Genesis: 'Calling All Stations' | is it really that bad?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มิ.ย. 2023
- Genesis 'Calling All stations' is an album that has not been well recieved, so in this video I revisit the record and ask if it is really that bad?
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I really liked Calling All Stations and was disappointed that there was never a follow up.
I thought they were moving in an interesting direction.
Wilson might not have been Gabriel or Collins, but could’ve helped Genesis show real progression if he’d been allowed to.
Great àlbum with a amazing writing, sound and production. Mike and Tony at top form.
“That world of tweed, crumpets and ritualised buggery” - that phrase alone was worth watching this video….
Whatever it is, good or bad, Genesis it isn't.
Calling All Stations is such an underrated and under appreciated album. I've always thought it was great. Ray Wilson wasn't given a fair chance. I would've loved to have seen another album with the Wilson/Rutherford/Banks lineup. The closest thing we have to it is the eight b-sides and outtakes from the CAS sessions. Those eight songs make an excellent album on their own.
I thought Ray had signed a contract to do two albums with Genesis, so maybe they bought him out of it after their USA shows ere cancelled. There had to bee a lack of promotion somewhere. I was not on the internet then so I registered on their mailing list. I wasn't notified about the UK leg of their tour until a week before it happened.
rebought the album a few weeks ago, I rarely listened to this back in the 90's and 00's, but it sounds surprisingly better now, as if it were ahead of its time, and possibly, compared to the trash we have today, this sounds like a masterpiece.
Culture club would sound like a masterpiece compared to today.
2:52 "the cloistered world of Charterhouse ... that world of tweed, crumpets, and ritualised buggery."
My God, the way you just dropped that line in there, deadpan, almost slew me. Respect.
I agree this was such a lost opportunity. There are indeed a few abysmal tracks, but I found by switching those out for some of the excellent B-sides, there is a really great album here:
01. The Dividing Line
02. Sign Your Life Away
03. Not About Us
04. Alien Afternoon
05. If That's What You Need
06. 7-8
07. One Man's Fool
08. There Must Be Some Other Way
09. Uncertain Weather
10. Calling All Stations
Loved the review of this largely dismissed album. Agree wholeheartedly with you that the b-sides were very good and some fans have made redux versions of this album to make the album sound more dynamic. Its an album for a deluxe cd reissue, alongside the live Katowice gig. They were a tight band that would’ve developed if given the time and space.
I like that list, although I would place Anything Now in there ("B side" to Not About Us)
I've been working on a tracklist for an alternate version of CAS myself. I haven't finalized one yet, but here's one possibility:
1. Calling All Stations
2. Banjo Man
3. Nowhere Else To Turn
4. Run Out of Time
5. Not About Us
6. 7/8 (with lyrics added)
7. The Dividing Line
8. Sign Your Life Away
9. Phret (maybe Papa He Said instead?)
10. There Must Be Some Other Way
11. Anything Now
@@jhillst Very different selection from mine, but the fact that you've also removed the "three abysmals" tells me this is definitely worth a listen! Thanks for sharing.
@@jhillst Another good list - Phret and Papa He Said are ones I forgot about, decent choices, whichever one.
Great video with an interesting analysis!
I am a big fan of Genesis, and I would say that before the release of this album I was a huge fan. When Calling All Stations was released, I wanted to like it, so much. Knowing that sometimes, appreciation for a new album has to grow on you, I gave it so many listens, and so many chances, and despite really wanting this album to grow on me, it never did.
It comes so close, several times, but it just always falls short. The potential is there, but it just fails to be great.
I easily rank this at the very bottom of the Genesis catalogue, together with From Genesis to Revelation. The leap from this to albums like Abacab and We Can't Dance is vast in my opinion. Abacab contains great songs like Dodo, Keep It Dark and the title track, and We Can't Dance contains masterful emotional pieces like Fading Lights, Driving the Last Spike and No Son of Mine.
Despite preferring the Gabriel era of Genesis to the Collins era, I do find We Can't Dance to be vastly better than most people give it credit for.
Calling All Stations just makes me feel frustrated over the greatness that could have been, but just becomes a lackluster mess instead.
So, in my opinion, yes, Calling All Stations is really that bad.
Thank you for an awesome video!
No FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION non può essere a pari di CALLING..... È assai più interessante, è un album d'esordio che contiene già dei brani intriganti validi e poi se permettete qui c'è al canto un giovanissimo Peter Gabriel che già solo questo fa la differenza, poi gli arrangiamenti sono psich beat e perché no vi è già anche la componente prog rock che è un po' timida anche ingegnosamente ingenua ma secondo me ha il suo fascino, quindi tutta la vita FROM GENESIS..... rispetto a CALLING....... A me FROM GENESIS..... Piace di più anche di ABACAB, di GENESIS, WE CAN 'T DANCE e DUKE, quindi lo metterei forse dopo AND THERE WERE THREE e WIND & WUTHERING!!!!!!!!!! Ma ad ogni modo il disco mi piace abbastanza!!!!!!!!
I'm a huge genesis fan (fav band ever by far) and this is exactly how I think, except I prefer the Collins era.
I also remember really wanting to like this album- but I found it as boring as a Mike and the Mechanics album- a few nice sparks, but mostly dreary stuff. First Genesis album I didn’t listen to all the way through on first listen. It bored me
I've always really liked CAS. A few bits I'm not keen on but in general I really enjoy it. Definitely should have built on this.
In the pre-internet days I had no idea it was coming until it was just there one day in Woolies; taking it home and playing it was crushing. I only really like the title track and even that is something of a monotonous drone that, as Tony Banks said himself, doesn't 'lift' early enough. Continuing after this album would have been brave and interesting, and I'm sure, better, but dropping it and trying to forget all about it is typical of Banks/Rutherford.
I liked this album and loved Ray Wilson's vocals. This introduced me to him as a songwriter and I have heard most of his solo stuff and it is great. I think if they had made another album with him and given him more input, it would have been a great improvement. I have not heard this album in a while, but I remember it not having enough instrumental passages on it. I actually thought it was better than Invisible Touch.
I liked it from the 'get go'. A strong set of songs, sung by an incredibly powerful singer. It didn't commercially work because we all were thrown in at the deep end. The majority had no idea Phil had left. A knee jerk judgement followed. It was a good album. Ray Wilson said in an early interview, ".....when I got the job, I phoned my Mum" Wilson was an invited guest at the Berlin concert, Collins tapped Wilson on the shoulder and said, " tell your mum I got my job back." I went off of Collins after hearing that.
Happy to see someone comment on this album. I got it on its release, and quite liked it. Wilson's voice is a nice alternative from the other singers. It's a bit gruff, which I like.
The lyrics, on the other hand, I find the weakest aspect of an otherwise good album.
Appreciate your work here, sir.
Ray Wilson found his place and his voice in Genesis, on the last song, “One Man’s Fool”. It certainly is a stunning composition. Up to then, it’s as if the previous ten songs served as Wilson’s somewhat stuttering journey along the route to the destination known as the lead vocalist with Genesis. They really should have continued on to do another album.
The ending of that song has goosebump moments for me, like the Drawing Lines part, the There Are Only Dreams parts. Tony and Ray pulled off an amazing final song to the catalog/career.
One Man's Fool compares to their 70s stuff imo. The rest of the album is mostly better than their mid-80s stuff.
You know what would've been funny, though? If Genesis had hired a certain _other_ Scottish vocalist by the name of Derek William Dick. He'd collaborated with Banks a couple of times (late 80s, early 90s). I wonder if that was ever considered, or whether it would've been too "on the nose." And I wonder if Fish would've accepted if it had been mooted?
Fish would have been an interesting proposition
That would have been a great idea. His voice and songwriting could only have helped.
I heard somewhere that Fish was considered for the position.
@@classicalbum Fish even sounds la bit like Gabriel so he could have been perfect for the role.
@@jwavada Apparently there were rumours, unsure if they were true that Paul Carrack from Mike And The Mechanics was being touted for the frontman role. Carrack has arguably one of the most distinctive voices in British Pop/Rock.
The collapse to tour the USA with meager sales scream Where's Phil Collins, no Phil no sales seems to be the case.
Id seen a lot of hate about calling all stations online, so when it finally returned to Spotify i gave it a curious listen and honestly i absolutely adored it. Yeah the fadeouts may be a bit annoying but i dont think we lost anything much with them. I enjoy it a lot. I still listen to it on occasion and it sounds so clean and good
This is actually one of my "go to" Genesis albums ... after the classic Steve Hackett era then this is the one I play ... especially the first half ... I would really enjoy getting the "full" set of recordings (retrived b-sides, etc) ... and I would also enjoy hearing the live concerts from this era ... I like Genesis and thoroughly enjoy Ray Wilson's vocals ... For me, this album quite easily outscores And Then There Were Three, We Can't Dance, etc. Others will have their own view ... Cool video again ... CMcG, Aberdeen, Scotland
I would’ve loved to hear David Longdon sing with Genesis
No, it might have meant Big big train connection may have never happened, wilson was a better fit in the sense of wanted it to be a bit different genesis sound, david's classy vocals was too genesisesque for that to happen, though I think it would have imploded even if David took over, but it was a very good album, better than most of negativity it gets from "Rabid" genesis "aficionados" 😒
Longdon actually auditioned for the position and when passed over, was asked by Banks, "Where were you in 1975?" to which
Longdon replied, "I was 10!"
Tony regretted not giving David Longdon the job and attended one of the concerts the band performed at Cadagon in 2017, David's incredible vocals were even better than Collins and would have been very beneficial for Genesis at that time, they definitely made a huge mistake not choosing David but then again we have the glorious Big Big Train.
@@stuartwaby3081 didn’t David do a great job on Spectral mornings
@@merlinscat Love his voice on everything i've heard, he would have been perfect for Genesis.
I recently re-watched the very comprehensive Genesis documentary Together and Apart. This line up or album did not even get a mention.
The thing I always thought weird about this album is that most of the songs sound like they were only half-done or that there were longer, better versions that were edited to pop length. They fade out when it feels like we are only at the halfway point of the song, and that includes "Congo", "Calling All Stations" and "Uncertain Weather", which are the highlights for me (especially the last one). I'm wondering if there were supposed to be musical passages and solos that hit the cutting room floor.
Totally agree, especially on the first two tracks.... whilst on my very first listen I thought that both cas, and congo were faded out early AND in not a traditional place to fade out.. I.e. a chorus.
Better to have fuller, unedited versions and drop a song or two from the album ( but that's another story.....)
There were other songs that hit the cutting room floor; they could have made it onto a second album.
I like this album much more than We Can't Dance. If Phil C had been the singer the critics who bashed the album would have praised it.
Album went back to their prog roots, Collins fans weren't interested. That's what happened and why it didn't do very well commercially.
I think it's an excellent album, One man's fool is criminally underrated.
I like the title track and Dividing Line. Haven't heard the rest of it in some time. One of these days I'll give it another listen.
Just discovered this album today, and the two tracks you mentioned were the ones that stood out for me as well upon my first listen. 🤪👍
If you had landed on Earth form another universe and given this a listen - or were simply an Earthling with all Genesis baggage parked to one side - I dare say this album would have received much better reviews from far more people... and (Illegal) aliens. I actually really enjoyed it back in the day - not necessarily as a Genesis album, but as a music album. Ironically, I also really enjoyed the contributions by the session drummers employed to play on it. Sacrilege, I know. I'll show myself out, but not before adding that this is unquestionably the best music review / discussion channel out there. Keep up the sterling work.👍
I've always felt that, aside from Trick of the Tail, the first album after a lineup changes is a little weak whereas the second album after the lineup change is massively better. Trespass was good, but Nursery Crime was hugely better. Nursery Crime was great, but Foxtrot really improved on it a lot. Like I said, Trick was them hitting on all cylinders right from the start, so it's the odd one out. And I think Duke was a big improvement on And Then There Were Three.
So Calling All Stations wasn't a standout Genesis album, but they were at least half done with most of the songs before they even knew who was going to sing them, and (iirc) only one or two gave Ray Wilson any involvement in the writing at all. But if they had done a followup album, they might have been able to shore up the problems with that trio. I think it's a damn shame that Rutherford decided that it was over after CAS. I think had they done just one more album together, it could have been fantastic.
I think it´s a perfectly fine album. Some great songs, excellent singer, a little like some of the later Sabbath albums, which are excellent but simply not what people expect when they read the name on the album.
Calling all stations underrated album was a return to form after the pop of the mid 80s deserve another listen
Very well said
Imagine if the late, great David Longdon, singer, flute player and multi-instrumentalist, had got the job. He came second after Ray Wilson. David Longdon went on to have great success with Big Big Train before he sadly passed away last year. Not only a great singer and musician but a wonderful song writer. Genesis could even have had another singing drummer in the shape of Nick D'Virgilio.
Found myself agreeing with much of what you said there!
First, I tip my hat to Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford for being very brave in trying to carry on Genesis without Phil Collins. They had to at least give it a try and see how it would go. As for the Calling All Stations album itself, while I don’t think it’s the greatest album the band ever did, I like it a lot. It was definitely a darker album, with some great prog moments. For me, Alien Afternoon, There Must Be Some Other Way, and One Man’s Fool are the stand outs, but the whole album works really well in my opinion. Tony and Mike both deliver really good work on this. As for the new guys, I like Ray Wilson’s vocals, as he kinda has that gravelly Peter Gabriel-ish tone to his voice, and I thought drummers Nir Z and Nick D’Virgilio did a fine job on the drum kit. The bottom line from me is that Calling All Stations still sounds like Genesis to me, and although it was sad to lose Phil, I was very excited to see where this new version of Genesis would go from here.
Unfortunately, the album flopped BIG TIME in America, not even making the Top 50 on the album chart, and Genesis couldn’t even tour over here (although the European tour went on). I think the album was promoted very poorly by Atlantic Records, and also, as good a singer as Ray Wilson is, nobody in America knew who he was. Ray was known in the UK for his brief stint as the singer for Stiltskin, but in America, he was an unknown. If Tony and Mike had chosen a bigger name to replace Phil with, that might’ve helped. Also, while European audiences were accepting of this new Genesis, I think too many people in America thought of Genesis as The Phil Collins Band, so Tony and Mike no longer having their cash cow lead singer and drummer and replacing him with an unknown singer (and drummers) was probably doomed to fail, in retrospect.
Still, there is the album itself. Calling All Stations seems to be the Genesis album that Tony and Mike would rather sweep under the rug if they could, but I’ve always enjoyed it. And although it’s the final Genesis album, I appreciate that Tony and Mike gave us one more platter of Genesis music before all was said and done with the band’s recording career. Thumbs up from me. 😊
The first album by Genesis I had on CD, bought new upon release. Not a bad album at all, though a bit overlong (CD syndrome, for those who know). Sure, Collins and Gabriel are nowhere to be seen or heard on Calling All Stations, but Wilson does a great job on it. By no means was he the Blaze Bailey of Genesis.
The stand out track for me is Uncertain Weather which would not be out of place on A Curious Feeling or even Duke.
I loved your review of CAS. If I might offer my tuppence worth. As a long-term Genesis fan of all eras, and have had the privilege of playing their music live (check out @Genesisn't), I too had trouble considering this as a Genesis album. After all, where were the keyboard solos of Selling England and Duke; where were the long songs like Cinema Show and Domino; where were the intricate guitar parts of Steve Hackett?
I don't think it's a bad album and there are parts of Calling All Stations and Alien Afternoon that almost sweep me away as much as anything pre-1992. If I might offer what helped me out, it dawned on me that this was an album that was better though of as what would have happened had Tony Banks joined Mike and the Mechanics.
P.S. I'm a bit worried about 3:00 and the "...ritualised buggery."
Big fan of Genesis (all incarnations) but never listened to this album. What turned me off is Wilson saying in an interview he didn't know Genesis (or never listened to them). Why would you want to sing for a band you don't know, and why would Banks and Rutherford hire someone who wasn't familiar with the songs? The whole thing felt weird and forced.
Your review is absolutely bang on the money. I wonder if Banks and Rutherford lost their nerve and pulled the plug too early as this is a decent album. Foxtrot or Selling England it most certainly ain't, but Ray Wilson adds quite a bit to this album's appeal (imho), giving it a bit of an edge which I like. It's interesting that he says he was never really 'fired' from Genesis, it's just that they never called him again after the US tour was shelved.
I’d take this album over We Can’t Dance every time… some great tunes 😎
Agreed!
Much better keyboard textures on cas, wcd sounded like pre sets.
Love it. Its twice as long as all their others except Lamb and Dance. And Sign Your Life Away and Run Out of Time (non album B side) are great songs too.
I quite like it. There are some decent tracks on there, but I love the opener (although should lift earlier than it does) and that ballad (Not about us).
It misses the 'Collins effect' for me as the Banks, Collins, Rutherford writing chemistry was exceptionally well-balanced between immediate pop, crossover, and epic prog from 'And Then There Were Three' to '1983 Genesis'.
have no problem with this album from start to finish, unceartin weather is my fave
I remember this coming out and i loved it saw, the show in earls court, was waiting for a second album of this line up.
Wilson’s job was excellent, but the album needed more COWBELL, I mean more HACKETT !
I picked this up on cd in ‘99. I had a huge stage listening to the whole Calling All Stations several times a week for months. I especially associate it with December of 99.
I bought this album alongside almost the entire collection in a sale of Japanese Edition CDs, vinyl replicas not knowing what was I about to encounter.
I hated immediately the choice of hiring Wilson. Picking a singer to mimic Peter Gabriel's voice unsuccessfully really got on my nerves, specially in songs like uncertain Weather where they try to make their own version of PG,'s Red Rain, or the horrendous Small Talk as an attempt to make their own Sledgehammer.
This seemed like an insult to me, but I left my prejudices aside and dug deep into this album, giving it many listens.
It really captured me at first. They seemed to be heading to a new bold direction, but also trying to rely on Mike Rutherford 's penchance to schmaltz that we unjustly blamed solely on Collins.
There are great moments of musicianship on the hired guns, Mike's guitar is discreet and tries successfully to hide his limitations ( unlike on We Can't Dance where he fails miserably).
Tony Banks seemed a bit awakened from his stupor, now he doesn't seem to fall asleep on a chord and tries some interesting soundscapes.
But these guys were after commercial success and not after artistic endeavour or challenge so they called it quits. Now I don't find Wilson to be a bad vocalist, and I actually like him.
For the people who says that "this is not a Genesis album", it IS the most Genesis album of all, because the 2 guys who drove the boat with iron hand were at the helm, finally with an opportunity to show that they were really the brains of the band.
They failed to prove anything except that they had all the political power in the band.
After a lot of listens, the album finally lost its lustre and I haven't picked it up in ages, but it's not a disaster by any means. That honour goes to We Can't Dance and Invisible Touch.
I was quite young when this was released, so it was nice to see my favourite band release a new album in my adulthood. In the nineties, I worked effectively backwards buying all the back-catalogue. This, to me is the one after Tresspass :D I still like it a lot, although not as much as the 1970-77 era.
Very fair and balanced review. I agree with your Donkey analogy. Lacked production savvy. Your review is brave because it is easy to trash the album, but there are many strong bits. Missed opportunity for a great album I agree.
A great prog band in the 70s. A catchy pop band in the 80s. Don't remember them any later.
I’ve heard this singer solo doing an amazing rendition of carpet crawlers!
Should've got 2nd continuity voice of Derek Dick!😉
I rate calling all stations. It has a fantastic atmosphere and production throughout and Ray has a great voice
I like the album but you hit the nail on the head when you said it could have been bad, but it could also have been better.
By this point the band lacked 'characters' (and thus character). Wilson and drummer Nir Z were unknowns, so there was no immediate engagement factor with the Genesis audience, which is something Collins benefited from when he moved up to the mic.
Also worth noting that dummer Nir Z is an excellent player. He is currently a top session player in Nashville, a town where survival of the fittest is the reality.
It's better than I thought it'd be but definitely not as good as it could have been. CAS, Congo, Alien Afternoon, Not About Us, Uncertain Weather, Dividing Line, Some Other Way. Plenty of good moments. The live band was all right as well. A shame it wasn't Chester and Daryl for the tour but Nir and Ant were fine. I agree I'd now like to see a Genesis show with Ray, Mike, Nic or Nir, Ant or Steve and maybe Mark Kelly on keys if Tony wasn't interested. Either the Nir and Ant rhythm section doing a selection from say 1978 to 1997 or with Nic and Steve doing a selection from say 1971 to 1977.
Although my opinion has no value in this context, I would like to say that this is my favorite album of Genesis and I really like Wilson’s voice. If anybody would dare, somebody might create with the assistance of IA a cover version of one of these songs using Phil Collins voice. I’m sure that you will appreciate the good performance of Wilson.
It’s a great album! I’m a huge fan of the Gabriel and Collin’s eras of the group. A real, real shame this line up didn’t continue.
I really liked (and like) this album. I actually prefer it to And Then There Were Three and Abacab. Especially The Dividing Line is a great track.
As an anecdote, I have a friend who's a big fan of 70s Genesis and Yes, but who doesn't care for anything these bands did from the eighties on. I told him to listen to Calling All Stations when it came out, and to my surprise he quite liked it!
You could do a double feature on Queen here: Hot Space and Cosmos Rocks.
I've done Queen's 'Hot Space'
@@classicalbum oh sorry, silly me
I love this album, despite its typically '90's 'loud' production values. It has some really interesting progressive tracks (I think), and I love Ray Wilson's voice. The Chicago Tribune's comment that it was just a 'formless blob of synth sounds' suggests to me that the reviewer hadn't actually listened to it. As I think one or two other people have pointed out here - if Phil Collins had still been with the band, this album wouldn't have been trashed, but applauded.
Calling all stations the song is my favorite Genesis song. Love it
Wow! I know music is a matter of taste and personal opinion, but that really surprises me given the quality of their catalogue.
I’m not disrespecting the catalog, I love all versions of Genesis. I think it’s the darkness and the fact that I identify with the lyrics so much.
@@kevinpwright Fair play, and wasn’t suggesting disrespect for the catalogue. I’ve just never heard any Genesis fan rate CAS as their favourite. It’s an unusual choice. If it speaks to you, though….
I really like this album. The opening three songs are good, I'd personally dump Alien Afternoon off it, and the rest of the album is where the best tracks are.
I love CAS. I wish they would have recorded a follow up with Ray.
Excellent review. I went to see Genesis on the ‘We Can’t Dance’ tour, & was really curious as to how things would go without Collins. On hearing Calling All Stations I started delighted & ended up resigned that this was the end. Musically the album is brilliant, but there’s so many faults. The main one for me is the depressing ‘fillers’. If Shipwrecked, Not About Us and If That’s What You Need (a blatant crooner designed for Collins if there ever was one) had been removed, it would’ve been better. Then there’s the lyrics. Small Talk & Alien Afternoon suffer badly from bad lyrics & Uncertain Weather comes across as a song to slash your wrists to. But the main problem is Wilson. A great singer, completely unsuited to this music. I’m amazed that Banks & Rutherford didn’t ask Peter Gabriel back at this point. Imagine what he could’ve done with songs like Congo & Small Talk! Another choice for me would’ve been (controversially) Bowie. He’d just finished with Tin Machine & this would’ve been a new adventure. His voice could have brought Calling All Stations to life, added grit to Small Talk & brought panache to Alien Afternoon. More importantly he wouldn’t have allowed Banks & Rutherford to push him around. Anyway that’s my thoughts. Once again, thanks so much for the review.👍
Not About Us is one of the few good songs, if you ask me. Nice return of the acoustic guitar on that one.
I love it, when I see Genesis album ranking shows, it comes up within my top 7. No joke. Meaning it's in the top half pretty well each time
Ray W is an excellent singer and his voice definitely suits the darker style used in Calling All Stations, still prefer it to the god awful then we were 3 album
It’s got a little more palatable with age. It’s not a bad album and suffered from some very bad press at the time.
Also look at what Banks was up to with the glossy if underwhelming “Bankstatement” (I have it on cassette somewhere!).
I’d like to hear a live recording of Wilson in the band… at least there’s no “Blues Brothers” medley!
Personally I would have preferred to see Fish with the band at the time following the excellent work he’s done with Banks.
Although I can certainly appreciate the efforts of Tony and Mike, as long time G fan it’s still the only one of theirs I don’t own. And I’m all for the saying “ never knock it unless you’ve tried it “. So I gave it whirl but came away unimpressed. What can I say, I’m spoiled with the best of their work and “ Calling “ is not one of them. But as always, thanks for an excellent review.
I think this was very nearly a great album but it just lacked a certain spark at vital times. Maybe it was Phil Collins as an arranger or Steve Hackett contributing on the guitar. It reminded me of a comment Peter Gabriel made about "The Lamb.." when he said that atmospheres were caught in some of the tracks.
I like it. Better than a lot of them Genesis albums from the 80 and 90s
Absolutely agree with it being an opportunity missed. Ray Wilson is a great singer and perhaps they could have turned back the clock to a more 70s style, but yes, it didn’t really work. A shame that it turned out to the last Genesis album. Should they have had another go?
I really was actually exited when they bought Ray on. This album in my humble opinion is a breath of fresh air and somewhat a reset for the band. I really enjoyed this record. That my 2 cents about this album.
Always loved early Genesis Gabriel, but not Collins i am afraid.
Strange that, Marillion i love both eras
I enjoyed this album enough that I was looking forward to possibly seeing Genesis on the tour. Sadly, as you stated, they cancelled the US tour. I particularly like The Dividing Line and Alien Afternoon. Regardless of what anyone in the band is willing to admit, I think Fading Lights from the previous album was about Phil leaving the band. Thus, it's a bit of a bittersweet closing track to We Can't Dance.
Thinking back, I think Jack Hues singing on CAS would have made it 200% better as I quite enjoy Strictly Inc by Tony Banks. Definitely one of his better solo albums in my opinion.
Prior to the production of the "Calling All Stations" album, Kevin Gilbert was invited to audition to be the lead singer for Genesis. However, he died of Autoerotic Asphyxiation just days before he was to leave for London for the audition. He was a brilliant musician, songwriter and producer in the LA scene. I wonder how this album would have turned out with Kevin out front?
Not so bad.
A long time Genesis fan.
Better than most of the disgruntled comments.
As a Genesis album, it is out of the Canon.
I have listened to this album many times. A very good listen. Should have included Chester, Hackett and Daryl, then maybe more like a Genesis album.
But i have really thought i was listening to another spin off album.
Mike and Tony together wrote very good lryics, but the album was rushed.
Personally i have felt like Genesis, the band, has lived too long. It started and ended with the Mama album.
Tradgic.
This album should have been a Super group project (Banks/Rutherford/Wilson) and not Genesis Cannon. It was released at a point where band and Record company would know that it sells more, but not a strong album as a result. I think the listeners would find this more accepting if it were a collaboration project and accept the diversity away from what Genesis were like in the more recent albums.
I think fans were pretty much done with Genesis at that point. I don't believe a Genesis album with Phil Collins at that point would have made much impact, much less a throwback record with an unknown lead singer.
Shipwrecked and Congo were my favorites. I agree with you; it’s a good album.
Genesis lost not one, but two great frontmen. Hard to recover from that
I've always liked it. In fact it's one of my favourite albums. It's not one of my favourite Genesis albums though. This is the root of the perceived problem. It's a good album, it just isn't a good "Genesis" album, more of a good Ray Wilson album. While he isn't as great as Gabriel (who could be?) I much prefer his vocals to Collins who I simply never got on with. I enjoyed it more than any Genesis album since Wind and Wuthering.
True, I've heard snippets of this album over the years, it certainly is not overly impressive, but then neither was We Can't Dance. That record was also panned by the critics. Given that, Banks and Rutherford do get kudos for soldiering on. They could have retired enjoying the life of well heeled country gentlemen at that point. I think maybe they should have. Their song Ripples has a line about closing the book and gracefully declining. The meaning being, there is a time to bow out gracefully, this last dance wasn't very graceful.
I absolutely love shipwrecked and congo!
I love it and play it a lot. It has it's flaws but it clicks with me. I know i'm pretty much on my own with this
You’re not alone at all…..
I feel the same way
Two hard acts to follow Peter & Phil. Deff got a little bit of the Mike & the Mechanics vibe to it.. Vocal style is not at same level .. But its not that bad like you say when you compare it to other standard rock albums of the period..
It is what it is and at it's best it's an enjoyable late 90s rock album with some decent songs such as Congo, alien afternoon and the dividing line and Ray Wilson did a good job as a vocalist and did his best with what he had to work with is it classic genesis no but it's an alright stand alone album
Thanks buddy.
Any time!
I really enjoyed it when first released but after a while Ray Wilson's voice started to grate & I grew tired of it & buried it away for years & then rediscovered it well over a decade later & it's not a disaster by any means but I does have a few duffers on the album especially Small Talk which must go down as one of the worst Genesis songs ever & even more surprising is the bonus songs on the 3 singles released were all much better than most of the album songs so I don't know who picked the final 11 ? Congo, There Must Be Some Other Way & One Man's Fool are top notch Genesis songs but I just wish Phil Collins sang them!!
Good assessment if this album Barry, I agree, it’s not a bad album at all, just a missed opportunity.
I look at this album much like everyone looked at VH3. Change of singers and totally different singers that fans just couldn't deal with. I actually liked this album for the most part when it came out. There were parts that I didn't, but overall I thought it was a good album. Of course, without Phil Collins a huge hurdle to get over.
Spot on
I too shelved this after a couple listens at the time, it just seemed so uninspired to me. I should give it another go, maybe my older ears will hear something now. Cheers from Canada
I always thought Calling All Stations was more even than We Can't Dance: We Can't Dance has higher highs, but lower lows. I like it okay, better on the whole than We Can't Dance, which I also like okay.
It'very simple to see after all these yrs of a music industry. .when a new member,especially a singer joinsnam established band,it either sells,or it don't!Wilson unfairly had big shoes to fill, even though he made his own footprints,but to follow behind Phil and Peter,it just didn't sell..I like a few songs off CAS,but it's a shame when they did the simple acoustic set during what tour they did,nobody cared...they did it on The Last Domino tour,even loves, praises and screams...🤦♂️🤷♂️😑
I love Genesis regardless!!just like Black Sabbath, all 50+yrs!! And Fleetwood Mac!!if ur just a fan of the Hot,commercial moments,then I will respect ur opinion, butnot value it much lol, cause I'm there for it all!!✌️🍻
I wonder what Phil Collins thought of the Album...?
I dont think this is a bad album at all. People wouldn't give it a chance because of the absence of Phil Collins. I like to believe that the character in 'Calling All Stations' (the song) is the same one from 'Stagnation'. It's basically the same story, about someone who may be the last survivor of humanity. I like to think it's a continuation of the 'stagnation' story. So it does have continuity even from the earliest Genesis canon (obviously a theme that Tony Banks likes to return to, I think he was the writer of CAS)
I always liked it but I can see why most didn't. Congo is actually one of my favorite Genesis songs.
Consider myself a major Genesis fan but this album and "We Can't Dance" are never played on my stereo. Ah well...
Ray Wilson narrowly beat David Longdon for the lead vocal job. Glad he did, otherwise we might not have had those wonderful Big big Train albums before his untimely death.
I was thinking the same thing and would come to the same conclusion with David's work in BBT.
Think Ray pipped David to the band, as he was more " in vogue" and its better headlines " genesis choose stiltskin vocalist"...
@@andydan3053 There's probably truth in that. I read a blog by David Longdon about it, he thought he lacked live experience in Mike and Tony's eyes. What a brilliant frontman he was for BBT though.
@@slowmarchingband1 tbh didn't think Ray was "touring" with stiltskin really, as I got the impression that the band was a "producer's band".... but I may be wrong... he arguably had more studio experience...
OH GOD YES
I love it.