d Genesis

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. In that sense, it does seem a bit like No Jacket Required, and the heavy emphasis on pop tunes does serve the singer, not the band, but it's not quite fair to call this a Collins album, and not just because there are two arty tunes that could have fit on its predecessor, Genesis.

The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts is the fourth live album by British band Genesis. Eight songs were recorded live on the 1992 We Can't Dance tour, with the remaining three recorded on the 1986–87 Invisible Touch tour. While the album centres on Genesis' shorter and commercial songs, a companion piece, The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs focuses on their lengthier material. The shared title of the two releases refers to the phrase "the way I walk," which appears in the lyrics to two different songs, "I Can't Dance" on Volume One, and "I Know What I Like" on Volume Two.

Founded in the late '60s in Surrey, England, Genesis rose out of the ashes of earlier bands formed by schoolmates Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, and Anthony Phillips (who departed after 1969's Trespass, the album providing the final track on this stellar retrospective). Guitarist Steve Hackett soon signed on, as did drummer/vocalist Phil Collins, who'd later emerge (as would Gabriel) as a solo superstar. Following Gabriel's 1975 departure, Genesis grew from a progressive art-rock outfit into one of the biggest arena rock acts ever, with a long string of platinum-sellers and chart smashes.

Coming almost two decades after his debut solo offering, Invisible is the second solo album by drummer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Nick D’Virgilio (Big Big Train/Spock’s Beard/Genesis etc).