Genesis Reunion?
In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Peter Gabriel says that a Genesis reunion is now more likely than ever.
Will the Lamb lie down on Broadway once more? For years, the former members of Genesis have said that they are ready, willing and able to reform the group at original frontman Peter Gabriel's whim -- and for years Gabriel has adamantly refused. Until now. "The odds [of a Genesis reunion] are better now than before," Gabriel tells Rolling Stone. "We're going to have the conversation."
Not to be a Negative Nelly about this, but they'd better do a new album and not just tour. I mean, I hate the thought of Genesis reforming to become a pure nostalgia act. Whatever you may think of the solo efforts of the various ex-members, the fact is that there's quite a bit of variety to be had in the solo catalogs. Mike Rutherford continues to make what I consider to be rather bland pop music with Mike and the Mechanics; Phil Collins makes more bland pop music although his jazz band work is interesting; Steve Hackett seems to alternate more traditional prog albums with those that reflect his classical guitar leanings; Tony Banks' last album was of classical music and featured his own work; and Peter Gabriel's world music-inflected avant pop continues unabated. While I think seeing them live sans any new material would be fun and I'm sure they would have fun playing on stage together, I would certainly prefer that they do a new album and exercise their joint creative muscles. The reworking they did in 1999 of "Carpet Crawlers" left me ambivalent. The downside of it was that it wasn't particularly great. It just kind of moped along. If it weren't for a great melody from 1974, the song would just be schlock. On the other hand, you could hear the various influences of each member individually and they blended well - it's just that the listener expected something more interesting. There were no clashes but it felt "safe".
While I'd probably go see them live even if there were no new material offered, I'd be much, much happier if they did write and record together again. Looking at the diverisity of their solo efforts, I think they could come up with some great and interesting music. It would be a shame if they squandered the opportunity.
Will the Lamb lie down on Broadway once more? For years, the former members of Genesis have said that they are ready, willing and able to reform the group at original frontman Peter Gabriel's whim -- and for years Gabriel has adamantly refused. Until now. "The odds [of a Genesis reunion] are better now than before," Gabriel tells Rolling Stone. "We're going to have the conversation."
Not to be a Negative Nelly about this, but they'd better do a new album and not just tour. I mean, I hate the thought of Genesis reforming to become a pure nostalgia act. Whatever you may think of the solo efforts of the various ex-members, the fact is that there's quite a bit of variety to be had in the solo catalogs. Mike Rutherford continues to make what I consider to be rather bland pop music with Mike and the Mechanics; Phil Collins makes more bland pop music although his jazz band work is interesting; Steve Hackett seems to alternate more traditional prog albums with those that reflect his classical guitar leanings; Tony Banks' last album was of classical music and featured his own work; and Peter Gabriel's world music-inflected avant pop continues unabated. While I think seeing them live sans any new material would be fun and I'm sure they would have fun playing on stage together, I would certainly prefer that they do a new album and exercise their joint creative muscles. The reworking they did in 1999 of "Carpet Crawlers" left me ambivalent. The downside of it was that it wasn't particularly great. It just kind of moped along. If it weren't for a great melody from 1974, the song would just be schlock. On the other hand, you could hear the various influences of each member individually and they blended well - it's just that the listener expected something more interesting. There were no clashes but it felt "safe".
While I'd probably go see them live even if there were no new material offered, I'd be much, much happier if they did write and record together again. Looking at the diverisity of their solo efforts, I think they could come up with some great and interesting music. It would be a shame if they squandered the opportunity.
posted by Palmer at 6:36 PM
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