Your solo project preferences?

I have nearly all Hackett stuff (other than most of his many live albums), basically all Banks pre-classical-era stuff, a majority of Phillips stuff, and basically what little Rutherford solo there is.

I have a little of each of the following but am not a follower thereof: Collins, Gabriel, Wilson, Mechanics, Brand X.

Collins and Gabriel mainly, then some of Tony Banks (I like the Fugitive) and Mike Rutherford (I like Smallcreep). Very little of the Mechanics which I find intolerably bland. I've tried many times with Hackett's work and it just doesn't hit home for me.

I'm not familiar with the rest, though I'm certainly open to stuff like Brand X and Ray Wilson/Stiltskin.

PG is leagues ahead for me, a true visionary artist who post-Genesis stretched out, explored, experimented, developed, all to great effect and produced some excellent work. PG3 was a huge milestone in my music-listening and remains one of my top 10 all-time albums by anyone. I'm saddened and disappointed that the successor to Up never materialised despite it even seemingly having a title at one point, I/O, and that he lapsed into a pattern of re-heating/revisiting past work in various ways. I found it a shame that someone previously so inventive became so focused on his existing catalogue. But ultimately, if his new output has now indeed ceased - as seems increasingly likely, at least in terms of new albums - I'm still happy with what he's left us with and it still stands head and shoulders above the others.

PC did some interesting stuff at first but his output became a matter of diminishing returns for me and I lost interest. I haven't heard much of TB's stuff or the Mechanics - on the latter I tend to agree with thewatcher and find it very dull. Smallcreep does little for me and as with Banks I think the self-voiced album is probably the best, and even then it's not that great.

Hackett hit a rich vein around SMs and Defector, I quite liked his work but lost touch with it after Faces. I hear that Storms and Darktown are good. What I've heard of the last 3 or 4 is very uninteresting.

I do know some AP stuff and he's one I'd like to explore more. I don't know any RW work and no disrespect to him, I just don't have any great urge to explore it.

I don`t think, that there is any other band whose solo projects occupy me as much as the solo projects of the Genesis members.

Peter Gabriel:

Got all his regular albums. The ones I play the most are I - IV and So.

Phil Collins:

Got all his regular albums. The ones I play the most are the albums he released in the eighties.

Mike Rutherford:

Small Creep`s Day is prog classic. Acting Very Strange is odd, but still nice.

Mike And The Mechanics:

I don`t have all albums. I love the first two and lost interest somehow after Word Of Mouth. The new line-up brought me back to the band.

Steve Hackett:

Difficult. Love him, when he does the odd Genesis alike song. Not so keen on most of his other stuff. His Genesis Revisited releases are a pleasure. Some of his renditions beat the original. Especially Afterglow.

Tony Banks:

Great. Love him to bits. Not his classical stuff, though. Don't listen to classical music at all from no artist.

Anthony Phillips:

Love him, love him, love him. Watch my username and avatar picture.

Brand X

Occasionally.

I was probably initially just as big a fan of Peter Gabriel as I was of Genesis (this was in the early 90s, as a teenager). His first four albums are still really special to me, although I can't listen to them too much due to overfamiliarity. His peak during the So era is really something to behold, an amazing concentration of talent.

For a very long time I was dismissive of Phil's work, seeing it as mostly sappy ballads. In recent years I've come to appreciate it a lot more, as well as the huge input he had in the sound and sheer musical quality of Genesis. Both Sides was a bit of a revelation for me - I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did when I picked up a cheap ebay copy a couple of years ago.

Tony Banks' work I mostly enjoy - it's very patchy but there's something about it I always come back to, even if it often feels a bit like half-strength Genesis. I've really enjoyed his classical work - I don't think they're works of genius, but they're very pleasant.

I started off as quite a big fan of Steve Hackett, especially his first few albums. That's cooled in recent years as I find they don't stand up to much relistening, and his recent work hasn't interested me at all. I still think the 70s releases are solid art rock albums and I'll probably enjoy exploring them again in a few years, when hopefully they'll feel fresh again.

I'm a biiiig Ant Phillips fan. I have nearly everything he's ever released (except the library stuff). I don't consider him to be a world class composer, musician or singer BUT he has a very unique feel, which is there in nearly everything he does - an emotional depth maybe? I find it irresistible, whatever it is. (although I seem to go against the grain a bit in thinking that fan-favourite Slow Dance is one of his worst albums, and the reviled Invisible Men project is one of his best!)

Very much go along with what's been said about Mike and the Mechanics. I give them a try every now and then but they're just so bland. The first M&M album is quite an enjoyable listen I suppose. I also do like Smallcreep's Day, and the B-side Compression is a real favourite of mine.

Brand X - top stuff. Really like the first few albums. Not up there with some of the more well-known American fusion bands, but top stuff none the less.

Ray Wilson - have no interest. Seems like pretty bland/cringey rock-bloke stuff to me.

Chester and Daryl - don't think I've ever heard anything solo. But would like to hear some of the music Daryl was involved in prior to Genesis

Quote from raelway siding

I seem to go against the grain a bit in thinking that fan-favourite Slow Dance is one of his worst albums, and the reviled Invisible Men project is one of his best!)

Interesting. As I said, I do want to investigate more AP. I know Invisible and thought it was sort of ok in parts, but don't know Slow Dance at all let alone that it's a fan favourite so I shall give it a go at some point.

Quote from Backdrifter

Interesting. As I said, I do want to investigate more AP. I know Invisible and thought it was sort of ok in parts, but don't know Slow Dance at all let alone that it's a fan favourite so I shall give it a go at some point.

FWIW I'd say the first Private Parts and Pieces albums is one of his best. More varied, arty and experimental than a lot of his other stuff.

Quote from raelway siding

FWIW I'd say the first Private Parts and Pieces albums is one of his best. More varied, arty and experimental than a lot of his other stuff.

Sounds like it's in my constituency.

Quote from raelway siding

...

Chester and Daryl - don't think I've ever heard anything solo. But would like to hear some of the music Daryl was involved in prior to Genesis

I really like the three albums he did with Jean Luc Ponty (Aurora, Imaginary Voyage and Enigmatic Ocean).

He is the lone guitarist on the first two albums I listed.

On Enigmatic Ocean, my favourite of the three, he shares lead guitar duties with another superbly talented guitarist, Allan Holdsworth.

He certainly seems to be much more in his element here and utilizing a greater depth of his skills playing fusion, than IMO anything he has done while touring with Phil or Genesis.

Some random picks from solo careers...

Steve: Beyond the Shrouded Horizon, Darktown, The Night Siren are all good, strong albums. Voyage, PDT also great.

Peter: Got a soft spot for PG1 and 2, So, Us. PG3 and 4 are groundbreaking.

Mike: Smallcreeps Day and Beggar are classics.

Ant: PP&Ps 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8. Slow Dance.

Ray: Song for a Friend is a classic album.

Phil: But Seriously..., Both Sides.

Tony: The Fugitive, Still.

Quote from Witchwood

I really like the three albums he did with Jean Luc Ponty (Aurora, Imaginary Voyage and Enigmatic Ocean).

He is the lone guitarist on the first two albums I listed.

On Enigmatic Ocean, my favourite of the three, he shares lead guitar duties with another superbly talented guitarist, Allan Holdsworth.

thanks- that's the stuff I was thinking of. Will check it out

Phil & Peter - I have the vast majority of their work (though not a lot of the assorted soundtracks) and their solo work is as important to me as Genesis is. Favorites are Face Value & So.

But everyone else I came to after I became a huge Genesis fan so my knowledge is patchy.

Steve: was lucky enough to see him in 2017 & we still have tickets for the rescheduled show which is hopefully next year. I've bought the last couple of albums but I don't know how far back I should go. We have Unauthorised Biography, Live Archives at Newcastle (which my husband attended) and the DVD of Somewhere in South America & that seems to be enough.

Tony: A Chord Too Far is an excellent cross-section of his work & it is frankly all you need, but I bought Five.

Mechanics: I have the double Greatest Hits & Let Me Fly. I think that is enough.

Ray: Upon My Life is an excellent compilation, I have a live DVD & just got Weight Of Man.

Anthony: My husband had a few of his albums & I like what I've heard (mainly Wise After The Event).

Favorite Solo Albums:

PC: Face Value

PG: 3 (Melt)

TB: The Fugitive

MR: Smallcreep’s Day

SH: Bay of Kings

i have all phil's solo albums, most of peter's solo albums (actually all of them but 'scratch my back' and 'new blood'), tony's box set 'a chord too far', and one of mike & the mechanics compilations.

i prefer peter as a solo artist, over peter as genesis frontman. when peter left genesis, i think it was a win-win decision for both parties.

I have all Phil's and Peter's albums. I did buy some of the other solo albums on their release and I remember really enjoying the Fugitive (Tony Banks) at the time. I still play Phil's first 4 albums and enjoy them especially Face Value and Both Sides.

I have almost all the solo stuff by the "big six" (classic line-up plus Phillips), other than a few of the more recent Phil Collins and Mike + the Mechanics stuff.

Banks' solo stuff is a mixed bag....some really good stuff with some really mediocre stuff. His choice of vocalists wasn't always great. The classical albums are okay, but classical isn't my cup of tea....and Tony doesn't even really play on most of the cuts on the classical ones. Or if he does, you can't really hear him.

Collins' solo isn't my type of music overall. I love the first three albums when they first came out, but have a hard time listening to them now. Anything after No Jacket Required is painful for me to listen to.

Gabriel's stuff is very good across the board, but there's also nothing that I would consider essential. Every time I pull out one of his albums, I hear his melodies in my head for a month afterward.

Hackett has some truly brilliant stuff, but he's all over the place. Most of his albums have a combination of brilliant with mediocre to bad stuff as well. His last 4-5 rock albums haven't had any of those great tracks.

Phillips' rare rock stuff is actually pretty good. His primary area of semi-classical/new age/library music is pleasant, but ultimately forgettable.

Rutherford's solo stuff isn't my cup of tea at all. I liked Smallcreep's Day a lot when it first came out, but not so much these days, although I still enjoy it. The first Mechanic's album and Beggar on a Beach of Gold are good, but the rest of the Mechanic's stuff is pretty unlistenable to me