ARCHIVE 1967-1975

Basic instructions: 1. Get the 50 or 60 dollars to buy this box set. 2. Buy this box set. 3.Invite friends over who only know the Phil Collins three- piece era. 4. Play these tracks loud. 5. Watch their jaws drop to the floor.

With all due respect to Phil Collins (he's a magnificently talented man), This is peak Genesis! If you play the discs in this order: Disc Four, then Disc three, then Discs One and Two in that order, you can hear this creature grow from meager beginnings (I do like the Anthony Phillips era), into an outfit that made such a majestic contribution to modern music, and I personally get sad that we just don't get much really good stuff anymore. I mean, everyone I really like is dead, disabled, or retired. I mean, the keyboard player for the original Steppenwolf is mowing grass at a golf course, for pity's sake! It lightened the load a little when I read in the accompanying book that the "vintage" line-up (quotations mine) reunited for what must've been an awesome performance.

In a nutshell, this is money well-spent.