Lack of Archival Releases or expanded editions

  • I don’t know if it’s just me but I feel that the lack of anniversary editions of the albums is very disappointing at best. Nearly every band seems to have an outlet for re appraisal of old releases (think Paul McCartney and Jethro Tull, there are many more). I just don’t understand why my favourite album Trespass and all the rest haven’t been given this expanded enhanced treatment?. Surely they have out takes, studio run throughs and curios that could be added?. I appreciate there is supposed to be A Lamb release this year but this year is nearly over. We haven’t had anything for years and it’s not great to see whatever there is sat in a vault , corroding.

  • I'm thinking that they see the 07/08 packages and Archives 1&2 as having done this and see no need to do much more. They always come across to me as a relatively 'unsentimental' band, if that's the right word, combined with a degree of perfectionism. When they were interviewed on the BBC One Show to promote the Sum of the Parts documentary, they were pressed on this very subject, and asked if anything from the vaults would be released. Banks said something like "I'm the band archivist, I'm telling you there is absolutely nothing left to release". I assume he meant nothing they would consider of sufficient quality to release - they aren't the type of band to sanction the release of the kind of curios and run-throughs you mention. Clearly those things exist, e.g. the extensive Headley Grange tapes, but it's not their way. I'm with you, I'd like it to happen but it won't.

    Abandon all reason

    • Official Post

    Banks and Collins were never fans of rereleasing and repackaging stuff. They have plenty of options to do special editions etc, even bigger boxsets, but never did that. Pink Floyd have the same management, so you can an idea about what the band's influence is.

    Nevertheless, there were articles about a Lamb boxset earlier this year so let's see what happens there. I am just afraid they consult the wrong people - and there are so many experts around, who are dedicated to details ...

  • I guess that they're holding off the Lamb boxset until the tour goes ahead? Which is kind of odd if that's the case, as I can't imagine the tour will bear much resemblance to Lamb-era Genesis, especially any potential included extras like 45 minute Waiting Room improvisations!

  • It is all really puzzling to be sure, it’s as if that’s done, dusted and we ain’t going back there. Maybe the guys don’t need the money. If Tony can’t be bothered to look at these things then perhaps for the fans sake he could pass the baton on.

    There is money to be made at the end of the day, and fans like us who are prepared to pay for super deluxe sets. I just don’t get it to be frank. With the current uncertainty I don’t think there are any excuses to not consider this. And we don’t have anything really interesting to discuss on the forum apart from memories!.


    at least Mr Gabriel seems to take an interest in issuing other stuff in his vaults ie, the live albums.

  • It is all really puzzling to be sure, it’s as if that’s done, dusted and we ain’t going back there. Maybe the guys don’t need the money.

    It's not puzzling at all for the very reason you rightly give - "we ain't going back there" is pretty much the band's prevailing attitude, with the odd exception. It was also reflected in e.g. their tour setlists in which they quite ruthlessly excised even songs they themselves acknowledged as being among their very best.


    Your second point is also true - as PC said at the launch event for the 2007 tour, "We're not doing it for the money. None of us are worrying about where the next million or two are coming from."


    I'm surprised at anyone wondering about or puzzling over it, it's just their way. I can kind of understand it in context of quite a few other acts putting out fan-service/completist releases with demos, outtakes, run-throughs etc - I mean, even the Beatles did it! It establishes a precedent that means we all want our favourite acts to do the same but Genesis simply aren't prone to do that.

    Abandon all reason

  • Fair comment, I just feel it’s a shame that other avenues ain’t explored (my personal viewpoint). If it’s true that there wasn’t much more to release then I guess studio time was very inexpensive!. The Beatles on the other hand went through songs many times In the studio Take xx etc etc!. Such takes have come to be quite lucrative cash cows, and I would think Paul and Ringo are in lesser need financially. I wonder whether opinions would change if money was an issue?, possibly?.

    They could ease my frustration by re issuing those boxes, I forgot to bid on eBay the other day thru being distracted at home, and the complete set went for £400, I was well peeved!.

    Edited 2 times, last by Wayne ().

  • I still hold out hope that someday the live soundboard tapes that are supposedly sitting at the Farm will be released. I can't remember where I saw it but there is a list online of what is sitting there. It was quite a list of shows. I'm not a big fan of re-releases or outtakes (other than to listen once) but when it comes to live shows I'm all for it.


    If the tapes do exist then they could dust them off, clean them up a little, and release online even. King Crimson does this with audience recordings, not even soundboards or something of a higher quality. I would think there would be enough interest to justify it from Genesis fans.

  • Your second point is also true - as PC said at the launch event for the 2007 tour, "We're not doing it for the money. None of us are worrying about where the next million or two are coming from."


    I



    Slightly off topic I know, but isn't it funny that so many of these tours which aren't "for the money" have such staggering tickets prices.


    They might not need the money, and they might not be doing it for the money, but the ticket prices on the latest tour are staggering so SOMEBODY has said "we can charge an absolute fortune for these".


    I haven't heard the band say this on this occasion, but the common excuse is "we don't have anything to do with ticket prices", which is a lame excuse IMO

    Edited once, last by Mozo ().

  • one of those group decisions about releasing recordings that are squirrelled away. All artists different..go on spotify and see the number of live recordings on their from Yes...

    Always thought about the 1976 'in concert ' movie....there has to have been recordings done of the full shows which have never seemed to have made the light of day...which is such a shame

  • Slightly off topic I know, but isn't it funny that so many of these tours which aren't "for the money" have such staggering tickets prices.


    They might not need the money, and they might not be doing it for the money, but the ticket prices on the latest tour are staggering so SOMEBODY has said "we can charge an absolute fortune for these".


    I haven't heard the band say this on this occasion, but the common excuse is "we don't have anything to do with ticket prices", which is a lame excuse IMO

    These days, artists often need income from live performances because there is little income from streaming and the sales of the music itself (writers do get more from publishing royalties). So touring is important for them to earn money. However, tours are also very expensive to mount in terms of paying for all the crew, equipment, transportation, etc. So many huge tours only start to make a profit in the last shows of the tour, even with the exorbitant ticket prices.

  • Personally I have no real interest in bits of curios out takes etc . The Archives are worthwhile but I don't really listen to them very much. Genesis have so much good stuff to listen to I have little interest in half baked stuff and outtakes. If there are any unreleased gems out there id love to hear them. I don't really want to see any of this stuff released because I am possessed by a little devil that says to me " you must buy it, you can't not have all their stuff" . So try as I might I'm sure I would end up buying it.

  • I’m kinda glad genesis isn’t doing these reissues of box sets for one album or anything like that. To me that is just a band ripping fans off. All the material they want released is released. An Orange Invisible Touch vinyl is more then enough. Invisible Touch was there biggest selling album and they did something special. my opinion.

  • I’ve never been all that keen on repurchasing albums I already have, even with the incentive of a couple of bonus tracks.

    I’ve made exceptions when an album I already have is repackaged with an additional disc or a bonus DVD.

    As for an Archive series, I suspect Genesis management has weighed the fact there is a plethora of live recordings that have been freely available for decades and most fans who are enthusiastic about this sort of thing likely already have the ones they want.

    That luxury has also placed fans in a position where they can be critical of the purity of an official live release, and opt for a bootleg instead.


    So the question is what percentage of fans would be charitable enough to buy a recording from a concert they already have? Can they make money from this? Ultimately, is it worth the trouble?

    After all these years, I can only assume they concluded not enough people would purchase or download these recordings to make it worth their while.

  • I’ve never been all that keen on repurchasing albums I already have, even with the incentive of a couple of bonus tracks.

    I absolutely agree . I'm not buying this I have 4 copies and am putting my foot down.😁 I mean who needs five copies?

  • The "one album box-set" justification depends on the individual case. For example, Days Of Future Passed by the Moody Blues was reissued on its 50th anniversary, and you got 3 discs, the quad mix from 1972 in DVD form, with some video content from the era, and the 24/96 versions of the album as found on the 2 CD's, one being the album as remixed in 1978 due to the vinyl stampers being worn out and the master tape being unplayable, this mix had been the only one ever available on CD. The other was the original 1967 mix, following new techniques allowing restoration of the master tapes. For me, this was a must buy.


    Similarly, the next year, the "In Search Of The Lost Chord" album was reissued with a new stereo and 5.1 mix by Jacko Jaxyck, using the software that can de-mix stereo to individual tracks. This was the one album from their "core 7" that had never had a quad mix, as the master tapes did not contain all the tracks, some vocals and effects had been done live on mix-down. Along with a new stereo mix, the original mix, bonus tracks and a DVD of live performances and TV coverage from the era, this, again, was a must have.


    Both these included new stuff, or long available old stuff. That justified them, but the following 5 albums, despite passing their 50th anniversary already, or in the next couple of years, have not seen releases, so I don't see it as fleecing the fans. As it happens, I have the 5.1 mixes of these 5 anyway, so I think I'm complete now.


    That said, I've bought boxes from XTC/Dukes, and BJH to get the 5.1 mixes, and I'd certainly buy 5.1/bonus versions of TLLDOB, SEBTP and ATOTT if they ever appear.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • I'd buy an album boxset if there was a bunch of extra material. I'm not interested in the multiple-copies-of-the-same-album thing, like a mono version, a 5.1 version, etc. I can't tell the difference when I listen to those, and even if I could, I just wouldn't care that much. But if there's previously unreleased material, live versions, b sides, maybe outtakes and so on I can get behind that. Oddly, Genesis don't seem to have that much unreleased stuff. I know some bands that were insanely prolific but beyond the albums Genesis don't seem to have been.

  • They could at least re issue the three box sets (red/Blue/green), for those of us who didn’t get them first time around. A lot of groups have re issued box sets or repressed the same content recently for example Marillion with Misplaced Childhood who repressed 2,000 copies of that which have quickly sold out again. I’m sure the box sets would sell well.

  • The Dire Straits albums have been re-released in this way. There was absolutely no point in my buying them. There were no undiscovered tracks, no nothing.

    it all depends if you already had the items I guess, i haven’t got these high resolution discs or the books or the video footage so for me it would be a valuable re issue probably more than any other I can think of.