CALLING ALL STATIONS

When the album was first announced, the band stated that Stations was going to be "darker" and more reminiscent of old Genesis. Banks and Rutherford cited that new singer Ray Wilson's voice was very similar to that of Peter Gabriel, and that the departure of Phil Collins led to a less pop radio-orientated style of song writing. At the time, most fans rejoiced at the prospect of a Genesis album in the vein of an darker ominous album like And Then There Were Three or maybe even Trespass or Nursery Cryme! Fans from around the world posted praise for the group's seemingly blatant disregard for commercial popularity in exchange for a sound that the die-hard fans would adore and an eagerness to buy the new album. Sadly, neither turned out to be the case. First of all, Calling All Stations is really not a dark album. In fact, I think Collins era albums like Abacab and Genesis have much darker moments (with songs like "Dodo", "Keep It Dark", "Home By The Sea", "Mama" and "Silver Rainbow") than Stations could ever have. Calling All Stations is much less commercial than it's recent predecessors, but using the term "darker" was very misleading. The mislabeling left die-hard fans feeling disappointed since they had false expectations, and left casual radio listeners disenchanted with the album's general lack of commercial appeal. The overall result led to poor sales, a cancelled US tour, and the eventual decision to stop making new Genesis albums. People often say that Phil's departure killed the band, and on a commercially successful level, that might have some truth. I do, however, think Ray Wilson was a good choice for the group. Vocally speaking, I thought he did a great job on the album, but short of bringing Peter Gabriel back, there was just no way that anyone could have stepped into Phil's shoes and made this album sell. I really enjoyed several tracks on Stations, especially the title track, "The Dividing Line", "There Must Be Some Other Way" and "Not About Us." Unfortunately, a couple of songs like "Shipwrecked" (which sounded a great deal like ELO's "Can't Get It Out of My Head") and "Alien Afternoon" seemed a tad weak for a Genesis album. Other tracks seemed like they would have fit better on a Tony Banks solo album or a Mechanics' project. All in all, I enjoyed Stations, but it takes more than a handful of record sales to make an album go gold or platinum. Hence, the death of a great band.