LIVE OVER EUROPE 2007

'Live Over Europe 2007' is the final, official Genesis live album and was a reunion for Phil Collins with Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. As much as it is unfortunate that Steve Hackett and even Peter Gabriel couldn't join the band for this tour, I understand why they didn't. One, both of them went on to pursue successful solo careers, and two, there is probably unresolved bitterness between those five musicians, which I can only assume based on the interviews that I have seen and the information that I've read about.

Phil Collins' voice has experienced a lot of wear and tear over the years, and from that and age, his voice has gotten lower in pitch and he lost some of his range. To remedy it, the band decided to place many of the songs in a lower key to fit within Collins' range. Some may say that, because of that fact, many of these songs lack energy. I would actually argue that Phil Collins sounds better on 'Live Over Europe 2007' than he has since the seventies, because he is singing more within his tessitura (or sweet spot) rather than constantly belting like he did in the eighties and nineties. This live album contains a satisfying mixture of old and new songs, some dating as far back as 1973, when 'Selling England By the Pound' was released. I've always appreciated the band's willingness to include songs from their "classic" era, though I do enjoy most of the post-Hackett songs that they performed as well.

Most of these songs when played live are quite similar to their studio counterparts, so I won't mention every individual track. "In the Cage" is delightful to hear performed live. As they have done in previous live albums, this track includes sections of "The Cinema Show" and "Duke's Travels." This medley beautifully bleeds into "Afterglow," which is one of my favorite Genesis songs. "Hold On My Heart" is sandwiched between the aforementioned "Afterglow" and the epic "Home By the Sea / Second Home By the Sea." "Follow You Follow Me," like "Hold On My Heart," acts as a pleasant palate cleanser that precedes the gargantuan "Firth of Fifth." Unfortunately, it's an excerpt, but magnificent nevertheless. Daryl Stuermer is an exceptional guitar player and transforms Steve Hackett's iconic guitar solo by making it sound like his own, without being unfaithful to the original. Stuermer finds the perfect balance between emotion and technicality in his playing. In other words, he can play passionately but also shred when it feels right. This seamlessly transitions into "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe);" another oldie! I was pleased to see that they played this song live because it's a song that demands to be performed in front of a large crowd. The chorus is so grandiose and it gives me chills when I hear the audience singing along with Phil. I can't help but get very emotional when I hear the band play the "Stagnation" theme. One of the many highlights of the album.

I was very surprised to see that the band played "Ripples..." on this tour, as I have never owned a live version of it before purchasing this album and it's one of my favorite Genesis songs. It is just as exquisite as I had imagined it would be. Phil Collins sings with the audience, creating a call and response during "Throwing It All Away." "The Last Domino" section of "Domino" is even better when performed live because of the energy of the band and the audience. "Conversations with 2 Stools" is a drum duet with Phil Collins and Chester Thompson that starts off quiet as they play on stools. The performance gets progressively louder and eventually they both play on their drum kits. Phil Collins is my all-time favorite drummer, and Chester Thompson is one of my favorite drummers. They both never fail to impress me with their immense musicianship. Nick Davis, the producer of 'Live Over Europe,' did a great job of making the tracks flow together despite many of them being gleaned from different shows. The drum duet was recorded in Munich, and "Los Endos" was recorded in Twickenham, but they bleed into each other seamlessly as if they were from the same show. "Los Endos" is the perfect song for the band to explode into after the drum duet, and it is another bit of "classic" Genesis for us fans of that era of the band. The drum fill leading into the Squonk riff is excellent. Unfortunately, the album goes downhill after "Los Endos" with three of my least favorite Genesis tracks: an excerpt of "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," "Invisible Touch," and "I Can't Dance." These songs aren't really any better in a live context. I mentioned this in a previous review that I wrote, but I never understood why Phil Collins changed the lyrics of Invisible Touch from "she will mess up your life" to "she will f*%# up your life." The modified lyrics aren't suitable with the music accompanying it. However, the album ends with the gorgeous "Carpet Crawlers," which is one of my favorite songs.

In conclusion, 'Live Over Europe 2007' is a wonderful Genesis live album with a great selection of songs. I applaud the band for playing older material. Though it may not be lucrative to play Gabriel-era songs, the band still wanted to please those fans, which is respectable. I would give this album five stars if it wasn't for the last four tracks, "Carpet Crawlers" notwithstanding. After revisiting the Genesis live albums, I believe that 'Live Over Europe 2007' is one of the best, and is maybe even better than 'Three Sides Live.' It's not as great as 'Seconds Out,' but it would be extremely difficult for any live album to be as monumental as that. 9/10