CALLING ALL STATIONS

Collectors and fans, indeed...the target audience for this record was certainly not the ambivalent public. In the USA, i think i heard "Congo" on the radio just once, and the album was in discount bins in a few weeks, given the lack of promotion and the eventual cancellation of the supporting tour.

So, about the album: The first few moments will surprise you...a blast of guitar and a moody keyboard atmosphere on the title track suggest a rocking, dark album like the early notes of "Abacab" some 16 years prior. A new turn for Genesis, away from adult- pop of the 80's-90's? Ray Wilson's vocal on this track suggests so...he's gritty, powerful, and able to showcase his range. THis youthful image and the fact that his raspiness doesn't sound too dissimilar to Peter Gabriel couldn't hurt. But the musical choices for the rest of the album sure do!

Take "Uncertain Weather"...i'm sure this was hanging around in the Mike and the Mechanics discard pile. "Small Talk" is as cheezy as the synth bassline that runs through it. Even "Alien Afternoon", a longish track with a supposedly-"prog" theme of alien abduction is labored by silly and trite rhymes, and melodies that you've surely heard before, perhaps on "we Can't Dance", maybe on a Tony Banks solo LP, but surely nothing new, and nothing progressive. The "radio single" , called "Congo" is a mess, thanks to nonsense lyrics and a weird, tacked-on fade-out...you get the sense that the boys were too excited to use the African drumsounds and chants, but forgot about ideas of what makes a good- structured song.

Still, it's not all bad or unlistenable: "Shipwrecked" is quite nice for a ballad, with some pretty guitar and swirling keys. "The Dividing Line" and "One Man's Fool" both have excellent rock build-ups, showcasing Mike Rutherford's guitarwork and the heavy percussive sounds of Nir Z. Either track wouldn't have felt too out of place on "Abacab", especially the former, while the latter could be a heavier follow-up to some tracks on "We Can't Dance".

So, "Calling All Stations" is disappointing in the sense that you wish the two remaining members of Genesis (so long considered primary writers) could have done better, because their past work is proof positive of their potential. And, you wish that Ray Wilson could step out of Phil Collins' shadow by being given decent lyrics to sing.