CALLING ALL STATIONS

As stated in several previous reviews, this album was a serious of opportunities missed. First of all, I have thought since hearing of the departure of Phil Collins in 1996, that if Genesis wanted to continue, the remaining members should have gotten back to their prog roots. I feel that had they enlisted an already established singer such as Fish (who had already worked with Tony Banks a few times in the past), or even an older singer such as John Wetton, the group would have had much more credibitlity. This also would have been an excellent opportunity to enlist Chester Thompson as a full time member, rather than using two different drummers here. In all honesty, parts of this album seem like Mike and Tony with a group of studio musicians. The fact that Ray Wilson only co-wrote a couple of tunes here also takes away from the "group feel" that was always evident in the past. That being said, Ray Wilson is an excellent singer, although at times on this album, his voice seems a bit flat. There are moments on this CD that remind the listener of certain Genesis albums, in particular "Genesis", "We Can't Dance" , and "Invisible Touch", with a sprinkling of some "Mike and The Mechanics". There are also some very interesting darker moments here that I really enjoyed, particularly the title track, "The Dividing Line", and "Uncertain Weather". Overall, this album has some very good, but not great moments, and some that are a bit flat. The arrangement of the album is a bit too sparse, and I don't feel that Ray Wilson was given the right environment to flex his vocal muscles. So I guess I would say that this CD is good, and definately worth listening to, but it certainly isn't great, even though I would say it was their best album since "Genesis" in 1983.