ANOTHER SIDE OF GENESIS

Interesting view of Genesis mid to latter day songs by someone who actually played them a lot with the band. Although Stuermer never recorded with Genesis in the studio, he has been their live guitarist since Steve Hackett left the group. And he did record with Phil Collins regularly since the early 80´s (and also with Rutherford and Banks, although less frequently). So, he does have enough credentials to actually legitimate this album, I guess. Actually, I was anxious to hear his own interpretatiosn, since he had not very much freedom to do so with Genesis.

Instead of doing something grandiose, he decided to play them mostly with acoustic guitar and with some sparse accompaniment: basicly percussion, with keyboards and sometimes little backing vocals. And, in that way, it works, at least most of the time (a couple of songs - like Land Of Confusion - don´t really fit here) I guess progheads will frown at the lack of bold and more imaginative arrangements, the straigh playing and the track list limited to Genesis pop period. All is true, of course. Still, I enjoy this CD: I think he did a fine, if not very creative, instrumental version of those songs (some of them quite underrated) and it´s an easy listening. Production and playing is top notch.

Conclusion: a good, easy listening instrumental album of pop songs, with tasteful playing. But if you´re looking for bold interpretations or anything broundbreaking or even something really new, go somewhere else. This is basicly straightforward pop. Nice, but nothing more. Since I like this style, I´d give 3 stars, but a more critical look would give it no more than 2. So I guess a 2,5 stars rating would be more fitting. I expected more from such a great musician.

A bit to syrupy for my liking. Granted Daryl Stuermer had every right to do an album of Genesis songs especially as he had played them so many times live over the years but why did he not try and keep that energetic formula together captured many times live. Instead we have Genesis Lite intrumentals which if anything negate his reputation for the riffs and tecniques he is so usually adept at. What we have is Another Side Of Daryl Stuermer to be honest with the songs never really testing any ground and all too easy on the ear. All you need is some Zamfir like flute playing and you will be heading for the nearest exit. Sure it is the artists interpretation but one would expect so much more. A good point in comparison is Steve Hackett's brilliant Tokyo Tapes with his versions of Genesis/King Crimson/Asia tracks albeit mostly live. Sorry but this is too wishy washy for me. Highlights few and far between but probably ' Taking It All Too Hard and Abacab's ' Man On The Corner edge it. For completionists only.

#40 Review

I'm going to give the most positive insight on this album... the music works for a fancy Genesis themed restaurant, where they serve the finest scrambled eggs, lamb stews... of all new and old england.

I apreciate this interesting aproach to Genesis music, and i'm intrigued to experience it in its full, i hope that it lives out to the little preview i heard.

1. Follow You, Follow Me 8/10 What a beautyful start, this song feels different and refreshed with this sound, very relazing and everything, sadly, here is where trend starts of Daryl doing dumb overrided with notes solos near the end.

2. Hold On To My Heart 6/10 This version of the song doesn't deviate much from the original, most of the chords are intact and even most of the instruments sound similar, yet the lead voice is replaced with a sweet guitar. While this song keeps it mostly the same, i think that i can appreciate it a little more now, the song had potential for this kind of style already, but i think that it needs to be even more relaxing, Daryl gets crazy near the end and the voices in the background aren't working for me.

3. Taking It All Too Hard 7/10 Another song that i have under appreciated, i really like when different artists give a different perspective on mostly forgotten Genesis songs, so far this one is working really well, i would ommit that bell sound though, i really feel like that sound has hampered the entire record so far. Near the end gives me that feeling of a shopping channel for some reason, not a big fan of that... "SEE OUR LATEST PRODUCT BY STYX CORP, THIS TRANSGENIC MULTI-SPA SOAP WILL SOAK ALL YOUR WORRIES AWAY AND REDUCE ALL HUMANOID POPULATION TO A MAXIMUM OF 4ft SIZE, GET IT AT YOUR NEAREST TESCORP"

4. Throwing It All Away 3/10 I have been a vocal disliker of the original song, and this one doesn't do much to improve it aside from removing Phil Collins annoying lyrics. It even feels worse because the guitar devoids the song from any energy it had and there's also a voice at half the track wich just ruins it even more. Wich helps this song even less is that it has been played so much by now that a new version doesn't add anything.

5. Since I Lost You 4/10 Another song wich i have criticized before because i felt that it lacked something to really portray the sadness in the lyrics, at the beginning i expected this to be the version that would explain to me why was this song conceived like that, but it doesn't, i kind of feel it but not really, the piano kind of does the job, but the guitar and daryl's playing add much more than it should be added.

6. Land Of Confusion 7/10 This song wouldn't work much for a restaurant or shop channel, but damn it sounds like it could be on the game Daytona USA, because of the bass and the brass, i dig this version, it could use more bongoes and even more bass, and it would be better.

7. In Too Deep 2/10 This is so much less than the original version because Tony Banks keyboards where hampered a lot, the chords remain but the notes aren't there for most of the time, not only that but there's also an added voice in some parts of the song, i don't think that this version does a great job at anything.

8. Turn It On Again 1/10 This is an informercial song, the guitar doesn't let any of the song breath, in this case i much preffer Phil's voice over the guitar and the brass. This is a totally inferior version of the song that doesn't add anything new, i don't recommend this version at all. This version showed me all the weakneses of the original.

9. Man On The Corner 2/10 Lots of people like the original song and i don't get it, this version does nothing to remedy that. The song its somehow too exciting and not calm enough to work with anything else on the album or in the context of a restaurant or something like that, the drums should've been ommitted and the high pitch notes should've been fixed to set the mood, but no.

10. No Son Of Mine 4/10 This one obviously doesn't work for a restaurant, maybe for a shop... at this point i don't know, i didn't think much about it because it kept happening all the time through this album, i said this will be the last song i reviewed and forgot to look a little further for the next one. Well, i like this version because it removes the "elephantus" noise, aside from that it really doesn't add much, in fact, it maintains most of the song, i think that this one is ok and not annoying, the only exception being the solo near the end wich is too much and gets boring.

11. Never A Time 6/10 Another forgotten Genesis song, and another one that i think works better for the sound that this album portrays and i thing that this one really adds a little more to the original song, wich felt like a rehash from another song in its original album, this one without all the shared synths in the original version gives an overall better exp- NO! THEY DID IT AGAIN!! The voice ruined everything again.

This album gets a 44/100 wich means 1 star, that's pretty low, i'm sorry, i really wanted to bring a positive view on this but i feel like this album was made rather quickly in just a few sessions, wich could explain why this album is like it is, there's a clear direction but the vision went unrealized.