5.1 Genesis

In early 1973, Genesis allowed the taping of a couple of live shows for broadcast in America as part of the King Biscuit Flower Hour syndicated radio show – most of their current set, drawn from their albums up through 1972's Foxtrot, was represented. A few months later, Tony Stratton-Smith, the head of Charisma, to which the group was signed, approached them about allowing him to fill the extended gap between Foxtrot and their next album, Selling England by the Pound, by releasing a live album from this same taped performance…

…The DVD is an equally colossal affair, incorporating over eight hours of concert footage on two discs (a two-hour concert recorded from four separate camera angles). The multi-camera presentation is amazing, providing a unique front-row perspective of all the stage action. The star of the concert is undoubtedly Phil Collins who leaps around, and batters his drum kit like a hormonal teenager…

R-Kive is a career-spanning box set by English veteran progressive rock band Genesis. It was released on 22 September 2014 in the UK, and on 29 September 2014 in the U.S. The set consists of three CDs that span Genesis' career. In addition, it includes tracks from solo albums and other projects from members Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Phil Collins.

This debut Genesis album, which has appeared under license to various labels in addition to Decca and London in different configurations, is largely of historical interest. The group was still in its formative stages, the members barely past their 18th birthdays and still working out what they wanted to sound like. Mostly they sound like the Bee Gees trying to be the Moody Blues (picture something similar to the sound of the former group's Odessa album). "The Silent Sun" and "Where the Sour Turns to Sweet" are pleasant enough, but scarcely indicate the true potential of the group or its members. A pleasant enough piece of pop-psychedelia/art rock, but not a critically important release, except to the truly dedicated.

Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks has made several stabs at a solo career since 1978, writing and recording in various styles and occasionally under different group names. However, none of his attempts have been very commercially successful, a sore point for the man many deem responsible for a large portion of the Genesis sound…

Calling All Stations (stylised as …Calling All Stations…) is the fifteenth studio album by rock band Genesis. Released in 1997, the album was recorded following the departure of longtime drummer/vocalist Phil Collins from the band in 1996, leaving only keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford from earlier incarnations of the band…

The first Genesis Archive made sense. It covered the Peter Gabriel years, an era that was not only supremely creative for the band, but filled with rarities, forgotten tracks, outtakes, B-sides, BBC sessions, and live performances begging for a collection. It was a box set for fans and it filled its purpose splendidly. Its sequel, Genesis Archive 2: 1976-1992, attempts to fill the role for the Genesis Mach II, otherwise known as the Phil Collins years, but the problem is, the Collins era was completely different from Gabriel's…

Delivered in the wake of Phil Collins' massive success as a solo star, Invisible Touch was seen at the time as a bit of a Phil Collins solo album disguised as a Genesis album, and it's not hard to see why. Invisible Touch is, without a doubt, Genesis' poppiest album, a sleek, streamlined affair built on electronic percussion and dressed in synths that somehow seem to be programmed, not played by Tony Banks…