GENESIS 1970 -75

No problems with compression, over-compensation, just pure clear full sound, and lots of details/alterations i have not heard before - "Supper's Ready" was always cited for less-than-average sound quality having been squashed on a single LP side, but here it is revealed in its full glory, the 5-channel layout used to its full advantage especially during "Willow Farm", its familiar little chirps and squeaks coming from everywhere! Nice to have included "Happy the Man" and "Twilight Alehouse" and looking forward to hearing the rest, but "Revelation" and "Genesis Live" should have been included

Full track listing......

Genesis: 1970-1975 CD DISC 1: TRESPASS: 1. Looking For Someone 2. White Mountain 3. Visions Of Angels 4. Stagnation 5. Dusk 6. Knife, The

Genesis: 1970-1975 Songs DISC 2: TRESPASS 5.1 AUDIO: 1. Looking For Someone 2. White Mountain 3. Visions Of Angels 4. Stagnation 5. Dusk 6. Knife, The 7. Video Interview With The Band (2007)

Genesis: 1970-1975 Album DISC 3: NURSERY CRYME: 1. Musical Box, The 2. For Absent Friends 3. Return Of The Giant Hogweed, The 4. Seven Stones 5. Harold The Barrel 6. Harlequin 7. Fountain Of Salmacis, The

Genesis: 1970-1975 CD DISC 4: NURSERY CRYME 5.1 AUDIO: 1. Musical Box, The 2. For Absent Friends 3. Return Of The Giant Hogweed, The 4. Seven Stones 5. Harold The Barrel 6. Harlequin 7. Fountain Of Salmacis, The

8. Interview With The Band (2007) Genesis: 1970-1975 Songs DISC 5: FOXTROT: 1. Watcher Of The Skies 2. Time Table 3. Get'Em Out By Friday 4. Can-Utility And The Coastliners 5. Horizon's 6. Supper's Ready

Genesis: 1970-1975 Album DISC 6: FOXTROT 5.1 AUDIO: 1. Watcher Of The Skies 2. Time Table 3. Get'Em Out By Friday 4. Can-Utility And The Coastliners 5. Horizon's 6. Supper's Ready 7. Interview With The Band (2007) 8. Belgium-Rock Of The 70's (1972) 9. Italy-Piper Club (1972)

Genesis: 1970-1975 CD DISC 7: SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND: 1. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight 2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) 3. Firth Of Fifth 4. More Fool Me 5. Battle of Epping Forest, The 6. After The Ordeal 7. Cinema Show, The 8. Aisle Of Plenty

Genesis: 1970-1975 Songs DISC 8: SELLING ENGLAND BY THE POUND 5.1 AUDIO: 1. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight 2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) 3. Firth Of Fifth 4. More Fool Me 5. Battle of Epping Forest, The 6. After The Ordeal 7. Cinema Show, The 8. Aisle Of Plenty 9. Interview With The Band (2007) 10. Shepperton Studios, Italian TV (1973) 11. Bataclan France, (1973)

Genesis: 1970-1975 Album DISC 9: THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY DISK 1: 1. Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, The 2. Fly On A Windshield 3. Broadway Melody of 4. Cuckoo Cocoon 5. In The Cage 6. Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging, The 7. Back In N.Y.C. 8. Hairless Heart 9. Counting Out Time 10. Carpet Crawlers 11. Chamber Of 32 Doors, The

Genesis: 1970-1975 CD DISC 10: THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY DISK 2: 1. Lilywhite Lilth 2. Waiting Room, The 3. Anyway 4. Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist 5. Lamia, The 6. Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats 7. Colony Of Supermen, The (The Arrival/A Visit To The Doktor/The Raven) 8. Ravine 9. Light Dies Down On Broadway, The 10. Riding The Scree 11. In The Rapids 12. It

Genesis: 1970-1975 Songs DISC 11: THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY 5.1 AUDIO: 1. Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, The 2. Fly On A Windshield 3. Broadway Melody of 4. Cuckoo Cocoon 5. In The Cage 6. Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging, The 7. Back In N.Y.C. 8. Hairless Heart 9. Counting Out Time 10. Carpet Crawlers 11. Chamber Of 32 Doors, The 12. Lilywhite Lilth 13. Waiting Room, The 14. Anyway 15. Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist 16. Lamia, The 17. Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats 18. Colony Of Supermen, The (The Arrival/A Visit To The Doktor/The Raven) 19. Ravine 20. Light Dies Down On Broadway, The 21. Riding The Scree 22. In The Rapids 23. It 24. Interview With The Band (2007) 25. Melody French TV (1974)

Genesis: 1970-1975 Album DISC 12: EXTRAS 1970-1975: 1. Happy The Man 2. Twilight Alehouse 3. Going Out To Get You [Demo] 4. Sheperd [BBC Nightride 1970] 5. Pacidy [BBC Nightride 1970] 6. Let Us Now Make Love [BBC Nightride 1970] 7. Provocation [Genesis Plays Jackson] 8. Frustration [Genesis Plays Jackson] 9. Manipulation [Genesis Plays Jackson] 10. Resignation [Genesis Plays Jackson]

Genesis: 1970-1975 CD DISC 13: EXTRAS 1970-1975 5.1 AUDIO: 1. Happy The Man 2. Twilight Alehouse 3. Going Out To Get You [Demo] 4. Sheperd [BBC Nightride 1970] 5. Pacidy [BBC Nightride 1970] 6. Let Us Now Make Love [BBC Nightride 1970] 7. Provocation [Genesis Plays Jackson] 8. Frustration [Genesis Plays Jackson] 9. Manipulation [Genesis Plays Jackson] 10. Resignation [Genesis Plays Jackson] 11. Interview With The Band (2007) 12. Box Set 1967-1975 (VH1 Special) 13. Watcher Of The Skies (Midnight Special 1973) 14. Musical Box, The (Midnight Special 1973)

The ultimate Prog starter kit

Well, it doesn't get much better than this. The most vital Genesis period, with Peter Gabriel, all in one place with updated sound and lots of extras. This box contains the 5 studio albums from Trespass to Lamb plus bonus DVD audio/video discs. As the music is reviewed under the individual albums this review simply discusses advantages of the box set.

Sound: Typically I'm not a box set fan and I rarely buy them, but this one was an exception I couldn't refuse. I wanted to hear the new mixes and see some of the extras and interviews. First, the sound issue. Most like the new mixes while some folks complain about revisionism and compression issues. I'm not an audiophile to any extreme degree, I'm just a thumbs-up or thumbs-down kinda guy. To me the new discs sound as good as the previous "definitive edition remasters" generation and I do hear some things that were buried in the mix before, which I consider a positive development. It's been so long since I've heard the vinyl but I can understand Jeff Carney's position about the lack of warmth and differences in the new mixes-though they are simply not enough to ruin this package for me. I like the sound for the most part, especially the gorgeous Trespass which sounds heavenly.

Packaging: The packaging is a mixed book. The outer box is small and efficient which is much appreciated. It fits well in a small shelf space and the door flips up so you don't have to remove the product to take some huge box top off. Four of the six titles come in jewel cases as they should. Sadly, the Lamb and the extras disc come in ridiculous "book" style sleeves so the discs have to slide in and out of VERY tight paper guaranteeing they will eventually be scratched if you use these sleeves. Very poor decision. Of course each album has a nicely adorned lyrics booklet. The extras album has a complete band history with lots of photos and notes.

Extras: The extras are plentiful. Each title comes with a CD and a separate DVD. The bonus disc is the dvd-audio version as well as extended video interview segments and/or bonus live performance video. The interviews were quite detailed and enjoyable, cutting back and forth between the various members giving their recollections about the album in question. Sometimes the differing opinions of Peter and Tony particularly were quite amusing. I also enjoyed hearing the opinions of the Steve and Ant who are not as often heard from. The extra material is generous and very fun even if the quality is not always perfect. Vintage live performances and television appearances, unreleased tracks, interviews, and a documentary will keep you in Genesis heaven for hours.

Should you spring for this? Comes down to this: If you're a new Genesis fan or you otherwise need to acquire updated versions of these important 5 titles, this is the way to do it and get lots of cool perks. But if you already own remastered, otherwise fine CD copies of these titles, I wouldn't personally spend the money unless you've got lots to burn.

And so I've reached the end of my one year long review streak leading up to the 700th review! Now that I've covered pretty much all of my progressive rock collection, there is only one release that deserves a little more attention than what it has gathered so far.

Let's face it, I'm a huge fan of Genesis and they will always remain one of my all time favorite bands. This alone makes a compilation box like Genesis 1970 -75 an essential part of my collection. This comes from a fan who already owns all these albums on vinyl, '90s CD remasters and, in some cases, even the unedited CD-versions of the vinyls. But having said that, I also consider this compilation to be an essential part of any progressive rock fans collection since it pretty much sums up everything that you need to know about the band called Genesis!

The five studio albums sound amazing on the new SACD's and brings out so much new detail in the performances on Trespass and Nursery Cryme. I also found a few new details on Foxtrot and Selling England By The Pound but those were few and far between. The whole talk about drums sounding like tin cans on Trespass, as the result of the new mix, is far from the truth since what I heard can only be regarded as the best possible version of that album that has been released to date. Note that I've already heard three different mixes of Trespass and Nursery Cryme before listening to the new ones!

Still, it's actually not the album mixes themselves that steal the show for me here. Instead, it's the vast amount of bonus material from the time that makes this compilation's hefty price tag sound quite affordable. Not only do we get almost all video live footage that has been circulating on the web ever since the '90s, but also a few new discoveries like the slide show from the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, which can be experienced together with the music! I also love the attention to details that the artists have put into designing this package. On top of all this we also have the newly recorded interviews with all of the original band members where they talk extensively about this period of their career and their thoughts of it today.

There is no doubt in my mind that these five studio albums, alone, are worth the recognition of the highest honor from the entire progressive rock community. But the fact that this compilation actually gives its audience a complete package featuring almost everything anyone would ever want to experience of this amazing period in Genesis' career, makes Genesis 1970 -75 an essential collection with a plus on the side. Get it if you haven't already done so!

PS There is no need for song-by-song ratings here, is there?