NOT ABOUT US

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Run out of time indeed

The third single extracted from the "Calling all stations" album, it was becoming increasingly apparent that this version of Genesis were finding it difficult to accept that perhaps the album did not in fact contain a hit.

"Not about us" finds the band reverting to full sloppy ballad mode, the sort Phil Collins had imposed upon them so unfortunately during that difficut period in his life. Indeed, this could well have been a Collins composition.

The interest in such a single stems only therefore from the other tracks on the CDs, which are otherwise unavailable. There are two versions of the CD release, one of which contains new studio recordings, the other live versions of Gabriel and Collins era songs, plus a live recording of "Not about us". The live tracks are of only passing interest, but they do place on record Ray Wilson's interpretations during his brief stay.

There are three otherwise available studio tracks, all are Banks/Rutherford compositions. "Anything now" is a rambling pop rock number, with a funky beat and trite lyrics. "Sign your life away" has a bit more appeal, but it's still solid "B" side material. The final track, "Run out of time" is a reflective ballad, with some atmospheric keyboards by Banks, and a distinguished vocal from Wilson. It's certainly the best of the four present.

The three B-side tracks here may be hard to find now, but with the possible exception of "Run out of time", they are entirely disposable.

The interesting thing is , Not about Us is not a bad song at all. Yes Genesis stripped themselves of virtually all fanbase with a new vocalist but musically, lyrically and vocally this is IMO the best single off Calling All Stations. To this day I am convinced CAS failed more than it should have as it was released on the day Princess Diana was killed. Some may scoff at this but many parts of the prog loving world , even USA came to a ' mourning' standstill during this time which did not assist in CD's shifting off the Tesco shelves! Enough said of that a great melancholic song. Ray Wilson delivers superb vocals and the back up of Banks and Rutherford endorse the musical integridity that much of this album received. Top single off CAS.

Anything now?

All three singles released from Calling All Stations (the sole Genesis album with Ray Wilson on vocals) featured non-album b-sides. But unlike the b-sides from the other two singles, the ones from the present single have since been made available elsewhere; namely, on the extra disc in the remasters box set holding the albums from the 80's and 90's. There are four tracks in total here; the a-side Not About Us taken from the album and three non-album b-sides in Anything Now, Sign Your Life Away and Run Out Of Time. While the album was quite good, the b-sides here are not particularly interesting and wholly Pop-oriented. Anything Now and Sign Your Life Away are more catchy and cheerful compared to the album material and Run Out Of Time is a slow ballad that reminds me slightly of U2 with Ray Wilson sounding a bit like Bono on it! Overall, these songs are far below the Calling All Stations material.

The actual a-side is a slightly edited version of the album track and though a decent song it is hardly the best song from Calling All Stations. The album version is preferable, anyway. Needless to add, this has nothing to do with Prog.

While not poor as such, this one is probably for completionists only