Genesis Abacab

Duke showcased a new Genesis – a sleek, hard, stylish trio that truly sounded like a different band from its first incarnation – but Abacab was where this new incarnation of the band came into its own. Working with producer Hugh Padgham, the group escalated the innovations of Duke, increasing the pop hooks, working them seamlessly into the artiest rock here…

Genesis' second double live LP set in less than four years was originally a kind of a hybrid work, and has appeared in several different editions. There was confusion from the start because, despite its title, Three Sides Live in its British version, as Charisma GE 2002, had four concert sides. The U.S. version, which determined the title, was made up of ten live cuts recorded on-stage in Germany in 1981, with Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson in the group's lineup, doing the leaner, more pop-oriented repertory that constituted the group's sound by the early '80s, off of the albums Abacab and Duke. The resulting album offered lean, crisp, and generally bracing accounts of the group's then-current sound - a mix of pop/rock highlighted by some prodigious musicianship - and a four-minute glimpse of its progressive rock past in the guise of the "In the Cage Medley," containing "Cinema Show" from Selling England by the Pound…

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.

Moments of Genesis are as spooky and arty as those on Abacab – in particular, there's the tortured howl of "Mama," uncannily reminiscent of Phil Collins' Face Value, and the two-part "Second Home by the Sea" – but this eponymous 1983 album is indeed a rebirth, as so many self-titled albums delivered in the thick of a band's career often are. Here the art rock functions as coloring to the pop songs, unlike on Abacab and Duke, where the reverse is true…