THE VIDEO SHOW

OK, since this is an excellent collection, let's get the downsides out of the way first. Those downsides primarily relate to the lack of Gabriel era material, and the inclusion of a few too many of the Collins era ballads. The other minor drawback is that the live footage is overdubbed with studio versions of the tracks.

Now that is out of the way, we can focus on the positives, of which there are many. "Genesis - The Video show" is a DVD presentation of no fewer than 32 Genesis videos, covering the period from "A trick of the tail" through to "Calling all stations". The sequence of the tracks is not chronological, with the most commercially successful songs being given prime position and the older material appearing towards the end.

Thus we start with several tracks from the "I can't dance" album, the superb "No son of mine" leading things off. If ever a video served to portray the full meaning of a song, it is this one. Not only does it emphasise the passionate lyrics, but it also serves to accentuate the contributions of Banks and Rutherford, whose efforts can otherwise be overlooked.

One thing the videos here serve to do well is to demonstrate that Genesis were a band with a sense of humour. From the spoof TV evangelists of "Jesus he knows me" to the Spitting Image puppetry of "Land of Confusion" and a wonderful appearance by the late comedian Benny Hill, there are humorous elements to many of the videos.

It is when we get to the older material though that this collection finds its real purpose. "Home by the sea/Second home by the sea" is the first of the classics. Played in full here, the video for this 11 minute epic is a live stage show. As mentioned earlier the sound is not live, but taken from the album recording. This works superbly, the video serving to demonstrate how under-appreciated Tony Bank's contribution to this song is. "Ripples" is similarly effective, with Steve Hackett's guitar work being the main benefactor.

Ironically, it is the most recent, Ray Wilson era songs which have the least effective visual accompaniments. The videos here are just too arty, doing nothing to enhance the overall experience.

The collection closes with "The carpet crawlers 1999", a re-recording of the song from "The lamb lies down on Broadway". This is a close as we get to seeing Peter Gabriel, but unfortunately he is lost in the dream like effects. The song itself is an enjoyable update on this classic piece, but whether it is an improvement is highly doubtful.

The DVD comes in tasteful packaging, and each video has an information page with images of the artwork and full credits. In short, a superb presentation which will appeal to those who enjoy the Collins era material.

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