GENESIS - BBC Broadcasts - details, BBC archive info and evaluation

Good read. On the question of remix/remastering, the 30 second promo posted on the Official Genesis Facebook page does state 'Remixed and remastered by Nick Davis from the original master tapes''.

After a minute of joy and excitement ("God ! Something new !), I have to admit my enthusiasm fell quite down ("what a mess this is !").

I mean, compared to what someone like Neil Young or the Prince (the Artist) Estate have done (and are still doing) with their respective archives, this is a bit deceiving.

Why on earth did they cut the complete concerts (1978...) down to only a few songs ?

Thanks Christian......fabolous essay...as ever......

Thank you Christian. I am so excited about this box set. I am behaving like a teenager again. I have got everything here on my computer already with the exception of Wembley 1975 Watcher. Watcher must have sounded amazing blasting through the arena.

When the box set is released, we will not know which of the three nights those Lyceum tracks come from. It could be one of three, and it might even be from 'Drury Lane'. Will Nick Davis or Tony Banks clarify this?

I find this release pretty interesting, though I'm not sure if I'll get it yet, partially cos I expect it will be kind of expensive. I am very glad to hear the material is remixed/remastered though-IIRC a lot of the previous soundboard material and bootlegs of all this stuff sound quite subpar. The improved sound quality is pretty much my main selling point, as it would be great to have these with clean audio-clear highs and powerful lows and all that, so I hope that is indeed true!

I originally debated whether to get the vinyl or CDs. I don't really buy CDs anymore, as I've started collecting vinyl these days (I face the same choice with PG's new album I guess). I'm leaning towards the CDs only cos they include all of what's being released.

Christian,

What an excellent description of the box set. I did notice one omission when referencing the Lyceum shows. Duke’s Travels/Duke’s End were also released on Archive 2 and were mixed from Multi-track from the May 7th performance.

Quote from bromleybruce

When the box set is released, we will not know which of the three nights those Lyceum tracks come from. It could be one of three, and it might even be from 'Drury Lane'. Will Nick Davis or Tony Banks clarify this?

But they'd flag it as Drury Lane.

Fantastic review as usual Christian. Like many of you I’m left with mixed feelings and undecided whether or not to add this box set to my collection. The lack of attention to detail and accuracy is very Un-Genesis like. Makes me wonder is this isn’t just an easy cash grab, rather than be a gem for diehard Genesis fans. Not what I was expecting at all.

Maybe it’s my age and if I was younger I wouldn’t be concerned with things like running orders because I’d stream everything. But to me putting on a side of vinyl, or a CD, is an experience to savour, or at least to listen to whilst cooking, pottering about etc. So a complete concert would work, as the band thought carefully about set lists and dynamics etc. Chopping and changing as this box set does means you are getting gaps filled in your collection, but not the satisfaction of a rounded listening experience, apart from runs like the Duke Suite, which I think will work very well. I’ll happily buy it and be glad if it- but it could and should have been more complete.

I also haven't decided whether to buy this (if I do it's the CDs). I also would prefer whole concerts rather than compilations like these as they just don't flow like a show. Compilations work for hits packages but rarely for live recordings. Also think the artwork & packaging is poor. They should look at some of the PF releases to see how it can be done.

Maybe the 40 page booklet makes this box set worthwhile. Or am I getting my hopes up needlessly?

Good article Christian. The more I look at this set the odder and more unfortunate the omissions seem. You phrased it well: Why they didn't just make a decent box set with all available recordings and complete shows remains a mystery. I mean, it's in keeping with Genesis' previous approach to their archives so it's maybe not a surprise, but it is a pity they didn't just dump it all into 8 or 10 cds.

Great write up and it's nice to see what we're getting in context with what there is available.

To one point:

Quote

Why they didn't just make a decent box set with all available recordings and complete shows remains a mystery.

I'm certain the answer comes down to the budget for the project and the desired price point. Even though it's far from complete, five discs is still a lot of content. I'm sure the record company also sees $60 as a tipping point. That price and volume of content will appeal to a wider array of buyers. I'm sure they're correct to believe that if they had pushed the price up to $100 and included 8 or 10 discs the sales would have seen a sharp drop.

"Curated by Tony Banks"

I have to say curated is not the first word that springs to mind here; much too grand for what Tony has done, unfortunately. I'd go with:

Chopped up by Tony Banks

Mangled by Tony Banks

Randomly thrown together by Tony Banks

Crammed onto the minimum number of discs by Tony Banks

Biased editing by Tony Banks

But I'll be buying it, of course!

Is it to be a limited edition?

Quote from WinstonWolf

Great write up and it's nice to see what we're getting in context with what there is available.

To one point:

I'm certain the answer comes down to the budget for the project and the desired price point. Even though it's far from complete, five discs is still a lot of content. I'm sure the record company also sees $60 as a tipping point. That price and volume of content will appeal to a wider array of buyers. I'm sure they're correct to believe that if they had pushed the price up to $100 and included 8 or 10 discs the sales would have seen a sharp drop.

I think there's also an element of perfectionism. The complete shows would contain mistakes, glitches etc - I don't think Banks would like that.

It amuses me, in an affectionate rather than sneery way, how so many people on here - despite being fans of this band - seem almost to wilfully not keep in mind everything they know about the members of Genesis, how they tend to do (or not do) things, and how this differs markedly from how other acts do things. I absolutely get it though, the wish fulfilment factor is strong and it's easy to let that cloud expectations.

I agree with the earlier comment about running different shows back-to-back on the same disc. It's irksome but when it comes to it I'll just switch off when one set of songs has ended and pick the other lot up separately at a different time. I definitely wouldn't listen to a whole disc in one go that straddles two shows, oooh no.