are some strengths."There must be some other way" is an example that if nothing else, Mike and Tony are capable of putting together music that is enjoyable and powerful. The same can be said of " The dividing line" and " One man's fool." To call it Genesis is an issue I'd care not to delve into but Mike and Tony still had some considerable chops at the time. The mixed bag of material did cause a " segmented " effect and disrupted the continuity of the album. Even better than the CD are the B - sides on the singles they released. Had most of those songs (including the brilliant instrumental 7/8 ) replaced some of the total drag songs like " Shipwrecked " and " Congo ", this album could have been more successful.

Out of loyalty to my favorite band in all of music, I retain this CD for the sake of having a complete Genesis collection. It is almost as new as the day of purchase due to the lack of rotation in the ol' CD player. I cannot in good conscience, however, give it a better rating than I have and truth be told... it may not deserve that much.