CALLING ALL STATIONS

(Track one) Ray Wilson (Track two) Peter Gabriel (Track three) Phil Collins (Track four) John Cleese (Track five) George Wendt (Track six) Russell Crowe (Track seven) Gerard Depardieu (Track eight) Amber (Track nine) Tim Curry (Track ten) The guy who played Mr. Humphries on "Are You Being Served?" (Track eleven) To be honest, somebody lost the sign-up sheet and we're not even sure!

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Yes, Calling All Stations is really that bad!

While it is supposed to be a return to the prog sound that made the band famous, Ray Wilson is no Peter Gabriel. He's not even a Phil Collins! Plus, what's the point in joining this band when you were experienced in a post-punk band, trying to be the next Kurt Cobain?!? He does have a nice, smooth voice, but it wears thin over the whole course of an album.

Even worse is the fact that Mike and Tony had already written the songs BEFORE they hired Ray. As a result, the whole recording process was rushed and disastrous.

Sadly, Mike and Tony couldn't make matters any better. They retained the producer, Nick Davis, from their previous album (the stunningly beautiful We Can't Dance), but the somewhat skin-crawling dark sound on WCD got darker. The album really sounds more like what you would want to listen to when you're feeling down and out and don't feel like listening to anything better. The guitar intro at the beginning of the title track sounds heavy metallish and kind of sets the tone for the entire album. Such a shame to blacken the good name of Genesis this way! I guess Phil Collins saw this coming and he wanted to escape before it got worse.

I give this album 1 star because I feel if you love any artist beyond imagination, you must own the darkpoint of their careers. For the Beatles, it's the junk they recorded in Hamburg with Tony Sheridan. For Zappa, it's Francesco Zappa. For Pink Floyd...well, there isn't one actually. And, for Genesis, it's this album. I own it...but I've seldom listened to it (if ever).

I also understand that Ray Wilson left the group after the album and its supporting tour got panned by the critics. Unless Mike and Tony willing to let John Cleese or George Wendt lead the group, Genesis is gone.

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