RAY WILSON & THE BERLIN SYMPHONY ENSEMBLE : GENESIS CLASSIC - LIVE IN POZNAN

 

Disc One (56:37)

  1. Turn It On Again
  2. That’s All
  3. Carpet Crawlers
  4. Congo
  5. Another Day In Paradise
  6. Constantly Reminded
  7. Another Cup Of Coffee
  8. Jesus He Knows Me
  9. Calling All Stations
  10. In The Air Tonight

Disc Two (62:17)

  1. Shipwrecked
  2. Ripples
  3. No Son Of Mine
  4. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
  5. Follow You Follow Me
  6. Change
  7. Not About Us
  8. Land Of Confusion
  9. I Can’t Dance
  10. Solsbury Hill
  11. Inside

Label : Jaggy Polski

Venue : University Adam Mickiewicz, Poznan, Poland

Recording Date : December 18th, 2010

Release Date : 2011

Review (Wave Maker Magazine) : To quote a classic Genesis tune, “they say that time is a healer.” This has been proven to be especially true in progressive music. Now, I’m a huge Genesis fan, and I love every single incarnation of said band, so maybe it won’t come as such a surprise that I am a Ray Wilson supporter. Ray Wilson’s rise to fame came in the mid-nineties with the alternative rock band Stiltskin. Both they and Bush were poised to become the U.K.’s offering to the post-grunge battlefield. But in 1995, with the departure of Phil Collins, Genesis found themselves without a vocalist for the first time in twenty years. Somehow, word of Wilson had made it to Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford and he became Collins’ replacement. His only effort with Genesis, 1997’s Calling All Stations, was met with tepid response from the Genesis community. Although, I’ll be the first to admit that the album wasn’t anywhere near the band’s best, I must praise Wilson’s efforts, especially in songs like “Not About Us,” “Shipwrecked,” and the title track. I was a fan after my first listen. Problems? The ones I picked out were some definite writing and arrangement troubles on the record and an unholy attempt at a blending of ‘modern’ nineties and dated eighties. Most prog bands struggled with this throughout that decade. The major problem in most others’ eyes was the fact that Genesis’ past vocalists, Peter Gabriel and Collins, were both household names and had had copious amounts of success both with Genesis and on their own, whereas Wilson was a relatively unknown rising star. Most shunned him for this alone, although I truly believe the record was not written with his voice and particular talents in mind, and thus painted him in an unfair light. Ray Wilson did a single tour with Genesis before they opted to take a different direction, ultimately reuniting with Phil Collins but never again recording a new studio album. Wilson went on to form a group called Cut_, which only released a single (but very decent, if overly long) album. After this he began performing on his own in a series of modest acoustic gigs. This led to some fantastic solo records and a reforming of Stiltskin. As a huge fan of the man, I’ve been madly in search of material from his live stint with Genesis for quite some time. A spotty recording (seemingly pieced together from bootlegs) of a decent 1998 show was finally released in 2009 as Live In Poland, and it was worth it simpy to hear Ray perform new and old Genesis songs. His rich, round voice is fantastic for the Gabriel-era tunes, but has a tendancy to fall short on the Collins-era material due to Collins being a tenor and Wilson being a baritone. This takes me, finally, to the business at hand. With Collins retired and Genesis pretty much defunct, it pleases me greatly that Wilson has stood up, taken up their timeless songbook, and carried on the fight without them. Genesis Classic, Live In Poznan is a professional recording of the last show of Ray Wilson’s 2010 tour with the Berlin Symphony Ensemble, which saw him playing Genesis material in his own wonderfully modern fashion. Backed with the beautiful Ensemble and a talented rock band, Wilson is finally given the chance to properly work his magic on this stuff. For the most part, the songs are tailored for his voice (with the exception of “Ripples” which is just far too high for him) and the performances are genuine. He has always managed to make “Carpet Crawlers” his own, but with the Ensemble it is the most stunning it’s ever been. I can hear clearly that this gentleman has grown up loving the band’s catalogue, and has never given up on the Genesis fanbase despite the heaping bowl of toss a lot of them have served him. Another great point to add is that Wilson has chosen to perform material from various Genesis solo projects. He covers material by Peter Gabriel, Mike + The Mechanics, and the absolute gem on the album for me is his cover of Phil Collins’ “Another Day In Paradise.” I haven’t ever heard a live performace of a song sound this damned flawless and convincing. He also does one of his own and some stuff from Stiltskin. I would have loved to have heard “Jigsaw” from Cut_’s Millionairhead, it’s my favourite Wilson tune, but I can hardly fault the album for this. I must also bring up the humble and entertaining part Wilson plays as host. In between songs he engages the audience with song introductions and banter. Although it impedes the song, the failed attempt at audience participation during a performance of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” is handled deftly and in a self-effacing manner not often seen in progressive rock artists. I’ve read interviews and things that had Wilson looking back bitterly at his time with Genesis. If that’s so, Genesis Classic, Live In Poznan is clearly proof that time is a healer, that Wilson has overcome any insecurities and has embraced the songbook as something he loves and wants to celebrate as an alumnus and, most importantly, as a fan.